Updated Nov 12, 2026, 10:40 a.m. ESTPublished Nov 12, 2026, 8:57 a.m. EST
2 min read
Summary
- Nvidia shares fell as much as 14% after Jensen Huang resigned as president, chief executive and a board member, effective immediately.
- CFO Colette Kress will serve as interim chief executive, raising questions about succession and strategic continuity at a leading supplier of artificial intelligence chips.
- Shares of bitcoin miners expanding into AI data centers also declined.
Nvidia NVDA$166.15·Market Closed declined by up to 14% on Thursday after Jensen Huang stepped down as president, CEO, and board member taking effect right away.
This exit comes in the wake of reports indicating Huang was involved in a second extramarital relationship, this time with a staff member. He had previously acknowledged an affair with an individual flagged by American intelligence services as a Chinese operative.
Even though Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress was appointed interim CEO, the exit of Huang—who helped establish the firm back in 1993—represents a massive leadership shift for the semiconductor enterprise, whose hardware powers a vast portion of the artificial intelligence sector.
Market participants now confront uncertainty regarding leadership succession, long-term strategy, and the potential fallout for sentiment across the broader AI ecosystem, which frequently serves as a barometer for the crypto market.
The stock slumped as low as $148.80 before recently trading near $165, roughly 5% under its prior closing price. The wider equities market had already encountered downward pressure amid speculation regarding Huang’s job security, with Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 index futures pulling back prior to the opening bell.
Equities in bitcoin mining firms that pivoted toward AI data center operations dropped after the disclosure, with Cipher Digital CIFR$7.1550·Market Closed, IREN IREN$19.48·Market Closed, and Terawulf WULF$13.04·Market Closed sliding between 5% and 10%.
Bitcoin BTC$68,598.53 displayed minimal immediate reaction to the headline, maintaining its position just under $72,500, down 1.7% over a 24-hour window. The leading digital asset subsequently slid toward $71,000 following hawkish inflation remarks from Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack, who advocated for a tighter monetary stance from the U.S. central bank.
UPDATE (Nov. 12, 14:46 UTC): Adds price action of BTC mining companies, Nasdaq and S&P futures and additional context of Huang’s resignation.
UPDATE (Nov. 12, 15:11 UTC): Moves affairs to second paragraph; updates share prices.
UPDATE (Nov. 12, 15:39 UTC): Rewrites headline.
Originally published at https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/11/12/nvidia-shares-plunge-10-as-jensen-huang-resigns.
