The price of Bitcoin (BTC) has fallen below the key threshold of $100,000 U.S. as cryptocurrencies selloff alongside technology stocks to start the week.
Bitcoin is down 5% and trading at $99,500 U.S. amid a market rout that has the technology-laden Nasdaq Composite index down 850 points or nearly 4%.
The sharp selloff has been sparked by the emergence Chinese artificial intelligence (A.I.) model DeepSeek, which was reportedly created in two months at a cost of only $6 million U.S.
The relatively cheap cost of DeepSeek has raised concerns about the billions of dollars U.S. technology companies are spending to develop their own A.I. models and data centres.
A week ago, Bitcoin was trading at an all-time high above $109,300 U.S. as U.S. President Donald Trump returned to power vowing to make America the “crypto capital of the planet.”
Other cryptocurrencies are suffering steeper losses than Bitcoin, with Ethereum (ETH) down 7% to $3,088.68 U.S. per digital token, and Dogecoin (DOGE) down 10% to $0.32 U.S.
Shares of stocks associated with crypto are also taking a hit, with crypto exchange Coinbase Global (COIN) down 6% and Bitcoin acquirer MicroStrategy (MSTR) down 5%.
In a note to clients, Standard Chartered (STAN) wrote that the current selloff “highlights the continued strong (and strengthening) relationship between digital assets and the tech sector.”
Bitcoin has also seen more than $250 million U.S. in liquidations over the past 24 hours as traders who used leverage to bet that the price would continue to rise are forced to sell their holdings to cover their losses.
The price of Bitcoin has now risen 138% over the last 12 months.
