Nvidia futures top XRP in crypto liquidations after Huang exit

What happened

Nvidia-linked derivatives became one of the busiest areas of crypto trading after Jensen Huang resigned as the company's president, chief executive and board member. U.Today reported, citing CoinGlass, that the NVDA-USDC perpetual contract on Hyperliquid reached a record $2.14 billion in daily volume. The contract, offered by the Trade.xyz protocol, had the second-highest volume on Hyperliquid behind Bitcoin and surpassed Ethereum, Solana and XRP, the report said.

The volume came with heavy liquidation activity. U.Today reported $40.86 million in liquidations tied to Nvidia contracts, including $26.23 million from the on-chain ticker XYZ:NVDA and $14.63 million from the base NVDA contract. The largest single liquidation on Hyperliquid was a $1.54 million long position, while the base NVDA contract recorded $8.87 million in long liquidations and $5.89 million in shorts.

Across all tracked crypto exchanges, the combined volume of Nvidia derivatives reached $9.51 billion, according to CoinGlass data cited by U.Today. Nvidia liquidations were almost twice those in XRP, where traders lost $20.75 million. XRP fell 2.5% to $1.0192, and long positions accounted for 94.5% of its liquidations, or $19.6 million.

Why it matters

The episode shows how equity-linked contracts can become a meaningful source of volume and leverage on crypto venues. Nvidia is not a crypto company, but its derivatives traded alongside Bitcoin and major tokens on Hyperliquid, and the liquidation data indicates that traders faced sudden swings in both markets. The activity also occurred during a broad sell-off in digital assets, with long positions accounting for most of the losses reported by CoinGlass.

What the data shows

U.Today reported that Nvidia shares on Nasdaq fell as much as 14% before closing at $166.19, down 4.34%. Nvidia futures on crypto exchanges rose 5.6% to $171.17 during the same period. Decrypt reported that the stock recovered from a 14% intraday drop to close about 4% lower and that Nvidia has lost more than a trillion dollars in market value this month.

Bitcoin dropped below $70,000 to $69,450.50, down 5.3% over 24 hours, and Ethereum fell 4.1% to $1,958.71, U.Today reported. The outlet also said crypto exchanges liquidated 187,389 traders for $1.65 billion over 24 hours, with 88% from long positions; Bitcoin traders lost $919.56 million and Ethereum traders $297.24 million.

Background

Decrypt reported that the resignation followed a series of disclosures. The New York Times had reported Huang's close relationship with an executive at a Singapore chip buyer that was under a US export-control investigation. On Sunday, Huang told employees he had been unfaithful to his wife of 40 years, and the board opened an investigation into whether he had been targeted by a foreign intelligence operation. The Times later reported a second relationship, with an executive who reports directly to him, and three Republican committee chairs were preparing a subpoena, according to Decrypt.

Huang resigned on Nov. 12, effective immediately, and Nvidia gave no reason. CFO Colette Kress, finance chief since 2013, took over as interim CEO while keeping the CFO role. The board named Harvey Jones, formerly of Synopsys, as its first chair and began a search for a permanent CEO that will consider internal and external candidates with no timeline attached.

What is still unclear

Nvidia did not provide a reason for Huang's resignation, according to Decrypt. The reports do not say what the board's investigation into a possible foreign intelligence operation has found, or when a permanent CEO will be named. Decrypt reported that the board's search will consider internal and external candidates with no timeline.

What to watch

Nvidia is expected to report quarterly results on Nov. 17, according to U.Today; Decrypt said the fiscal Q3 report is due Tuesday. The CEO transition and the earnings release are potential catalysts for Nvidia-linked derivatives and crypto market activity. Decrypt also reported that Binance completed coverage of assets affected by its $6.34 billion hack and published an expanded Proof of Reserves snapshot covering all 44 impacted cryptocurrencies.

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