Bitcoin selloff tests resolve of committed investors

The latest leg down is less about one dramatic headline and more about pressure stacking up from several directions at once. A stronger US dollar, speculation about a December Federal Reserve rate hike and a steady drain from spot ETFs all landed on the same market in the same week.

The first crack came when Bitcoin slipped below $70,000. From there, it drifted toward its 200-week moving average, which sat around $67,800–$68,000. Bitcoin did not hold above it for long. The break toward the low-$60,000s turned a technical test into a full-blown stress event.

Leverage made everything worse. Approximately $1.2 billion in leveraged long positions were wiped out across November 13-14, all within a 24-hour window. Longs accounted for more than 80-90% of total liquidations during that stretch. The exchanges closed them out automatically as collateral evaporated.

ETF outflows signal weakening institutional support

Before the sharpest drop, US spot Bitcoin ETFs had already been bleeding. Net outflows totaled approximately $1.91 billion between November 5 and November 13, spanning seven consecutive trading days. Several of those sessions saw withdrawals ranging from $185–300 million.

That is not a rounding error for products that were supposed to be the steady institutional bid underneath the market. Seven straight days of exits suggest the patience of at least some allocators wore thin well before the liquidation cascade arrived. The selloff did not create the nervousness. It exposed it.

Market sentiment turns to extreme fear

Zoom out and the numbers get starker. Bitcoin is down more than 20% since late October 2026. It also sits nearly 47% below its October 2025 all-time high of approximately $126,000. Roughly a year after the peak, holders who bought the euphoria are looking at a price that has nearly been cut in half.

Sentiment followed price. Market mood swung to “extreme fear,” and the damage spread past Bitcoin, with Ethereum and other major assets posting significant declines of their own.

Key factors to watch for the next few weeks

The first thing to watch is the 200-week moving average. Whether Bitcoin can reclaim the $67,800–$68,000 zone, or keeps trading below it, will shape how traders read the next few weeks. The second is ETF flows. Seven consecutive days of outflows totaling approximately $1.91 billion established a pattern.

A reversal back to inflows would signal that institutional buyers see value at these levels. More red days would suggest the opposite. The third is the Federal Reserve. With speculation building around a December rate decision, any signal from policymakers could move the dollar, and the dollar has been one of the clearest drivers of this selloff.

There is also a structural lesson in the liquidation figures. When more than 80-90% of liquidations hit one side of the trade, it shows how lopsided positioning had become.