Bitcoin held above $76,000 on Saturday, a modest stabilization after a sharp selloff, but a second straight session of heavy withdrawals from U.S. spot exchange-traded funds underscored how far institutional demand has drifted from the token's price action.
The largest cryptocurrency was up 0.59% at $76,103.2 as of 03:13 ET (08:13 GMT), according to market data. That gain follows a bruising stretch in which Bitcoin dropped roughly 5.2% over 24 hours during Friday's earlier trading as a rally tied to the U.S. midterm elections lost steam.
The pressure came from outside crypto. A broad technology-stock rout, driven by doubts over the durability of artificial intelligence spending and data-center construction, soured risk appetite across markets. More than $1.27 billion in crypto derivatives positions were liquidated in that 24-hour window, including over $1.1 billion in bullish wagers, and the forced selling magnified the volatility as traders cut leveraged exposure.
Fund flows tell a similar story. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs logged $411.9 million in net outflows on Friday, extending the run of redemptions. BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust accounted for $403 million of the total, partially offset by $42.8 million that flowed into Fidelity's fund. Through Friday, November's net withdrawals from the group reached about $1.28 billion, with Wednesday the only session this month to post a gain.
Note: Negative figures denote net outflows. The Nov. 5 totals come from Farside Investors data; the Nov. 6 figures reflect fund-flow data reported the following day.
The pattern suggests institutions have not yet stepped in with sustained buying after the decline. One counterpoint emerged on the blockchain: a dormant holder accumulated 3,009 BTC on Nov. 6, a position valued at roughly $228 million, after more than a year of inactivity, according to tracker Lookonchain. The same tracker described a separate withdrawal of 1,286 BTC, worth about $98.03 million, from Binance. The reports do not establish whether a single holder is behind both moves, and the dollar values cannot be netted against fund flows to gauge overall demand.
Regulatory headlines added to the mix. U.S. Treasury officials moved to cut off crypto exchange MEXC from American financial institutions, alleging the platform processed at least $16 billion in suspicious transactions tied to sanctions evasion and other illicit activity between 2021 and 2026. In Europe, Greece approved a framework taxing crypto capital gains at 10% above an annual EUR 500 threshold, with a 15% levy on staking, lending and decentralized-finance income starting in January 2027.
The legal aftermath of the FTX collapse also continued, with Binance and founder Changpeng Zhao seeking records from investor Kevin O'Leary and author Michael Lewis in a $1.76 billion recovery dispute. On the security front, Bitcoin Core developer Cory Fields floated a mechanism that would require potential quantum attackers to post Bitcoin collateral that legitimate owners could claim; the idea remains conceptual and would depend on quantum-resistant wallets.
Elsewhere in the market, prices were mixed. Ether rose 0.95% to $2,247.99, XRP slipped 0.82% to $1.1782, Solana added 0.71% to $90.220 and BNB edged up 0.48% to $695.23. Cardano gained 0.65% to $0.1846, while Dogecoin lost 0.31%. Among meme coins, TRUMP was flat and Shiba Inu fell 1.53%.
For traders, $80,000 stands as the nearest recovery marker, with $73,000 cited as a possible downside level. The immediate question is whether Saturday's bounce can hold without a turn in ETF flows -- the clearest gauge of whether large allocators are willing to rebuild exposure or keep trimming it.
