Bitcoin Falls Below $76,000 as Tech Stock Sell-Off Spreads to Crypto Markets

Bitcoin has fallen below $76,000, its lowest level in seven weeks, as a sharp sell-off in United States technology stocks spilled over into the cryptocurrency market and wiped out the gains Bitcoin had made after the US midterm elections.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency dropped as much as 6.3% in a single day, touching an intraday low of around $75,369 before recovering slightly to trade near $76,100. Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, fell even harder, plunging more than 8% to about $2,216.

The fall erased more than $140 billion from the total value of the crypto market in just a few hours, and more than $1 billion in leveraged trading positions were closed out automatically as prices tumbled. It was the latest sign that crypto, once seen by some investors as separate from traditional markets, now moves closely with the stock market — especially with technology shares.

What happened to Bitcoin

Bitcoin had been riding high only a day earlier. On Wednesday, 4 November, it broke through the $80,000 mark as investors celebrated the results of the US midterm elections. The rally did not last.

On Thursday, 5 November, US stock markets fell sharply. The technology-heavy Nasdaq index dropped 5.52%, the S&P 500 fell 4.36%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 3.44%. The Nasdaq 100, which tracks the biggest non-financial companies on the Nasdaq, fell as much as 6.4% during the session.

Crypto markets trade around the clock, with no closing bell, so the selling continued into the early hours of Friday, 6 November. Bitcoin slipped under $76,000, down around 5.4% to 5.8% over 24 hours depending on the exchange and the exact time of measurement. At one point on Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, Bitcoin was trading at $75,997, down 5.48% from a day earlier.

The drop left Bitcoin roughly 40% below its all-time high of $126,080, reached earlier this year.

Why the market fell

There was no single cause for the sell-off. Instead, several worries came together at the same time.

Fear of tighter AI rules

The biggest driver was concern about artificial intelligence. Technology shares have risen sharply over the past two years on hopes that AI will transform the economy. But investors are now asking whether the huge amounts of money being spent on AI data centres and chips will pay off — and whether new rules could slow the industry down.

Those worries grew after the Democrats won control of both chambers of the US Congress in the midterm elections. Investors fear the new Congress could bring in tighter rules on the AI industry and on the building of data centres. That fear hit AI-related shares hardest on Thursday, and the selling spread from there.

The Nasdaq entered correction territory — a fall of 10% or more from a recent peak — as the rout deepened.

The Binance hack is still weighing on crypto

Selling pressure in crypto was also fuelled by the $6.3 billion Binance hacking incident, the largest crypto theft in history. The hack, which the FBI has blamed on North Korea, prompted billions of dollars in withdrawals from crypto platforms and raised questions about investor confidence in digital asset exchanges.

Although Binance has said it has recovered most of the stolen funds, the incident is still fresh in investors’ minds, and it added to the nervous mood in the market this week.

Money is flowing out of Bitcoin funds

Another sign of the pressure: spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) — investment funds that hold Bitcoin and trade on stock exchanges — recorded about $1 billion in net outflows. Of that total, around $900 million came from BlackRock’s IBIT fund alone, the largest Bitcoin ETF.

When investors pull money out of these funds, the funds sell Bitcoin, which pushes the price down further. The outflows suggest that large investors, not just small traders, were heading for the exit.

More than $1 billion in positions wiped out

The speed of the fall caught many traders by surprise. Data from CoinGlass, a crypto market data platform, showed that more than $1.03 billion in leveraged positions were liquidated in 24 hours. Liquidation happens when a trader has borrowed money to bet on prices rising, and the exchange automatically closes their position when prices fall too far.

Around 89% of the liquidated positions — roughly $925 million to $954 million — were “long” positions, meaning traders who had bet that prices would go up. In a four-hour window alone, close to $880 million in positions were wiped out, affecting nearly 200,000 traders.

This kind of forced selling can make a fall worse: as positions are closed automatically, more Bitcoin is sold, pushing prices lower and triggering yet more liquidations. It is one of the reasons crypto prices can move so violently in a single day.

Ethereum and other coins fell harder

Bitcoin was not the only cryptocurrency to suffer. Ethereum dropped about 8.5% to $2,216.58 before recovering slightly to around $2,240. Smaller cryptocurrencies, known as altcoins, generally fell by similar or larger amounts.

The total market capitalisation of the crypto sector — the combined value of all cryptocurrencies — lost approximately $140 billion in about four hours during the sell-off, according to market data.

What investors are watching next

Traders are now watching the $75,000 level closely. If Bitcoin falls and stays below that level, some analysts say it could open the door to further declines. If it holds above it, the market may stabilise.

Attention is also turning to Friday’s US employment report for October, which could give fresh clues about the direction of interest rates. Strong jobs data could keep rates higher for longer, which tends to hurt riskier assets like tech stocks and crypto. Weaker data could do the opposite.

Movements in global technology stocks will also matter. A recent report from Bitfinex noted that the 30-day correlation between Bitcoin and the Nasdaq 100 stood at 0.68 — meaning the two tend to move in the same direction most of the time. As long as that link holds, Bitcoin is unlikely to recover on its own while tech shares keep falling.

What this means for ordinary investors

For people who own Bitcoin or are thinking about buying it, the sell-off is a reminder of how volatile crypto can be. A gain of several thousand dollars in one day can be wiped out the next. Bitcoin has fallen roughly 40% from its peak this year, and it has seen drops of this size many times before — and recovered from them.

Here are a few things worth keeping in mind:

• Crypto follows the stock market more than it used to. Bitcoin was once promoted as “digital gold” — an asset that would hold its value when other markets fell. In practice, it now behaves much more like a technology stock, rising and falling with investor confidence in tech.
• Leverage makes losses bigger. Many of the traders wiped out this week had borrowed money to make bigger bets. When prices fell, their losses were multiplied. Buying crypto with borrowed money is one of the riskiest things an investor can do.
• Big investors matter. The $1 billion flowing out of Bitcoin ETFs shows that large funds and institutions now play a major role in the crypto market. Their decisions can move prices just as much as the actions of small traders.
• Nobody can predict the bottom. Some traders will see the fall as a buying opportunity. Others will wait for prices to stabilise. What is certain is that the market is driven by news — on AI rules, on interest rates, on hacks and on the wider economy — and that news can change quickly.

The bigger picture

The sell-off is part of a wider pullback in risk assets that began this week. The post-election rally in US stocks lasted barely a day before giving way to fears about AI spending, regulation and the health of the economy.

For Bitcoin, the test now is whether the $75,000 level holds. A break below it could trigger another wave of selling. A recovery above $80,000 — the level Bitcoin reached on Wednesday — would suggest the worst of the rout is over.

For now, though, the mood in the market is cautious. After a week that began with celebration and ended with more than $1 billion in liquidations, investors are waiting for the next piece of news before deciding which way to move.

Frequently asked questions

Why did Bitcoin fall below $76,000?

Bitcoin fell because a sharp sell-off in US technology stocks spread to crypto markets. The Nasdaq fell 5.52% on Thursday, 5 November, on fears of tighter AI regulation after the Democrats won the US midterm elections. The $6.3 billion Binance hack and about $1 billion in outflows from Bitcoin ETFs added to the selling pressure.

How far has Bitcoin fallen from its peak?

Bitcoin is now roughly 40% below its all-time high of $126,080, reached earlier this year. It had recovered above $80,000 on Wednesday, 4 November, before Thursday’s sell-off erased those gains.

What happened to Ethereum?

Ethereum fell about 8.5% to around $2,216.58 during the sell-off, a bigger drop than Bitcoin’s. It later recovered slightly to around $2,240.

What are liquidations in crypto?

Liquidation happens when a trader borrows money to bet on prices rising, and the exchange automatically closes their position when prices fall too far. More than $1.03 billion in such positions were liquidated in 24 hours during this sell-off, most of them bets that prices would rise.

Will Bitcoin recover?

No one can say for sure. Investors are watching whether Bitcoin holds above $75,000, Friday’s US jobs report, and whether technology stocks stabilise. Bitcoin has recovered from drops of this size before, but it has also fallen further after similar sell-offs.

Sources

• Business Today, “Bitcoin Slumps Below US$76,000, Ethereum Plunges 8% As Crypto Sell-Off Deepens”, 6 November 2026 — https://www.businesstoday.com.my/2026/11/06/bitcoin-slumps-below-us76000-ethereum-plunges-8-as-crypto-sell-off-deepens/
• TradingView / BloomingBit, “Bitcoin falls below $76,000 as tech stock rout weakens crypto market” — https://www.tradingview.com/news/bloomingbit:c2096b4fc094b:0-bitcoin-falls-below-76-000-as-tech-stock-rout-weakens-crypto-market/
• CoinCourier, “Bitcoin drops below $76,000: liquidations” — https://coincourier.io/bitcoin-drops-below-76000-liquidations/
• CryptoNews, “Bitcoin falls below $76,000” — https://cryptonews.net/news/bitcoin/33711508/
• KuCoin News, “Equity rout sends Bitcoin below $76k as $428m in crypto longs liquidated” — https://www.kucoin.com/news/flash/equity-rout-sends-bitcoin-below-76k-as-428m-in-crypto-longs-liquidated

This article is for general information and education only. It is not legal or financial advice.