Bitcoin drops below 70,000 dollars for first time since August on inflation fears

A break below 70,000 dollars

Bitcoin traded below 70,000 dollars on Friday, 13 November 2026, for the first time since August. At its lowest it dropped up to 5.4 percent to 67,628 dollars, the weakest level since 19 August. Bloomberg figures put the price at 68,297 dollars early on Friday in Poland, down 4.4 percent. Earlier in the morning it had recovered part of its losses to around 69,000 dollars in London. Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, fell as much as 6 percent and dropped back under 2,000 dollars.

Inflation and rate-hike bets

The main pressure comes from macro data. US consumer prices for October, published in the week of 9 November 2026, rose 0.4 percent from September, against the 0.3 percent economists had expected. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.3 percent and beat forecasts for a third month in a row. Higher oil prices and inflation have pushed markets to expect further Fed rate increases, and because bitcoin pays no interest, rising bond yields make interest-bearing assets more attractive by comparison. According to the CME FedWatch tool, 99 percent of market participants now expect a 25-basis-point increase in December, lifting the target range to 4 to 4.25 percent, up from 77 percent a week earlier. The Fed raised rates in September, its first increase in three years. Jeff Mei, managing director of the exchange BTSE, warned that a 50-basis-point hike instead of 25 could push bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies lower still.

Week before 13 November 202677%

13 November 202699%

Week before 13 November 2026

77 %

13 November 2026

99 %

Data from the article text

Politics, ETFs and forced selling

Investors also fear that the Democrats, who won majorities in both chambers of Congress in the US midterm elections held in early November, could tighten oversight of the crypto industry in the new year. The political tailwind for the sector has faded since then. Spot bitcoin ETFs listed in the United States have recorded net outflows of more than 2.5 billion dollars since 30 October, figures that run through 11 November. CoinGlass data showed roughly 1.5 billion dollars in bets on rising crypto prices were liquidated within 24 hours. Trader Sean McNulty of market maker AQC Tech said that once the 70,000 mark was broken, leveraged long positions worth over a billion dollars were forcibly closed, adding to the selling. Voters in the midterms also punished the Republicans of President Donald Trump over economic pressures at home, according to VRT NWS.

Dollar strength, AI stocks and Nvidia

Rich Rosenblum, co-founder of the crypto firm GSR, blamed losses in AI stocks and a strong dollar, saying some investors had been forced to unwind long-term bitcoin holdings. The dollar index, which compares the dollar with six other major currencies, rose above 103 points, its highest level since April 2025. Bitcoin and the dollar tend to move in opposite directions, and the dollar's gains have weighed on the crypto price. Turbulence in the technology sector, a change of leadership at Nvidia and the hot inflation data are also weighing on risk assets.

Earlier in 2026

Bitcoin was much higher in late September. On 22 September 2026 it traded as high as 87,248 dollars on Bitstamp, its highest level since late January, helped by inflows into bitcoin ETFs. In August the crypto sector was still in a boom. The next scheduled Fed decision comes in December, and a further quarter-point increase is already fully priced in by markets.