Bitcoin listless, Nvidia perps crash 7% as CEO Jensen Huang reportedly faces the axe

The cryptocurrency market reacted sharply to reports suggesting Nvidia's board was considering removing CEO Jensen Huang amid controversy surrounding his alleged affair with a suspected Chinese spy. Perpetual futures tied to Nvidia on the decentralized exchange Hyperliquid plummeted nearly 7%, with similar losses recorded on major centralized exchanges including Binance, OKX, and Bybit.

The actual Nasdaq-listed Nvidia stock closed at $173 on Wednesday and dropped further by over 7% in after-market trading. If Hyperliquid's price action is any indication, the stock could face additional declines. Nvidia has already lost substantial market value, peaking at $243 on October 6 and sliding significantly since.

Market Reaction

The frenzy was evident in trading volumes, which surged to a record high of over $4 billion across all exchanges, according to Coinglass data. Binance alone accounted for 44% of that total. In terms of open interest, HYPE-USDC perps on Hyperliquid led with $535 million, making NVDA perps the largest among all tradfi-linked markets on the platform and the fourth-largest overall behind BTC, ETH, and HYPE.

Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency, traded slightly weaker at around $73,650, within its recent range. The cryptocurrency has occasionally shown a strong positive correlation with Nvidia. Meanwhile, Nasdaq futures were down 0.75%, signaling a partial reversal of Wednesday's near 2% gain.

CEO Turmoil

The panic began on November 8 when Huang admitted to having an extramarital affair with Alice Huang, a Chinese businesswoman whom U.S. intelligence officials reportedly believed was acting on behalf of Beijing. Nvidia immediately opened an investigation, appointing outside counsel led by former acting U.S. Attorney Joon Kim, but stated it had "no reason to believe" U.S. national security or company secrets had been compromised.

The situation escalated after a New York Times report alleged a second extramarital relationship with an Nvidia executive. The Wall Street Journal subsequently reported that Nvidia's board was preparing to oust Huang and could meet as early as Wednesday to determine his future. Huang, who co-founded Nvidia over three decades ago and has led it since, has not been formally removed.

Under Nvidia's bylaws, directors can remove him with or without cause by majority vote, but the company has not announced a final decision.