Jensen Huang’s unexpected resignation as Nvidia’s chairman and CEO on Thursday, November 12, 2026, sent shockwaves through technology and cryptocurrency markets. Nvidia shares fell sharply during the session, with reports citing an approximately 14% intraday decline and a potential loss of more than $700 billion in market capitalization. Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress temporarily assumed the CEO role, while Harvey C. Jones was appointed independent chairman of the board. The leadership change followed reports about personal relationships attributed to Huang, including one linked to Megaspeed, a company investigated over potential advanced chip supply to China, as well as shareholder lawsuits and an internal investigation.
The crypto market was not immune. Against a backdrop of expectations for a Federal Reserve rate increase next month, bitcoin and other risk assets came under pressure. Liquidation activity surged roughly 150% to $1.4 billion, with long positions accounting for $1.16 billion of the wipeout and shorts for $245 million. Dogecoin traded down 0.93% over 24 hours at $0.0659 and was off 7% for the week.
K33 Research underscored the heightened relationship between bitcoin and technology equities. Its November 11 report placed the 30-day correlation between bitcoin and the Nasdaq at approximately 0.75, in the 99th percentile of observations since 2020. Bitcoin perpetual futures open interest reached 353,000 BTC, also in the 99th percentile of the prior two years, while bitcoin had declined about 10% over the preceding 30 days. K33 noted that in eight of nine analyzed Nasdaq rebounds, bitcoin gained over the following 20 days with a median return of 2.9%; when rebounds failed, bitcoin fell in all seven cases with a median loss of 21%.
Dogecoin cofounder Billy Markus added a lighter note to the turmoil. Responding to an X user who said I thought you were a dog, Markus replied “I am a Shiba Inu” and later added “Billy is a Shiba Inu with glasses,” a nod to the dogecoin meme roots associated with Kabosu, the Japanese Shiba Inu that inspired the doge meme.
Institutional pressure is also building. MSCI confirmed it will remove Strategy from its global indexes after the market close on November 30, with estimated potential passive outflows of around $2.8 billion in shares. US spot bitcoin ETFs continued to show weak flows. Ran Neuner of Crypto Banter said a final bitcoin capitulation bottom could be completed within two to three weeks based on open interest, the Coinbase Premium Index, the Bull Score and the Fear and Greed Index, though he cautioned that a market bottom depends on selling pressure fading and demand sustaining a recovery.
