Bitcoin Sinks Below $70,000 for the First Time Since August as Traders Bet on More Fed Rate Hikes

Bitcoin fell below $70,000 on Friday for the first time since August, sliding as much as 4.4% to $68,297, its lowest level since Aug. 19, Bloomberg reported.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency traded near $69,200 early Friday, down about 5.5% over 24 hours, according to CoinGecko. That is roughly 45% below its record of $126,198, set in October 2025.

Hot inflation data and expectations of higher interest rates drove the selloff, while Democrats’ win of both chambers of Congress has raised expectations of tougher regulatory scrutiny for the industry.

Rich Rosenblum, co-founder of crypto market maker GSR, said swings in the artificial intelligence trade, a strong dollar, hot inflation data and Nvidia’s leadership change are all weighing on riskier assets.

More than $1.2 billion in bullish crypto bets were wiped out over 24 hours, according to CoinGlass data.

“Once it broke below $70,000, over $1 billion of leveraged longs were forced out, which fed more selling,” said Sean McNulty, a derivatives trader at market maker AQC Tech.

The Fed factor

The October consumer price index rose 0.4%, hotter than expected, and core prices beat estimates for a third straight month. Traders now see three quarter-point Fed hikes before March, TokenPost reported.

That would lift the Fed’s target range from 3.75% to 4% up to 4.5% to 4.75%. Futures put the odds of a quarter-point hike at the Fed’s Dec. 8-9 meeting at 94%.

The 10-year Treasury yield climbed above 5.11%, and the two-year yield rose to 4.87%. Higher rates make an asset that pays no interest, like bitcoin, less attractive to hold.

The U.S. dollar index also rose above 103, its highest level since April 2025, CoinDesk reported. Ether, the second-largest token, dropped below $2,000 for the first time since August.

The largest single liquidation was a bullish bitcoin bet worth more than $31 million on the decentralized trading platform Hyperliquid, CoinDesk said.

Big investors have been heading for the exits. U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds lost $299.8 million on Wednesday alone, their fifth straight day of outflows, Bitcoin Magazine reported.

Strategy, the largest corporate holder of bitcoin, also slid after MSCI confirmed it will drop the stock from its indexes at the Nov. 30 close. Index funds will sell Strategy shares, not bitcoin.

Bitcoin has lost nearly 34% since the start of the year, Anadolu Agency reported.

Investors’ next test comes Friday morning, when the government releases its producer price index for October, another read on inflation that could shape the Fed’s next move.

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