NEW YORK (Realist English). Bitcoin fell over the weekend to its lowest level since 14 July, according to tracker data. On Saturday, 14 November, the largest cryptocurrency lost 5.7% during US trading, and on 15 November in the Asian session it fell another 3.7% — to $62,022. By noon Singapore time, the price had recovered to around $64,800.
Cascade of liquidations: technical breach and chain reaction
The key trigger for the acceleration of the sell-off was a breach of the 200-day moving average, which sits around $73,000. According to GSR co-founder Richard Rosenblum, this caused “a flurry of liquidations and the opening of new short positions.” Analysts describe the chain-reaction mechanism as follows: a price drop below the cluster of long positions triggers forced closures, which increase market pressure and provoke the next wave of liquidations.
The scale of losses among traders is significant. According to Coinglass, in the 24 hours ending at noon Singapore time on 15 November, exchanges recorded cryptocurrency position liquidations totaling about $1.95 billion, of which $758 million was in bitcoin and $466 million in Ethereum. The overwhelming majority of closed positions were long. A day earlier, on 14 November, liquidations over 24 hours amounted to about $1.3 billion.
ETF outflows and capital shifting to AI
Pressure on bitcoin had been building for several weeks. From 30 October to 13 November, US spot bitcoin ETFs recorded net outflows of nearly $3 billion. This coincided with expectations of tighter Federal Reserve monetary policy amid persistently high inflation and a rise in the yield on 10-year US Treasury bonds above 5%, which increases the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets.
An additional factor, according to market participants, was the upcoming Anthropic IPO. DACM Executive Chairman Richard Galvin noted that price dynamics are “very similar to what happened during the SpaceX valuation period earlier this year,” and suggested that cryptocurrency remains for retail investors a short-term source of funds to participate in major offerings.
Other cited reasons include lingering concerns about the security of trading platforms after the $6 billion Binance hack in late October, as well as expectations of tighter regulation following the Democrats’ victory in the US midterm elections.
From highs to lows
Since 21 October, bitcoin has lost more than 20% of its value. The yearly low was recorded on 1 July at $57,742. Earlier in the week, on 10 November, bitcoin had already fallen to a three-month low of around $72,695 amid fears of tighter Fed policy.
The second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, Ethereum, also suffered: during the US session on 14 November it lost 8%, and in the Asian session on 15 November it fell another 3.4%, dropping to $1,711, its lowest since 8 July.
Limits and risks
As analysts note, the current decline is predominantly technical and liquidation-driven in nature and does not reflect changes in the fundamental metrics of the bitcoin network.
At the same time, the sustainability of a recovery is in question: the key factors remain the dynamics of ETF inflows and the ability of institutional demand to stabilize. According to Monarq Asset Management, “until institutional demand stabilizes and the macroeconomic environment restores risk appetite, a rebound is unlikely to be sustainable, and volatility will remain high.”
For the crypto market, the immediate effect will be most noticeable primarily in liquidation volumes and ETF fund flows — and that is precisely where it is most sensitive for retail investors using leverage.
