Bitcoin Drops Below $70,000 as Long Liquidations Near $870M

Bitcoin fell below $70,000 on Nov. 13 as traders betting on higher prices faced $869.89 million in forced liquidations over 24 hours. CoinGlass recorded $31.18 million in short liquidations during the same period.

Bitcoin traded at about $69,224 at 10:52 a.m. UTC, with a rolling 24-hour low of $67,921, according to CoinGecko. The cryptocurrency was down 4.8% over 24 hours and 8.9% over seven days.

Long positions gain value when prices rise. The liquidation figures measure forced closures of Bitcoin positions tracked by CoinGlass. They do not represent traders’ total net losses or changes in Bitcoin’s market capitalization. Liquidated positions may involve derivatives and other markets rather than direct spot-market sales.

During the four hours before 10:52 a.m. UTC, CoinGlass recorded $559 million in long liquidations and $16 million in short liquidations. The four-hour and 24-hour figures overlap and should not be added.

The liquidation data do not identify what initially caused Bitcoin’s decline. Forced closures can occur after prices fall and may increase selling pressure.

Bitcoin’s decline followed a weaker U.S. stock session on Nov. 12. The S&P 500 fell 0.35% to 7,592, the Nasdaq declined 0.39% and the Russell 2000 dropped 1.66%. The dollar strengthened and Treasury yields rose as investors assessed expectations for tighter Federal Reserve policy.

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said in a Nov. 10 speech that he favored a 25-basis-point increase in December even if October monthly inflation improved. He also said a core consumer price index reading of about 0.3% or higher could lead him to consider a 50-basis-point increase. Waller’s comments reflected his individual view and did not commit the Federal Open Market Committee to a policy decision.

NVIDIA announced on Nov. 12 that Jensen Huang had resigned as president, chief executive officer and director. Colette Kress became interim CEO while retaining her position as chief financial officer. A company filing dated the board’s acceptance of Huang’s resignation to Nov. 11, effective immediately. NVIDIA’s results are scheduled for Nov. 17.

Microsoft was working to restore services affected by an outage on Nov. 13. At 9:57 a.m. UTC, the company reported that recovery varied across services. No direct connection has been established between the outage and Bitcoin’s decline.