Bitcoin and Ether Climb as AI Safety Concerns Weigh on Tech Stocks
Bitcoin and ether prices rise despite tech market weakness
Bitcoin climbed above $77,000 on Monday, showing strength even as technology and artificial intelligence (AI) stocks faced a selloff. The market move followed concerns raised by industry leaders about the rapid pace of AI development.
While technology shares dropped in pre-market trading, major cryptocurrencies remained in the green. Bitcoin gained roughly 1% over the past day, while ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, also rose by about 1%.
Important market numbers
- Bitcoin reached approximately $77,800, a gain of about 1%.
- Ether rose 1% to reach the $2,500 level.
- The Invesco QQQ ETF, which tracks the Nasdaq 100, fell 1.5% in pre-market trading.
- Brent crude oil prices increased by more than 3%, reaching $107 per barrel.
- Gold prices dropped nearly 1% to around $4,300 an ounce.
AI industry leaders call for slower development
The decline in technology stocks follows comments from several high-profile AI executives over the weekend. Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, called for the industry to slow down its pace to ensure that safety measures can keep up with the technology.
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, and Elon Musk, who leads xAI, expressed agreement with the need for safety-focused caution. These concerns impacted shares of companies tied to the AI supply chain, such as SK Hynix, which produces memory chips used in AI applications.
Global impact on technology shares and commodities
The selloff affected various sectors of the global market. In South Korea, the Kospi index fell 3%, while SK Hynix shares dropped 6%. In U.S. pre-market trading, cloud providers Nebius and CoreWeave saw their stock prices fall by 6% and 5% respectively. Chipmakers Intel and Sandisk also saw 5% declines.
Energy and precious metals also saw significant movement. While oil prices climbed, with WTI trading above $103, precious metals retreated. Silver prices declined by 1.5% alongside the drop in gold. Treasury yields saw slight shifts, with the U.S. 10-year yield resting just below 5%.
Why the market divergence matters
The recent price action shows a rare split between the cryptocurrency market and the technology-heavy Nasdaq. Typically, Bitcoin and tech stocks move in similar directions. However, in this instance, Bitcoin and ether defied the downward trend seen in AI-related shares, suggesting a decoupling from technology sector safety concerns.
What happens next for AI companies
Despite the current market pressure, some major industry moves are on the horizon. Anthropic has reportedly chosen Nasdaq for its upcoming initial public offering (IPO). Conversely, Sam Altman confirmed that OpenAI does not plan to go public during 2026.