Bitcoin Price Dips Below $57K Amid Nvidia and Broader Market Decline

Bitcoin saw a 4.7% drop on Wednesday, falling below $57,000 as economic uncertainties in the U.S. and a tech sell-off led by Nvidia weighed on investor sentiment. By 0640 UTC, Bitcoin was trading at around $56,416, its lowest in weeks, following a broader market downturn.

The drop was partly triggered by the release of the U.S. Manufacturing PMI data for August 2024, which came in at 47.2, signaling ongoing contraction in the manufacturing sector. This sparked a sell-off across financial markets, with the S&P 500 falling 2.12%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 1.51%, and the Nasdaq Composite dropping 3.26%.

The market turmoil was exacerbated by Nvidia’s stock plunge, which fell 9.5% following news of a Department of Justice (DOJ) subpoena related to an intensified antitrust investigation. Nvidia’s stock shed $278.9 billion in market value in its largest single-day loss. The investigation raised concerns that Nvidia may have penalized customers for not exclusively using its AI chips, potentially violating antitrust laws.

Nvidia, a key player in the tech and AI industries, also has strong ties to the cryptocurrency sector due to its GPUs being widely used for crypto mining. The sharp decline in Nvidia’s stock is seen as a signal of broader tech industry concerns, which in turn spooked investors, leading to a sell-off in riskier assets like Bitcoin.