Bitcoin nears $81K as Nvidia earnings beat fuels risk-on rally

Bitcoin climbed toward $81,000 on Wednesday as Nvidia's $4 billion earnings beat triggered a risk-on rally across equities and digital assets.

"Even extraordinary growth can fail to satisfy investors as scrutiny of AI spending and its financing intensifies," Jacob Bourne, analyst at Emarketer, said. "Yet Nvidia continues to deepen its relevance across the AI stack, expanding beyond training into inference, models, networking, and broader AI infrastructure."

Nvidia reported $96.2 billion in revenue for the May-July quarter, up 106 percent from a year earlier and above the roughly $92.2 billion analysts had forecast. Adjusted earnings reached $2.22 per share, topping the $2.09 consensus. Data center revenue hit $89 billion, up 117 percent year over year. The company forecast $108 billion for the current quarter, above the $104.2 billion analysts expected.

The earnings report serves as a proxy for AI infrastructure demand, which has become a key driver of risk appetite across global markets. Bitcoin's push toward $81,000 follows a period of heightened scrutiny over AI financing, with Nvidia partnering with BlackRock, Blackstone, KKR, Apollo, Brookfield and Goldman Sachs to mobilize more than $500 billion for AI infrastructure.

Nvidia shares fell about 1.6 percent during regular trading Wednesday as investors awaited the report, then slipped another 1 percent in after-hours trading. The stock has gained 12.4 percent this year, roughly in line with the S&P 500.

The chipmaker's results have regularly cleared analyst expectations over the past three years since its high-end processors emerged as the primary building blocks for AI systems. Operating expenses surged 55 percent to $8.41 billion, reflecting the company's aggressive expansion. CEO Jensen Huang declared that AI had reached a "golden age," saying compute is now revenue.

Nvidia's growing involvement in financing AI infrastructure has drawn scrutiny. Its latest quarterly filing showed three customers accounting for 21 percent, 17 percent and 16 percent of revenue, and 64 percent of accounts receivable, highlighting the chipmaker's reliance on a small group of major clients. Meta's recent earnings miss had raised concerns about AI spending sustainability, making Nvidia's beat a critical signal for the sector.

For Bitcoin, the earnings beat reinforced the macro backdrop supporting risk assets. The cryptocurrency has been tracking equity market sentiment closely, with tech-heavy indices serving as a barometer for AI-driven growth expectations. The Nvidia report arrives at a critical juncture for digital assets, which have faced their own questions about sustainability as AI-related infrastructure costs balloon across the technology sector.

A sustained move above $81,000 could attract additional momentum traders, while profit-taking may cap further gains if the risk-on environment fades. The $81,000 level represents the next key resistance for Bitcoin, with the cryptocurrency's correlation to tech equities remaining elevated as AI-driven growth expectations continue to shape risk appetite across both markets.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.