Bitcoin drops 3.03% as crypto market sinks to lowest since August

Bitcoin shed 3.03% on Thursday, changing hands at $71,706.466 by 9:29 am ET. Ethereum moved in the same direction, tumbling 3.45% to $1,983.7108. The slide dragged major global cryptocurrencies to their lowest point since late August.

The drop follows a rough stretch for digital assets this month. On November 5, Bitcoin plunged 5% to $76,409.371 and Ethereum fell 6% a minute later, as a broader market sell-off met investors still digesting United States midterm results. With the Democratic Party taking over Congress, crypto-related legislation could move more slowly, and uncertainty in the Middle East added pressure on assets traders treat as high-risk.

Thursday's move also lands after Binance began gradually restoring withdrawals for assets across six blockchain networks — Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, Base, Tron, Polygon and Sui — starting at 05:00 am CET. The exchange warned of delays from high demand. The resumption follows a late-October security incident in which roughly $6.3 billion was stolen.

On the corporate side, Strategy bought 1,036 Bitcoin for $81.9 million between November 2 and November 8, according to its SEC filing. The company paid an average of roughly $79,012 per coin, fees included, and funded the purchase with proceeds from a public offering of 2,051,348 MSTR shares. Its total pile now stands at 850,364 Bitcoin.