Bitcoin touched $73,708 late Sunday. That was a drop of more than 2%, and a level not seen since August. Ether lost roughly 5% to land at $2,223, its weakest since August. Reuters reported the slide as traders priced in a Congress run by Democrats taking a harder line on crypto after the November 3 midterm elections.
Monday morning brought ether no relief. MarketRadar's snapshot at 08:13 UTC (13:13 PKT) showed bitcoin at $73,798, up $90 from the Sunday low. Ether traded at $2,091, down a further $132 from $2,223. Between the two prints, ether fell 5.9% while bitcoin gained 0.12%. Over 24 hours, ether fell 6.5% against bitcoin's 2.69% — a decline running at 2.4 times bitcoin's pace.
Ether took the harder hit.
Bitcoin vs ether: the slide in numbers
| Measure | Bitcoin | Ether |
|---|---|---|
| Late Sunday low | $73,708 | $2,223 |
| Sunday move | down more than 2% | down about 5% |
| Monday 08:13 UTC price | $73,798 | $2,091 |
| 24-hour change | -2.69% | -6.5% |
| Weekly change | -4.9% | -7.4% |
| Daily volume | ~$21 billion | ~$10.5 billion |
| Last time at these levels | August | August |
Three forces sit behind the move. First, the midterms gave Democrats both chambers of Congress on November 3, seated in January 2027. The CLARITY Act, the market-structure bill that would set federal crypto rules and split oversight between the SEC and the CFTC, stalled in the Senate in September. Ohio returned crypto skeptic Sherrod Brown to the Senate. Reports say House Democrats plan their own rewrite of crypto market-structure rules. Crypto firms put $300 million-plus behind friendly candidates in the last two cycles, per crypto.news, and still lost the chambers.
Second, the Binance hack. Attackers took about $6.34 billion from the exchange on October 29. The FBI blamed the breach on hackers tied to North Korea. Binance said it would cover customer losses and reopened withdrawals after a temporary halt. Net withdrawals hit $4.72 billion once services resumed, about 2.8% of assets on the platform.
Third, institutional money is heading for the exit. On November 5, US spot bitcoin and ether ETFs shed $530.1 million combined. Bitcoin funds gave up $430.2 million, 81.2% of the total. Ether funds lost $99.9 million. Ether's November 6 slide set off about $210 million in liquidations, $179 million from leveraged longs.
Why it matters
Tougher crypto rules from Congress would touch exchanges, token classification, stablecoin issuance and bank access to crypto products. The CLARITY Act delay already leaves the industry without the federal framework it lobbied for across two cycles. A rewrite led by House Democrats would start from different premises. The macro backdrop turned against risk too. October payrolls printed 165,000 against a 65,000 consensus on November 6. December hike odds moved back toward 80% per CME FedWatch. Gold rose 0.48% to $4,091.50 in that snapshot.
What to watch
- October CPI lands November 10: a hot print would firm December hike pricing and press crypto further
- ETF flows for November 6-9: a second $400 million-plus bitcoin outflow day would confirm institutions are still selling
- The $73,708 bitcoin low and $2,060 ether low from early Monday: a close under either opens the August lows as the next reference
- House Democrats' rewrite: any draft text or committee date shows how fast the new Congress plans to move
- Binance flows: net withdrawals past $4.72 billion would signal customer trust is still draining
Key points
- Late Sunday, bitcoin hit $73,708 and ether $2,223 — both back to August levels (Reuters)
- Monday 08:13 UTC snapshot: bitcoin $73,798 (-2.69% in 24 hours), ether $2,091 (-6.5%), with ether's slide running at 2.4 times bitcoin's pace
- Democrats took both chambers on November 3; the CLARITY Act stalled in the Senate in September; Sherrod Brown won in Ohio
- US spot crypto ETFs lost a combined $530.1 million on November 5: $430.2 million from bitcoin funds, $99.9 million from ether funds
- After the $6.34 billion October 29 hack, net outflows from Binance reached $4.72 billion; the FBI blamed hackers tied to North Korea
- December hike odds sit near 80% after October payrolls printed 165,000; October CPI lands November 10
MarketRadar take
The move reads as repricing, not panic. Bitcoin held $90 above its Sunday low into Monday morning while ether kept sliding. That points to ether-specific selling on top of the political shock: ETF outflows, $210 million in liquidations and the Binance overhang all hit ether harder. With December hike odds near 80% and October CPI due November 10, the next two sessions will show whether this was a one-weekend reset or a longer drawdown toward the August lows.
