Bitcoin’s price slipped below $100,000 on Monday, down from its all-time high of nearly $110,000 earlier this month, as markets reacted to the rising prominence of Chinese AI app DeepSeek.
Earlier, it was known that Chinese AI startup DeepSeek climbed to the top of Apple’s App Store rankings in the US with its flagship R1 model, shaking global tech and financial markets. Released on January 20, R1 challenges Silicon Valley’s dominance by achieving competitive performance with significantly lower costs.
At 2:52 am, Bitcoin was down 3.26%, going for $99,207.81. At the same time, Ethereum slid 4.74%, selling for $3,078.
Chinese AI app DeepSeek tops App Store charts
DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup, has vaulted to the top of Apple’s App Store chart in the United States, data from the platform showed Monday. The app overtook its main competitors, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which has fallen to third place.
Led by Liang Wenfeng, DeepSeek has surprised industry leaders by creating competitive AI models using lower-cost Nvidia H800 chips and a fraction of the capital invested by rivals.
The startup reportedly spent under $6 million on its V3 model, using around 2,000 chips. In contrast, US firms like Meta and OpenAI rely on cutting-edge Nvidia H100 GPUs, which are restricted from export to China due to sanctions.