Cryptocurrency Market Slides on AI Profit Worries: Bitcoin Struggles Near $87K, Ethereum Faces Pressure

The cryptocurrency market is grappling with renewed skepticism surrounding artificial intelligence investments, triggering a significant sell-off across major digital assets. Investor confidence has been shaken by disappointing corporate earnings guidance from major tech firms, specifically concerns that massive AI infrastructure spending is failing to deliver the promised returns in a timely manner.

Market Performance and Current Levels

Bitcoin has come under considerable pressure, currently trading around $87.70K after sliding from recent highs. The flagship cryptocurrency has shed approximately 2-3% of its value as risk appetite has diminished across financial markets. Ethereum, meanwhile, has declined even more sharply to $2.95K, reversing gains accumulated over the previous two trading sessions. For international investors, this translates to significant pressure—understanding Bitcoin’s value in alternative currencies such as 90000 USD to INR conversions becomes crucial when assessing global market implications.

What Triggered the Downturn?

The primary catalyst for weakness stems from Oracle’s disappointing guidance on profitability and revenue. The cloud-computing giant’s management team also flagged elevated capital expenditures ahead, signaling that investments in AI infrastructure may not translate into near-term profitability as markets had anticipated. This announcement rippled through broader risk sentiment, dampening appetite for speculative assets including cryptocurrencies.

The pullback in digital assets coincided with broad-based weakness in Asian equities, foreshadowing softer openings for European and U.S. stock markets. As one market observer from Sydney noted, despite overnight strength in risk assets, cryptocurrencies failed to participate in the upside momentum, suggesting underlying fragility in sentiment.

Analyst Perspectives and Forward Outlook

Standard Chartered has recalibrated its Bitcoin price expectations materially downward, revising the year-end 2025 target from $200,000 to $100,000. The bank’s head of digital assets research attributed this adjustment to expectations that corporate treasury buying has likely peaked. Going forward, he suggested that price support will rely more heavily on ETF inflows as a single driver of demand, reducing the multiple supports that previously underpinned rallies.

The market now requires more tangible evidence that recent selling pressure—particularly from the October 10 downturn—has fully exhausted itself before sentiment stabilizes. Until such confirmation emerges, cryptocurrencies may continue navigating choppy waters as investors recalibrate risk exposure.