How Jensen Huang’s Resignation Is Hitting Nvidia, Nasdaq And BTC

Most of Jensen Huang’s Nvidia wealth is shared with his wife, Lori, adding another layer of uncertainty after his resignation as CEO. The couple jointly hold about 800 million Nvidia shares, worth roughly $135 billion, through a network of trusts and limited liability companies set up for tax and estate planning, according to SEC filings. Huang owns another 70 million shares directly, valued at about $12 billion. Filings show the two share voting and investment control over the jointly held stock. Tax experts say holding shares through trusts is common for tech founders, but equal ownership with a spouse is less usual.

Jensen Huang’s resignation could matter as much to SpaceX as it does to Nvidia. Elon Musk said in August that SpaceX would build its AI operations exclusively on Nvidia’s Vera Rubin chips and expected to receive a large share of Nvidia’s GPU supply next year. Those chips now power SpaceX’s biggest business. Its AI computing unit earned $7.6 billion in the third quarter, more than half of total revenue of $14.6 billion. Musk’s goal of 10 gigawatts of capacity by 2027 could mean roughly $400 billion of Nvidia hardware, based on Nvidia’s estimate of $40 billion per gigawatt. SpaceX has already raised $40 billion in debt to buy GPUs and plans to put Nvidia chips in orbit through its Starmind satellite network from 2027. The ties run both ways, with Nvidia holding a SpaceX stake worth about $21 billion. Both companies have flagged risks. SpaceX warned it depends on a small number of chip suppliers, while Nvidia said it relies heavily on its long-serving leadership team.

Oil climbed on Thursday after President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post that the US does not need a deal with Iran, dimming hopes for a diplomatic breakthrough in the Middle East. US crude futures rose more than 1% to above $87 a barrel, while Brent crude gained over 1% to top $94. Energy stocks followed, with Chevron and ExxonMobil each up about 1% before the market opened. The comments reverse some of the optimism that had pushed oil lower in recent sessions on hopes of US-Iran talks. Higher energy prices add to inflation worries at a time when markets already expect a Federal Reserve rate hike in December. Wells Fargo Investment Institute’s Sameer Samana urged caution, pointing to stubborn inflation, rising long-term rates and new pressure on AI and data centre spending.

Shares of AI cloud provider Nebius dropped 20% in premarket trading on Thursday, even after the company reported third-quarter revenue above forecasts. Investors focused on Nebius’s outlook, which came in below expectations and added to doubts about how quickly demand for rented AI computing will grow. The selloff comes during a difficult week for AI infrastructure stocks, as Nvidia shares tumbled after Jensen Huang resigned as CEO and Oracle fell 4%. Neocloud companies such as Nebius and CoreWeave have been among the most volatile names in the AI trade since the US midterm elections raised concerns about tighter rules on data centre development.

Rival chipmakers gained on Thursday as investors shifted money away from Nvidia after Jensen Huang’s resignation as CEO. AMD and Broadcom each rose about 2% to 3% in premarket trading, while Nvidia fell between 10% and 12% after naming chief financial officer Colette Kress as interim chief. The moves suggest some investors see Nvidia’s leadership crisis as an opening for competitors in AI chips, at least in the short term. Broadcom builds custom AI processors for major cloud companies, and AMD has been expanding its own data centre accelerators. The rest of the AI trade was weaker, with Oracle down 4%. Nasdaq-100 futures fell 1.2% and S&P 500 futures lost 0.6%.

Jensen Huang’s departure leaves the AI industry without its most powerful voice in Washington. As Nvidia’s CEO, Huang lobbied the Trump administration to ease export rules limiting chip sales to China, and the company previously said it received approval to sell its H20 AI chips there. He also argued that new government rules were not needed to keep AI safe, and pushed back on warnings about existential risks from the technology. His influence now faces fresh scrutiny. The affair with Alice Huang, a Megaspeed executive whom US officials reportedly believe passed information to Beijing, has raised questions about whether his China lobbying was compromised. With Democrats taking control of Congress in January and promising investigations, Nvidia’s interim CEO Colette Kress inherits a far tougher policy landscape on export controls and AI regulation.

Nvidia is on track to lose more than $700 billion in market value since last Friday’s close, after Jensen Huang’s resignation as CEO sent its shares lower again on Thursday. The stock dropped $17.73, or over 10%, to $156 before the market opened. That adds to a 9.6% decline over Monday and Tuesday, which followed Huang’s admission of an affair with Megaspeed executive Alice Huang, whom US intelligence reportedly considers a Chinese asset. Nvidia announced his exit on Thursday morning and named chief financial officer Colette Kress as interim CEO. Wall Street had long warned that Nvidia’s stock could fall sharply if Huang ever left, given how closely the company’s success was tied to his leadership. The latest drop shows those fears playing out in real time, just days before Nvidia reports quarterly earnings on November 17.

US stocks were on track for a weaker open on Thursday after Nvidia said Jensen Huang is stepping down as CEO, removing the AI industry’s most influential figure, Reuters reported. As of 8:58 am New York time, Nasdaq 100 futures were down 353.5 points, or 1.24%, while S&P 500 futures lost 47.25 points, or 0.62%. Dow futures were almost flat, slipping 41 points. Tech stocks bore the brunt of the selling, with Nvidia shares down close to 10% in premarket trading at around $156. Chief financial officer Colette Kress has taken over as interim CEO while the board searches for a permanent replacement. The shock adds to pressure on markets already worried about a likely Federal Reserve rate hike in December after hotter-than-expected inflation data. Crypto also remained weak, with Bitcoin trading near $72,300.

As recently as Monday, Jensen Huang looked set to keep his job. Market watchers, venture investors and even President Trump expected the Nvidia chief to ride out the scandal, and tech allies including Elon Musk publicly backed him. That changed on Wednesday. The New York Times, citing five former employees, reported that Huang had a relationship with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia’s healthcare vice president, who reported directly to him. Within hours, the Wall Street Journal said the board was meeting to discuss his future, and by Thursday he was gone. The first revelation centred on Alice Huang, a Megaspeed executive who US officials reportedly believe passed information to China’s Ministry of State Security and sought insight into advanced AI chips. The affair has raised questions over whether it shaped Huang’s push to sell chips to China, and possibly influenced Trump’s export control decisions.

The crypto market extended its slide on Thursday, with major tokens posting steep weekly losses. Bitcoin fell 1.9% over 24 hours to $72,296.50 and is down 9% over the past week, according to CoinGecko. Ether dropped 2.1% to $2,005.29, leaving it 16% lower for the week and close to the $2,000 mark. XRP was hit hardest among the top coins, slipping 2.3% to $1.03 and losing nearly 21% in seven days, putting the $1 level at risk. Solana declined 3% to $81.03, down 14.6% on the week, while BNB lost 3.8% to $654.07. Tether and USDC held their dollar pegs. Pressure is coming from several directions. Hot US inflation data has lifted odds of a December Fed rate hike to about 90%, tech stocks remain volatile after Jensen Huang’s shock resignation from Nvidia, and investors continue to pull money from riskier assets.

US AI neocloud stocks extended their premarket losses following Jensen Huang’s immediate resignation as Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) CEO, triggering further selling across the AI cloud infrastructure sector. Nebius (NASDAQ: NBIS) led the decline, falling 20.1% in premarket trading. CoreWeave (NASDAQ: CRWV) dropped 13.6%, while the Roundhill Neocloud ETF declined 12.5%. IREN shares also fell 8.1%. The selloff reflects growing uncertainty across the AI infrastructure market following the leadership change at Nvidia, a major supplier of AI chips used by neocloud companies.