What is happening to Bitcoin price? Inside the shocking 48 hours

Bitcoin's election rally lasted barely a day. After climbing above $80,800 following Tuesday's US midterms, the cryptocurrency plunged toward $75,500 on Thursday, November 5.

The reversal came as Wall Street suffered its worst tech stock selloff in months, exposing how fragile Bitcoin's recovery had become.

Why did Bitcoin reverse so quickly?

Wednesday's gains followed a week unsettled by the Binance hack. Traders initially welcomed the end of election uncertainty, but much of the recovery was driven by investors closing bets against Bitcoin.

By Thursday, investors were reconsidering the implications of Democrats winning both chambers of Congress. 

Fears of restrictions on AI data-center construction hit semiconductor stocks already facing questions about enormous AI spending.

The Nasdaq fell 5.5%, Nvidia lost 9.3%, and AMD plunged 17.3%.

Bitcoin followed the broader retreat from risky assets. Then leverage made things worse.

CoinGlass data showed $1.08 billion in crypto positions liquidated over 24 hours, including approximately $954 million in bullish bets.

Spot traders were selling too

The pressure extended beyond leveraged futures.

Whalio's Binance spot data showed $141.2 million more aggressive buying than selling on November 4, when the buy-side share of trading volume reached 54%.

Within a day, the picture flipped.

By late November 5, spot sellers exceeded buyers by 10.8% of turnover over 24 hours, among the strongest selling imbalances of the past month. Futures sellers led by 1.8% of their market's turnover, although futures volume was much larger.

Binance perpetual futures open interest also fell 7.1%, indicating positions were being closed.

Meanwhile, CryptoQuant's Coinbase Premium Index deteriorated from −0.09% on Wednesday to −0.19% early Thursday, pointing to weaker US spot demand.

The data confirms aggressive spot selling alongside leveraged position unwinding, although it cannot establish which market triggered the crash.

Did BlackRock and Trump media sell Bitcoin?

BlackRock's IBIT recorded $201.2 million in ETF outflows on Wednesday, extending its four-day withdrawal streak. However, US Bitcoin ETFs collectively attracted $74.6 million that day, largely through Fidelity.

Meanwhile, wallets linked to Trump Media transferred 4,259 BTC, worth roughly $342 million, to Crypto.com.

The transfer raised selling fears, particularly ahead of a November 30 debt repayment window. No sale has been confirmed.

What's next for Bitcoin price?

Bitcoin is testing the psychologically important $75,000 level. A decisive break could expose the 200-day moving average near $73,200.

To rebuild confidence, Bitcoin needs to reclaim $80,000, then push beyond approximately $81,300, the 30-day moving average identified in Reuters' technical analysis.

For now, the next recovery depends on stronger spot demand and whether Wall Street's AI selloff stabilizes.