Live News: Binance hack rattles crypto as Intel plunges and AI spending fears hit tech

08:36 UTC — Tech selloff deepens. Intel plunges 25% and AI spending fears mount

Binance suffered an estimated $6.3 billion hack in what is probably crypto’s largest theft, with around $3 billion subsequently frozen. The exchange blamed a potentially compromised employee laptop and pledged to cover all losses. Investigators linked the attack to North Korea. Withdrawals were suspended as bitcoin (BTC) fell below $77,000. It was recently trading just below $78,000.

Corporate earnings remain strong, but lofty expectations and mounting concerns about AI spending have pushed the Invesco QQQ down more than 2%.

Intel (INTC) plunged about 25% after hours as weak fourth-quarter guidance overshadowed 21% revenue growth to $16.51 billion. Data center and AI revenue jumped 78%, but supply bottlenecks and PC weakness clouded the outlook. Intel also raised its planned 2026 capital expenditure to $20 billion, adding to spending concerns.

Amazon (AMZN) reported 12% revenue growth to $201.9 billion, with AWS sales surging 39% to $46 billion. However, weak retail demand weighed on its fourth-quarter outlook. Amazon raised its 2026 capital spending forecast to $220 billion, while annual free cash flow fell to negative $42.4 billion amid heavy AI investment.

Metals are also under pressure. Gold is down almost 1%, slipping below $4,000 an ounce, while silver fell 3% to around $50.

Neocloud stocks continue to slide, with Cipher Mining (CIFR), TeraWulf (WULF) and IREN (IREN) each down about 5%.