Bitcoin Near $71K as Nvidia Shares Drop After Jensen Huang Exit

Bitcoin extended its slide after the Wall Street open, breaking to fresh multimonth lows as risk sentiment weakened alongside renewed pressure in US equities. TradingView data cited in the report shows BTC/USD falling below $72,000 for the first time since Aug. 20, with month-to-date losses reaching 7.4%.

For traders, the next major macro catalyst is already in focus: Friday’s US Producer Price Index (PPI) release, which could influence expectations for Federal Reserve policy and, by extension, near-term crypto volatility.

Key takeaways

• Bitcoin dropped about 3.5% on Thursday, slipping under $72,000 and extending month-to-date declines to 7.4%, according to TradingView.
• Nvidia’s abrupt leadership change weighed on markets, with NVDA shares falling nearly 13% at the Wall Street open before partially rebounding.
• BTC briefly traded below its 21-week simple moving average near $73,078, a technical level now acting as resistance.
• Analysts pointed to Friday’s US PPI as the next likely trigger for directional price moves in BTC.
• CoinGlass liquidation data showed 24-hour crypto liquidations of $730 million as BTC moved through areas of bid liquidity.

Nvidia shock spills into crypto risk sentiment

The selloff in Bitcoin coincided with a sharp deterioration in sentiment tied to Nvidia. According to coverage referenced from Cointelegraph, the company faced turbulence after CEO Jensen Huang’s immediate resignation and board transition efforts, contributing to broad market weakness in tech.

In a company statement, Nvidia said that Colette Kress, the firm’s Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, would serve as interim Chief Executive Officer. The board also indicated it would initiate a search for a permanent replacement, considering internal and external candidates. An immediate market reaction followed: the report notes that NVDA traded as low as $148.80 before rebounding to around $160, still down about 7.2% at the time of writing.

While the Nasdaq Composite avoided a deeper fall at the open—down about 0.6% in the cited snapshot—Bitcoin followed the broader pattern of heightened risk appetite turning into selling pressure.

Economist Mohamed El-Erian characterized Huang’s resignation as a development with implications beyond Nvidia itself. In an analysis published on his Substack, El-Erian argued that the situation would remain in the spotlight as the company navigates the loss of its influential founder and as political investigations—formal and informal—play out.

Bitcoin breaks below key technical level

Beyond equities, the report highlighted Bitcoin’s technical weakness. TradingView data cited in the article showed BTC/USD falling below its 21-week simple moving average (SMA), which stood at $73,078 on Wednesday.

When price breaks under longer moving averages, traders often treat the level as a reference point for whether the downtrend is stabilizing or accelerating. In this case, BTC’s move under that SMA suggests bulls had not yet regained control of momentum heading into the next macro event.

As the selloff progressed, the report also pointed to behavior in the derivatives market. According to CoinGlass data referenced in the coverage, 24-hour crypto liquidations reached $730 million, helping explain why BTC could cut through liquidity pockets rather than meeting sustained buying.

PPI becomes the next catalyst for rate expectations

The immediate question for BTC traders is whether Thursday’s risk-off spillover continues—or whether the market’s focus shifts back to macro fundamentals. The report points to Friday’s US Producer Price Index (PPI) as the next key volatility driver.

Keith Alan, cofounder of crypto trading platform Material Indicators, argued that the PPI could change the odds for how aggressively the Federal Reserve might move in the months ahead. In an X post cited by the article, Alan noted that a “cool” PPI print—meaning softer inflation pressures than expected—could reduce expectations for aggressive rate hikes in December or January and potentially “flip” the near-term narrative bullish.

He also suggested that if PPI aligns with market expectations, BTC could gravitate toward nearby areas of exchange order-book liquidity rather than trending cleanly in one direction.

This matters because the market recently had already reacted to inflation signals. The report referenced earlier CPI data, stating that the October Consumer Price Index came in above expectations on Tuesday—prompting investors to price in more interest-rate hike probability for the Federal Reserve. In that framework, PPI is important not only for its headline number, but for how it affects the next round of rate expectations that typically filter into both US equities and high-beta assets like crypto.

What to watch next

With Bitcoin currently trading below a longer technical benchmark and sitting amid liquidation-driven downside pressure, the most immediate test is whether Friday’s PPI shifts rate expectations enough to reverse the momentum. Traders will likely watch both the inflation print and the derivatives response—particularly whether BTC can reclaim levels around the 21-week SMA or whether downside liquidations extend into the next session.