Bitcoin traded close to $76,000 on Thursday afternoon, falling by more than 5% as a sharp selloff in US technology and chip stocks led the broader market into a downturn and triggered the liquidation of over $1 billion in leveraged crypto positions.
Tech stock rout weighs on crypto market
Bitcoin dropped through the mid-$75,000s, erasing gains from earlier in the day and reversing a previous rebound. Following an overnight move above $80,000, the asset quickly lost momentum as the Nasdaq Composite fell roughly 5% and entered correction territory, sliding more than 10% from its all-time high set last month.
Throughout Thursday’s session, Bitcoin briefly tested support around $75,400 before stabilizing just below $76,000 as the US trading day drew to a close. This marked Bitcoin’s deepest one-day slide since June, negating Wednesday’s upward move that had resulted from a short squeeze.
Equity markets were broadly negative. The S&P 500 dropped 4% and the Dow fell more than 1,600 points, as capital rotated out of high-growth sectors. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index slumped nearly 11%, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF recorded its biggest single-day decline since March 2020.
Major semiconductor stocks faced significant losses, with Nvidia and Broadcom each sinking about 9%, Qualcomm down 9%, and Tesla losing 11%. These declines reflected investor concerns about the pace of AI-focused data-center expansion and tighter funding for new technology infrastructure.
Analysts cited uncertainty in the outlook for AI investment. The previously projected $1.2 trillion of capital expenditure on artificial intelligence for the coming year is reportedly under reassessment, contributing to weaker sentiment in the tech and crypto markets.
Semiconductor stocks led declines, as investors responded to expectations of slower AI data-center growth and greater political risk.
Many Bitcoin miners, who had sold holdings to finance new data centers, saw both their technology-linked and crypto-related trades impacted by the ongoing volatility.
Mini dictionary: The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index tracks the performance of leading US semiconductor companies and is regarded as a primary benchmark for the chip industry.
Leverage unwinds as crypto market slides
As selling intensified across equities and crypto, crypto derivatives platforms recorded approximately $1.08 billion in leveraged position liquidations over a 24-hour period. The bulk came from forced closures of long positions, including about $954 million as traders unwound bets established during Wednesday’s price rebound.
Nearly $900 million of these liquidations unfolded within just four hours after the US market opened, intensifying the downward price movement. Ether, the second-largest digital asset, also slid below $2,300 as leveraged trades unraveled.
Crypto-related equities mirrored the decline. Shares of Strategy, Coinbase, and Circle all dropped over 10%. Bitcoin miners lost as much as 20%. Keel Infrastructure, which recently sold its entire Bitcoin treasury for $192 million, slipped by 20%. Other mining companies, including CleanSpark, Cipher, and TeraWulf, fell more than 12% each.
| Company | Sector | One-Day Drop (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Keel Infrastructure | Bitcoin Infrastructure | 20% |
| CleanSpark (CLSK) | Bitcoin Mining | 12%+ |
| Cipher (CIFR) | Bitcoin Mining | 12%+ |
| TeraWulf (WULF) | Bitcoin Mining | 12%+ |
| Strategy (MSTR) | Crypto Holdings | 10%+ |
| Coinbase (COIN) | Crypto Exchange | 10%+ |
| Circle (CRCL) | Crypto Services | 10%+ |
Key market tests ahead
Looking forward, market participants are awaiting Friday’s October jobs report, followed by the October Consumer Price Index release on November 10 and the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting scheduled for December 9.
Policy developments remain in focus, as House Democrats are preparing their own crypto market structure bill ahead of assuming key committee leadership roles in January, adding to the current regulatory uncertainty.
Traders are monitoring Bitcoin’s ability to maintain support near the mid-$75,000s, a level that has held since August and during previous high-volatility events. A definitive drop below this threshold could expose Bitcoin to further downside, potentially approaching its weakest levels of the past several months and bringing September’s lows into play.
Market participants are closely watching key support around $75,000, as a break lower may set the stage for further declines toward recent monthly lows.
While Bitcoin options markets stayed relatively calm ahead of the jobs report, trading volumes in cash markets remained high throughout the session, as both stocks and crypto assets declined in lockstep.
As of the latest session, Bitcoin traded near $75,900.
