- Bitcoin fell 6% to $75,700, touching an intraday low of $75,568, erasing Wednesday’s post-midterm rally above $80,000.
- Crypto derivatives liquidations topped $1 billion over 24 hours, with the majority from long positions, affecting roughly 211,000 traders.
- The Nasdaq Composite dropped about 5.5% and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunged 12%, driven by fears of slower AI data-center buildout under a Democratic Congress.
Bitcoin erased its post-U.S. midterm election gains on Thursday as a sharp selloff in artificial intelligence and technology stocks spilled into digital asset markets, triggering more than $1 billion in leveraged position liquidations. According to The Block, bitcoin fell 6% to $75,700, after touching an intraday low of $75,568, while ether dropped more than 7% to $2,247.
The reversal came after bitcoin had climbed back above $80,000 on Wednesday following the midterm results and signs that the recent Binance hack had not disrupted broader markets. CoinDesk reported bitcoin down roughly 5.2% over 24 hours, sitting just below $76,000, with ether off 7.5%.
Liquidation data from CoinGlass, cited by The Block, showed about $879.92 million in positions liquidated over a four-hour period, including $818.90 million in longs and $61.02 million in shorts. Total liquidations over the past 24 hours reached nearly $1.1 billion, affecting nearly 211,000 traders. Decrypt noted roughly $428 million in crypto longs wiped out in one hour during the peak of the move.
The pressure originated in equities. The Nasdaq Composite shed about 5.5%, marking its worst session since the April 2025 tariff announcements, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunged 12%, its worst day since March 2020, according to CNN and market reports. Investors reacted to the Democratic sweep of Congress, raising concerns that greater opposition to data-center expansion could slow the AI buildout.
“We’re seeing some fresh selling come back to the market as the implications of slower data center buildout come into focus,” said Joshua Lim, global co-head of markets at institutional crypto brokerage FalconX, in comments to CoinDesk. He added that Wednesday’s post-election relief rally was driven by a lot of short-covering into a well-telegraphed result.
Carlos Guzman, vice president of research at GSR, told the same outlet that the midterms appear to have triggered the sell-off, with worries over data-center opposition adding to existing concerns about returns on AI spending. Jasper De Maere of Wintermute maintained a constructive medium-term view, stating the situation remains “glass half full.”
The episode highlighted crypto’s sensitivity to equity risk appetite and leverage, even as some observers noted relative resilience compared with the depth of the tech rout. Markets now watch whether support near the mid-$75,000s holds or if further equity weakness continues to weigh on digital assets.
