Election Honeymoon Ends in Red: Bitcoin’s $80K Glow Fades as AI Stocks Melt

Bitcoin ($BTC) fell below $76,000 on Thursday, November 5, 2026, erasing its post-election rally and sliding as low as $75,572 as a technology-led Wall Street selloff spread through risk assets. The cryptocurrency had climbed above $80,800 after Tuesday’s US midterm elections, with roughly $378 million in short positions liquidated in one hour as it pushed above $80,000. By late Thursday, Bitcoin had fallen 5.4% to $75,871, below its pre-election level, while another price reading put it at $75,463, its lowest since Sept. 16 and below its 50-week simple moving average of $75,733.

US equities suffered their worst technology selloff in months. The S&P 500 closed down 4.36%, its worst session since the Liberation Day tariffs in April 2025, after falling as much as 3.8% intraday. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 5.52% to 24,315, entered correction territory and finished more than 10% below its October 6 record, while the Dow shed 1,833 points. The iShares Semiconductor ETF fell more than 12%, its worst day since March 2020. Micron lost 17.5%, AMD 17.3%, Marvell 16.4% and Nvidia 9.3%, while the Magnificent Seven shed roughly $1 trillion in market value and US equities lost $3 trillion. The VIX touched 28.09 intraday, its highest since March.

Investors focused on Democratic victories in Congress and gubernatorial races in Texas, Georgia and Ohio, where candidates opposed or proposed restrictions on fast data-center growth. Texas is projected to hold nearly 30% of US data center capacity by 2028, according to a Bloom Energy report cited by Fortune, while UBS estimates that potential pauses could threaten 30% of planned US data-center capacity additions in 2028, per Reuters. “We suspect there is going to be some scrutiny on this aggressive AI buildout,” Swissquote senior analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya told Reuters. The market also questioned the returns on major AI investments: “The market's moving from the promise of AI to the price of AI,” Ted Parkhill, chief executive of Incline Investment Management, told Reuters.

The crypto selloff accelerated through leverage. CoinGlass data showed $1.08 billion in positions liquidated over 24 hours, affecting 209,826 traders, with longs accounting for $956 million, or 88% of the total, and shorts contributing $130.78 million. Roughly $428 million in crypto longs were liquidated in one hour, and about 90% of the top 100 cryptocurrencies traded lower. Bitcoin led with $282.37 million in liquidations, followed by Ethereum ($ETH) at $173.75 million; 89.4% of Bitcoin liquidations came from long positions. Binance captured 44.3% of overall liquidations, and the largest single liquidation was a $10.94 million ETH long on Binance.

US spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs recorded approximately $530 million in combined net outflows, according to SoSoValue data. Spot Bitcoin ETFs accounted for roughly $430 million in withdrawals, while Ether funds lost approximately $100 million. Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) led Bitcoin ETF withdrawals with approximately $200 million, reversing roughly $237 million in inflows recorded on Wednesday. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) recorded another $105 million in net outflows, extending its withdrawal streak to five consecutive trading sessions, with more than $1 billion leaving the fund since October 30. Wednesday had brought $128 million in combined inflows as Bitcoin briefly traded above $80,000.

Rate expectations also changed after the selloff. CME FedWatch put December Fed rate hike odds at 68.1% on Thursday, down from 82.7% a day earlier, while another market measure showed the probability falling to 70.1% from 82.7%. The Federal Reserve had raised its benchmark range to 3.75%–4.00% in September, its first hike since 2023, and held rates in October, although Governor Lisa Cook and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack voted for another quarter-point increase. Economists expect Friday’s October jobs report to show 65,000 new jobs and a 4.2% unemployment rate, according to FactSet. The report will be followed by the Fed’s December 9 decision.