$1B Wiped From Crypto as Bitcoin and Ethereum Get Dragged Down by AI Stocks

Crypto's biggest problem this week had nothing to do with a blockchain. A sharp selloff in US tech and AI stocks bled straight into digital assets, wiping out over $1.05 billion in leveraged positions in the 24 hours leading into November 6, according to cryptobriefing.com. A widely shared market post put $1 billion of that damage inside a single 10-minute stretch.

Bitcoin slid to an intraday low of $74,780.91 — its weakest print since August 21 — on a near 6% drop. Ethereum fared worse, falling more than 7% to around $2,247. XRP and Solana both cracked key support levels too.

The wreckage was lopsided. Long positions made up roughly $930 million of the total, or 88.2%, meaning traders were overwhelmingly betting on higher prices when the floor gave out. Bitcoin accounted for about $267 million of liquidations in the key session, Ethereum about $167 million, with XRP and Solana stacking more losses on top. Nearly 211,000 traders were hit, most of them on major exchanges like Binance.

The mechanics turned a bad day into a stampede. When a leveraged long gets closed out, the exchange sells — and that selling knocks prices down further, triggering the next round of forced closures. It's a chain reaction that can vaporize a billion dollars in minutes.

The source was obvious on the other side of the market. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 5.5% as AI and chip stocks convulsed, with worries about the sector's growth outlook colliding with uncertainty in the post-midterm election landscape. Bitcoin ETFs piled on, bleeding hefty outflows right as prices were already sliding. Crypto's Fear & Greed Index tipped into fear territory, erasing the bullish mood that had been building.

Here's the uncomfortable takeaway: a 6% Bitcoin move is routine by crypto's standards. The story is the leverage, and the correlation. Crypto's week was decided by AI and chip stocks — not by anything happening on-chain.