Key Takeaways
- Bitcoin fell below $74,000 as more than $297 million in BTC long positions were liquidated.
- Nvidia shares and tokenized stock faced pressure.
- Allegations of a Chinese espionage attempt involving Jensen Huang have added another layer of uncertainty to an already fragile market.
So far, the market’s reaction to Sunday’s news that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang admitted he was unfaithful to his wife has been mixed. The story could also have national security implications.
Bitcoin, NVDA Perps Down, Asian Stocks up
More than $297 million in bitcoin long positions have been liquidated in the past 12 hours, according to Coinglass data. BTC briefly dipped below $74,000 amid thin trading, failed to recover above $75,500, and then dipped below $74,000 again. At the time of writing, bitcoin was trading near $73,800, down almost 3% in 24 hours.
Meanwhile, stock futures and Asian markets shrugged off the news within hours, with stock indexes rising Monday morning before giving up some of the gains. However, before the U.S. market opened, NVDA-USDC perpetual futures on Hyperliquid had dropped almost 6% in 24 hours, while Nvidia’s tokenized stock, NVDAX, was also down around 6%.
Nvidia shares are down 10% in a week, 19% in a month, and 6% in a year.
Investigation Into Possible Espionage
As the story surrounding the world’s most valuable chipmaker and leading artificial intelligence (AI) chip supplier continues to develop, both traditional and crypto asset markets will need to closely follow what happens with Nvidia next. The company has said it doesn’t have a formal succession plan for Huang.
At the center of the story is not the affair itself but a possible Chinese espionage attempt. In October, The New York Times alleged that China’s Ministry of State Security recruited Alice Huang, or Huang Le, to gather intelligence on Nvidia’s founder. China denies these allegations, while Nvidia’s board said Sunday that it was initiating “an independent investigation” into them.
“While the Board has no reason to believe that either national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised, the Board’s inquiry will examine all available information,” Nvidia’s board said.
AI Sector’s Effect on Bitcoin Price
Although bitcoin has no direct links to Nvidia, the company is the leading AI stock, and many large publicly traded bitcoin miners have now pivoted to AI computing. Last week, BTC already fell from above $80,000 to below $76,000 as chip and AI stocks sold off amid the Democratic midterm sweep and uncertainty over further AI sector expansion in the U.S.
Now, the questions surrounding Huang add another layer of uncertainty to an already fragile market structure. For example, outflows from bitcoin ETFs neared $1.3 billion last week, compared with $203 million in outflows a week earlier.
However, as reported by Bitcoin.com News, some market players claim that the crypto asset market might benefit from a downturn in the U.S. tech/AI equity sector, with investors pivoting liquidity to digital assets.
‘Irreplaceable’ CEO
In any case, Huang has received support from prominent entrepreneurs, including Tesla and SpaceX supremo Elon Musk, who agreed that “Jensen is irreplaceable for America’s AI leadership.”
Entrepreneur, investor, and Bitcoin advocate Anthony Pompliano also chimed in, saying that “We are watching the two top intelligence agencies play chess on the geopolitical stage.”
“Sit back and enjoy the show,” he added.
