Connect with us
DAPA Banner

Crypto World

Nvidia (NVDA) Stock Drops as H200 Export Negotiations Remain Unresolved

Published

on

NVDA Stock Card

TLDR

  • Nvidia stock fell 1.4% to $177.74 as H200 chip export negotiations with the Trump administration remain stuck over Know-Your-Customer requirements and other licensing conditions.
  • The U.S. signaled approval for ByteDance’s chip purchase two weeks ago, but commercially practical terms have not been finalized.
  • Nvidia warns restrictive conditions could drive Chinese customers to foreign chip suppliers as China has already granted preliminary approval to ByteDance, Tencent, Alibaba, and Deepseek.
  • Stock trades below key resistance levels at $182-$184 with critical support at the 200-day moving average near $168.
  • Commerce Department’s January 15 regulation requires third-party lab testing and rigorous customer screening to prevent military access.

Nvidia shares dropped 1.4% to $177.74 on February 5 as the chipmaker’s negotiations with the Trump administration over H200 AI chip exports remain unresolved. The regulatory uncertainty is weighing on investor sentiment as both sides work to finalize commercially viable licensing terms.


NVDA Stock Card
NVIDIA Corporation, NVDA

The Trump administration indicated roughly two weeks ago it would approve ByteDance’s license to purchase H200 chips. However, Nvidia has not agreed to the proposed conditions. The main sticking point involves Know-Your-Customer procedures designed to prevent Chinese military entities from accessing advanced AI technology.

Nvidia clarified its position through a spokesperson. “We aren’t able to accept or reject license conditions on our own,” the company said. “Although KYC is important, KYC is not the issue. For American industry to make any sales, the conditions need to be commercially practical, else the market will continue to move to foreign alternatives.”

Regulatory Framework Takes Shape

The Commerce Department published new regulations on January 15 that formally loosened licensing policy for advanced AI chips. But the framework includes strict requirements. Applicants must certify their customers will implement rigorous screening procedures to prevent unauthorized remote access.

Companies must also provide lists of remote users connected to countries of concern including Iran, Cuba, and Venezuela. A U.S. third-party lab must test the chips before shipment. This testing requirement is viewed as the mechanism for collecting the U.S. government’s 25% fee on sales.

President Trump announced the chip export arrangement in December. The same terms apply to comparable chips from Advanced Micro Devices and Intel. China hawks criticized the decision as a national security risk.

Advertisement

China has granted preliminary approval to ByteDance, Tencent, Alibaba, and AI startup Deepseek to import the chips. Regulatory conditions on China’s side are still being finalized.

Technical Picture Shows Weakness

Nvidia stock is trading below its 20-day moving average at $184 and 50-day moving average at $182. Both levels now act as resistance zones. The 200-day moving average near $168 represents the key support level that would preserve the broader uptrend.

The Relative Strength Index sits in the low 30s, approaching oversold conditions without confirming a reversal. Volume has been moderate during the decline, suggesting a corrective move rather than panic selling.

Near-Term Outlook

Analysts expect Nvidia to trade in a $170 to $185 range until regulatory clarity emerges. A break above $185 would require positive developments on export approvals or strength across the AI sector. That could push shares toward $195-$200.

Advertisement

One source indicated some chips are likely to reach China before Trump’s planned April meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The Commerce Department typically circulates pending licenses to State, Defense, and Energy departments before finalizing terms.

Nvidia emphasized it serves as an intermediary between U.S. regulators and end customers. The company cannot unilaterally modify license conditions but can provide feedback on commercial viability. The prolonged approval process has delayed H200 orders as Chinese customers await clarity on national security requirements.

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

Crypto World

Aave’s TVL Falls $8B After $293M Kelp DAO Hack

Published

on

Aave’s TVL Falls $8B After $293M Kelp DAO Hack

Total value locked on decentralized lending protocol Aave dropped by nearly $8 billion over the weekend after hackers behind the $293 million Kelp DAO exploit borrowed funds on Aave, leaving roughly $195 million in “bad debt” on the protocol and triggering withdrawals.

Data from DeFiLlama shows that Aave’s TVL fell from about $26.4 billion to $18.6 billion by Sunday, losing the top spot as the largest DeFi protocol. 

Aave v3’s lending pools for USDt (USDT) and USDC (USDC) are now at 100% utilization, meaning that more than $5.1 billion worth of stablecoins cannot be withdrawn until new liquidity arrives or borrows are repaid. 

$2,540 is available to be withdrawn from the $2.87 billion USDT pool on Aave v3 at the time of writing. Source: Aave

Aave’s TVL fall shows how rapidly risk from a single security incident can spread throughout the broader, interconnected DeFi lending market, potentially leading to a severe liquidity crisis.

The incident began on Saturday when hackers stole 116,500 Kelp DAO Restaked ETH (rsETH) tokens worth about $293 million from Kelp DAO’s LayerZero-powered bridge and used them as collateral on Aave v3 to borrow wrapped Ether (wETH).

Advertisement

Crypto analytics platform Lookonchain said the move created about $195 million in “bad debt” on Aave, which contributed to the Aave (AAVE) token tanking nearly 20% from $112 on Saturday at 6:00 pm UTC to $89.5 about 25 hours later. 

Lookonchain noted that some of the largest crypto whales to withdraw funds from Aave were the MEXC crypto exchange and Abraxas Capital at $431 million and $392 million, respectively.

Source: Grvt

Several crypto networks and protocols tied to rsETH or the LayerZero bridge have paused use of the bridge until the problem is resolved, including DeFi platform Curve Finance, stablecoin issuer Ethena and BitGo’s Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC).

Aave has frozen several rsETH, wETH markets

Shortly after the Kelp DAO exploit, Aave said it froze the rsETH markets on both Aave v3 and v4 to prevent any suspicious borrowing and later stated that rsETH on Ethereum mainnet remains fully backed by underlying assets.

WETH reserves also remain frozen on Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base, Mantle and Linea, Aave said.

Advertisement

This incident marks the first significant stress test of Aave’s “Umbrella” security model, which was introduced in June 2025 to provide automated protection against protocol bad debt while enabling users to earn rewards.

Related: Aave DAO backs V4 mainnet plan in near-unanimous vote

Earlier this month, the Bank of Canada found that Aave avoided bad debt in its v3 market by using overcollateralization, automated liquidations and other strategies that shifted risk to borrowers.

In comments to Cointelegraph, Aave defended its liquidation-based model, framing it as a core safety mechanism that protects lenders while limiting downside for borrowers.

Advertisement

It comes as Aave parted ways with its longest-standing DeFi risk service provider, Chaos Labs, on April 6, following disagreements over the direction of Aave v4 and budget constraints.

Magazine: Are DeFi devs liable for the illegal activity of others on their platforms?