Bitcoin fell to an 11-week low on Friday, touching $74,780.91 intraday — its weakest price since August 21, 77 days earlier — before trading near $75,570. The crypto market's retreat followed a brutal selloff in AI stocks and another round of forced position closures in derivatives markets that pushed liquidations above $1 billion.

According to CoinGlass data, $1.05 billion in crypto positions were liquidated across its tracked markets over the preceding 24 hours. Long positions, which profit when prices rise, accounted for $930.04 million, or 88.2% of the total, compared with $124.69 million in shorts. The imbalance shows that the immediate derivatives stress was concentrated among bullish traders rather than short sellers.

BTC Lows in November

That 80%-20% gap in liquidations also matches the overall sentiment tracked by the Fear and Greed Index, which stood at 28 points out of 100 — approaching extreme fear — where 0 is a state of maximum fear among traders and 100 is maximum greed. For context, the index sat at neutral just a week ago, before the midterm elections.

Bitcoin accounted for $267.20 million of the liquidation total, with 88.9% coming from long positions, while Ethereum recorded $167.14 million, 81.1% of it long.

A liquidation occurs when an exchange automatically closes a position because its collateral is no longer sufficient, sometimes adding selling pressure to an existing decline. Unlike normal trading, in which investors can hold through any unrealized loss, trading with leverage offers only a narrow maneuver window that can end in the loss of all funds once an asset moves above or below a specific price. The scale of long liquidations therefore makes the $74,780.91 intraday low and the next daily close important levels for gauging whether derivatives-driven pressure is continuing.

AI stocks plunge, then recover some ground

Post-midterm election fear is spreading on Wall Street, and U.S. technology stocks took the first big hit on Thursday. The Nasdaq Composite fell 5.52%, its worst session in 19 months, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunged more than 12% and Nvidia alone lost over 9%.

Democratic victories in Tuesday's midterm elections raised concerns that tougher AI regulation could slow construction of the data centers behind this year's chip rally. The S&P 500 lost 4.36% on Thursday, erasing roughly $3 trillion in market value across its constituent companies.

Bitcoin had already given back its post-election relief rally as chipmakers sank, as Decrypt reported Thursday. Forced closures of bullish crypto positions accelerated the fall, though the simultaneous moves in stocks and tokens do not necessarily mean the equity rout alone caused Bitcoin's decline.

A stronger-than-expected U.S. October jobs report also increased expectations of another Federal Reserve rate hike in December. Higher borrowing costs can weigh on speculative markets, leaving crypto exposed even as chip shares recover.

Bitcoin price: what the charts say

Bitcoin currently trades near $75,570, with the daily candle still forming after a low of $74,780.91. The weekly chart shows another red candle and a sequence of lower highs since September, when Bitcoin briefly traded above $87,000.

The 50-day exponential moving average (EMA), which gives more weight to recent prices, sits near $79,756, above the 200-day EMA around $76,497. That ordering remains bullish on a longer view, but Bitcoin is now trading below both averages — a sign the latest decline has overtaken the lagging bullish signal.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) reads 37.7, below the neutral 50 mark but still above the 30 level generally considered oversold. The Average Directional Index (ADX) sits at 19.7, typical of trendless conditions, though the negative directional indicator exceeds the positive one, pointing to weak but bearish directional pressure.

Immediate support lies at $74,780, the intraday low marked on the chart. A daily close below it would shift attention toward the $73,000 to $72,500 area around August's breakout, followed by the psychological $70,000 level if that zone fails.

On a recovery, Bitcoin would first face the 200-day EMA near $76,497, followed by weak immediate resistance near $80,000. Friday's daily candle is still open, with its $74,780.91 low the immediate level to defend.