Bitcoin slipped back below $77,000 as ETF investors pulled another $398 million
U.S. bitcoin funds have now bled for a fourth straight week, and bitcoin is sitting just above the level where its biggest corporate buyer breaks even. The midterm vote and Friday's jobs report are next.
Key facts
- Bitcoin traded around $76,500–$76,800 on November 3, down about 2% in 24 hours and about 39% below its all-time high
- U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs lost $398.26 million on Monday, extending a fourth straight week of outflows
- Analysts are watching support near $75,597, the 50-week simple moving average
- Strategy holds 849,327 bitcoin at an average cost of about $75,451 per coin — barely below the current price
- About $366 million in leveraged crypto positions were liquidated in 24 hours; the Fear & Greed Index fell to 26
Bitcoin is sliding again, and this time the selling is coming from the institutions, not a panic. The largest cryptocurrency traded around $76,500 to $76,800 on Tuesday, November 3, down about 2% over 24 hours, with ether near $2,250, down roughly 1–2%. It is bitcoin's fourth consecutive weekly decline — down about 2.25% last week — and it leaves the coin about 39% below its all-time high near $126,000.
The clearest pressure gauge is the U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds. About $398.26 million left the funds on Monday, according to SoSoValue data, extending a losing run that saw $202.59 million leave in the final week of October and $643.3 million — the biggest single-day outflow since June — leave on Friday, October 30, the first trading session after the Binance hack. The funds are the main way pension funds, advisers and other large investors hold bitcoin, so their flows are the best public read on institutional demand, and right now that demand is going backwards.
The price levels underneath matter. Analysts are watching support near $75,597, the 50-week simple moving average, and bitcoin is also sitting just above its rising 200-day exponential moving average of about $76,450. That zone is doubly important because it is close to the average cost of Strategy, the biggest corporate bitcoin holder: the company owns 849,327 bitcoin at an average of about $75,451 per coin after buying 811 more last week at $80,846 each. At Tuesday's price, its whole stack is only about 1.4% above water on paper. A sustained break below the $75,600 area would put that stack underwater and could accelerate selling, while reclaiming $79,500 to $80,500 is the resistance zone traders say bitcoin must clear to stabilise.
Leveraged traders are already feeling it: about $366 million in crypto positions were liquidated over 24 hours, according to CoinGlass data. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index fell to 26, from 37, deep in fear territory, and stocks offered no shelter — the Nasdaq fell 1.07% and the S&P 500 0.51% in the same daily snapshot, as investors positioned cautiously ahead of Tuesday's U.S. midterm elections.
Why it matters for ordinary investors: nothing here is a crash — bitcoin is drifting lower on steady institutional selling, not collapsing. But the combination of ETF outflows, a price hovering over a key technical and corporate cost floor, and two big events this week — the midterm results and Friday's October jobs report, which will shape expectations for the Federal Reserve's December decision — means the next few sessions could decide whether this is a pause or a deeper correction.
What to watch: whether bitcoin holds above $75,600; whether ETF outflows slow or extend; the midterm results overnight; and Friday's U.S. jobs report.