Bitcoin has fallen to its lowest level in nearly three months as a sharp sell-off in Nvidia shares spread across markets.
The price traded as low as $71,200 on Thursday, 12 November, its weakest in nearly 12 weeks. Ether slipped below $1,990, its lowest since August, and Solana and XRP each fell more than 3.5% over 24 hours.
More than $750 million in leveraged crypto positions were liquidated over 24 hours, including more than $634 million in bets on rising prices, according to CoinGlass.
Nvidia’s leadership shock
The fall followed news that Jensen Huang had resigned as president, chief executive and board member of chipmaker Nvidia, with immediate effect, after 33 years in charge. Nvidia named its chief financial officer, Colette Kress, as interim chief executive while it searches for a permanent replacement.
Nvidia shares fell as much as 14% on Thursday. Nvidia did not give a reason for Huang’s departure.
Shares of Bitcoin miners that have expanded into data centres, including Cipher Digital, IREN and TeraWulf, fell between 5% and 10%.
Crypto platforms felt it first
The sell-off also showed how closely crypto markets are now tied to traditional stocks. Perpetual futures tracking Nvidia shares on Hyperliquid, which trade around the clock, fell nearly 12% to $160.99 as the news spread.
A market already under pressure
Bitcoin was already weak before Thursday’s news. It had fallen about 14% over the past month, and was still feeling the effects of last week’s strong US jobs data, which raised expectations of a Federal Reserve rate rise in December.
US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded net outflows of $299.8 million on Wednesday, according to SoSoValue, their fifth losing day in a row, with about $1.44 billion leaving the funds over that run.
Markets have also been watching for possible selling linked to MSCI’s review of companies that hold crypto on their balance sheets.
What happens next
Nvidia is due to report its quarterly results on 17 November, which will be the next big test for tech stocks and, with them, Bitcoin. A move back above about $73,000 would show the market has steadied.
