Bitcoin and ether slide as regulation, hack and outflows weigh on crypto

What happened

Bitcoin and ether extended a sharp slide as crypto traders weighed US political results, the fallout from a major exchange breach and weakening institutional demand. Crypto.news reported bitcoin at $74,584, down 1.4% over 24 hours and 4.9% over the week, while ether traded at $2,137 after a 4.4% daily drop and a 7.4% weekly decline. The outlet said both assets had touched their lowest levels since August during late Sunday trading.

The selloff deepened in the following session. CryptoPotato reported that bitcoin fell to $72,700, its lowest price since an August breakout, after a US consumer price index reading came in higher than expected on a monthly basis. Ether dropped more than 5% to $2,010, XRP traded below $1.05, SOL fell 5% to $82 and ZEC slid almost 13% to $1,030, the outlet said.

Several forces were cited across the reports. Democratic victories in both chambers of Congress in the US midterms raised concern about stricter cryptocurrency regulation and slower progress on industry-backed market structure legislation. The reported $6.34 billion Binance hack on October 29 continued to hurt sentiment, and US spot bitcoin and ether ETFs recorded $530.1 million in combined net outflows on November 5. Losses in US technology stocks and stronger employment data also weighed on risk assets as investors reassessed Federal Reserve rate expectations.

Why it matters

The damage was concentrated in altcoins, which fell harder than bitcoin as leverage was cleared out. CryptoPotato, citing CoinGlass, said nearly $700 million in positions were liquidated over 24 hours, including $570 million in longs, while ether accounted for $252 million of the total and bitcoin close to $200 million. Coinpedia said the worst of the selling may have slowed but cautioned that the market was not out of danger. It reported that ether and XRP still looked weak and that bitcoin was testing the lower end of a $74,000 to $76,000 support zone. It also noted that bitcoin dominance was testing 60.5% to 61%, a ceiling that had held for about a year, a level altcoin traders were watching.

What the data shows

Price and flow data painted a volatile picture. Crypto.news put bitcoin daily volume near $21 billion and ether at about $10.5 billion. The November 5 ETF outflows split into $430.2 million from bitcoin funds and $99.9 million from ether funds. CryptoPotato reported that $580 million was liquidated in four hours alone, including $484 million in longs, and that more than 115,000 traders were wiped out over 24 hours, with the largest single position worth more than $31 million on HTX. Crypto.news also noted that ether's decline on November 6 triggered about $210 million in liquidations, including $179 million from leveraged longs.

Background

The political backdrop has shifted. The crypto industry spent more than $300 million supporting crypto-friendly candidates from both parties across the current and previous election cycles, according to Crypto.news. President Donald Trump's administration had taken a more accommodating approach, including lighter enforcement, the creation of a strategic bitcoin reserve and wider access to crypto-related financial products. The midterm results complicated that environment, with Democratic lawmakers discussing changes to market structure legislation, stronger investor protections and expanded SEC oversight.

The Binance incident added a security and custody dimension. The FBI attributed the attack to North Korean-linked hackers, while Binance said it would cover customer losses, reopened withdrawals after a temporary pause and was working with industry partners to trace and freeze stolen assets. Crypto.news reported that customers withdrew a net $4.72 billion after services resumed, about 2.8% of assets held on the platform. Santiment later reported that about 28,316 BTC left Binance-associated wallets through November 5 and that bitcoin social sentiment had deteriorated sharply.

What to watch

Market participants are watching whether ETF flows stabilize, how Binance customers respond after withdrawals resumed, and whether the regulatory debate in Washington changes the outlook for crypto legislation. Macro data remain in focus after the inflation release and stronger employment figures shifted expectations for Federal Reserve policy; Crypto.news said market pricing indicated a probability approaching 80% for another rate hike in December. Traders are also monitoring bitcoin's support zone and dominance level, which Coinpedia said could influence how altcoins perform.

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