The cryptocurrency market fell into a sharp liquidation cascade between November 12 and November 13, 2026, pushing Bitcoin to multi-month lows and dragging major altcoins down with it. The initial trigger came after US President Donald Trump said the country does not need a deal with Iran, sending Brent and WTI futures up more than 1% while crypto assets tumbled. Bitcoin dropped to $72,150 on November 12, and within roughly 24 hours it broke below $69,000 for the first time in almost two months.
The selloff had been building for days. Bitcoin touched $81,000 after the Democratic midterm sweep on November 4, but was rejected within 24 hours and slid to $75,600. After a higher-than-expected CPI reading on Tuesday, it slipped below $73,000. A rebound attempt toward $75,000 on Wednesday was sharply rejected, with fresh pressure tied to Middle East tensions and reports of Jensen Huang’s resignation pushing the price to $71,000 before the final leg below $69,000.
Altcoins suffered even deeper losses. Ethereum dropped below $2,000 for the first time since August 19, later trading near $1,925. XRP came within one cent of $1.00, while Solana, Dogecoin, Zcash, Monero, Wrapped Bitcoin and Hyperliquid’s HYPE posted losses of more than 6%. NEAR was among the hardest hit large-cap altcoins, losing nearly 10% and falling under $3.40.
Derivatives markets were hit hard. CoinGlass data showed $530 million in liquidations over 24 hours on November 12, with $222 million of that occurring in a single hour. By November 13, 24-hour liquidations had climbed to $1.4 billion, with long positions accounting for $1.26 billion. Bitcoin liquidations reached $742 million, while Ethereum liquidations hit $250 million. The number of wiped-out traders rose from roughly 110,000 to more than 170,000, and the largest single liquidation remained a $31.09 million BTC/USDT order on Hyperliquid.
