Bitcoin Jumps to $81,000 as Asian Tech Stocks Plunge on AI Regulatory Fears

Bitcoin climbed over 4% to trade near $81,000, moving in sharp contrast to a steep sell-off in Asian equity markets that erased roughly $550 billion in market value. The regional downturn was triggered by fears of tightening U.S. regulations and post-midterm policy scrutiny on artificial intelligence data centers and chip exports. South Korea's KOSPI tumbled 5.28%, prompting program trading curbs, while Taiwan's TAIEX fell 3.28% and Japan's Nikkei 225 declined 3.0%. Amid the tech slump, Brent crude dropped 8.7% to $94.68 per barrel.