Bitcoin's price slipped below $72,000 on Thursday, November 12, 2026, marking a significant decline from earlier weekly highs above $76,000. The drop coincided with a wave of derivatives liquidations totaling over $656 million across the cryptocurrency market in a 24-hour period.
According to liquidation data, approximately $555 million of the total represented long position closures, with more than $100 million in shorts also liquidated. Bitcoin accounted for $237 million of the total liquidation volume, followed by ethereum at $122 million and Solana at approximately $23 million. More than 122,000 traders were liquidated during the measured period.
The largest single liquidation involved a $31.09 million BTC-USD long position on Hyperliquid, reportedly closed near $72,250. Binance represented approximately 37% of exchange-level liquidation activity, with a particularly intense wave of roughly $226.5 million in positions occurring around 8:15 a.m. Eastern time, overwhelmingly concentrated in long positions.
Bitcoin traded near $71,888 on Bitstamp as of the report's publication, with hourly price charts showing successive lower highs and lower lows from earlier levels around $76,081. Selling volume increased during sharper price declines, suggesting aggressive liquidation-driven activity.
Multiple Pressures Cited
Analysts pointed to several potential contributors to the selling pressure. Spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) withdrawals have emerged as a concern, while macroeconomic uncertainty regarding October inflation data and potential Federal Reserve tightening has weighed on risk appetite. Technology sector weakness, including leadership changes at major firms, has also been cited as a possible influence by market observers.
Additional factors mentioned include index-related pressure, contracting stablecoin supplies, and weaker U.S. buying activity reflected in Coinbase premium indicators. Traders faced an uncomfortable combination of declining prices and disappearing leverage as forced liquidations cascaded through the market.
Technical recovery to the $75,600 to $75,700 region could improve the price picture, though analysts noted this level offered no guarantee of renewed buyer interest. The immediate question for markets was whether forced selling had exhausted itself or revealed a deeper absence of willing buyers.
