Bitcoin Breaks $70K as ETF Outflows and $1.4B Liquidations Bite

Bitcoin fell below $70,000 on Friday, November 13, as crypto-wide liquidations exceeded $1.4 billion and BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust recorded more than $2 billion in net outflows across nine consecutive trading sessions through November 11. According to CoinGecko, BTC traded at $69,081 at 07:27 UTC, down 5.93% over 24 hours.

The break capped a retreat that began at $81,000 the previous Wednesday and accelerated through the week. Bitcoin lost 9.2% over the preceding seven days and 17% quarter-to-date. At $69,081, the asset sat roughly 14.7% below that $81,000 high — a level it surrendered in stages: below $76,000 within 24 hours, below $74,000 at the start of the business week, then below $73,000 after the October US consumer price index exceeded expectations.

How Much Leverage Was Cleared?

Nearly $500 million in futures positions were liquidated around the break below $70,000 alone, according to CoinDesk. CoinGlass figures cited by CryptoPotato put total 24-hour crypto liquidations above $1.4 billion, with approximately $1.26 billion — about 89% of the combined total — coming from long positions and $155 million from shorts.

More than 170,000 traders were liquidated. Bitcoin accounted for $742 million of the market-wide total, well above ether's $250 million. The single largest closure was a $31.09 million bullish Bitcoin position on Hyperliquid. Losses on leveraged longs reduced collateral, prompting exchanges to close positions and feed forced selling back into a falling market.

What Does This Change for ETF Investors?

The redemption pressure is the structural story. BlackRock's IBIT bled more than $2 billion over nine straight sessions, and broader US spot Bitcoin funds shed nearly $1.44 billion over five sessions. Preliminary Farside Investors figures showed a further $47.7 million in net outflows for Thursday, November 12, with BlackRock and Fidelity results still pending — meaning Friday's partial tally could rise.

What does this change for practitioners? Friday's price break arrived while institutional capital was already exiting the ETF wrapper, meaning the selling had a persistent bid-side driver rather than a single catalyst. Continued withdrawals would keep that pressure in focus even after the immediate burst of liquidations eases.

Thin Order Books Met Elevated Leverage

Talos senior research associate Tanay Ved identified the conditions that turned a decline into a cascade. Bitcoin order-book depth across major exchanges fell to $72 million on November 9, roughly 33% below normal, while leverage stayed elevated.

"Liquidity remains thin while leverage stays elevated, leaving the market vulnerable to sharp moves in either direction," Ved said. He added: "A rebuild in order-book depth and a turn in capital flows would provide a firmer foundation for recovery."

Macro Drivers: Dollar, Yields, Fed Expectations

Giottus CEO Vikram Subburaj attributed the weakness to institutional outflows, tightening crypto liquidity and expectations of a December Federal Reserve rate increase. The hotter-than-expected October CPI shifted market expectations toward a half-percentage-point hike in December.

10x Research framed the decline through rates and currency markets. Between November 5 and November 12, Bitcoin fell 5.9% while the Nasdaq 100 gained 6.4% and gold dropped 5.5%. The firm said Bitcoin was increasingly trading alongside gold as the US 10-year Treasury yield climbed above 5% and the Dollar Index rose above 103 — its highest level since April 2025, up nearly 2% since early October.

The Selloff Was Broad

Ether fell below $2,000, XRP traded close to $1 and Solana slipped below $80. Smaller tokens including GT, Stacks and XMR lost at least 7% on the day. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index reached 20 on Friday, its lowest reading in more than four months and a return to the extreme-fear level last seen on July 8.

For leveraged traders, the breadth mattered: bullish exposure across multiple assets was cleared simultaneously, leaving rebound positions particularly exposed.

What Comes Next

Three concrete items now frame the market into December: the completion of Thursday's fund-flow figures, the direction of subsequent ETF sessions, and the Federal Reserve's December rate decision. Ved's framework ties recovery to both a rebuild in order-book depth and a turn in capital flows — conditions that address the market's capacity to absorb trades and the direction of institutional money. Until order books thicken and ETF redemptions slow, the vulnerabilities Talos identified remain active in both directions.