A sudden corporate earthquake at global semiconductor frontrunner Nvidia has triggered tremors across artificial intelligence equities and digital asset markets. Following the resignation of Jensen Huang from his roles as CEO, President, and member of the Board of Directors, high-flying tech valuations experienced sharp selling pressure that swiftly spilled over into cryptocurrencies. Amid this volatile backdrop, Ethereum slipped by 3% on Thursday, briefly breaking below the closely watched $2,000 benchmark. The abrupt market correction delivered a major blow to derivative traders holding leveraged long positions across digital asset exchanges.
Executive Resignation Sparks Turbulence Across AI and Cloud Stocks
The sudden departure of Nvidia's longstanding leader unfolded in the wake of reports alleging an affair between Huang and Kimberly Powell, the company's Vice President of Healthcare. This development arrived shortly after Huang faced intense public scrutiny for acknowledging a personal relationship with a Chinese executive named Huang Le, an individual designated by US government officials as a Chinese intelligence asset. The compounding weight of these corporate governance concerns led to Huang stepping down entirely from executive and board responsibilities, destabilizing investor confidence in the sector.
The announcement immediately unleashed aggressive selloffs across AI infrastructure and neocloud service providers. Nvidia shares plunged as much as 10% during initial trading sessions. The broader ecosystem felt immediate reverberations, with Nebius tumbling 21%, CoreWeave shedding 14%, and Iren sliding 9% before broader tech indices managed a slight stabilization. Despite the intraday easing of losses, the equity shockwave drained risk appetite across interconnected digital markets.
Derivative Liquidations Mount as Longs Get Wiped Out
As risk sentiment deteriorated across tech assets, Ethereum suffered heavy downward momentum. Data compiled by Coinglass reveals that the sudden 3% price dip triggered $126.7 million in total crypto liquidations over a 24-hour window. The brunt of this forced unwinding fell squarely upon bullish positioning, with liquidated long orders accounting for $103.9 million of the total. The cascade of stop-outs accelerated the token's decline through key psychological floors.
According to current live market data, Ethereum trades around $2,004, representing a 2.51% retreat from the previous close of $2,056. The asset has maintained a 52-week trading range spanning between $1,507 and $2,805, while trading volume stands at approximately 0.96 times its 20-day average. The rapid liquidation of leveraged buy orders highlights how aggressively traders were positioned prior to the sudden geopolitical and executive headlines.
Institutional Outflows Persist as US Sentiment Metric Languishes
The broader structural weakness in Ethereum extends beyond isolated equity shocks, weighed down by persistent institutional capital flight. SoSoValue tracking metrics show that US spot ETH exchange-traded funds posted $144.8 million in net outflows on Wednesday. This institutional retreat reflects an ongoing trend, as these regulated investment vehicles have managed only a solitary day of net inflows since the start of November.
A corresponding lack of domestic demand is visible in the Coinbase Premium Index, an indicator that gauges relative buying appetite from American market participants. The metric has languished in negative territory since early September, confirming that selling pressure originating from US-based institutions and high-net-worth investors continues to dominate spot trading desks. Without localized spot demand, broader price recoveries have struggled to gain traction.
Technical Indicators and Crucial Price Levels to Watch
On technical price charts, Ethereum remains locked within a broader bearish phase. The asset trades well below its cluster of short- and intermediate-term Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs), with the 20-day, 50-day, and 100-day lines grouped between $2,220 and $2,330. This overhead moving average structure maintains constant downward pressure on chart action. Momentum indicators have pushed deep into oversold territory, with the 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) sitting near 28 and the Stochastic Oscillator hovering around 7. Current live readings verify this positioning, with the Stochastic fast line at 0 and signal line at 7, alongside an ADX of 26 indicating an ongoing trend. The price has breached the lower threshold of its 20-day Bollinger Band envelope ($2,018 to $2,456). While extreme oversold readings often precede short-term corrective bounces, any recovery is expected to remain corrective as long as prices stay trapped beneath moving average resistance.
To the downside, the key horizontal floor to monitor is $1,971. A decisive break below this support zone could open the pathway toward secondary support levels at $1,827 and $1,706. Conversely, if buyers stage a counter-attack, initial overhead resistance is pegged at the $2,101 horizontal barrier, which halted an attempted rebound on Wednesday. Above that mark, bulls would encounter friction at $2,204, followed by the 20-day EMA near $2,223 to $2,227, and $2,250. Further up, the 100-day EMA at $2,320 and 50-day EMA at $2,334 (with live EMA50 at $2,331) represent formidable technical ceilings.
Altcoin Landscape: Ripple, Cardano, Solana, and Bitcoin Trajectories
While Ethereum navigated turbulence, other prominent altcoins displayed relative resilience on Thursday. Ripple, Cardano, and Solana halted their recent slides, which had been driven by hotter-than-anticipated US inflation prints and post-midterm market readjustments. Markets appear to have digested October's Consumer Price Index (CPI) print of 0.4%, which exceeded consensus projections of 0.3%.
Ripple held steady around $1.05 amid subdued market participation, paring back earlier losses. Bulls have defended the $1.00 to $1.05 range since the sharp correction of November 5, attempting to establish an accumulation base for future recovery moves. Meanwhile, Bitcoin consolidated near its critical $73,000 support band, moving in tandem with top-tier assets. While Ethereum fights to defend its $2,000 threshold, remittance token XRP continues to exhibit technical softness, leaving downside risks toward sub-$1.00 open. Elsewhere, Pi Network traded near $0.0700, holding the line after Tuesday's 8% rebound, which followed a significant withdrawal of over 590 million PI tokens from OKX exchange custody that alleviated selling liquidity.
