Bitcoin tumbled below $76,000 on Thursday as a rout in artificial-intelligence-linked stocks tore through markets and dragged cryptocurrencies down with it, erasing the sharp rally that followed this week's midterm elections. The token had climbed as high as $81,000 on Wednesday after Democrats' sweeping congressional wins eased some regulatory uncertainty, before reversing hard into Thursday's session. CoinDesk reported the token was down roughly 5.5% over 24 hours, with more than $1 billion in leveraged derivatives positions liquidated, according to data from CoinGlass.

The crypto slide tracked a broader equity selloff. The Nasdaq fell as much as 4.5% into correction territory, and the S&P 500 dropped about 4% intraday as traders unwound bets tied to the AI data-center buildout. Tesla shares fell 11% and SpaceX-linked valuations dropped 9%, while CoreWeave, Micron and SanDisk also posted steep declines. CNBC reported that the CBOE Volatility Index, Wall Street's so-called fear gauge, jumped as much as 5.7 points to above 28 within 90 minutes of the opening bell, its sharpest climb since April.

Politics collides with the AI trade

Traders pointed to midterm fallout as a key accelerant. Analysts flagged new risk to the data-center buildout after Texas governor-elect Gina Hinojosa proposed a statewide moratorium on new data-center permits, part of a broader wave of Democratic skepticism toward the industry's enormous power and water demands. Coin Desk also linked the selloff to reporting that OpenAI's own technology could be used to "break into Linux at scale," a disclosure that rattled sentiment across AI-adjacent names already trading at stretched valuations.

BITCOIN IS RESILIENT, BUT LEVERAGE IS MISSING AND DEMAND STILL TEPID.

Not every voice on trading desks was bearish. A Wintermute trader told CoinDesk that bitcoin's relatively orderly decline, without the kind of panic liquidation cascade seen in past selloffs, was itself a sign of resilience, even as the firm's own analysis flagged $73,000 and $68,000 as potential downside targets if the rout deepens.

Oil and bonds offer a partial hedge

Money flowed into traditional safe havens as stocks and crypto fell. The 10-year Treasury yield slid to about 4.83% as investors sought shelter, while oil prices firmed on separate supply concerns tied to the Iran war. Economists are now watching Friday's October jobs report, with Dow Jones-polled forecasters expecting a gain of just 59,000 positions, as the next potential catalyst for where markets head from here.