Bitcoin's brief post-election rally quickly reversed: after topping $80,800, the cryptocurrency fell toward $75,500 by Thursday, Nov. 5. A sharp sell-off in US technology stocks and a wave of leveraged crypto liquidations underscored how fragile the rebound was.
Tech sell-off erases the election bounce
Bitcoin rose on Wednesday after a volatile week that included a hack involving Binance and unsettled market sentiment. With the US midterm elections over, some uncertainty eased and traders closed bearish positions, helping lift the price.
By Thursday, investors were reassessing the potential implications of Democrats winning majorities in both chambers of Congress. Concerns about possible limits on AI data-center construction weighed on semiconductor stocks, while investors also questioned whether the scale of AI spending could be sustained. The Nasdaq fell 5.5%, Nvidia dropped 9.3% and AMD lost 17.3%.
Bitcoin came under pressure alongside other risk assets, with leveraged trading amplifying the decline. CoinGlass data showed $1.08 billion in crypto positions liquidated over 24 hours, including about $954 million in bullish positions.
Spot trading turns sharply toward sellers
The selling was not limited to leveraged futures. Binance spot-trading data from Whalio showed buyers outpaced sellers by $141.2 million on Nov. 4, with buy trades accounting for 54% of volume.
That balance reversed within a day. In the 24 hours to later on Nov. 5, spot sell volume exceeded buy volume by 10.8% of total traded value. The imbalance was among the largest of the past month, pointing to active selling in the spot market as well.
Sellers also led in futures, with sell volume ahead by an amount equivalent to 1.8% of that market's turnover. Futures trading volume is much higher than spot volume, however, so the two percentages should not be treated as equivalent measures of capital outflows.
ETF flows add to the risk-off picture
Market data also indicated continued selling of Bitcoin ETFs by Wall Street investors. Falling technology shares, ETF outflows and liquidations of bullish positions coincided with Bitcoin's reversal, highlighting the influence of broader risk appetite and trading leverage on its near-term moves.
By Nov. 5, Bitcoin had fallen from above $80,800 toward $75,500, while crypto liquidations over 24 hours totaled $1.08 billion and spot trading had shifted from net buying to a seller-led balance. The available information did not specify the amount of ETF outflows, so their scale remains distinct from the reported price and trading data.