AI Deleveraging Sparks Global Stock Rout as Bitcoin Proves Relatively Resilient

The AI boom has increasingly concentrated global capital and leverage in technology stocks, particularly semiconductor shares. When investors began questioning whether technology giants could turn their AI capital spending into revenue, bubble concerns unleashed a wave of deleveraging across global chip stocks. Sharp swings in shares of semiconductor leaders such as TSMC have directly threatened the stability of global supply chains and financial markets in multiple countries, prompting investors to seek alternative assets decoupled from traditional equities.

Taiwan's stock market suffered a historic collapse on July 17, 2026. The benchmark Taiex plunged 2,953.71 points, or 6.47%, to close at 42,671.27, while turnover surged to NT$1.21 trillion. The three major institutional investor groups sold a combined net total of more than NT$260 billion that day, and TSMC closed down NT$180. By contrast, Bitcoin showed unusual resistance to the deleveraging wave and decoupled from the broader rout in Taiwanese equities, remaining relatively resilient.