Bitcoin Falls 5.52% on Nov 5, 2026 as AI Chip Selloff Hits Crypto

Key takeaways

• Bitcoin fell $4,437.20 (−5.52%) to $76,005.51 at the end of the UTC day Nov 5, 2026 (00:00 UTC, Nov 6), according to CoinGecko, erasing the previous day's post-election rebound.
• Ether dropped 7.73% to $2,235.77, Solana fell 6.58% to $89.23 and XRP lost 7.50% to $1.2065 on CoinGecko over the same UTC day.
• The slide tracked a rout in US technology shares: the Nasdaq Composite closed down 5.52% at 24,315.00 and the S&P 500 fell 4.36% to 7,353.73, Yahoo Finance data show.
• More than $1 billion of leveraged crypto positions, mostly bullish bets, were liquidated over 24 hours, CoinDesk reported, citing CoinGlass.
• US spot bitcoin ETFs took in $74.57 million on Wednesday, Nov 4, TokenPost reported, citing SoSoValue; flow data for Thursday had not been published in the sources Bullquill checked.

Session recap

Bitcoin fell 5.52% on Thursday, November 5, as a collapse in AI and chip stocks on Wall Street spilled into crypto. The coin held near $80,000 through the Asian and European sessions, then slid once US trading began. Binance data show a UTC-day low of $75,208.42 on its BTC/USDT market, against a high of $80,918.01. For the wider picture, see Asian and global market closes and our November 4 crypto brief.

Changes are calculated from CoinGecko's 00:00 UTC prices on November 5: bitcoin $80,442.71, ether $2,423.08, solana $95.51 and XRP $1.3043. As a cross-check, Binance's BTC/USDT daily candle closed at 76,088.01 USDT, down 5.49% from 80,504.01, and its ETH/USDT candle closed at 2,238.01, down 7.70%. Bitcoin dominance and total market value are not in the table because the two providers we checked disagreed: CoinGecko showed total crypto market value of $2.57 trillion, down 7.35% over 24 hours, with dominance of 59.30% at 00:09 UTC on November 6, while CoinPaprika showed $2.67 trillion, down 5.38%, with dominance of 57.19% at 00:17 UTC.

Trading picked up as prices fell. Binance recorded 26,059.74 BTC traded on its BTC/USDT market on Thursday, up from 22,140.43 BTC on Wednesday. Ether traded between 2,206.28 and 2,437.10 USDT on Binance, Solana between 88.30 and 97.10, and XRP between 1.2000 and 1.3271.

What drove it

AI and chip stocks collapsed

The main driver was a sell-off in US technology shares. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 12% on Thursday, its worst day since March 2020, and the Nasdaq 100 lost 6.4%, CoinDesk reported. Yahoo Finance data put the Nasdaq Composite close at 24,315.00, down from 25,736.51, and the S&P 500 at 7,353.73, down from 7,688.62. CoinDesk described it as Wall Street's worst session since the April 2025 "Liberation Day" tariff announcements. Qualcomm fell 9% before the opening bell after weak smartphone-chip guidance, CoinDesk reported at 12:41 UTC, and AMD, Micron and Intel also declined.

The midterm result turned against the AI trade

Analysts linked the stock rout to Tuesday's US midterm elections, which gave Democrats control of both chambers of Congress. "The midterms appear to have triggered this sell-off," Carlos Guzman, vice president of research at GSR, told CoinDesk, adding that investors were "worried that greater opposition to data-center expansion could slow the AI buildout." That concern hit bitcoin miners, many of which now also host AI data centers. Miners fell 15% to 20% and other digital-asset stocks sank more than 10%, CoinDesk reported, citing FalconX and GSR analysts. FalconX's Joshua Lim told CoinDesk that the post-election relief rally on Wednesday "was driven by a lot of short-covering into a well-telegraphed result."

Liquidations deepened the fall

Nearly $500 million of positions were liquidated in the first hour of US trading, GN Crypto reported, citing CoinGlass. By 16:43 UTC, more than $1 billion had been wiped out over 24 hours, mostly long positions, CoinDesk reported, citing CoinGlass. It was the largest wipeout since October 28-29. Open interest fell below $26 billion, its lowest since mid-September, CoinDesk reported, citing CoinGlass and Coinalyze. Our guide to crypto liquidations explains how forced selling works. GN Crypto reported that bitcoin hit its lowest level since September 16 during the session.

Volatility jumped across markets

Wall Street's VIX volatility index rose more than 50% to 28 by 16:05 UTC, its highest since late March, while the BVIV bitcoin volatility index rose 11% to 44, CoinDesk reported. Bonds rallied: the two-year Treasury yield fell 11 basis points to 4.47% by 19:09 UTC, its lowest since Labor Day, according to CoinDesk. Coinbase shares were down 7.8% at $136.68 during the session at 15:24 UTC, CoinDesk reported.

ETF flows turned positive before the drop

US spot bitcoin ETFs took in a net $74.57 million on Wednesday, November 4, TokenPost reported, citing SoSoValue. Fidelity's FBTC drew $236.72 million while BlackRock's IBIT lost $201.24 million. CoinDesk, also citing SoSoValue, put Wednesday's bitcoin ETF inflow at about $75 million and said ether ETFs drew $53 million. Our explainer on bitcoin ETF flows covers how these figures are compiled.

Political & policy watch

• Congress. Democrats will take control of both chambers in January, CoinDesk reported. Jeff Mei of exchange BTSE told CoinDesk that the party opposes the CLARITY Act, a crypto market-structure bill.
• Bank of England. The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee voted 8–1 to raise Bank Rate by 0.25 percentage points to 4%, according to its policy summary published on November 5. One member voted for a half-point rise to 4.25%.
• Federal Reserve. Traders had scaled back bets on a December Fed rate hike compared with late September, CoinDesk reported, citing CME FedWatch.
• US labour data. Initial jobless claims fell to 189,000 from 195,000, below a forecast of 196,000, CoinDesk reported.
• Oil and Iran. Oil prices rose on Thursday after reports of new tanker attacks in the Middle East and uncertainty about how Democrats will respond to the US-Iran war, GN Crypto reported.
• New crypto products. Nasdaq approved the listing of Canary Capital's Staked Injective ETF, CoinDesk reported.

What to watch next

• November 6 (Friday): US nonfarm payrolls for October. Economists expect 65,000 jobs after 29,000 in September, with unemployment forecast at 4.2%, CoinDesk reported.
• Week of November 9: US consumer and producer price data for October, according to CoinDesk.
• Spot ETF flows for November 5: the first read on whether funds saw redemptions during the sell-off.
• US chip stocks: whether the semiconductor sell-off continues, given how closely bitcoin miners and crypto stocks tracked it on Thursday.
• Asian session: the US sell-off ran from 14:30 UTC onward, which was late Thursday night in Jakarta, Bangkok, Singapore and Manila, so ASEAN traders see the full effect when local markets open Friday.

Risk checklist for readers

• Crypto moves with tech stocks. On November 5, bitcoin fell alongside the Nasdaq rather than acting as a hedge; correlations can change quickly.
• Leverage magnifies swings. More than $1 billion of liquidations in 24 hours shows how forced selling can extend a decline.
• Prices differ by venue and quote currency. CoinGecko's aggregated USD price and Binance's USDT-quoted close differed by $82.50 at the end of November 5.
• Market-wide totals vary by provider. CoinGecko and CoinPaprika disagreed on total market value and dominance.
• Scheduled data can move prices. Jobs and inflation releases shift rate expectations, which affect risk assets.
• Check official sources. Read central bank statements and ETF issuer disclosures in full on their own sites.

This article is for information only and is not investment advice.