Bitcoin fell 6% to about $75,700 on Thursday as a sharp retreat in U.S. technology and artificial-intelligence stocks spilled into digital assets, triggering more than $1 billion in liquidations of leveraged cryptocurrency positions. The move underscored how quickly a broader risk-off turn in equities can cascade through crypto markets when large numbers of traders are positioned for higher prices.
Bitcoin briefly reached an intraday low of $75,568, erasing the gains that had pushed it back above $80,000 on Wednesday. Ether dropped more than 7% to $2,247, while smaller tokens generally declined more sharply as traders reduced exposure across the market.
CoinGlass recorded $1.09 billion in crypto liquidations over 24 hours, affecting roughly 211,000 traders. Long positions, bets that prices would rise, accounted for about $941 million of the total, according to the derivatives-data platform. The figures are compiled from available exchange data and can understate liquidation activity across the full market.
Leveraged longs bore the brunt of the reversal
The selling intensified during a four-hour stretch in which CoinGlass recorded $879.92 million in liquidations. Long positions made up $818.90 million of that amount, compared with $61.02 million in short liquidations.
That imbalance points to a rapid unwinding of bullish positioning after Wednesday's rebound. Bitcoin's recovery above $80,000 had encouraged traders to rebuild long exposure, but the stock-market selloff left many of those positions vulnerable as prices moved lower.
Leverage allows traders to control larger positions with borrowed funds, magnifying gains and losses. When prices fall far enough, trading platforms can automatically close positions to prevent further losses. Those forced sales can add pressure to an already falling market, particularly during periods of thin liquidity or broad risk aversion.
The four-hour liquidation total showed longs losing more than 17 times as much as shorts, based on CoinGlass figures. Such moves do not necessarily establish a longer-term market trend, but they can quickly remove speculative positioning built up during a rebound.
Technology-stock losses set the tone
Crypto's decline tracked a heavy selloff in U.S. equities. At roughly 2 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 were each down about 3%, while the Nasdaq Composite had fallen 4.7%. The Cboe Volatility Index, a closely watched gauge of expected stock-market turbulence, rose about 60%.
Companies linked to artificial intelligence infrastructure and Bitcoin mining were among the day's steepest decliners. Bitdeer and Keel Infrastructure each fell about 20%, while American Bitcoin dropped 17% after reporting quarterly profit of $126 million. Strategy, the Bitcoin-holding software company formerly known as MicroStrategy, and Coinbase each declined about 10%.
The alignment between crypto and technology equities has become especially visible during abrupt moves in market sentiment. Bitcoin often trades as a high-volatility asset during episodes when traders are selling growth stocks, AI-linked companies, and other assets whose valuations depend heavily on expectations for future earnings and financial conditions.
Mining companies sit directly at that intersection. Their revenues are tied to Bitcoin prices, while their operating costs, financing needs, computing infrastructure and power contracts also make them sensitive to technology-sector conditions. A sharp fall in both mining equities and Bitcoin can therefore reinforce caution across related parts of the market.
Wednesday's recovery proved short-lived
The downturn reversed a rebound that followed the U.S. midterm elections and initial signs that a Binance hack had not caused broader disruption across crypto markets. Election-related optimism had lifted risk appetite briefly, helping Bitcoin move back above $80,000.
Market participants cited in the original report warned that the political backdrop may offer limited near-term clarity for digital-asset legislation. Howard, of Wincent, said a stronger Democratic position in Congress could require bipartisan agreement for progress on crypto policy over the next two years, leaving the existing regulatory framework largely intact until another election cycle.
Kirkley, of Global Settlement Network, similarly said the vote could delay legislative progress, while macroeconomic forces such as liquidity conditions, interest rates and the wider economy would remain major drivers of prices.
Those factors were more immediately relevant on Thursday than political developments. The breadth of the stock-market decline suggested traders were responding to a broader reassessment of risk rather than a crypto-specific event.
Bitcoin support levels move into focus
Wintermute identified $73,000 and $68,000 as the next Bitcoin price levels to watch should selling continue. On the upside, the market maker said Bitcoin would need to reclaim and hold $80,000 to restore the level it lost during Thursday's decline.
Bitcoin dominance, which measures Bitcoin's share of the total cryptocurrency market capitalization, rose to 59.1% during the afternoon slide as alternative cryptocurrencies fell more sharply. That pattern is common during rapid market stress, when traders often reduce exposure to smaller and less liquid tokens first.
The Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin fell more than 20% over two days and reached an all-time low, illustrating the pressure on the most speculative segment of the market. Memecoins tend to have less established demand and can experience larger percentage swings when liquidity weakens.
Thursday's selloff left Bitcoin below the $80,000 threshold regained only a day earlier and placed the market's attention back on equity volatility, leveraged positioning and whether selling in major technology shares continues.
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