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Morning Edition · Monday, November 9, 2026Published at 12:08 AM EST · New York
Bitcoin swings between about $73,800 and $75,000 as the Nvidia scandal triggers more than $1 billion in crypto liquidations
Gold held near $4,070 an ounce and silver near $51.60, moving far less than bitcoin, which tracked Nvidia's weekend futures rather than the monetary metals.
Bitcoin fell and then recovered over the weekend as traders reacted to the Nvidia board's probe of Jensen Huang and to Secretary of State Marco Rubio's statement that talks with Iran had stalled. CoinDesk reported that the moves again liquidated millions of dollars in leveraged bullish positions. Bitcoin touched a low near $73,761 before returning to about $75,000 early Monday.
Liquidation tallies differ by source and time window. One count put the 24-hour total at more than $1 billion, including $913 million in bullish bets. Another cited about $856 million. The trigger came from equities. With US exchanges closed, Nvidia perpetual futures on crypto platforms were the only venue for trading the news, and the same leveraged accounts hold both exposures.
The metals moved much less. Spot gold traded around $4,069 an ounce, down from $4,074.90 a day earlier. BullionVault quoted about $4,099 earlier in the session. Silver was near $51.61 an ounce.
Washington adds policy risk. CoinDesk's policy desk asked whether the Democrats' sweep, which "smashed all expectations," is bad news for the industry after two years of friendly legislation. On 60 Minutes, interviewer Ross Douthat pressed Trump on his family's business interests, including in crypto, the subject Democratic committee chairs are most likely to investigate first.
Part of a tracked trend
Bitcoin Trades as a Risk Asset, Not Digital Gold
At each geopolitical or inflationary stress point, bitcoin keeps trading with liquidity-sensitive risk assets rather than with monetary metals, so the digital-gold framing continues to fail exactly when investors most want it to hold.
What this means
Bitcoin is moving through leverage and liquidity, not through its claim to be scarce money. The traders who hold leveraged AI-equity exposure also hold leveraged bitcoin. When Nvidia futures fell, margin calls hit both. Gold has no comparable leveraged holder base, and it held within about half a percent. A December Fed hike would raise the cost of carrying that leverage, which weighs more on bitcoin than on metal held outright. The likelier outcome is that bitcoin keeps trading with AI equities through the December 9 Fed decision, with liquidation spikes on each equity shock, while gold moves on rates and the dollar. Congressional inquiries into Trump-family crypto ventures from January would mainly hit tokens tied to the president, not bitcoin itself. The read fails if bitcoin rises on a day when the Nasdaq falls sharply and gold also rises. That would be the first sign of the hedge behavior its advocates claim.
What to watch
- Bitcoin's move on the first US session after the Nvidia news. A drop in step with Nvidia shares would confirm that equity leverage, not monetary demand, sets its price.
- Funding rates and open interest on bitcoin futures. A rebuild of leverage after the weekend flush would set up another forced-selling episode on the next equity shock.
- Gold's response to the December Fed decision. Holding above $4,000 through a hike would show demand that does not depend on falling US rates.
Observations to monitor, not financial advice.
Synthesized from: CoinDesk (Markets) · CoinDesk (Policy)
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More from this edition
- Nvidia's board investigates whether Jensen Huang was targeted by Chinese intelligence after he admits an affair
- China's producer prices rise 5.7% in October, the fastest pace since June 2022, as consumer inflation slows to 0.7%
- Taiwan and Japan stocks rebound from the midterm sell-off as Trump concedes his Iran war and deportations cost Republicans votes
- Brent falls below $100 after Trump calls new Iran strikes unlikely, while Rubio says Tehran's demands are unrealistic
- China extends its suspension of a 24% tariff on US goods for two months and keeps a 10% levy in place
- G7 ministers meet in Paris as US, Russian and Ukrainian delegations prepare for talks in Abu Dhabi
- Paraguay jails former president Santiago Peña before trial over the Ueno Bank collapse
Comments
1Nov 9, 5:08 AM · edited
A bitcoin range of only about 1.7% alongside $856 million to over $1 billion in liquidations implies leveraged long positions were clustered close to spot.