Bitcoin fell to $73,477 late Sunday, its lowest level since Aug. 21, as an investigation involving Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and stalled US-Iran talks hit thin weekend markets.
Liquidations top $1 billion
The price slid from $75,690 to $73,477 in just 15 minutes late Sunday afternoon US time, a 9% drop in four days after bitcoin breached $81,000 last Wednesday following the US midterm results.
More than $1 billion in leveraged crypto positions were liquidated over 24 hours, with longs accounting for $913 million of the total, according to CoinGlass.
Buyers stepped in quickly and pushed bitcoin back above $75,000, though that bounce stalled shortly after, CoinDesk data showed.
Nvidia probe hits risk assets
Nvidia’s board said Sunday it had opened an independent investigation into reports that Huang had been the target of a foreign intelligence effort, adding it had no reason to believe national security or company secrets were compromised.
In a message to employees, Huang wrote:
“Regarding the national security concerns raised in news reports, NVIDIA’s Board of Directors has initiated an independent investigation. I support the investigation and will cooperate fully.”
“Regarding the national security concerns raised in news reports, NVIDIA’s Board of Directors has initiated an independent investigation. I support the investigation and will cooperate fully.”
With US stock markets closed for the weekend, NVDAX, a tokenized version of Nvidia stock, fell 3.55% to $180.42, below Nvidia’s Friday close of $186.64 on Nasdaq.
Nvidia shares then fell 4% in premarket trading on Monday.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Sunday:
“Right now it hasn’t been very productive because the Iranian demands are simply not just unacceptable, but in some cases outrageous and ridiculous and really not realistic.”
“Right now it hasn’t been very productive because the Iranian demands are simply not just unacceptable, but in some cases outrageous and ridiculous and really not realistic.”
ETF outflows and CPI week
The selloff followed a week in which US spot bitcoin ETFs lost $1.28 billion, their worst week since late June.
BlackRock’s IBIT accounted for $403 million of Friday’s redemptions.
The Crypto Fear and Greed Index reads 29, firmly in fear territory.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases October CPI on Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. ET, with PPI data following on Friday.
Key levels to watch
Bitcoin is now stuck between 200-day average support at around $73,150 and 100-day average resistance at $77,430.
Polymarket traders price a 46.5% chance that bitcoin dips to $70,000 before November ends.
