Bitcoin Holds Near $76k as Nasdaq Enters Correction

Bitcoin Magazine Pro data indicates that on Thursday afternoon the bitcoin price hovered around $76,000, losing over 5% for the day after falling into the mid-$75,000 range. The selloff, driven by Nasdaq with chip and AI stocks, turned into a formal correction and triggered more than $1 billion in liquidations.

The afternoon downturn worsened the earlier crash, which had already wiped out overnight gains above $80,000. Bitcoin briefly hit support around $75,400 before finding stability just below $76,000 during the last hour of U.S. cash trading.

In the afternoon, bitcoin was near $75,900, heading for its steepest daily drop since June. The decline erased the short-squeeze recovery from Wednesday in just one day. Borrowed-money buyers of the midterm rebound were the first to be liquidated when stocks broke at the opening, and the bitcoin price failed to recover the $77,000 level that had provided morning support.

Nasdaq’s correction pulls crypto lower

Wall Street led the way. According to CNBC, the Nasdaq Composite declined roughly 5% on Thursday, entering correction territory at more than 10% below its record close from last month. The S&P 500 dropped about 4%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost over 1,600 points.

Chip stocks paced the selloff. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell nearly 11%, and the iShares Semiconductor ETF recorded its largest single-day decline since March 2020. Nvidia and Broadcom each slid roughly 9%, Qualcomm fell by a similar margin, and Tesla dropped around 11%.

Market participants are now factoring in a more gradual AI data-center expansion under Democratic control of Congress. Concerns about construction halts and tighter credit for neoclouds have pressed on semiconductor and infrastructure stocks since the midterm elections, CNBC reported. Analysts stated that the $1.2 trillion in projected AI capital expenditure for next year is being reassessed.

For much of the year, bitcoin has tracked the AI-focused segment. Miners who sold their bitcoin holdings to finance data-center builds are now exposed to both areas, meaning that political risk on energy and construction affects the same stocks that formerly moved largely on bitcoin's own price.

Leverage flush grows past $1 billion

Selling pressure from liquidations weighed on the bitcoin price through the afternoon. About $1.08 billion in leveraged crypto positions were wiped out over a 24-hour period, with roughly $954 million in longs, as futures markets reversed positions accumulated in Wednesday's short squeeze.

Nearly $900 million of those liquidations occurred in about four hours following the U.S. market open, converting a stock-driven breakdown into a wave of margin calls. Ether dropped under $2,300 as the same leverage was flushed out.

Crypto stocks also declined. Strategy (MSTR), Coinbase (COIN) and Circle (CRCL) each lost over 10%, while bitcoin miners fell as much as 20%. Keel Infrastructure (KEEL), which liquidated its full bitcoin stash for $192 million, dropped around 20%. CleanSpark (CLSK), Cipher (CIFR) and TeraWulf (WULF) each fell more than 12%.

What comes next for bitcoin price

The upcoming catalysts include the October jobs report on Friday, followed by the October CPI on Nov. 10 and the Federal Reserve's decision on Dec. 9. Policy uncertainty is also rising, as House Democrats are working on a market structure bill before they take over committees in January.

Market participants are monitoring whether bitcoin can maintain the mid-$75,000 zone, which acted as support on election night and on multiple occasions since August. A decisive break below that level could open the door for further declines, bringing bitcoin near its lowest point in months and putting the September trough back into focus.

Options markets have been subdued heading into the jobs report, but spot trading has been active. Volume remained high throughout the afternoon as equities and cryptocurrencies moved down together rather than diverging.

Bitcoin was trading close to $75,900 at the time of writing.