Bitcoin Slips Below $70,000 for First Time Since August as Inflation Worries Hit Crypto Stocks

Bitcoin dropped below $70,000 on Friday, November 13, for the first time since August, as a risk-off mood pressured digital assets. Bloomberg reported the move extended a two-day slump to as much as 9%, driven by concerns about inflation and higher interest rates, and Investing.com had the token down 3.6% at about $69,019 by mid-morning New York time. CoinDesk put liquidations of leveraged positions above $1.6 billion as the dollar climbed.

The selling spread to crypto-linked equities. In premarket trading COIN fell 2.6%, MSTR 2.5% and HOOD 2%, and 24/7 Wall St later reported Coinbase down 4% and Robinhood down 3% as hot inflation data dragged bitcoin lower. Ether fell 2.9% to about $1,948 and was down 8.2% on the week, per Investing.com.

The macro backdrop is doing the damage. The drop came the same morning the October producer price index showed a 6.5% annual rise, the highest since November 2022, with markets already pricing another Fed rate hike in December. Spot bitcoin ETFs have also seen outflows, including nearly $300 million on Wednesday, according to IBTimes.

Bitcoin is on course for a sixth consecutive weekly loss if it closes the week lower. What to watch: whether the $70,000 level is reclaimed, ETF flow data, and the December Fed decision, which will shape risk appetite for both crypto and the equities tied to it.