Physical Bitcoin token resting on United States dollar banknotes

Bitcoin Breaks Below $70,000 as Dollar Strength and Liquidations Hit Crypto

By Isaac • November 12, 2026 11:13 pm • Comments

Bitcoin’s latest selloff just crossed the line traders had been watching all week.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency fell below $70,000 early Friday as a stronger U.S. dollar, persistent exchange-traded fund outflows, and another burst of leveraged liquidations hit the market at the same time. Ether also slipped below $2,000, underscoring that this was not an isolated Bitcoin move.

CoinDesk reported that the crypto selloff accelerated as Bitcoin broke the psychological $70,000 level and Ether fell below $2,000. The move pushed Bitcoin to its weakest point in roughly three months.

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The decline was broad, with other major cryptocurrencies falling alongside Bitcoin as leveraged positions were forced out. That matters because the move was not one thin exchange print; it was a marketwide repricing.

CoinDesk’s reporting also put the break in the context of sustained ETF outflows and a stronger dollar. Together, those pressures had already weakened the September recovery before $70,000 finally gave way.

Ether’s break below $2,000 showed the stress had spread beyond one asset. The timing also left traders watching whether Asian and European liquidity would deepen the move before U.S. markets reopened.

The threshold break was visible in real time:

The macro backdrop matters. A separate CoinDesk market briefing noted that Bitcoin had fallen back below its 50-week moving average after reclaiming it in September.

The briefing placed that average near $75,000 and described the drop back below it as a failed breakout. Analysts cited $68,000 as the next level down while a recovery toward $80,000 would improve the picture.

That failed breakout arrived while the Dollar Index pushed above 103, its highest level since spring 2025. Dollar strength raises the hurdle for Bitcoin and other risk assets.

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs were losing money at the same time. CoinDesk reported roughly $300 million in Wednesday outflows, with BlackRock’s IBIT accounting for most of the total.

The $70,000 break added forced selling. When leveraged longs hit their liquidation prices, exchanges automatically close them.

Those sales can push the market into the next liquidation cluster. That is how an orderly decline turns into a fast cascade.

The 50-week average now becomes a useful test of trend rather than a guarantee of direction. Bitcoin needs both price recovery and steadier institutional flows to repair the failed breakout.

The most important question now is whether buyers treat the move as capitulation or confirmation. A quick recovery above $70,000 would show that demand remains close.

Failure to reclaim it would leave traders focused on lower support and on whether ETF outflows finally slow.

There is still a meaningful distinction between a falling price and a broken network. Bitcoin’s protocol did not fail.

No single headline caused the decline. The dollar, fund flows, and leverage all pushed in the same direction.

For now, $70,000 has shifted from support to the first level Bitcoin bulls need to win back.

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