- Bitcoin moved in lockstep with Nasdaq 100 Futures after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang confirmed his affair with a suspected Chinese spy.
- Ether bore the brunt of the event, driving most of the liquidations over the past 24 hours.
A cascade of liquidations once again battered Bitcoin (BTC) and the broader cryptocurrency market. As of the wee hours of Monday (UTC), volatility wiped out more than $1 billion in leveraged positions, with longs accounting for nearly 90% of the wreckage.
Bitcoin fell to around $73,691 on Sunday, as Nasdaq 100 Futures fell over 1% on the ongoing drama at Nvidia centered on its CEO and president, Jensen Huang.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s Scandal
The rumor mill has been rife with allegations of Huang’s scandalous affair with a Chinese spy throughout last week. However, Nvidia addressed the issue only on Sunday.
Nvidia’s official statement said its board has already launched an investigation to determine Huang’s romantic involvement with an alleged Chinese asset. Nonetheless, it highlighted that it had no initial reason to believe the affair led to the leakage of sensitive corporate or national security information. Jensen supported the review and has committed to cooperating with investigators.
In the spotlight is Alice Huang (Huang Le), a top executive at Megaspeed. The company is Nvidia’s customer and cloud partner. It’s worth noting that the two Huangs have no familial relation.
The Nvidia CEO admitted his affair with the suspected Chinese spy. But then again, he was mum on whether his relationship with her led to China skirting AI chip sanctions through Megaspeed. There are also no conclusive findings on whether it resulted in the leakage of sensitive state or corporate secrets.
Why Bitcoin and Crypto Fell with the News
The Kobeissi Letter attributed the Nasdaq 100 Futures’ significant decline to the Nvidia fiasco, losing around $250 billion in the chart right after Huang’s admission. The index recovered within minutes, though, as investors bought the dip and added back about $300 billion.
Bitcoin similarly exhibited a knee-jerk reaction to the selloff, sliding below $74,000 before rebounding as investors capitalized on the Nvidia dip. BTC’s historical correlation with US tech stocks also contributed to its quick comeback.
On the other hand, Ethereum (ETH) fell sharply below $2,100 as altcoins closely correlated with BTC amplified the trend. Compared to Bitcoin’s roughly $279 million in 24-hour liquidations, Ether saw $455 million in liquidations.
Beyond the Nvidia debacle’s aftermath, BTC and the broader crypto market continue to face pressure from weak buying sentiment driven by macroeconomic uncertainty, spiraling inflation, post-US midterm election jitters, institutional hesitation ahead of upcoming Federal Reserve policy guidance, and several hacking incidents involving high-profile crypto exchanges.
