Bitcoin's Sharp Decline Linked to US Selling Pressure
Bitcoin fell more than $10,000 this week, trading at $65,116 for a 12.4% loss. According to Anchorage Digital researcher David Lawant, sell pressure originates primarily from the United States, with heavy net taker sell flow concentrated on Coinbase compared with overseas exchanges.
US spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced substantial outflows, losing $2.35 billion over the past two weeks. Bitcoin fell after the US market open on all but two of the past fifteen days, according to influencer Axel Bitblaze.
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao denied that his exchange contributed to the crash, stating he had purchased crypto in recent days. He attributed the decline to multiple factors: money shifting toward the Anthropic IPO, Bitcoin ETF outflows, security concerns following the Binance hack, and hot inflation data raising expectations of interest rate hikes.
Bitcoin fell to a four-month low near $62,000 on Sunday before rebounding above $65,000. The Crypto Fear and Greed Index fell to 10, indicating extreme fear.
Historical Precedent Offers Mixed Signals
Bitcoin more than doubled in price within 12 months following the midterm elections in both 2018 and 2022, suggesting potential recovery patterns, though current market conditions remain uncertain.
NVIDIA CEO Huang Discusses Potential Return
Following his resignation as CEO and board member on November 12, Jensen Huang has been discussing a possible comeback to lead NVIDIA, according to the Financial Times. Huang resigned after news emerged of two affairs, including one involving a subordinate.
An independent board probe is examining allegations that Huang was romantically involved with a Chinese spy who helped ferry chips to China. Despite the investigation, multiple confidants confirmed Huang has discussed returning with supporters who have established a "war room" to reinstate him.
A petition to reinstate Huang has garnered more than 100,000 signatures, including 5,600 current NVIDIA employees, alongside support from SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney.
NVIDIA shares declined following Huang's resignation, with Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress named interim CEO. The turmoil has weighed on AI stocks and risk assets including cryptocurrency.
Ethereum Eyes Quantum-Resistant Upgrade
Ethereum research group Ethlabs is withdrawing its Quick Slots proposal from the forthcoming Hegotá upgrade and has urged core developers to prepare the network against quantum computing threats by 2027. The group outlined "pqai27," a proposed roadmap targeting quantum and artificial intelligence resilience, with researcher Justin Drake indicating hopes for completion in 2028 while the published roadmap targets December 2029.
Market Movements
At the end of the week, Bitcoin traded at $65,158 (down 12.7%), Ethereum at $1,822 (down 14.4%), and XRP at $0.96 (down 13.3%). The total cryptocurrency market cap reached $2.2 trillion.
Index provider MSCI confirmed the removal of Bitcoin treasury company Strategy from its global equity indexes, effective after market close on November 30, due to questions about whether crypto treasury firms qualify as operating businesses. Japan's Metaplanet and crypto treasury firm Upexi are also marked for deletion.
US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $2.35 billion in net outflows over two consecutive weeks, with redemptions exceeding $1 billion each week. This marked the largest weekly redemptions since late June.
