Bitcoin slides below $90,000 as fear of an AI bubble spook markets

Cryptocurrencies fell on Thursday as renewed doubts about artificial intelligence profitability hit risk sentiment and pulled bitcoin back under the $90,000 level.

Bitcoin slipped briefly below the milestone before trading last at $90,056.24, down 2.5%. Ether dropped 4.3% to $3,196.62. The moves wiped out gains from earlier in the week and extended losses that began during U.S. trading on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates.

Markets reacted to a weaker outlook from U.S. cloud provider Oracle. The company reported profit and revenue projections that fell short of expectations and warned of higher spending. Executives signalled that investment in AI infrastructure is not delivering returns as quickly as investors had anticipated. The update pressured technology shares and reduced appetite for risk across asset classes.

Asian equities declined through the session, and futures pointed to lower openings in Europe and the United States. Traders said the crypto market lagged other risk assets even before the broader selloff took hold.

A Sydney-based analyst at IG said crypto markets needed stronger signs of recovery following heavy losses in October. He said the latest trading showed limited conviction among investors that the earlier downturn had run its course.

Forecasts for bitcoin also shifted. Standard Chartered cut its year-end 2025 projection from $200,000 to $100,000. The bank said corporate purchases of bitcoin for digital asset treasuries had likely reached their peak.

The bank’s head of digital assets research said future gains were now expected to rely mainly on demand from exchange-traded funds. He said reduced corporate buying meant a single driver would shape price moves in the coming years.

The declines on Thursday reinforced concerns about the durability of the latest crypto rally. Investors watched for signs that technology-sector worries could continue to feed into digital-asset trading as markets assessed the implications of slowing AI-related profits.