Bitcoin Plunges to 77-Day Low as Wall Street Tech Selloff Triggers $1.05 Billion in Crypto Liquidations

Bitcoin dropped sharply to trade near $75,570 on Friday, following an intraday low of $74,780.91 that marked the leading cryptocurrency’s weakest price reading since August 21, exactly 77 days prior. The sudden market retreat arrived in the wake of a brutal, sweeping selloff across artificial intelligence stocks on Wall Street and another massive wave of forced position closures throughout the digital asset derivatives markets.

According to data compiled by CoinGlass, a staggering $1.05 billion in leveraged crypto positions were liquidated across the global cryptocurrency markets over the preceding 24-hour window. The vast majority of these wipeouts heavily favored long positions—traders betting on rising prices—which accounted for $930.04 million, or roughly 88.2% of the total destruction. In comparison, short positions, which profit when prices decline, accounted for a comparatively modest $124.69 million in liquidations.

This dramatic 80-20 imbalance in liquidations closely mirrors broader sentiment metrics captured by the Crypto Fear and Greed Index. The index plummeted to 28 points out of 100, bringing market sentiment deep into "extreme fear" territory. On this index, zero represents maximum fear among market participants, while 100 signifies extreme greed. For context, the sentiment gauge stood at a stable, neutral reading just a week earlier, immediately before the U.S. midterm elections.

A breakdown of the asset-specific liquidation data shows that Bitcoin alone accounted for $267.20 million of the total market liquidations, with an overwhelming 88.9% stemming from long positions. Meanwhile, Ethereum recorded $167.14 million in total liquidations, of which 81.1% were also bullish long positions caught on the wrong side of the sudden market reversal.

Liquidations occur when a cryptocurrency exchange automatically shuts down a trader’s leveraged position because their remaining collateral has fallen below the maintenance margin requirement. This forced selling frequently exacerbates existing downward price movements. Unlike conventional spot trading, where investors can comfortably hold through unrealized losses without immediate threat of position termination, trading with leverage provides a narrow window of maneuverability that can instantly wipe out an entire account balance once an asset breaches a specific liquidation price threshold.

AI Stocks Plunge, Then Recover Some Ground

The post-midterm election anxiety quickly spread from the political arena directly to Wall Street, with United States technology stocks absorbing the initial major blow during Thursday’s trading session. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite tumbled 5.52%, marking its worst single-session performance in 19 months. Simultaneously, the Philadelphia semiconductor index plummeted by more than 12%, while AI bellwether Nvidia suffered a loss of over 9% in a single day.

Democratic victories in Tuesday’s midterm elections sparked growing concerns among equity investors that a shifting political landscape could usher in tougher regulatory scrutiny regarding artificial intelligence. Wall Street analysts noted that stricter oversight could potentially delay or slow down the aggressive construction of data centers that has fueled the massive chip rally throughout the year. The broader S&P 500 index dropped 4.36% on Thursday, effectively erasing roughly $3 trillion in aggregate market value across its constituent companies in one brutal session.

Bitcoin had already given back the entirety of its post-election relief rally as chipmakers sank deeper into the red. The forced closures of bullish crypto positions only served to accelerate the downward price spiral. While the simultaneous timing of the equity rout and the digital asset market collapse does not automatically prove that the stock market selloff was the sole driver of Bitcoin’s decline, the strong correlation underscores the growing macro-economic linkage between traditional risk-on technology assets and cryptocurrencies.

Adding to the macroeconomic pressure, a stronger-than-expected U.S. October jobs report heightened market expectations that the Federal Reserve might implement another interest rate hike during its December meeting. Higher borrowing costs traditionally weigh heavily on speculative and risk-on markets, leaving the digital asset sector uniquely vulnerable even as major semiconductor shares attempt to claw back some ground from their recent lows.

Bitcoin Price: What the Charts Say

At the time of writing, Bitcoin continues to hover near $75,570, with the current daily price candle still forming after touching its swing low of $74,780.91. The broader weekly chart paints a cautious picture, displaying another solid red candle and an established sequence of lower highs extending back to September, when Bitcoin was briefly trading above the $87,000 threshold.

The 50-day exponential moving average (EMA), which assigns greater mathematical weight to recent price action, currently sits near $79,756. This remains positioned above the 200-day EMA, which hovers around $76,497. While that long-term structural ordering technically maintains a bullish outlook on a macro timeframe, Bitcoin’s current spot price is trading well below both key moving averages. Market technicians view this development as a clear warning sign that the latest aggressive price decline has temporarily overwhelmed the lagging bullish trend signals.

Meanwhile, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) stands at 37.7. While this places the asset below the neutral 50 centerline, it remains comfortably above the 30 threshold that traditionally defines oversold territory. The Average Directional Index (ADX) reads 19.7, a level that is typically characteristic of trendless or consolidating market states. However, the negative directional indicator currently exceeds the positive directional indicator, pointing toward lingering, albeit weak, bearish directional pressure in the near term.

Looking at key technical levels, immediate downside support rests at $74,780, representing the horizontal line and intraday low established on the charts. A decisive daily market close below this critical support zone would likely draw analytical attention toward the $73,000 to $72,500 region, which served as a major breakout zone back in August. Should that area also fail to hold, the psychological $70,000 threshold would emerge as the next major line of defense for the bulls.

On the other hand, any meaningful price recovery will first require Bitcoin to reclaim the 200-day EMA near $76,497, followed by a test of the lighter, immediate resistance clustered near the $80,000 mark. As Friday’s daily candle remains open, market participants continue to watch the $74,780.91 low as the crucial immediate level that must be defended to prevent further downside momentum.