Why is bitcoin down today: BTC breaks below $72,000 as liquidations top $656 million and Polymarket lifts $70,000 dip odds
There is no single cause. Bitcoin.com News lists several pressures at once: withdrawals from US spot bitcoin ETFs, firm October inflation data and talk of Fed tightening, index-related pressure on Strategy, a contracting stablecoin supply and weaker US buying on Coinbase premium indicators. The day's new shock was Nvidia: the company said Jensen Huang resigned as CEO, and its shares opened 13% lower, which hit risk appetite across technology and crypto. The rest of the market followed bitcoin down. Ether traded at $2,016.95 on Binance at 18:17 UTC, down 3.47% in 24 hours, and solana at $81.64, down 4.27%.
What the market is pricing
Polymarket's price-path markets moved sharply as the floor gave way. The weekly "dip to $72,000" contract has already closed at Yes:
| Polymarket contract | Price (Yes) | 24h change | Read (UTC) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dip to $70,000, week of Nov 9 to 15 | 40% (bid 39, ask 41) | +28.5 pts | 18:17 |
| Dip to $68,000, same week | 13.5% | +8 pts | 18:17 |
| Reach $76,000, same week | 8.5% | -46 pts | 18:17 |
| Dip to $70,000 by Dec 31, 2026 | 80.5% (bid 80, ask 81) | +19 pts | 18:17 |
| Dip to $65,000 by Dec 31, 2026 | 45.5% | +15 pts | 18:17 |
| Dip to $60,000 by Dec 31, 2026 | 25.5% | +6 pts | 18:17 |
The year-end $70,000 contract had traded at 68.5% at 15:48 UTC, according to a BetG8 desk reading, so it gained another 12 points in the following hours. The price only needs one touch of $70,000 on the reference source before the deadline, so with spot about 2.7% above that level, a high reading is unsurprising. Our earlier article on the $70,000 market after CPI explains how these touch contracts work.
Where the liquidations came from
Per the CoinGlass figures cited by Bitcoin.com, more than 122,000 traders were liquidated in 24 hours. Bitcoin accounted for about $237 million, ether $122 million and solana about $23 million, and Binance for about 37% of exchange-level liquidations. The largest single order was a $31.09 million BTC long on Hyperliquid, closed near $72,250. About $226.5 million had been liquidated around 8:15 a.m. ET, so the break below $72,000 added a large share of the total within roughly an hour, as forced sellers pushed price into the next layer of stops.
Funding and flows
Leverage has been cut but not flipped. On BetG8's live crypto funding rates page, BTC perpetual funding on Hyperliquid read +11.0% annualized (0.0013% per hour) at 18:19 UTC, the baseline rate, with open interest of $2.81 billion. Positive funding means longs still pay shorts, so there is no sign yet of the crowded short positioning that often comes before a squeeze. On flows, CoinDesk, citing SoSoValue, reported $299.9 million of US spot bitcoin ETF outflows on Wednesday, the fifth straight day, taking the total since November 5 to about $1.44 billion; BlackRock's IBIT accounted for $269.7 million. CoinDesk also noted CME FedWatch pricing about a 90% chance of a December Fed hike.
What to watch next
Whether $70,000 holds before Sunday's weekly expiry, and the next ETF flow print for a sixth day of outflows. Nvidia reports earnings on November 17, which could move risk assets again. Bitcoin.com cited the $75,600 to $75,700 area as a level traders watch on any rebound. A turn to negative funding would signal that shorts are piling in. For the Fed side, see our Fed rate decision odds page.
Method and limits
Spot prices are Binance 24-hour ticker readings at 18:17 UTC; 24-hour changes are computed from the ticker's open price. Polymarket prices come from the public Gamma API with market timestamps of 18:17 UTC, shown as midpoints where bid and ask differ. Liquidation totals are CoinGlass figures as reported by Bitcoin.com News and change by the minute. Funding is Hyperliquid only, from BetG8's live page. Prices are not forecasts, and nothing here is investment advice.
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Frequently asked questions
Why is bitcoin down today?
Bitcoin fell below $72,000 on November 12, 2026 amid spot ETF outflows, Fed tightening expectations and risk-off trading after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang resigned. More than $656 million of crypto positions were liquidated in 24 hours, per CoinGlass via Bitcoin.com.
What is the bitcoin price now?
BTCUSDT traded at $71,888.95 on Binance at 18:17 UTC on November 12, 2026, down 3.47% in 24 hours, with a 24-hour low of $71,255.02.
Will bitcoin drop to $70,000?
At 18:17 UTC Polymarket priced a dip to $70,000 during the week of November 9 to 15 at about 40%, and by December 31 at 80.5%. These are market prices, not predictions.
Sources
- Bitcoin.com News, Bitcoin price breaks below $72K in $656M liquidation bloodbath
- TokenPost, Bitcoin falls below $72,000
- CoinDesk, Bitcoin dips with Nvidia as ETF outflows reach day five
- Polymarket, What price will Bitcoin hit November 9-15? and in 2026?, read 18:17 UTC, November 12, 2026
- Binance, BTCUSDT spot, read 18:17 UTC
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