The trade that took cryptocurrency miners to the artificial intelligence (AI) sector came under fresh pressure Thursday as Nvidia cofounder Jensen Huang resigned as the company CEO. The devel
The trade that took cryptocurrency miners to the artificial intelligence (AI) sector came under fresh pressure Thursday as Nvidia cofounder Jensen Huang resigned as the company CEO. The development impacted the stock market, particularly pushing the shares of AI infrastructure firms down the price ladder.
Nvidia announced on Nov. 12 that Huang had stepped down as president, CEO and director, effective immediately. Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress has been appointed as the chip giant's interim CEO, the announcement said.
Explained: What is Bitcoin mining? (6:23)Huang's departure from Nvidia comes after he admitted to have been "unfaithful" with his wife in an internal mail sent to the Nvidia team on November 8.
U.S. intelligence officials reportedly suspect that his extra-marital interest was recruited by Beijing to gather information on Nvidia and gain access to high-end semiconductor supply lines. The situation has stemmed concerns around U.S. national security, according to The Associated Press.
Nvidia has not officially identified those allegations as the reason for his resignation.
The company said its operations and product roadmap were expected to continue uninterrupted, but the departure put the AI industry's dependence on Nvidia in focus.
Related: Trader loses millions after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang steps down
Several companies caught in Thursday selloff have roots in the cryptocurrency mining business.
CoreWeave (Nasdaq: CRWV) began by mining Ethereum using discounted Nvidia chips before becoming a specialized AI cloud provider. Its early relationship with Nvidia helped shape that transition.
IREN Limited (Nasdaq: IREN), formerly Iris Energy, expanded from Bitcoin mining into AI infrastructure and announced plans in March 2026 to grow its fleet to 150,000 Nvidia GPUs.
TeraWulf (Nasdaq: WULF) has also expanded from Bitcoin mining into high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure, while Applied Digital, formerly Applied Blockchain, began Ethereum and altcoin mining operations in 2021 before moving into AI data center hosting.
Nebius (Nasdaq: NBIS) has a different history. Formerly Yandex N.V., it emerged as an AI infrastructure company after divesting its Russian businesses.
The companies have used their experience developing large facilities and securing electricity to enter the AI market, although Bitcoin mining hardware cannot simply be repurposed for AI computing.
Nebius was among the hardest-hit stocks, falling 18% to $126.47. The company also issued disappointing revenue guidance, according to CNBC, adding a company-specific pressure to the broader selloff.
CoreWeave dropped nearly 7% to $56.74, while IREN fell more than 8.5% to $19.04. TeraWulf lost more than 2% to $13.
The declines accompanied a sharp fall in Nvidia shares, which dropped more than 5% on the day to trade at $164.33, according to Yahoo Finance.
Nvidia stock at press time, Source: Yahoo Finance
Reuters reported that Huang's departure posed fresh risks to an AI sector in which Nvidia helps finance infrastructure built around its chips.
These businesses, however, have varied ties with Nvidia, and Thursday's price movements do not establish that their contracts or expansion plans have been affected.
Cryptocurrency prices were also lower in the supplied market snapshot.
Crypto market heatmap at press timeBitcoin (BTC) traded at approximately $71,797, down 2.34%, while Ether (ETH) fell 2.03% to $2,011, according to the supplied market heatmap. The snapshot did not specify the percentage-change window.
Related: Trader loses millions after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang steps down
