Ethereum fell 6.4% to $3,493 on November 4 while Bitcoin declined 2.8% to $104,577. The moves came as the global crypto market cap dropped 3.9% to $3.54 trillion and another $100 billion was shaved from total capitalization. Solana dropped 11.0% to $157, widening the losses across higher-beta assets.
Twenty-four-hour liquidations rose 153% to $1.08 billion as selling accelerated. Trading volume reached $223 billion, reflecting elevated participation in the downside. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index fell to 21, its lowest level in the current sequence.
The Setup
Bitcoin started November under pressure after slipping below $105,000 following its weakest October in a decade. Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded net withdrawals of $186.5 million on November 3, with Ethereum ETFs seeing $135.7 million in outflows the same day. The Federal Reserve’s 25-basis-point cut the prior week had already dampened risk appetite, leaving positioning lighter into the new month.
These flows and the post-Fed tone created conditions where any incremental selling could trigger stops. Open interest had built through October on the back of earlier gains, so the combination of ETF redemptions and reduced risk tolerance left the market exposed to rapid unwinds once prices began to give way.
The cut transmits to crypto by easing financial conditions in traditional markets yet simultaneously signaling that growth concerns warrant caution, which reduces the premium investors assign to leveraged risk assets and channels capital toward safer instruments instead.
Outflows from the spot products remove a daily source of demand that had previously absorbed supply, lowering the buffer against further price pressure and allowing leverage built on prior inflows to become more fragile when sentiment shifts.
The Move in Detail
Bitcoin traded as low as $101,590.52 on the daily snapshot while Ethereum printed $3,292.57. The 6.4% decline in Ether outpaced Bitcoin’s 2.8% move, and Solana’s 11.0% drop showed the rotation out of higher-beta names. Volume of $223 billion confirmed participation rather than a thin-session wick.
Liquidations totaling $1.08 billion in 24 hours cleared leveraged long positions that had accumulated into the early-month weakness. The breadth of the decline, with market cap falling $100 billion on top of the prior day’s ETF outflows, pointed to a broad de-risking rather than an isolated altcoin event.
That scale of liquidation unwinds leverage that had been layered onto earlier price gains, converting paper long exposure into realized selling that amplifies the initial move and forces additional exits as margin requirements tighten across exchanges.
The larger decline in higher-beta assets shows how reduced risk appetite reallocates away from volatile segments first, transmitting the same liquidity pressure through correlated selling rather than isolated profit taking.
Reading the Volatility
The 153% jump in liquidations relative to the prior period indicates that positioning had been net long and that stops were clustered on the downside. Ether’s larger percentage decline versus Bitcoin highlights the usual beta relationship under stress, while Solana’s steeper move shows how quickly momentum names can extend losses once sentiment turns.
With the Fear & Greed Index at 21, the market had already priced in caution before the session began. The volume spike to $223 billion suggests the move cleared positions rather than simply repricing unchanged holdings, which often precedes a period of consolidation once the liquidation wave subsides.
The index reading at that level reflects prevailing caution that leaves little room for positive surprises, so any further deterioration in flows or positioning transmits more directly into price because fewer buyers stand ready to absorb supply.
Elevated volume accompanying the liquidation surge confirms that the decline processed excess leverage rather than merely marking positions to market, which typically reduces the overhang that would otherwise keep volatility elevated after the initial flush.
What Comes Next
Traders will watch whether ETF flows stabilize after the $186.5 million Bitcoin and $135.7 million Ethereum outflows recorded on November 3. Any reversal in those daily figures would signal returning demand and could limit further downside in the near term.
Key levels remain the $101,590.52 area tested on the CoinMarketCap snapshot for Bitcoin and the $3,292.57 zone for Ethereum. Sustained trading above those prints would indicate the liquidation flush has run its course; renewed pressure through them would keep volatility elevated into the following week.