Bitcoin fell below $70,000 on Friday for the first time since August, dropping more than 6% in a day as a wave of forced selling swept through the cryptocurrency market.
The world's largest cryptocurrency slid to an intraday low of about $68,500, according to crypto market data, after opening the day near $71,460. It steadied near $68,750 in early trading on Friday, leaving it down roughly 45% from its record high of $126,198 set in October 2025.
The sell-off triggered more than $1.2 billion in liquidations of leveraged positions across crypto exchanges in 24 hours, affecting more than 151,000 traders, according to CoinGlass data. Bitcoin accounted for roughly $677 million of the liquidations, almost all of it from traders who had borrowed to bet on prices rising.
Investors have been pulling money out of US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, with $299.8 million in net withdrawals on November 11 alone and about $1.44 billion pulled over five consecutive trading sessions. Ethereum also slipped below $2,000, while XRP approached $1 and Solana traded below $80.
The slide comes as the US dollar climbed to its highest level in about 19 months, with the dollar index moving above 103 on Thursday, and as traders raised bets that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates again in December after stronger-than-expected inflation data. October consumer prices rose 0.4% month over month, against 0.3% expected.
The crypto rout followed a sharp sell-off in technology shares after Nvidia confirmed on Thursday that co-founder Jensen Huang had resigned as chief executive and board member. The Nasdaq closed 4.6% lower on Thursday, with the S&P 500 down 3.4%.
Traders are now watching whether Bitcoin can hold the $70,000 level, with immediate support seen near $68,000 to $68,500, and awaiting US producer price inflation figures due later on Friday for further clues on the direction of interest rates.
