📉 Bitcoin Trades Below $100,000: What Caused the Drop?

Bitcoin has fallen following a broader decline in stock markets as tariff threats from Donald Trump dampened investor appetite for risk. At the same time, tech stocks suffered due to a disruptive new AI solution from China.

Investor sentiment weakened after Trump threatened to impose 25% trade tariffs on Colombia for refusing to comply with his stance on migrant deportation. The Colombian government conceded shortly after the threat, prompting the White House to announce a delay in the proposed measures.

However, this move heightened concerns that Trump might carry out similar tariff threats against major economies, including Mexico, Canada, and China.

Further pressure came from the upcoming Federal Reserve meeting (scheduled for this Thursday), where the central bank is expected to maintain interest rates and continue its “hawkish” stance.

Asian trading sessions also saw a decline in stock markets. Tech stocks were hit particularly hard by DeepSeek, a Chinese AI company that recently launched a program claiming comparable performance to ChatGPT at a significantly lower cost. Losses in tech stocks appeared to spill over into the crypto market as well.

DeepSeek Shocks the World: A New Threat to AI Markets

Nasdaq dropped 1.5% in pre-market trading, driven by the sudden emergence of the Chinese startup DeepSeek. This company, reportedly created by a hedge fund to test idle GPUs, has delivered stunning results:
• Total costs: $10 million
• Benchmark performance: Outperforms OpenAI
• Cost savings: 96% on generating 1M tokens
• DeepSeek: $2.19 per 1M tokens
• OpenAI: $60 per 1M tokens

Despite OpenAI having 22 times more employees and securing $18 billion across 10 funding rounds, DeepSeek’s disruptive technology is gaining traction.

Their App Store application works autonomously on iPhone 16 and Android devices, demonstrating that GPUs might not be as critical for local AI operations. This revelation threatens NVIDIA and the entire AI startup sector.

SalienceXBT Highlights:
• NVIDIA chip purchases are inflating to bubble-like levels.
• Venture capital investments in AI are at record highs.
• No clear path to ROI for many tech giants.
• DeepSeek poses a direct threat to monetization models of major corporations.

If any of the “Mag7” tech giants reduce investments, it could trigger a crisis of confidence in the AI market.

This disruptive development is already being seen as a potential game-changer, with investors on edge.

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☄ XRP Has Soared 17% in the Last Week. What’s Driving the Rise?

On Friday, the SEC accepted an application from asset manager 21Shares, just a day after accepting a similar application from Grayscale.

The acceptance is a step forward, but it does not guarantee approval. It shows that the SEC is willing to consider these applications.

This is different from their recent approach to other crypto ETFs. For example, the Solana ETF was withdrawn in December after the SEC hinted that they were not interested in considering it.

The SEC now has 240 days to make a decision. They are expected to accept them towards the end of the year.

The regulator still has to accept at least three other applications: from asset managers Bitwise, WisdomTree, and Canary Capitals. This could happen as early as next week.

As the community eagerly awaits further acceptance of the remaining ETF applications, the market price of XRP has begun to rise. The development of the ETF theme has generated optimism, making the future of XRP a hot topic for crypto enthusiasts.

At the same time, the acceptance of applications for the XRP ETF has raised hopes that the protracted lawsuit against Ripple may soon be concluded.