Bitcoin falls to $61,947, its lowest price since July, as leveraged bets unwind

Bitcoin dropped to $61,947 on Bitstamp early on Sunday, November 15 (UTC). That is its lowest price since July 13, when it touched $61,750. By 7:27 a.m. ET it had climbed back to $65,443, still down 2.5% over 24 hours.

The heaviest selling came on Saturday. Bitcoin closed November 14 at $64,114 on Bitstamp, down 6.0% on the day. That was its lowest daily close since August 16. Over the week from its November 8 close of $74,743, it fell 14.2%.

Leveraged bets forced out

Many traders borrow to bet on price moves. When the price moves against them far enough, exchanges close their positions automatically. These forced sales are called liquidations, and they can push prices further.

About $1.96 billion of leveraged crypto positions were liquidated over 24 hours, according to CoinGlass data reported by CoinCentral and crypto.news. Bitcoin bets made up about $753 million of that, CoinCentral reported. It said about 79.8% of the bitcoin positions closed were bets on a rising price.

Analyst Michaël van de Poppe called it "a super rare, leverage-flush-driven correction" in a post on X, crypto.news reported.

Fund outflows and rate worries

Reports pointed to two other pressures. US spot bitcoin funds had net outflows of about $1.91 billion over seven straight trading days to November 13. Crypto.news, citing Farside data, and TokenPost reported that total.

Traders also expect the US Federal Reserve to raise interest rates. On Saturday, the CME FedWatch tool showed an 88.5% chance of a quarter-point rise in December, CryptoTicker reported, citing Bitcoin.com. FedWatch reads rate odds from futures prices. Rising rates make interest-paying assets more attractive by comparison.

Where the drop leaves bitcoin

Sunday's low was 50.9% below bitcoin's all-time high of $126,272 on Bitstamp, set on October 6, 2025.
It is still above the 2026 low of $57,735, reached on July 1.
The Crypto Fear & Greed Index from alternative.me, a 0-to-100 sentiment gauge, read 10 (Extreme Fear) on November 15. That is its lowest reading since June 10, when it hit 9.

Why it matters

Big drops often come in bursts when borrowed money is forced out of the market. Knowing that helps explain why prices can fall faster than the news seems to justify. If you hold bitcoin without borrowing, no exchange can force you to sell in a move like this.

Sources (8)

Not financial advice. How we report and check stories.

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Leveraged bets forced out

Fund outflows and rate worries

Where the drop leaves bitcoin

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