Bitcoin Bounces to $77K After Blue Wave Election Night Dip

Bitcoin wobbled on election night. The world's biggest crypto sank to about $75,740 as U.S. midterm returns rolled in, then clawed its way back to roughly $77,300, according to Bitcoin.com News.

The pain spread well past BTC. Crypto's total market cap shed about 2.9% in 24 hours and sits near $2.58 trillion, with ether hanging around $2,240 and XRP closing near $1.26. The sell-off tracked the blue wave: NBC News projected Democrats had taken the House, and CNBC's election desk put the party at 235-plus seats, comfortably past the 218 needed for a majority.

The Senate wasn't formally called, but traders weren't hanging around for the paperwork. Kalshi slapped 99% odds on Democrats controlling the chamber overnight. Democrats flipped North Carolina, where Roy Cooper beat Michael Whatley, and Polymarket projected James Talarico had flipped Texas's Senate seat — which would make him the first Democrat to win a Senate race there since 1988.

Stocks bled alongside crypto. CNBC reported S&P 500 futures down 1.1%, Nasdaq 100 futures off 2% and Dow futures down 367 points, or 0.7%. The Kobeissi Letter noted the S&P 500 was on pace to open below 7,500 for the first time since July 31.

For crypto, the real dread is who gets the gavels. Scott Melker asked followers to picture waking up to Maxine Waters chairing House Financial Services and Elizabeth Warren running Senate Banking — the committees that shape bills like the CLARITY Act market structure push. Leverage piled on too: $450M in long liquidations lurked at the $76,200 level, a floor BTC has already cracked. The Crypto Fear and Greed Index sits at 34, squarely in fear territory.

Not everyone is panicking. Fundstrat's Tom Lee argued that even a Democratic sweep can't deliver anti-crypto legislation, since the president's veto stands in the way. And CryptoQuant pointed out bitcoin was higher 12 months after every midterm since 2010 — four for four, median gain 63% — while cautioning the pattern overlaps with the halving cycle. Bitcoin.com News has tracked BTC falling after the last three midterms before recovering, so history books both sides of this trade. The vote landed on a market already bruised: spot bitcoin ETFs shed more than $1.04 billion across two sessions, and the Binance hack has kept prices under pressure.