NVIDIA Bitcoin late-night linkage, the undercurrents behind the sharp rise and fall!

While everyone was focused on NVIDIA’s “most important earnings report in history,” the market taught everyone a lesson.

In the early morning of February 26th in the UTC+8 time zone, chip giant NVIDIA delivered a stunning performance. Revenue, profit, and guidance all exceeded expectations, and after-hours, the stock surged by 4%. However, a strange scene occurred—just a few hours later, the stock price plummeted and turned green. What secrets are hidden behind this rollercoaster?

Even more intriguing is that on the same day NVIDIA’s earnings were released, Bitcoin suddenly surged over 7%, approaching the $69,000 mark. The two seem unrelated, but there are underlying currents at play.

1. Numbers Don’t Lie: NVIDIA Remains the Money Printer

● In the fourth quarter ending January 25th, NVIDIA’s revenue reached $68.1 billion, up 73% year-over-year, far surpassing the market expectation of $65.6 billion. Even more impressive, the data center business—its crown jewel—contributed $62.3 billion, an increase of over 75%. What does this mean? It’s equivalent to the revenue of some chip giants in a single quarter, comparable to a year’s worth of their total.

● Profit-wise, the results are equally stunning. Adjusted earnings per share were $1.62, exceeding the expected $1.53. Gross margin rose to 75.2%, hitting a 1.5-year high.

● But what truly excited the market was NVIDIA’s outlook for the next quarter. The company expects revenue around $78 billion, while Wall Street’s average forecast was only $72.6 billion. This huge expectation gap directly triggered the first post-earnings rally.

● Looking at the full year, NVIDIA’s fiscal 2026 revenue is projected to surpass $215.9 billion, a 65% increase from the previous year, setting a new record.

2. The Hunger for Computing Power: Where Does Jensen Huang’s Confidence Come From?

“Our customers are racing to invest in AI computing—driving the industrial revolution of artificial intelligence and its future growth.”

● Jensen Huang’s words reveal the core logic. When the outside world worries about an AI bubble bursting, Huang sees only the beginning of a computing power hunger. He threw out a key point in the earnings report: “The inflection point for intelligent AI has arrived.”

● What does that mean? Simply put, enterprise AI applications are moving from “trial” to “scaling.” Huang specifically mentioned that corporate demand for AI agents is growing rapidly. This is no longer just a toy in the lab but a real productivity tool.

● Who’s paying? The answer is clear: Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Meta, Oracle… All tech giants are rushing to buy NVIDIA chips. Their capital expenditure plans are close to $700 billion, far exceeding the previous target of $500 billion.

● Even more noteworthy, NVIDIA disclosed a key piece of information for the first time: the Grace Blackwell system now accounts for two-thirds of data center revenue in the fourth quarter. This indicates that the adoption rate of the new architecture is far faster than expected.

3. The Rollercoaster: The Truth Behind After-Hours Drop

If the earnings were so strong, why did the stock fall back after hours? This exposes the biggest contradiction in the current market—expectation battles have reached a fever pitch.

Daniel Newman, CEO of Futurum Group, a tech research and consulting firm, summed it up perfectly: “For NVIDIA, just delivering a good quarter isn’t enough. They need to deliver a perfect quarter.”

This psychological expectation manifests in several ways:

● First, gaming revenue for the fourth quarter was $3.73 billion, below the expected $4.01 billion. NVIDIA’s CFO explained that this was due to channel inventory naturally declining after strong holiday demand. But investors still caught this flaw.

● Second, supply concerns persist. Although NVIDIA claims it has “strategically secured inventory and capacity to meet demand in the coming quarters,” the cloud of shortages for memory chips remains. Samsung’s new phones have already increased prices due to rising storage costs, and supply chain pressures are spreading.

● Third, profit-taking demand. NVIDIA’s stock performance this year has been the worst among chip stocks, but its long-term gains remain impressive. Some funds are choosing to “sell on good news,” which is a common market practice.

4. The Hidden Link Behind Bitcoin’s Surge

On the same day NVIDIA’s earnings were released, Bitcoin suddenly jumped over 7%. Is this just a coincidence? A closer look at the data reveals a subtle connection.

● Bitcoin’s correlation with the Nasdaq 100 index has risen to 90%. Among the core stocks of the Nasdaq, NVIDIA is the most significant pillar. When the AI computing leader delivers better-than-expected results, the risk appetite in the tech sector is boosted, and cryptocurrencies naturally follow suit.

● The deeper logic is liquidity expectations. Caroline Mauron, co-founder of Orbit Markets, pointed out that this crypto rally might reflect a “buy-the-dip” behavior after a prolonged sell-off. Daniel Reis-Faria, CEO of ZeroStack, uncovered the secret: Bitcoin is now deeply embedded in the overall market system. “When liquidity tightens, volatility increases.”

● In other words, NVIDIA’s earnings are not only an AI indicator but also a thermometer for global risk assets. When this largest stock stabilizes, all high-beta assets can breathe a sigh of relief.

5. Concerns and Confidence: What Other Key Signals Are There?

● First, customer concentration risk. Brian Mulberry, chief market strategist at Zacks Investment Management, said that if key clients like OpenAI face funding difficulties or competitors develop custom AI chips and steal market share, NVIDIA will face pressure.

● Second, the US Department of Defense’s moves. Reports indicate that the Pentagon is pressuring AI company Anthropic to adjust its models to meet military needs. This reflects the ethical debates surrounding the militarization of AI and could bring new regulatory uncertainties.

● But NVIDIA’s confidence remains solid. The company’s CFO explicitly stated that it has locked in inventory and capacity at the strategic level to meet demand for the next several quarters. SK Hynix just announced a $15 billion expansion investment, and the supply chain is working at full speed.

● More importantly, Mulberry added a core point: regardless of demand fluctuations, NVIDIA remains the most popular hardware in the AI market.

Returning to the initial question: Is NVIDIA’s earnings report a sign that good news has run out, or just a refueling? The answer may lie in Huang’s seemingly plain words—“Computing demand is growing exponentially.”

As long as this underlying logic remains unchanged, short-term stock fluctuations are just noise. The Bitcoin rally is more like a remote echo of this logic.

The only certainty is that the AI computing arms race has just entered the second half.