Bitcoin tech rout liquidations wipe out election gains

Spot bitcoin gave back its midterm rebound in a single risk-off session. Bitcoin tech rout liquidations accompanied a drop to about $75,700 as Wall Street's AI-led selloff spilled into crypto futures and forced more than $1 billion of closures.

What happened

The Block reported bitcoin down about 6% to $75,700 with an intraday low near $75,568, while ether fell more than 7% to $2,247. Four-hour liquidations reached $879.92 million, of which longs were $818.90 million and shorts $61.02 million. The same wrap put the 24-hour total near $1.09 billion across roughly 211,000 traders, with Bitdeer and Keel near minus 20%, American Bitcoin down about 17%, and Strategy and Coinbase near minus 10%.

FXStreet said bitcoin traded below $76,000 with losses of more than 5%, ether, XRP and Solana each down more than 6%, and crypto market capitalization off about 4.5% to $2.71 trillion. It put roughly $900 million of futures liquidations in four hours and about $1.08 billion over 24 hours, with longs near $953 million. CoinDesk's close wrap put the Nasdaq down 5.5%, the S&P 500 down 4.3%, the Dow down 3.4%, the Nasdaq-100 down 6.4% and the PHLX Semiconductor Index down 12%, with bitcoin just below $76,000 (about minus 5.2%), ether down about 7.5%, and open interest below $26 billion from about $28 billion.

Why it matters

Forced long liquidations turned a post-election squeeze into a mechanical washout lower. Our bitcoin short squeeze 80k coverage tracked the prior reclaim of $80,000; the latest bitcoin tech rout liquidations show how quickly that short-covering bid can reverse once equity beta breaks.

Equity correlation was the clean channel. Coverage of the bitcoin democratic sweep dip already framed the overnight slide toward $75,700; Thursday's cash equity rout reopened that level as a stress test rather than a one-night scare.

Open interest falling from about $28 billion toward $26 billion also thins the cushion for any bounce: less leverage overhang can mute squeezes even if spot stabilizes above $75,000.

Miner and crypto-equity beta amplified the message — double-digit drawdowns in Bitdeer, Keel and American Bitcoin underscored that listed proxies were pricing the same Nasdaq shock, not an idiosyncratic bitcoin story.

Desk notes also compared Thursday's long-dominated liquidation mix with the prior session's short squeeze, underscoring how quickly positioning can flip when Nasdaq beta breaks. Four-hour long liquidations above $800 million left little residual long inventory to defend spot once $76,000 failed, which is why the open-interest drop toward $26 billion matters as much as the headline $1 billion 24-hour total. Cross-asset traders will keep mapping bitcoin against SOX and the VIX rather than treating the move as an idiosyncratic crypto washout.

What's next

Watch whether $75,000–$76,000 holds into the U.S. open and whether open interest rebuilds without another long flush. The Block's liquidation wrap is the primary source for the four-hour and 24-hour prints.

A break under $75,000 would reopen the November downside path traders had briefly priced after the midterm sweep and confirm the bitcoin tech rout liquidations as more than a one-session flush.

Ether's larger percentage drop will remain the first tell for whether altcoin beta can stabilize without another leverage cascade.

The call

We say Bitcoin will not trade at or below $70,000 on Binance BTC/USDT at any point in November 2026. Polymarket priced the called No side at 55% at 08:20 MSK on Nov. 6 on the November $70,000 dip contract. Spot is testing the mid-$75,000s after a tech-led flush, but majority pricing still treats a full slide to $70,000 as the less likely path before month-end.