Bitcoin fell back to nearly $76,000 on November 5, erasing its post-election rebound above $80,000 in a few hours. More than a new reaction to the American elections, this fall reveals its growing dependence on technology stocks and concerns surrounding the profitability of investments in artificial intelligence.
In brief
- Bitcoin plunges back towards $75,000 after exceeding $80,000.
- The Nasdaq falls almost 4%, dragging cryptos in its wake.
- Concerns about the profitability of investments in AI are fueling panic.
- Nearly $428 million in bullish positions are liquidated in one hour.
- Bitcoin’s rebound, largely fueled by sellers’ forced buybacks, lacks support.
The Nasdaq wipes out the post-election rebound in two hours
Bitcoin was still trading above $80,000 before Wall Street opened. It had benefited from the fall in oil prices, the decline in bond yields and a one-off return of inflows into ETFs. That stability disappeared as selling accelerated in U.S. technology stocks.
The Nasdaq plunged almost 4%entering the correction zone with a drop of more than 10% since its October 6 record. Investors have mostly sold companies linked to chips, data centers and artificial intelligence, whose massive spending has been slow to produce visible profits.
Panic quickly spread across several markets:
- Bitcoin fell over 80,800 to around $76,100;
- Nvidia lost as much as 8%, while Micron and AMD suffered double-digit declines;
- Ether and most major cryptocurrencies fell more than 5%;
- Around 90% of the top 100 crypto assets went into the red;
- Nearly $428 million in bullish positions were closed within an hour.
This decline brought BTC back towards the $75,600 to $76,000 zone, already tested at the time of the midterm election counting. The rebound the day before, which had taken the price to $81,105 on Bitstamp, was thus almost entirely erased.
The movement shows that the fall in oil prices was not enough to establish a lasting recovery. It had improved the macroeconomic context, but concerns about AIhigh rates and crypto regulation remained present beneath the surface.
A Seller-Fueled Rebound Could Not Hold
The November 4 increase seemed spectacular, but it was not based solely on the arrival of new buyers. Much of the movement came from forced closing of short positions. When bitcoin crossed $80,000, approximately $378 million worth of shorts were reportedly liquidated within an hour.
The next day, the same mechanism was reversed. The decline below $79,000 weakened bullish positions opened with leverage. Platforms then began closing them automatically, adding sell orders to an already pressured market.
In less than twenty-four hours, bitcoin has therefore experienced two opposing movements, amplified by derivative products. Sellers were first forced to repurchase, before credit buyers were forced to sell. This succession explains the violence of the variations without demonstrating such a rapid change in the fundamental value of the network.
ETF flows also suggest caution. US bitcoin funds had received around $75 million on November 4, ending three outflow sessions. This amount, however, remains small compared to the movements recorded on futures contracts and the approximately 1.16 billion dollars withdrawn from ETFs during the three previous sessions.
The post-election rebound therefore lacked sufficiently strong cash demand to absorb a new wave of sales. The fall of the Nasdaq simply revealed this weakness.
Bitcoin becomes the liquid fuse of betting on AI
Bitcoin is not a technology stock and does not make money from artificial intelligence. However, it is increasingly reacting to the same trade-offs as Nvidia, AMD or data center operators. When investors reduce their exposure to riskier assets, BTC is among the first positions they can sell at any time.
This permanent liquidity transforms the crypto market into a valve during phases of stress. Investors can sell bitcoin while some exchanges are closed, quickly cover their losses or release collateral. BTC thus becomes an immediate barometer of the nervousness surrounding growth technologies.
“The market is moving from the promise of AI to the price of AI”, summary Ted Parkhill, managing director of Incline Investment Management. Tech companies have committed billions of dollars to infrastructure, sometimes financed by debt, without yet convincing investors that returns will follow suit.
The threshold of $75,600 now constitutes the first test. Its breakdown would further weaken the recovery that began in August, while a sustainable return above $80,000 would show that buyers are regaining control. However, after two reversals in two days, the main signal is not yet directional: bitcoin remains above all a prisoner of Wall Street volatility.
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