Bitcoin Drops Below $72,000, Hitting Its Lowest Level Since August

Bitcoin fell below $72,000 on Nov. 12, its weakest level since August, as withdrawals from U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds and a wave of forced selling of leveraged bets added to a slide. BigGo Finance reported that the decline has erased roughly 14% of the token's value over the past month. Ether also dropped under $2,000.

Prices differed slightly between outlets because of timing. Bloomingbit, citing CoinMarketCap, put Bitcoin at $71,822.12 as of 11:31 p.m. in Korea, down 2.31% from a day earlier and 9.6% from a week earlier. Crypto News showed it near $71,421, and BigGo Finance reported about $71,450, down about 2.9% over 24 hours.

How far the market fell

According to Crypto News, Bitcoin reached an intraday low of $71,255 on Binance after a session high of $74,217. BigGo, citing CoinGlass, gave a low near $71,218 and said the token had traded around $73,500 earlier in the morning before breaking below $72,000, a level analysts had watched as support.

Other tokens fell too. BigGo reported Ether at $1,999.53, down 2.73%, while Bloomingbit had it at $1,982.84, down 3.15%. BigGo also listed Solana at $80.84, down 3.58%, and XRP at $1.0174. Dogecoin fell 5.09% and NEAR dropped 8.86%.

Forced selling and fund outflows

Derivatives trading amplified the drop. BigGo, citing CoinGlass, said about $304.5 million in Bitcoin futures positions were liquidated over 24 hours, with long, or bullish, positions making up nearly 87%, or $265.8 million. Across Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, XRP and Dogecoin, liquidations topped $479 million, about $414 million of it from bullish bets. Bitcoin futures open interest stayed near $51.1 billion, which BigGo said shows substantial leveraged exposure remains.

Institutional demand has also weakened. BigGo, citing Farside Investors, reported $299.8 million in net outflows from U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs in the last completed session, the fifth straight day of redemptions. BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust accounted for $269.7 million of that. Net withdrawals from Nov. 5 to Nov. 11 came to roughly $1.44 billion. Bitfinex Alpha, cited by Crypto News, counted $2.22 billion in withdrawals across eight sessions starting Oct. 30.

Inflation data and Fed comments

BigGo linked the pressure to expectations of higher interest rates. October consumer prices rose 0.4% from the previous month, against expectations of 0.3%, and core inflation rose 0.3% for a third straight month. BigGo reported that Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack said inflationary pressures were broadening and policy needed to be tighter. Fed governor Christopher Waller said this week that further tightening is needed to bring inflation back to the 2% target. The two-year Treasury yield rose to 4.80% during Hammack's remarks, according to BigGo.

What the charts show

Crypto News said Bitcoin dropped below the lower daily Bollinger Band, at $71,978, and below its 20-week and 50-week moving averages, at $74,220 and $75,157. The outlet noted that a move outside the band can accompany a stretched decline but that no sustained return inside it had appeared. Trader Jesse Olson wrote on Nov. 12 that

“Long liquidation clusters could speed up the move.”

Not every signal was negative. Crypto News said weekly Chaikin Money Flow remained positive at 0.10, suggesting some buying pressure persisted. Trader Daan Crypto Trades compared the pullback with the one after the 2023 banking crisis but called the current correction slower and more orderly. Crypto News stressed that this is a possible parallel, not a confirmed pattern.

Why it matters for crypto holders and fund investors

The drop affects anyone holding Bitcoin or Ether directly or through ETFs. Bitfinex estimated that 1.6 million BTC bought between $75,000 and $80,000 is now held at a loss, according to Crypto News. It put the short-term holder cost basis at $75,717 and said recent buyers could sell if prices climb back toward their purchase levels.

BigGo said the immediate question is whether spot demand returns before the leverage still outstanding is cleared out. It added that rising rate expectations make yield-bearing assets more competitive for the same money.

Levels analysts are watching

Both Crypto News and BigGo named $70,000 as the next major reference point. Crypto News listed the 200-week moving average near $68,013 below that, and BigGo cited a $68,000-$69,000 zone if selling accelerates. On the upside, BigGo said a move back above $72,000 would be a first sign of stabilization, though Bitcoin would still need to reclaim $73,000-$74,000 before testing resistance near $75,500.

Around Prague, based on reporting by bloomingbit, Crypto News, BigGo Finance

Cover photo: Satheesh Sankaran / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, cropped

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