Bitcoin held near 73,700 dollars on 12 November, struggling to recover from its recent sell-off as weak institutional demand, persistent leverage and growing exchange inflows continued to weigh on the market. The largest cryptocurrency traded near 73,710 dollars at the time of reporting, little changed over 24 hours but down about 8.27 percent over the past week.

Bitcoin gained 0.31 percent on Wednesday to close at 73,928.40 dollars. The session ranged from 73,113.60 to 74,754.10 dollars, holding above Tuesday's low of 72,584.60 dollars but failing to recover Tuesday's high of 75,323.50 dollars. A brief recovery towards 74,700 dollars on Wednesday faded overnight, with the price slipping back towards 73,300 dollars and leaving traders without a sustained move in either direction. The latest price of 73,740 dollars was about 1 percent below the level recorded two days earlier, and 24-hour trading volume stood at 25.86 billion dollars.

ETF outflows reach 2.22 billion dollars

Institutional buying has offered little relief. US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded 95 million dollars in net outflows on Tuesday, extending their losing streak to four consecutive sessions. A market assessment published on 11 November found that nearly 2.22 billion dollars had left US spot Bitcoin ETFs across eight sessions beginning on 30 October. The same report identified 75,717 dollars as Bitcoin's short-term holder cost basis, a level where recent buyers may look to sell after recovering their initial investments.

Bitcoin's recovery attempts have remained brief since the release of hotter-than-expected US inflation figures on 10 November. Consumer prices rose 0.4 percent in October, compared with economists' expectations of 0.3 percent. The figures prompted traders to price in a higher probability of another Federal Reserve interest rate increase in December. Higher borrowing costs can make investors less willing to hold risky assets, particularly when demand is already weakening.

Leverage has not yet been cleared out

Derivatives activity presents another obstacle. In an analysis of the latest downturn, CryptoQuant analyst BaykusCharts compared it with two previous Bitcoin corrections in 2026. During February's decline from 87,000 to 67,000 dollars, open interest in Bitcoin futures on Binance fell from 9 billion to 5.5 billion dollars, and about 20 percent of outstanding positions, measured in Bitcoin terms, disappeared within days. Another liquidation wave occurred in June, when open interest dropped from 8 billion to 6.1 billion dollars before Bitcoin reached its yearly low near 59,000 dollars.

The current correction has followed a different pattern. Since mid-October, Bitcoin has declined from about 85,000 to 74,300 dollars, while Binance open interest fell from 9.4 billion to 7.2 billion dollars. The analyst estimated that only 12 percent of positions had closed in Bitcoin terms, with no comparable single-day liquidation event. Funding rates have remained positive, suggesting traders continue opening leveraged long positions as prices fall. Crypto trader Daan Crypto Trades raised a similar concern, observing that Bitcoin open interest measured in Bitcoin had returned to levels last seen between 2021 and 2023, and noting that previous periods of elevated open interest frequently preceded substantial position closures.

Miners cut reserves as exchange inflows rise

Selling concerns have extended beyond derivatives trading. CryptoQuant analyst Arab Chain reported that Bitcoin reserves held by miners had declined to about 1.19 million Bitcoin, their lowest level since 2009. The analyst noted that Bitcoin inflows to cryptocurrency exchanges had reached a nine-month high, while Binance received about 2,000 Bitcoin in one day. Miners could be transferring coins to obtain liquidity or cover operating expenses, although wallet movements do not establish that every transferred coin was sold. Meanwhile, CryptoQuant's Bitcoin Bull Score Index fell to zero on 11 November, the most bearish reading it can give, according to the firm's research head Julio Moreno.

On the charts, Bitcoin continues to trade below its short-term moving averages. At about 73,758 dollars it remained below its nine-day moving average of 75,565.86 dollars and its 21-day moving average of 77,633.08 dollars. The 14-day relative strength index rose to 35.23, still below the neutral 50 line. Immediate support sits around 73,500 dollars, followed by 72,000 dollars, and a sustained move below 72,000 could expose the 70,000-dollar level. On the upside, Bitcoin would need to recover 75,565 dollars before challenging the next resistance near 77,633 dollars. Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, traded at 2,053.46 dollars, down 0.43 percent, after closing Wednesday at 2,053.48 dollars. Analysts said Bitcoin would need renewed spot buying and a sustained return of ETF inflows to support another recovery attempt. Sources: crypto.news and The Crypto Basic.