Bitcoin crashed below the key $70,000 support level on Friday, hitting a three-month low of $67,650 as a sudden leadership crisis at Nvidia, new MSCI index rules, and hot U.S. inflation rattled global markets.
Bitcoin fell 8.6% in 24 hours to $67,650 on early Friday, its lowest mark since August 19, extending a 10.2% weekly decline.
While yesterday’s pullback below $73,000 was driven largely by macroeconomic jitters, Friday’s breakdown reflects a rare convergence of tech-sector turmoil, institutional index risks, and evaporating spot liquidity.
MSCI’s New Index Rules Put Michael Saylor’s Strategy Under Pressure
Adding structural pressure to crypto equities, index provider MSCI’s November Index Review has placed Bitcoin treasury companies, including Michael Saylor’s Strategy (MSTR) and Tokyo-listed Metaplanet, at risk of losing their place in major stock market indexes.
Under MSCI’s updated eligibility rules companies that hold too much of their assets in investments rather than running an operating business could lose their eligibility for indexes such as the MSCI USA and MSCI World.
When a company is dropped from a major index, funds that track it often have to sell their shares, which can drive down demand and put pressure on the stock price.
Strategy’s shares dropped 6.49% in extended trading on Thursday. The company has previously warned that eventual removal from MSCI indexes could force passive funds to sell around $2.8 billion worth of its shares.
For Bitcoin, the bigger concern is that Strategy could slow its Bitcoin purchases if it becomes harder or more expensive to raise money. That would remove a major source of buying demand just as U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs have recorded five consecutive days of outflows totaling $1.43 billion, according to SoSoValue.
Nvidia CEO Resignation Rattles Tech and Risk Assets
Market sentiment weakened further on November 12 after Nvidia announced that CEO and co-founder Jensen Huang was stepping down with immediate effect. CFO Colette Kress was named interim CEO.
Huang’s abrupt departure follows an internal board investigation and media reports detailing alleged extramarital affairs, including one with a alleged Chinese spy as well as relationships with Nvidia employees.
Nvidia shares fell as much as 4% on Thursday, extending a month-long decline that has wiped out 27.28% of the stock’s value. The Nvidia news added to pressure on risk assets, alongside declines in the Nasdaq Composite (-0.39%) and S&P 500 (-0.35%).
Hot US Inflation Fuels Fed Rate-Hike Fears
Rising inflation is adding pressure to both stock and crypto markets. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that consumer prices rose 0.4% in October, above the 0.3% forecast. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, also came in higher than expected at 0.3%, against a forecast of 0.2%.
The higher-than-expected figures have reduced hopes of near-term interest rate cuts and raised expectations of a rate hike.
According to CME Group’s FedWatch tool, markets are now pricing in an 88.5% chance of a 0.25-percentage-point rate increase in December. Higher interest rates could put further pressure on Bitcoin by making safer investments, such as U.S. Treasury bonds, more attractive
On-Chain Data Shows Weakening Demand as Miner Flows Surge
Blockchain data suggests Bitcoin lacked enough buying demand to defend the $70,000 level.
According to a CryptoQuant report, demand across spot and perpetual futures markets fell by 362,000 BTC over 30 days, with spot demand declining by 280,000 BTC and futures demand by 82,000 BTC.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin miner transfers to exchanges surged to 2,077 BTC on November 10, roughly 16 times the 30-day daily average of 127 BTC. About 97% of the transfers came from Antpool.
At the same time, stablecoin supply contracted by $14.2 billion over 30 days, pointing to declining liquidity across the crypto market.
According to CryptoQuant analysts, the broader picture remains cautious. Leverage is being unwound, but fresh spot buying has yet to return convincingly. Until demand strengthens, ETF flows turn positive and market liquidity stabilizes, Bitcoin’s recovery is likely to remain fragile, with further downside risks still in play.
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