Bitcoin falls below $70,000 as $870 million in bullish bets are liquidated

Bitcoin traded below $70,000 on Nov. 13 as heavy liquidations hit traders betting on higher prices, extending the crypto selloff against a backdrop of rate pressure and uncertainty at NVIDIA.

CoinGlass recorded $869.89 million in Bitcoin long liquidations over the last 24 hours, compared with $31 million in short liquidations. Over four hours, it recorded $559 million in long liquidations and $16 million in shorts.

By about 10:52 UTC, Bitcoin was down to $69,224, with a rolling 24-hour low of $67,921.

The liquidation figures measure forced closures of Bitcoin positions tracked by the provider, a different measure from the change in Bitcoin's market capitalization.

Long positions benefit when prices rise. Their concentration in the liquidation figures is consistent with forced exits amplifying the decline as bullish bets come under pressure. The initial trigger remains unresolved, and position closures can involve different markets rather than a spot sale in every case.

The liquidation imbalance points to pressure on bullish positioning alongside the broader concerns about technology stocks and interest rates. Forced exits offer a plausible mechanism for amplifying the decline.

The previous US stock session ended lower, though the broad indexes' closing losses were modest. The S&P 500 fell 0.35% to 7,592 on Nov. 12, according to LSEG data carried by the Financial Times. eOption's closing recap put the Nasdaq's decline at 0.39% and the Russell 2000's at 1.66%.

The broker also described a stronger dollar and rising Treasury yields as investors anticipated tighter Federal Reserve policy. That places Bitcoin's weakness within a wider retreat from risk.

NVIDIA's leadership change remained part of that backdrop. The company announced on Nov. 12 that Jensen Huang had resigned as president, CEO and director, with Colette Kress becoming interim CEO while retaining her CFO role. Its SEC filing dates the board's acceptance of his resignation to Nov. 11, effective immediately.

Rate concerns also predated Friday's crypto decline. In a Nov. 10 speech, Fed Governor Christopher Waller said he leaned toward a 25-basis-point December increase even if October monthly inflation improved. He said a core CPI reading around 0.3% or higher could warrant considering 50 basis points. That was his individual policy view, rather than an FOMC commitment.

Microsoft was also still working to restore affected services on Friday. Its 09:57 UTC update, reproduced in Penn's Microsoft incident feed, said recovery remained variable. There is no direct link between the outage and Bitcoin's decline, however, the risk-off mentality that comes with global technological uncertainty is clearly affecting the broader market.

For Bitcoin, the immediate picture is heavy pressure on bullish positions alongside a difficult macro and technology backdrop. NVIDIA's results remain scheduled for Nov. 17, giving investors another opportunity to assess the company's outlook under interim leadership.