Bitcoin Slides to $71,478, a 12-Week Low, as Nvidia CEO Huang Resigns

Bitcoin fell to $71,478.45 on Binance's Tether market on Nov. 12, down 3.50% over 24 hours, its first close in the $71,000 range in roughly 12 weeks. The decline coincided with the immediate resignation of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation data, and the pending removal of Bitcoin-proxy Strategy from an MSCI index.

The drop marks Bitcoin's weakest level since August, and it came as risk appetite deteriorated across technology-linked assets. Unlike U.S. equities, which recovered most of their intraday losses, the crypto market stayed under pressure through the session.

What triggered the selloff?

Nvidia said on Nov. 12 that Huang had resigned effective immediately as president, chief executive officer and board member. Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress will serve as interim CEO. The founder's abrupt departure deepened management uncertainty at the AI chipmaker and rippled into speculative assets tied to the AI trade.

Nvidia shares plunged more than 13% intraday before paring losses to close down 4.34%. The Nasdaq Composite finished 0.39% lower. Bitcoin came under sustained selling after the U.S. market open and broke below the $72,000 level.

Nvidia's management turmoil hit sentiment just as macro data turned against risk assets. The October consumer price index, released on Nov. 10, rose 0.4% month over month, above the market forecast of 0.3%. Core CPI, which strips out food and energy, increased 0.3% against expectations of 0.2%.

Persistently elevated inflation revived caution about further tightening by the Federal Reserve. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury climbed to 5.12% on Nov. 12, and Brent crude gained 3.3% to $95.82 a barrel after U.S. President Donald Trump said an agreement with Iran was unnecessary.

Louis Huang, an analyst at Bitget, said higher Treasury yields and a stronger dollar could intensify recent selling pressure on Bitcoin. Rising real yields raise the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets, a dynamic that has historically compressed crypto valuations during tightening cycles.

How did index changes add pressure?

MSCI decided to exclude Strategy, the leveraged Bitcoin treasury company, from its U.S. index, with the change taking effect after the market close on Nov. 30. Anticipated selling by index-tracking funds weighed on Bitcoin-related equities and reinforced the risk-off tone across the sector.

The exclusion forces passive vehicles that replicate the MSCI U.S. index to unwind Strategy positions by the rebalance date, a mechanical flow that traders front-run in the weeks before implementation.

What could stabilize the price?

Jasper Demaere, an over-the-counter trader at Wintermute, said there was no clear sign of large-scale buying at current price levels. He added that the trend could shift if spot ETF flows turn to net inflows for several consecutive days.

That makes the daily flow data for U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs the primary indicator to watch. Sustained inflows over multiple sessions would signal institutional demand returning at the $71,000 level, while continued outflows would leave the market exposed to further downside.

Traders now face a compressed timeline: the MSCI rebalance lands Nov. 30, and any fresh inflation prints before then will shape whether Bitcoin holds the $71,000 range or retests lower support.