The post-midterm honeymoon lasted exactly one day. Bitcoin liquidations topped $1 billion in 24 hours on Thursday as the rally that followed Tuesday’s US election results fully unwound, dragging BTC back below $76,000 and wiping roughly $370 billion off the total crypto market cap. Wednesday’s confetti is now Thursday’s cleanup.
BTC traded around $75,883 in late-session quotes, down 5.65% on the day, after printing an intraday low near $75,463 – the weakest print since September 16. The slide erased Wednesday’s relief bounce, which had carried Bitcoin back above $80,000 and briefly to $81,000.
Why bitcoin liquidations spiked: the AI trade broke first
This was a stock-market story before it was a crypto one. US equities posted their worst session since the April 2025 tariff shock: the Nasdaq fell 5.5%, the Nasdaq 100 dropped 6.4% (its worst day since March 2020), the S&P 500 lost 4.3%, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index cratered 12%. The AI trade – the same one that lifted miners and mega-caps all year – hit the wall as voters approved data-center restrictions in 40 of 41 local ballot measures across 10 states.
Crypto equity followed: Coinbase slid 11.24%, Robinhood 11.84%, and Strategy 10.62%. CoinGlass counted more than $1 billion in crypto derivatives liquidated over 24 hours, with roughly $500 million cleared in the first hour of the US session alone – mostly stubborn longs.
Ether, altcoins and the $370 billion exit
Ether dropped 7.5% to around $2,414; XRP and Solana each fell 5.5%. Gold, naturally, was the only thing smiling – bullion added 0.6% to $4,094 an ounce while risk assets sprinted for the exits.
What traders are watching next
Joshua Lim of FalconX noted fresh selling is returning as “slower data center buildout” comes into focus, calling Wednesday’s bounce short-covering into a well-telegraphed result. GSR’s Carlos Guzman said the midterms “appear to have triggered this sell-off.” Jasper De Maere of Wintermute urged calm: “Don’t read too much into a single day’s selloff.”
The levels are plain: $75,000 has been defended repeatedly since August, and Rekt Capital warned Bitcoin may be repeating May’s pattern – rangebound action near $80,000 giving way to fresh macro lows. On policy, Stifel’s Brian Gardner put the CLARITY Act “off the table” for the lame-duck session, while Senator Elizabeth Warren is expected to take the Senate Banking gavel.
One day after celebrating a blue wave, traders got the reminder that leverage works in both directions. The bitcoin liquidations are cleared; $75,000 is now the line in the sand.
