US technology stocks lost $797 billion in market value in a single trading day. The plunge marked the worst day for the biggest market cap drivers, the Magnificent Seven, since April 2025. Yet amid the equity sell-off, Bitcoin held flat, hovering around $65,000 during the Asian morning trading session on July 24, 2026.
The decline in US megacap stocks crossed 4.8%, dragging down the S&P 500 by 1.2% and the Nasdaq 100 by 1.9%. The Magnificent Seven now sit 11% below their late-May record highs, wiping out a total of $2 trillion in market valuation.
A Hundred-Billion-Dollar Tab
The sharp pullback stemmed from market concerns that Big Tech firms are pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure far faster than current returns can justify. Alphabet served as one of the key catalysts after announcing an increase in capital expenditures (capex) up to $205 billion for this year alone.
Market sentiment deteriorated further following earnings reports from other tech giants. Elon Musk labeled 2026 a year of massive capex for infrastructure, while Tesla recently reported profit figures that missed market expectations by a wide margin.
Breaking the Price Link
Throughout July, Bitcoin’s price action closely mirrored the shares of chipmakers. The price climbed when AI stocks rallied and dropped immediately when the sector stumbled. This trend temporarily turned the leading crypto asset into a proxy for the AI capital cycle in the eyes of institutional traders.
Today marked the first time in a full month of trading that AI assets plunged while Bitcoin held its ground. The divergence has prompted market analysts to question whether this marks the early stages of a decoupling between crypto assets and traditional tech equities.
Beyond tech equities, macroeconomic factors previously weighed on the crypto market. Bitcoin briefly dipped below the $65,000 mark in the previous session due to Trump’s 10-12.5% import tariffs on 60 trading partner countries taking effect early Friday. Amid the market volatility, Binance maintained its dominance with a 55% market share of user funds and 24% in the spot market. The exchange also recorded net inflows in early July, precisely when rival platforms saw outflows.
The Hidden Risk for Miners
Even though Bitcoin’s spot price avoided being dragged down by today’s AI stock sell-off, the slowdown in tech capex warrants close attention across supporting sectors. Recently, many Bitcoin mining firms have restructured, converting their facilities into AI data center operators to secure new revenue streams.
If capital flows into artificial intelligence infrastructure truly slow and anticipated revenues fail to materialize, the fallout will not directly hit token prices today. The real impact will instead gradually show up in miners’ future financial reports.
Reported by CoinDesk.
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Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only, not financial advice. Cryptocurrency assets are highly volatile and carry significant risk. Always do your own research (DYOR) and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
