Bitcoin Slides Below $70,000 as $1.64B in Liquidations Hits Leveraged Longs

Bitcoin broke below $70,000 on November 13 for the first time since August, touching $67,770 as crypto liquidations reached $1.64 billion over 24 hours, according to CoinGlass data. Ether fell to $1,900. Both assets sat at their lowest levels in roughly 12 weeks — bitcoin's weakest print since August 19, ether's since August 18.

The trigger was macro, not crypto-native. Stronger-than-expected U.S. inflation data lifted the Dollar Index above 103, its highest level since April 2025, and pushed Treasury yields higher. CME's FedWatch tool put the probability of a 25-basis-point Federal Reserve rate increase in December at 88%, with a 12% chance of a larger 50-basis-point move. Higher rates make cash and yield-bearing assets more attractive next to bitcoin, which pays no interest.

What did the liquidation data show?

The damage concentrated in leveraged long positions. Longs accounted for 88.7% of the $1.64 billion in liquidations across 24 hours. Bitcoin futures contributed $916 million of that, with 95.2% on the long side. Ether added $289 million, 89.5% of it longs. The single largest wipeout was a $31.1 million bitcoin long on Hyperliquid, force-closed at $72,250.

"The sharp leg lower in crypto looks like a leverage event as BTC broke key levels," said Rick Maeda, head of markets at Laevitas. He noted that long positions clustered below $70,000 were flushed out rapidly once bitcoin broke that threshold during Asian trading hours.

Derivatives volumes tell the rest of the story. Crypto futures volume jumped 58.3% to $269.1 billion, while open interest — the value of outstanding contracts — fell 4.6% to $120.2 billion. That combination signals forced closures and capital leaving the market. Sell-side trades made up 51.9% of taker volume.

Which assets took the heaviest positioning hits?

The selling spread well beyond the two largest tokens. Solana traded below $80. XRP approached $1. Among major derivatives markets, bitcoin showed the most negative cumulative volume delta over 24 hours, followed by Uniswap's UNI, Dogecoin and Sui's SUI.

Positioning diverged by asset. Bitcoin and ether open interest fell less than their prices did, leaving committed capital roughly steady. Solana, Zcash and Dogecoin saw open-interest declines far larger than their price drops — a clearer signal of traders exiting positions outright.

Funding rates turned negative across bitcoin, ether, XRP, Solana and Tron's TRX, meaning shorts were paying longs. In options, bitcoin's one-week 25-delta skew reached about 14%, showing downside protection cost more than upside exposure. The most actively traded ether contract was the $1,800 put expiring November 20.

Are ETF investors pulling out too?

Yes, and the streak is now six sessions. U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs recorded $47.7 million in net withdrawals on November 12, per Farside Investors, extending a run of outflows totaling roughly $1.44 billion. Since the start of November, withdrawals have reached about $1.88 billion.

Equity markets added pressure from another direction. Nvidia confirmed that Jensen Huang resigned as chief executive and board member, with CFO Colette Kress stepping in as interim CEO. Nvidia shares fell 4%, weighing on technology sentiment — and bitcoin tends to track tech stocks closely.

What happens next?

Two dates now frame the market's risk calculus. October producer-price data lands November 13, with economists expecting a 0.4% monthly increase. The Federal Reserve's next meeting runs December 8–9. Until then, positioning data suggests the leverage has been cleared but the rate path — and the ETF outflow streak — remains the swing factor for whether $70,000 holds as resistance or breaks back into support.