Crypto Market Broadly Weakens as Tech Pressure Builds
Crypto markets showed broad weakness on Monday, with only five of the 100 largest cryptocurrencies by market value gaining 1% or more over the preceding 24 hours, CoinDesk reported.
The move came as attention returned to pressure in technology shares and a volatile derivatives market, where Biggo reported more than $1 billion in crypto futures liquidations over 24 hours.
What happened
CoinDesk reported that market breadth was notably limited on November 9. The outlet said only five of the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market value were up 1% or more over the previous 24 hours, indicating that weakness was spread across much of the market rather than concentrated in a small group of tokens.
Bitcoin traded 1% lower at $74,000 on November 9 after recovering from an overnight low of $73,761, CoinDesk reported in a separate live update. The outlet said that low was just above Bitcoin’s 200-day moving average of $73,151.
Biggo separately reported that Bitcoin had returned to the $74,000 range after falling to $73,761 the previous day, its lowest level since August according to that outlet. Biggo said Bitcoin briefly moved back above $75,000 before surrendering those gains.
There are differences in reported Bitcoin lows across coverage and trading periods. The reported levels include $73,500, $73,708 and $73,761, making it important to distinguish between intraday observations from different outlets and timestamps.
Biggo said more than $1 billion in futures positions were liquidated during the 24-hour selloff. It reported that long liquidations, positions positioned for higher prices, reached $913 million. Ethereum accounted for $448 million of the liquidation total, according to Biggo.
Why it matters
The combination of broad spot-market weakness and large derivatives liquidations highlights the role that leverage can play when major cryptocurrencies decline sharply. Biggo’s figures show that the reported liquidations were concentrated on the long side, meaning the selloff imposed substantial losses on positions expecting prices to rise.
The $73,151 200-day moving average cited by CoinDesk is also a closely watched technical reference point because Bitcoin’s overnight low of $73,761 was reported near that level. Biggo likewise identified the 200-day moving average at $73,150 as an area the market was watching for support.
Technology stocks remain relevant to crypto markets because both have at times traded as risk-sensitive assets. Decrypt reported on November 6 that Bitcoin erased a post-election rebound as a technology-stock selloff spread into cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin fell to about $76,500 in that episode, while Ethereum declined more than 5%, Decrypt said.
Decrypt also reported that roughly 90% of the top 100 cryptocurrencies were lower during that November 6 selloff. That earlier breadth measure resembles the market-wide caution described by CoinDesk on Monday, although the outlets reported on different days and under different market conditions.
Background and context
Nvidia sits at the center of the AI investment boom and U.S.-China tensions involving advanced chips. Its pre-market decline added pressure to risk-sensitive assets, with crypto trading alongside technology stocks.
CoinDesk reported that Nvidia was down more than 4% in pre-market trading on November 9 following reports involving CEO Jensen Huang. CoinDesk said Nvidia’s board had opened an independent investigation and that the company said it had no reason to believe company secrets or national security had been compromised.
The reported allegations concerning Huang had not been corroborated by a public statement from Nvidia or Huang at the time. The alleged admission, affair and espionage link should therefore be treated as report-based claims rather than established facts.
The broader technology selloff had already been significant on November 6. Yahoo Finance reported that the Nasdaq had fallen 5.5% on Thursday, while the S&P 500 dropped 4.4% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 3.4%.
Business Korea reported that technology shares led the immediate stock-market decline, citing a 5.5% plunge in the Nasdaq Composite and drops of 9.26% for Nvidia and 17.26% for AMD. The outlet said concerns that major technology companies’ AI investments could take longer to generate returns added to selling pressure.
Decrypt reported that U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded $430.2 million in net outflows on Thursday, led by Fidelity’s FBTC and BlackRock’s IBIT. It also said BlackRock’s fund had recorded five consecutive trading sessions of redemptions totaling more than $1 billion.
What to watch
Market participants will be watching whether Bitcoin remains above the 200-day moving average area cited by CoinDesk and Biggo. The two outlets placed that reference level at $73,151 and $73,150, respectively.
Another open question is whether derivatives liquidations ease after the more than $1 billion reported by Biggo, especially after $913 million in reported long liquidations and $448 million attributed to Ethereum.
The relationship between technology shares and crypto will also remain in focus following the Nasdaq’s November 6 decline, as reported by Yahoo Finance and Business Korea. Nvidia’s pre-market trading and the company’s independent investigation are separate developments that may continue to draw attention.
