Crypto spent two years treating Washington as a tailwind. The midterms flipped that assumption, with a Democratic sweep of Congress raising the odds of tighter rules on exchanges and digital assets. Within days, money started leaving the funds that institutions use to hold bitcoin.
Where the ETF money went
Investors pulled a net $1.28B from US spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds during the week of Nov. 2 to 6, the worst weekly outflow since June, according to SoSoValue. These funds hold bitcoin directly, so redemptions force real selling.
Friday alone saw $411.9M walk out the door, with BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust accounting for $403M of it. Only one of the five days, Wednesday, drew money in.
Bitcoin ETFs Bled Cash Four of Five Days
Daily net flows into US spot bitcoin ETFs, Nov. 2 to 6, 2026, $M
Bar chart. Net Flow ($M). Nov 2: Net Flow ($M) -$399. Nov 3: Net Flow ($M) -$116. Nov 4: Net Flow ($M) $74.6. Nov 5: Net Flow ($M) -$430. Nov 6: Net Flow ($M) -$412.
Source: Farside Investors, Yahoo Finance
The funds are now down $914M on the year in flow terms, after turning positive on Sept. 22. Senator Elizabeth Warren, a longtime crypto skeptic, is expected to lead the Senate Banking Committee, which oversees much of the financial industry.
A weekend cascade in ten minutes
Steady ETF selling set up a messy Sunday night. Bitcoin sat at $75,607 on Binance at 21:44 UTC, then touched $73,510 eleven minutes later, its lowest since Aug. 21.
The drop carried the signature of a liquidation cascade, where borrowed bets get force-closed and each sale triggers the next. Bitcoin fell 2.8% in ten minutes, and ether dropped 6.9% in the five minutes from 21:50 UTC.
Bitcoin Sank in Minutes Then Steadied
Bitcoin price on Binance, Sunday evening to Monday morning, Nov. 8 to 9, 2026, $
Line chart. Sun 21:44 UTC: Price ($) $76K. Sun 21:55 UTC: Price ($) $74K. Mon Morning: Price ($) $74K.
Source: Yahoo Finance, Binance
Bitcoin traded at $74,224 on Monday morning, down 0.8% on the day. The weekend also sealed a fifth straight losing week, and the Fear and Greed Index read 29, which counts as fear.
Treasury cuts off an exchange
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network ordered MEXC Global cut off from the US financial system on Friday. The agency alleges the exchange moved at least $16.7B in likely illicit funds between May 2021 and May 2026.
The ban starts 30 days after publication in the Federal Register and applies to every US financial institution, a category that includes broker-dealers and futures commission merchants. MEXC ranks among the 20 largest crypto exchanges, with more than $1B in daily transactions as of June.
Rival exchange OKX told users to stop sending funds directly from MEXC, warning the money may be frozen.
MEXC said customer funds remain secure and that trading, deposits, and withdrawals are running normally. The exchange recorded $126.03M in net outflows over the 24 hours around the announcement, against roughly $4.35B in tracked assets.
Miners trade bitcoin mining for AI rent
While traders priced in regulatory risk, the Labor Department sent a proposed rule to the White House on Thursday that would allow alternative assets, including crypto, for 401(k) retirement plans. The department says the rule should help plan managers weigh higher costs against long-term returns.
Inside the sector, the sharpest move is miners walking away from bitcoin entirely. IREN saw mining revenue fall 58% to $28M in the quarter ended Sept. 30, while AI cloud revenue surged 182% to around $200M and total revenue rose 66% to $228M.
TeraWulf told a similar story, with mining revenue down 69% to $13.2M and high-performance computing lease revenue up 774% to nearly $63M. IREN aims to substantially finish its exit from mining by Dec. 31.
Hyperliquid Strategies filed to become a futures commission merchant, a registration that would let it carry US client accounts. The firm reported $13.3M in quarterly revenue and $620.6M in net income, driven by $803M of gains on the HYPE tokens it still holds.
Tuesday's October consumer price index is the next scheduled catalyst, and a soft print could pull bond yields lower. Marex analysts noted the US 10-year eased to 4.85%, support that is too small to offset persistent ETF outflows.
