Bitcoin Slips Below $74K as Trader Liquidations Hit $360M

Bitcoin experienced a tough start on Tuesday morning, November 10, 2026. The leading cryptocurrency fell to $73,703, marking a 1.3% daily decline and a 3.5% drop over the past week.

Behind this price dip lies a stressful situation in derivatives markets. Nearly $360 million in crypto trading positions were wiped out in just 24 hours.

Past performance of digital assets is not indicative of future results. Digital asset prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate sharply.

Liquidation Cascade: Long Traders Take the Hit

When traders use high leverage to bet on rising prices, a small market drop can trigger a domino effect. Exchange risk management systems automatically close those positions to limit further loss. This process is known as forced liquidation.

Data from Coinglass shows that 80,898 traders were liquidated over the 24-hour period. Total forced position closures reached $356.16 million.

Traders betting on prices to rise—known as long positions—took the vast majority of the damage. Longs accounted for $280.40 million in losses, while short sellers lost $75.77 million.

Here is how liquidations spread across major cryptocurrencies:

• EthereumETH-2.67%: Recorded $117.61 million in liquidations, with long positions accounting for 88.4% of the damage.
• Bitcoin (BTCBTC-1.20%): Saw $86.14 million wiped out, with long trades representing 82.3% of the total.
• SolanaSOL-4.14%: Recorded $23.45 million in total liquidations.

The single largest individual liquidation occurred on the decentralized derivatives exchange HyperliquidHYPE-4.06%. One trader lost a massive $14.31 million BTC-USD long position.

Binance hosted the largest concentration of liquidations. It accounted for 42.6% of aggregate forced closures across tracked trading platforms.

Market analysts at Bitfinex noted that the brief price recovery following recent elections lacked durable strength. It was driven primarily by borrowed leverage rather than genuine spot market purchases.

A market held up by perpetual longs rather than spot bids tends to break levels in cascades rather than grind through them, and that is how the cost basis was lost on Sunday.

Inside the Options Market: Defensive Trading Takes Hold

The options market paints an interesting picture of market sentiment. Think of a call option as a bet that prices will go up, while a put option acts like insurance against a price drop.

Coinglass bitcoin options data reveals a split between long-term positions and recent trading activity. Total open interest still leans toward call contracts, holding a 56.23% share.

Outstanding contracts stand at 240,193.43 BTC in calls against 186,945.7 BTC in puts. However, daily trading volume favors put options.

Over 24 hours, put trading volume reached 22,336.57 BTC compared to 20,920.15 BTC in calls. This indicates traders are actively buying protection against potential price drops.

On the major options venue Deribit, key open interest concentrations include:

• Bullish Calls: The November 13 $81,000 call holds 8,306.8 BTC in open interest. The December $80,000 call carries 8,028.8 BTC, and the Dec. 25 $100,000 call stands at 6,612.9 BTC.
• Bearish Puts: Defensive positioning is focused at the December $60,000 put (6,521.2 BTC) and the $40,000 put (5,504.5 BTC).
• Active Volume: Recent activity is clustered closer to current prices. The Nov. 13 $74,000 put leads daily volume with 3,563.4 BTC, followed by the Nov. 27 $72,000 put at 2,060.8 BTC.

Deribit's max pain level—the theoretical price where option holders collectively experience the greatest financial loss—sits near $75,000 for Nov. 13.

For the Nov. 27 expiry, max pain is around $79,000, while the major Dec. 25 expiry sits near $76,000. Total December options value on Deribit approaches $11 billion.

Meanwhile, Cryptoquant data shows that CME options exposure remains active across multiple expiration dates, though overall open contracts have decreased from early-2026 highs.

Futures Open Interest Remains Elevated

Despite recent price pressure, leverage in the Bitcoin futures market remains high across top cryptocurrency exchanges.

Binance leads all exchanges with $10.84 billion in futures open interest, up 2.20% over 24 hours. CME follows with $7.33 billion, up 1.61%.

Open interest on other major trading venues includes:

• Bybit: $6.10 billion in open interest.
• MEXC: $5.15 billion in open interest.
• Gate: $4.54 billion in open interest.
• BingX: Experienced a sharp contraction of 25.27%, reflecting shifting leverage across platforms.

Data from Cryptoquant shows that funding rates spent most of the second half of 2026 in positive territory after staying mostly negative from February through May.

However, Bitfinex analysts warned that cooling funding rates do not necessarily signal buying enthusiasm.

Cheap leverage tells us longs are no longer crowded, not that anyone is buying.

They added that short liquidations and the closing of election hedges helped fuel the temporary price recovery, rather than strong demand in spot markets.

Hotter Inflation Report Adds Pressure

Macroeconomic factors are creating additional hurdles for digital assets. The October Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released Tuesday came in hotter than expected.

Headline inflation rose 0.4% month-over-month, above the 0.3% forecast. Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, rose 0.3%, also beating expectations.

These higher figures reinforce concerns that the Federal Reserve will maintain restrictive interest rate policies. Higher rates tend to reduce overall market liquidity, which can slow recovery in risk assets.

Bitcoin Price Outlook and Multi-Scenario Analysis

Bitfinex analysts project Bitcoin to trade between $72,350 and $79,400 ahead of the November 13 options expiry, with prices likely testing the lower end of that range.

They identified $75,900 to $77,500 as an active selling zone. A sustained price bounce would require clear spot market demand and reclaiming key cost basis levels.

Based on market assumptions and risk factors, potential price scenarios include:

• Bullish Scenario: If spot market buying resumes and Bitcoin breaks above resistance at $75,900–$77,500, prices could retest the upper range near $79,400. Risk: If buying volume lacks momentum, resistance could trigger another sharp sell-off.
• Bearish Scenario: If persistent inflation encourages tighter Federal Reserve policies and spot buying remains absent, Bitcoin could fall below $72,350 support. Risk: Breaking key support levels could trigger a new round of forced long liquidations.
• Sideways Scenario: If buyers and sellers remain balanced, Bitcoin may consolidate within the $72,350 to $79,400 corridor until broader economic data offers clearer direction.

Analyst Warnings and Market Sentiment

Economist and gold advocate Peter Schiff offered a stern warning to crypto investors. Schiff urged Bitcoin holders to sell, stating that dipping below $75,000 leaves a narrow window before further declines.

Whether Bitcoin stabilizes or experiences further downward pressure will depend on spot accumulation and macroeconomic developments in the coming weeks.

Disclaimer: This article is strictly for informational purposes and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Investors should evaluate market risks carefully before trading.