Bitcoin’s Post-Election Glow-Up Lasted One Session—Then the Leverage Came Home

Bitcoin’s post-midterm rally proved short-lived as a technology-stock rout dragged $BTC below $76,000 on Thursday, November 5, 2026. The asset rose as much as 2% to $79,676 before retreating to $75,463, its lowest level since Sept. 16, and briefly below its 50-week simple moving average at $75,733. By Friday, it traded near $75,570 after touching $74,780.91, its lowest intraday reading since August 21, 77 days earlier.

The selloff followed a $2 trillion to $3 trillion loss across US equities. The Nasdaq Composite closed down 5.52% at 24,315, while the S&P 500 fell 4.36% and the Dow lost 1,833 points. Nvidia dropped 9.3%, AMD 17.3%, Micron 17.5% and Marvell 16.4%, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF fell more than 12%, its worst day since March 2020. Emergency circuit-breaker thresholds entered the conversation as traders monitored declines of 7%, 13% and 20% from the S&P 500’s previous close.

Concerns centered partly on Democratic victories in both chambers of Congress and governor races in Texas, Georgia and Ohio, where candidates opposed aspects of rapid data-center development. Texas alone is projected to hold nearly 30% of US data center capacity by 2028, according to a Bloom Energy report cited by Fortune. UBS estimates potential pauses could threaten 30% of planned US data-center capacity additions in 2028. “We suspect there is going to be some scrutiny on this aggressive AI buildout,” Swissquote senior analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya told Reuters. “Tech needs to adjust and focus on a slower pace of this AI rollout,” Dan Ives told Fortune, while Ted Parkhill said, “The market's moving from the promise of AI to the price of AI.”

Leverage accelerated the crypto decline. Roughly $428 million in crypto longs were liquidated in one hour, while CoinGlass recorded $1.08 billion in liquidations over 24 hours across 209,826 traders. Long positions accounted for $956 million, or 88%, compared with $130.78 million in shorts. Bitcoin liquidations totaled $282.37 million, including $282.37 million in long positions for Bitcoin, with 89.4% of the Bitcoin liquidations coming from long positions. Ethereum recorded $173.75 million, with 81.1% of it long. One trader on Hyperliquid was liquidated eight times, losing 201 BTC, worth about $15.6 million.

US spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs recorded approximately $530 million in combined net outflows. Spot Bitcoin ETFs lost $430.2 million, led by Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund with $199.9 million and BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust with $105 million; Grayscale’s GBTC lost $49.9 million and Franklin Templeton’s EZBC shed $32.9 million. Ether funds lost approximately $100 million. BlackRock’s IBIT extended its withdrawal streak to five sessions and more than $1 billion has left the fund since October 30, while the weekly Bitcoin ETF outflow reached $869.8 million. CoinGlass data later showed $1.05 billion liquidated over 24 hours, including $930.04 million in longs and $124.69 million in shorts, while the Crypto Fear & Greed Index stood at 28.

Rate expectations also shifted as traders prepared for Friday’s October jobs report. CME FedWatch December Fed rate hike odds fell to 68.1% from 82.7%, while another source put them at 70.1% from 82.7%; economists expect 65,000 new jobs and a 4.2% unemployment rate, according to FactSet. Bitcoin traded below its 50-day exponential moving average near $79,756 and the 200-day EMA around $76,497, while the 200-day moving average was near $73,200. On X, Michaël van de Poppe said, “My thesis on #Bitcoin hasn’t changed… The past 24 hours have been heavily influenced by leverage trading… Now, $75,000 remains the best, obvious spot for longs, and it coincides with Nasdaq’s low, which has been targeted at 26,500…”.