Bitcoin, Ether and XRP fall as crypto liquidity and ETF flows weaken

What happened

Cryptocurrency markets sold off on Friday, November 13, with Bitcoin falling below $69,000 and major altcoins posting steep losses. Crypto.news market data put Bitcoin near $68,388, down 7% over 24 hours, while Ether fell 6.2% to $1,922. Solana lost 5.9% to $78.30, BNB dropped 6.8% to $631 and XRP declined 4% to about $1. CoinGape later reported Bitcoin below $68,000, Ether under $1,900, BNB below $630 and XRP briefly below $1, showing how quickly intraday levels moved.

The drop followed a leadership shock at Nvidia. CoinGape reported that the chipmaker announced Jensen Huang's departure on Thursday, a day after its board accepted his resignation, citing a securities filing. Finance chief Colette Kress was named interim CEO while keeping her finance role. Nvidia shares fell about 10% in premarket trading and selling spread to AI-infrastructure stocks such as CoreWeave. Bitcoin had already fallen below $73,000 on Thursday before extending losses in Asian trading.

Macro and geopolitical developments added pressure. Reports said stronger US inflation figures increased expectations that the Federal Reserve could raise rates again in December, strengthening the dollar and Treasury yields. CoinGape noted traders were awaiting October producer price data due at 8:30 a.m. ET on Friday. Crypto.news also cited Middle East tensions after Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed it attacked a US early-warning radar installation in Bahrain; US and Bahraini authorities had not immediately confirmed the claim.

Why it matters

Glassnode's warning that stablecoin supply has contracted by $14.2 billion over 30 days points to a narrower base of dollar-linked capital available for crypto trading. Stablecoins such as USDT and USDC are commonly held before buying Bitcoin, Ether and other tokens; when investors redeem them for dollars, the supply in circulation falls. Glassnode warned the decline leaves less capital to support a rally. Combined with ETF withdrawals and forced liquidations, the data suggests weaker demand and mechanical selling are both weighing on prices. CoinGape said the fear and greed index stood at 19, indicating extreme fear.

What the data shows

Crypto.news readings showed Monero down 11.1% to $510.71 and Zcash down 9.1% to $892.51, with Dogecoin off 6% at $0.06323 and Chainlink down 4.2% at $9.67. Avalanche, Uniswap, Aave, Hedera and NEAR each fell roughly 6% or more in later readings. Liquidation estimates varied: Crypto.news cited CoinGlass data showing $1.23 billion in crypto liquidations over a rolling 24-hour period, including $677.5 million in Bitcoin and $249.8 million in Ether, mostly from traders betting on higher prices. CoinGape reported about $1.6 billion in futures liquidations over 24 hours and noted an earlier tally near $1.3 billion after Bitcoin broke below $70,000. Glassnode said buy orders between $68,000 and $72,500 had outnumbered sell orders within 5% of Bitcoin's trading price since November 5, though exchange orders can be withdrawn before execution.

Background

The liquidity decline is the largest since June 2022, when crypto markets saw heavy withdrawals after the collapse of Terra, according to Glassnode's November 11 report. The firm found Bitcoin traded below the average purchase price of recent investors, near $75,600. US spot Bitcoin ETFs lost roughly $1.6 billion across 20 trading sessions. Crypto.news cited Farside Investors data showing $299.8 million in Bitcoin ETF withdrawals on November 11, including $269.7 million from BlackRock's IBIT, while Ether funds lost $144.8 million, with BlackRock's ETHA accounting for $129.8 million. CoinGape, citing SoSoValue, reported about $300 million in Bitcoin ETF outflows and $145 million from Ether funds.

What is still unclear

Some details remained unsettled. The two reports gave different rolling liquidation totals, reflecting different data snapshots and providers. They also described slightly different intraday price levels as the selloff developed. The Iranian claim about an attack on a US radar installation in Bahrain had not been immediately confirmed by US or Bahraini authorities. Those gaps mean the full scale of forced selling and the geopolitical picture may change as more official information becomes available.

What to watch

Near-term catalysts include the October US producer price index, scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. CoinGape noted that a reading above the 6.6% forecast could strengthen rate-hike bets, while a weaker figure could ease pressure. ETF flow data will show whether institutional withdrawals continue, and stablecoin supply trends will indicate whether liquidity is still shrinking. CoinGape also cited levels to watch: Bitcoin was testing $68,000 after falling toward $67,500, with $70,000 as a first rebound hurdle; Ether's next downside level was $1,850 if buyers failed to reclaim $1,900, with resistance near $2,000; BNB faced a test near $620 and $600, while XRP risked a retest of its August low near $0.985. MSCI plans to remove Strategy, a major corporate Bitcoin holder, from its USA Index after the November 30 close, requiring tracking funds to sell shares.

Questions readers ask