NEW YORK, United States / CryptoWire.AI / – Bitcoin fell towards $75,000 on Friday, November 6, erasing a short rally that followed the U.S. midterm elections. Investors grew more concerned about the regulatory outlook for crypto under a Congress controlled by Democrats. Weaker risk appetite, driven by a sharp sell-off in technology and artificial intelligence shares, added to the pressure. Losses spread across the crypto market. Bitcoin had climbed back above $80,000 after the vote.
Bitcoin was on course to lose more than 2% this week, its fifth straight weekly decline. Democrats won majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate in the November 3 elections, although President Donald Trump retains his veto power. The result followed heavy spending by crypto super PACs seeking a friendlier Congress. Initial optimism after the vote has since given way to uncertainty.
Democrats have historically been more sceptical of digital assets. Senior figures in the party, notably Senator Elizabeth Warren, have called for a broader crackdown on the sector. Democratic lawmakers have also pushed for tougher anti-money laundering and risk management rules. Many industry supporters argue that such measures would stifle innovation. The Clarity Act, a key market structure bill, stalled in the Senate in September after Democratic objections.
Past Democratic Congress saw steep losses
Bitcoin’s record under the last Democratic-controlled Congress, in 2021 and 2022, was weak, with the cryptocurrency falling 43% over that period, according to Investing.com. That stretch also coincided with rising U.S. interest rates. Several high-profile crypto bankruptcies hit the market at the same time, including Terra, FTX and Celsius. Those factors make a direct comparison with today’s market difficult. Bitcoin still trades far above its 2022 lows despite this year’s slide.
Bitcoin was also weighed down by news from miner Riot Platforms. The company said this week that it sold about 79% of its bitcoin holdings in the third quarter. Its reserves fell from 11,380 BTC at the end of June to 2,418 BTC on September 30. Riot sold 10,599 BTC for about $751.5 million to fund the expansion of its data centre business. Riot also repaid a $200 million credit facility from Coinbase, releasing bitcoin it had pledged as collateral.
Altcoins and Trump memecoin slide
Other major cryptocurrencies fell more sharply. Ether dropped 8.6% to $2,223 on Friday and was down 1.5% for the week, heading for a sixth straight weekly loss. XRP slid 8.9% and BNB lost 3.5%. Solana and Cardano each fell about 7%, while Dogecoin dropped 6.6%. Crypto liquidations topped $1.25 billion over 24 hours, with bets on rising prices making up nearly 89% of the total. Ether’s run of weekly losses is one week longer than Bitcoin’s.
President Donald Trump’s memecoin, $TRUMP, fell to record lows after Republicans suffered heavy losses in the midterms. The token lost more than 22% this week and touched a record low of $1.116, according to Investing.com data, before recovering slightly on Friday. It was launched around Trump’s inauguration in January 2025 and hit a high of $73.43 soon after. It has since lost about 99% of its value.