Bitcoin (BTC) ranged below $82,000 into Friday's Wall Street open as equity markets slid further on concerns over artificial intelligence (AI) financing.

The largest cryptocurrency struggled to rebound after falling more than 3% on Thursday, briefly dropping below $81,000. AI infrastructure spending remained a persistent worry for investors as neocloud infrastructure provider CoreWeave slid to 17-month lows. Downside across crypto markets liquidated more than $280 million worth of long positions within 24 hours, while United States spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) outflows reached $635 million.

Analysts warn of AI "credit stress" contagion

Data from TradingView showed BTC/USD stabilizing after shedding 3.2% on Thursday, when it fell as low as $80,840 on Bitstamp.

Market nerves over AI-sector profitability and the cost of insuring large players against default reemerged this week. CoreWeave, a neocloud provider, was among the biggest decliners, ending Thursday's United States trading session down 15.5% week to date at its lowest levels since May 2025. A price target downgrade by Bernstein, from $74 to $51, contributed to the pressure.

Neoclouds lease GPU computing capacity to AI developers, a business model built on heavy upfront data center investment that leaves financing conditions a central variable for the sector's economics.

"The spread of credit stress across the neocloud infrastructure sector has triggered broader equity market weakness as institutional investors evaluate capital expenditure commitments and profitability across technology firms dependent on AI infrastructure expansion," crypto trading company QCP Capital wrote in analysis.

On Friday, fresh downside swept through Asian equities markets. South Korea's KOSPI Composite Index opened at 5,402 points before dropping as low as 5,305 points, marking its lowest levels since late July, and finished the session 0.3% higher on the day.

Speaking to CNBC on Thursday, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang described a "scarcity of capital" affecting neocloud buildouts in particular. "The demand [for] the capital is much greater than the availability of the capital," he said.

Cointelegraph previously reported lower-than-expected capital expenditure by Tesla, despite third-quarter earnings broadly conforming to market expectations. QCP Capital stated that the capex figures "reinforced concerns that elevated financing costs will constrain the pace of artificial intelligence infrastructure buildout and potentially reduce expected return profiles for capital-intensive projects."

Long liquidations elevated in slide below $81,000

Capital flows into ETF products reacted strongly to recent price moves within Bitcoin's local trading range between $80,000 and $87,000. Analysis from Glassnode has suggested that "top buyers" halted Bitcoin's price upside, with $87,700 now a key level.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs, which hold BTC directly on investors' behalf, publish daily flow figures that have become a widely watched gauge of institutional positioning in the asset. On Thursday, United States spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded net outflows of $635 million, the largest single-day drawdown since late June.

Data from CoinGlass revealed that traders were caught off guard when BTC/USD returned toward the lower boundary of its range. Cross-crypto liquidations totaled $336 million over 24 hours to noon UTC, including $281 million of long positions. Going forward, daily ETF flow prints and further corporate AI capital-expenditure updates offer reference points for observers tracking how the cross-market backdrop evolves.