Bitcoin Steadies Near $76K After 6% Slide, but Analysts Won't Call It a Comeback

Bitcoin was hovering near $76,000 in early New York trading Friday, Nov. 6, one day after a nearly 6% drop from above $80,000. The rebound has the feel of a breather, not a turn in the tide, according to analysts watching the tape.

The trouble started with weak results from chip companies and a fresh worry: that a Democratic-controlled Congress could tighten the screws on data-center expansion. Risk appetite took the hit. The S&P 500 logged its steepest one-day decline in more than a year on Nov. 5, though S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures managed to tick higher the next morning.

Crypto investors headed for the exits too. Roughly $430 million came out of U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds on Nov. 5, with about $200 million pulled from Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) and around $105 million leaving BlackRock's IBIT.

Bitunix analyst Dean Chen said Bitcoin found some relief after the sharp sell-off, while warning against calling the move a reversal. IG chief technical analyst Axel Rudolph tied the slide to doubts about returns on big AI investments, the possibility of data-center regulation and investors ditching richly valued growth stocks. He also pointed to Bitcoin's relative steadiness while equities dropped, something he said is worth watching for signs the coin is loosening its ties to tech stocks.

Marex co-head of crypto trading Samuel Leyne called the rebound temporary relief rather than a sustained recovery. For confidence to come back, he said, it would take easing geopolitical tensions, lower oil prices or a sturdier macroeconomic backdrop.

What's on the watchlist from here? Leyne named stock performance, ETF flows and futures basis levels as the gauges to keep an eye on.