Bitcoin Price Today: BTC Falls Below $76,000 as AI Stocks Crash — 5 Numbers That Decide $75,000 or $82,000
Bitcoin crashed from $81,105 to $75,468 in hours as the AI trade unwound — the Nasdaq's worst day since April 2025, miners down 17%, and $1B liquidated. The Texas data-center moratorium is the trigger, and Friday's jobs report decides what happens next.
Bitcoin lost $5,637 in hours on Thursday, November 5 — crashing from $81,105 to $75,468 — and the trigger had nothing to do with crypto. The Nasdaq suffered its worst day since Donald Trump's tariff rollout in April 2025, AI chip stocks collapsed, and Bitcoin fell right alongside them. If you still think of Bitcoin as "digital gold" that moves on its own, Thursday was the day that idea took its hardest hit of 2026.
The Nasdaq plunged as much as 5.7% into correction territory, more than 10% below its October 6 record. The chip index dropped over 10%, miners reinvented as AI data centers fell 13% to 17%, and over $1 billion in leveraged crypto positions was liquidated in 24 hours, per CoinGlass data cited by CoinDesk. This article explains what happened, why Bitcoin now trades like an AI stock, and the five numbers that decide whether BTC reclaims $82,000 or breaks $75,000 next.
What Happened on Thursday, November 5
Wednesday had looked like a turning point. After Democrats won both houses of Congress in the November 3 midterms, Bitcoin jumped 5.7% to about $80,484, Ethereum surged 7.5% to roughly $2,425, and Zcash led large caps with an 11.7% rise to $1,318. Oil dropped around 8%, stocks rallied, and U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs took in $74.6 million — their first net inflow of November. Fidelity's FBTC alone attracted $236.7 million, though BlackRock's IBIT lost $201.2 million the same day.
Then Thursday opened and the mood flipped. Selling started in Asia, where SK Hynix fell 9.5% and Samsung dropped 7.6%, and spread to Europe. By the New York open the rout was in full swing: the Nasdaq fell more than 2% in the opening minutes, the S&P 500 dropped 2.2%, and Bitcoin slid from above $80,800 toward $79,000.
By 10 a.m. Eastern, the selling accelerated. Bitstamp data shows Bitcoin falling from its $81,105 peak to $76,059, and by 10:55 a.m. it had touched a session low of $75,468, as reported by news.bitcoin.com. That is roughly 6.6% in a few hours, erasing almost the entire post-election rally. Ethereum fared worse, falling 7% to $2,250. The Nasdaq sank nearly 6% at its worst, on track for its worst day since April 2025, while the Cboe Volatility Index — Wall Street's fear gauge — surged 50% to its highest level in seven months, according to CNN.
The damage was not limited to crypto. Coinbase ended the day down between 10% and 15%, alongside Circle and BitGo. Robinhood dropped 10% and Strategy lost 9.6%. The miners were hit hardest: Cipher Mining fell 14.4%, IREN 14.3%, Bitdeer 14.1%, TeraWulf 13.8% and CleanSpark 13.3%, while Keel Infrastructure plunged 17%. The companies that mine Bitcoin fell roughly three times as far as Bitcoin itself.
The Trigger: Texas, Data Centers and the AI Trade
What set Thursday off was politics — specifically, what the Democratic sweep of Congress means for the AI buildout. Investors are now pricing in a real chance that the new Congress slows data-center construction or tightens regulation of the AI industry. The fear crystallized around Texas, the beating heart of the buildout, where Google, Meta, Oracle and OpenAI have all poured massive investment into data centers.
Texas governor-elect Gina Hinojosa campaigned on a temporary moratorium on new data centers and on eliminating tax incentives for building them. Her victory, alongside the Democratic sweep of Congress, turned an abstract regulatory worry into a concrete one. Shares of the AI boom's "picks and shovels" — chipmakers, memory makers and neocloud firms that rent out computing power — sold off violently: CoreWeave dropped around 11%, Nebius plunged roughly 15%, Tesla fell 9% to 11% and SpaceX dropped 7% to 9%.
Qualcomm lit the fuse. The chipmaker beat earnings but disappointed on guidance: smartphone chip sales suffer from memory shortages, handset revenue fell 26%, and next quarter's outlook came in weak. Its shares dropped 11.5%, the worst day since March 2020. Nvidia sank 7%, erasing its 2026 gains; AMD fell 10% to 15%; Micron dropped 6.8% to 14%; Broadcom lost 4.6% to 8%; Intel fell 6%; TSMC dropped 8%. Memory stocks took the worst of it — SanDisk slid 18% and Western Digital 15% — because the market is now pricing a slower AI buildout, and memory was the purest bet on it continuing at full speed.
As CoinDesk's live coverage noted, the Nasdaq's slide extended to 5.1% by mid-afternoon while the S&P 500 fell 3.4%. The scale is now official: the Nasdaq sits 10.4% below its record close of 27,599.79 on October 6, in correction territory.
Why Bitcoin Fell With AI Stocks: The Miner Connection
Here is the part most crypto coverage misses: Bitcoin did not fall because of anything that happened in crypto. It fell because the companies around it have become AI companies — and because traders now treat BTC as a risk asset first and a hedge second.
The most direct link runs through the miners. Over the past two years, many of the largest Bitcoin miners have pivoted into AI computing, converting facilities into data centers and signing hosting deals with AI firms. Their share prices now move with the AI trade, not the Bitcoin price. On Thursday that link worked in reverse: as the AI trade unwound, miners fell 13% to 17% — far more than Bitcoin's 5% to 6% drop. FalconX and GSR analysts pointed directly to fears of a slower AI data-center buildout as the driver.
The second link is positioning. Wednesday's rally was partly a short squeeze: roughly $378 million in bearish positions was liquidated within one hour as Bitcoin reclaimed $80,000, according to crypto.news. When Thursday's equity selloff hit, the leveraged longs built up during the rally became forced sellers. CoinGlass data shows more than $1 billion in crypto derivatives positions liquidated over 24 hours, the largest wipeout since October 28–29, when Bitcoin tumbled from nearly $82,000 to $76,000.
The third link is the simplest: in a broad risk-off move, everything correlated falls together. Bitcoin fell about 5% from Wednesday's levels — less than the chip index's 10% plunge but more than the S&P 500's roughly 3% decline. As one market note put it, Bitcoin is "falling less than chips and more than the S&P, which means it's trading as risk today." That is the honest description of Bitcoin in 2026: a high-beta risk asset that trades with tech stocks when markets panic, whatever the long-term store-of-value thesis says.
The Myth That Died on Thursday: Bitcoin as a Hedge
Thursday delivered a blunt verdict on one of crypto's favorite stories: the idea that Bitcoin is a hedge against stock market chaos. The table below compares what actually happened in a single session.
| Asset | Thursday move | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin (BTC) | Down ~5–6% to $75,468 low | Fell with risk assets, not against them |
| Ethereum (ETH) | Down 7% to $2,250 | Higher beta than BTC, as usual in selloffs |
| Nasdaq Composite | Down as much as 5.7% | Worst day since April 2025 tariff shock |
| S&P 500 | Down ~3% | Broad risk-off, worst day since April 2025 |
| PHLX Semiconductor Index | Down 10%+ early | The epicenter of the selloff |
| Bitcoin miners (CIFR, IREN, WULF) | Down 13–17% | Now priced as AI stocks, not BTC proxies |
| Coinbase / Strategy | Down 8–15% | Crypto equities fell twice as far as BTC |
| VIX fear index | Up 50%, 7-month high | Volatility spiked across all risk assets |
None of this means the long-term case for Bitcoin is broken. Wintermute trader De Maere told CoinDesk that crypto's relative resilience and growing adoption still offer reasons for optimism — and he has a point: Bitcoin fell less than the chip stocks that caused the panic and held above the $75,000 zone that has acted as support all week. But investors should stop treating Bitcoin as portfolio insurance. On the days you most want a hedge — the days stocks crash 5% — Bitcoin has now repeatedly fallen alongside them: in the April 2025 tariff shock, on November 3 when the Nasdaq correction dragged Bitcoin below $77,000, and again on Thursday.
The honest framing: Bitcoin is a hedge against currency debasement over years, not against a bad day in the Nasdaq. Anyone who bought BTC expecting it to rise when stocks fall bought the wrong story. For a grounding in what Bitcoin actually is, read our complete beginner's guide to how BTC works and our assessment of whether Bitcoin is a good investment in 2026.
5 Numbers That Decide $75,000 or $82,000
Bitcoin sits in a narrow band with a clear floor and ceiling. The $75,000 to $76,000 zone has been tested three times in eight days — October 28–29, November 3, and November 5 — and held. The $81,000 to $82,000 zone is the ceiling: Wednesday's $81,105 peak and the $81,300 to $82,000 resistance band both rejected the rally. Which breaks first decides the next $5,000 move.
Number 1: $75,468 — the line in the sand. Thursday's Bitstamp low is the level to watch. A daily close below $75,000 breaks support that has held three times and opens the way toward $72,000 to $73,000. A hold keeps the range intact.
Number 2: $2.65 billion — Friday's options expiry. Around $2.65 billion in Bitcoin options expire on Friday, November 6, with 24,912 calls against 8,223 puts — lopsided positioning that can amplify a move either way, on the same day as the jobs report. We broke down the full picture in our guide to Friday's $2.65B Bitcoin options expiry.
Number 3: Friday's jobs report. The October employment report lands Friday, November 6. A weak report strengthens the case for a December Fed rate cut; a hot one strengthens the case for a hike. Either way it will move Bitcoin, because BTC now trades as a macro asset. Inflation data follows on November 10, and the Fed decides on December 9.
Number 4: $74.6 million — the ETF flow test. Wednesday's $74.6 million of net inflows into U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs ended a three-day outflow streak — but Fidelity's FBTC took in $236.7 million while BlackRock's IBIT lost $201.2 million. If Friday's flows flip back to outflows after Thursday's crash, institutions are de-risking rather than buying the dip. For context, see our guide to spot Bitcoin ETFs.
Number 5: 34 — the Fear & Greed Index. The index rose from 26 to 34 on Wednesday's rally — still in "Fear" territory, but improving. Thursday's crash will push it back down. Extreme fear has marked local bottoms all year; watch whether it holds above 25, below which capitulation risk rises sharply.
| Scenario | Trigger | Price target | Probability read |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bull: reclaim $82,000 | Soft jobs report Friday + ETF inflows resume + Nasdaq stabilizes | $82,000, then $84,240 (upper Bollinger Band) | Needs two of three triggers |
| Base: range $75,000–$81,000 | Jobs report mixed, options expiry passes quietly, AI stocks stop falling | Chop between the tested floor and ceiling | Most likely near-term path |
| Bear: break $75,000 | Hot jobs report + ETF outflows + Nasdaq extends correction | $73,000, then $72,000 support | Rises sharply on a daily close below $75,000 |
What Happens Next: Friday's Jobs Report and the $2.65B Options Expiry
Friday is the biggest day of the week for Bitcoin, and it has nothing to do with crypto headlines. The October jobs report arrives in the morning, hours before $2.65 billion of Bitcoin options expire. A jobs number that moves the Nasdaq will move Bitcoin, and the expiry will amplify the direction. Traders should expect volatility, not direction — the report could plausibly push BTC $3,000 either way within hours.
Beyond Friday, the calendar stays loaded. Inflation data arrives November 10 and the Fed decides on December 9, with the market split between a cut and a hike. The data-center politics behind Thursday's selloff will not resolve quickly either: the new Congress takes its seats in January, and Texas's proposed moratorium will be debated for months — so the AI-trade unwind could remain a headwind for weeks, not days.
There is also a contrarian case. Analyst Michaël van de Poppe argued before Thursday's drop that Bitcoin was about to "flip its downtrend into an uptrend": BTC has held $75,000 three times, ETF flows turned positive, and sentiment is still in fear territory — historically a contrarian buy signal. But it needs Friday to cooperate: a soft jobs report plus steady ETF inflows confirms it; a hot report plus a break of $75,000 kills it.
What Bitcoin Holders Should Do Now: A 5-Point Checklist
Volatile days produce the worst decisions. If you hold Bitcoin, run through this checklist first:
- Check what you actually own before selling anything. Spot Bitcoin fell about 5% on Thursday; miners fell 13% to 17% and crypto stocks 8% to 15%. If your losses are far worse than 5%, you hold equities, not Bitcoin — a portfolio decision, not a Bitcoin decision.
- Do not sell into a liquidation cascade. More than $1 billion in leveraged positions was wiped out in 24 hours. Panic selling into that kind of flush has historically been the worst exit of the week.
- Watch the $75,000 level, not the headlines. A daily close below $75,000 changes the technical picture; an intraday dip to $75,468 that recovers does not. Set a price alert there instead of refreshing the news.
- Decide your Friday plan in advance. The jobs report plus the $2.65B options expiry means a volatile open. Decide now whether you are a buyer below $76,000, a holder through the noise, or a seller on a break of $75,000 — and write it down first.
- Secure what you hold before chasing the bounce. Selloffs are when scams and phishing spike, as panicked holders click fake "recovery" links. Review our guide to the best crypto wallets for beginners and our beginner's guide to buying Bitcoin — the cheapest insurance in crypto is a wallet you control.
FAQs
Why did Bitcoin fall below $76,000 on November 5, 2026?
Bitcoin fell because U.S. AI and chip stocks crashed, not because of crypto-specific news. After Democrats won both houses of Congress, investors feared the new Congress — and Texas's governor-elect, who campaigned on a data-center moratorium — would slow the AI buildout. The Nasdaq fell as much as 5.7% in its worst day since April 2025, chip stocks plunged over 10%, and Bitcoin fell from $81,105 to $75,468 as over $1 billion in leveraged positions was liquidated.
Is Bitcoin still a safe haven or hedge against stocks?
Thursday's evidence says no — at least not on short timeframes. Bitcoin fell alongside stocks in the April 2025 tariff shock, the November 3 Nasdaq correction, and again on November 5 — less than chip stocks, more than the S&P 500, behaving like a high-beta risk asset. Its hedge properties, if any, operate over years against currency debasement, not over days against a Nasdaq selloff.
What is the Texas data-center moratorium and why does it matter for Bitcoin?
Texas governor-elect Gina Hinojosa campaigned on a temporary moratorium on new data centers and on removing tax incentives for building them in Texas, a hub for Google, Meta, Oracle and OpenAI facilities. It matters for Bitcoin because many large miners have pivoted into AI data-center hosting — so a construction slowdown hits miner stocks directly, and they fell 13% to 17% on Thursday, dragging sentiment across crypto.
Will Bitcoin recover to $82,000?
It can, but it needs help from Friday's data. The $81,300 to $82,000 zone rejected Wednesday's rally, and the upper Bollinger Band sits near $84,240. A soft jobs report, a resumption of ETF inflows, and stabilization in AI stocks would open the path. A hot report or a daily close below $75,000 points toward $73,000. This is analysis, not a prediction — watch the five numbers above.
Should I buy Bitcoin after the crash?
That depends on your time horizon and risk tolerance, and no article can answer it for you. The data says: Bitcoin has held $75,000 three times in eight days, ETF flows turned positive on Wednesday, and sentiment is still in "Fear" — a combination that has historically preceded stabilizations more often than collapses. But Friday brings the jobs report and a $2.65 billion options expiry, so volatility will be extreme. If you do buy, use a plan — a level, a size, and a stop — rather than an impulse. Beginners should start with our complete guide to buying your first Bitcoin.
What should I watch next for Bitcoin's price?
Four dates: the October jobs report and the $2.65 billion Bitcoin options expiry on Friday, November 6; inflation data on November 10; and the Fed's decision on December 9. In between, watch the Nasdaq and the chip index — as long as AI stocks keep falling, Bitcoin will struggle to rally on its own. Also watch spot ETF flows: Wednesday's $74.6 million inflow was encouraging, but one day after Thursday's crash is not a trend.
Conclusion
Thursday, November 5 was not really a crypto crash. It was an AI-stock crash that Bitcoin got caught in — because miners are now AI data-center companies, leveraged traders were long into the selloff, and in 2026 Bitcoin trades as a risk asset when markets panic. The $5,637 round trip from $81,105 to $75,468 erased a day of post-election euphoria in hours, and the trigger — a Texas governor-elect who wants to pause data centers — shows how far crypto's fate is now tied to politics it does not control.
But the damage was contained. Bitcoin held $75,000 for the third time in eight days, fell less than the chip stocks that caused the panic, and the options market still carries nearly three times as many calls as puts into Friday's expiry. The next 24 hours decide the direction: a soft jobs report and steady ETF inflows put $82,000 back on the table; a hot report and a break of $75,000 open the door to $73,000. Either way, the lesson of Thursday is one holders should keep: Bitcoin is not a hedge against a falling Nasdaq. It is a bet that survives falling Nasdaqs — and the difference matters most on days like this one.
