AI Crush Weighs on Bitcoin as Tech Stock Selloff Triggers Broad Market Plunge

The artificial intelligence selloff that’s hammering technology stocks is now crushing crypto alongside it. Bitcoin dropped back through key support levels as investors digest the implications of rapidly advancing AI coding capabilities, which are pressuring software sector valuations and rippling across multiple asset classes.

As of late trading hours on March 16th, Bitcoin changed hands around $74.89K, up 3.04% in the 24-hour window—though this represented recovery from earlier weakness when BTC had retreated toward the $65,000 level amid the broader tech sector rout. Ethereum traded near $2.36K while Solana hovered around $96.44, both following similar patterns of decline and partial recovery as the AI-driven selloff spread through risk assets.

The Software Sector Crumbles Under AI Pressure

The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) tumbled 3% on a single day as the Nasdaq fell 2%, with the software index now down 21% year-to-date. The market’s concern isn’t unfounded: as artificial intelligence agents develop increasingly sophisticated coding abilities, investors are reassessing whether traditional software companies justify their current premium valuations.

Macro strategist Jim Bianco captured the sentiment succinctly: “Software stocks are struggling again today. IGV is essentially back to last week’s panic lows.” But Bianco offered a crucial insight for crypto observers, noting that “there’s another type of software—‘programmable money,’ crypto. They are the same thing.” This perspective highlights why cryptocurrency is getting swept up in the broader AI-driven valuation reset affecting all software and tech-adjacent assets.

Precious Metals Fall in Cross-Asset Selloff

The contagion extended beyond equities and crypto into commodities. After cruising with modest gains through most of the trading day, gold and silver suffered sharp afternoon sell-offs. Silver plunged 10.3% to $75.08 per ounce while gold dropped 3.1% to $4,938, suggesting that AI fears are prompting investors to reduce risk exposure across multiple asset classes simultaneously, not just in equities and digital assets.

The broad selloff reflects a market repricing across different asset types as AI’s economic implications become clearer—particularly how artificial intelligence might reshape software economics, pricing power, and growth expectations in the years ahead.