Stock futures retreat, Bitcoin slides as traders wait on US midterms

Stock futures are sliding and crypto is following them down as Wall Street waits on pins and needles for US midterm results. S&P 500 futures dropped 0.5%, while Nasdaq futures took a harder 0.9% hit, per Cointelegraph.

Bitcoin slipped more than 1% to trade around $76,800. Ether and the rest of the major coins weren't far behind, bleeding in sympathy as the risk-off mood spread across markets.

The culprit: traders are growing more confident that Democrats will retake the Senate, according to Cointelegraph. That read on the political map is enough to keep investors parked on the sidelines rather than placing big bets.

It's a classic wait-and-see setup. Equity futures and crypto both tend to twitch when the balance of power in Washington is up in the air, and this session is no exception — no one wants to be caught leaning the wrong way before the votes are counted.

For now, the tape is doing the talking: soft futures, a softer Bitcoin, and altcoins tagging along. The next move hinges on results landing — and how fast traders decide what they mean.