Nvidia Starts CEO Search After Jensen Huang Steps Down

Nvidia co-founder Jensen Huang resigned as chief executive, president and board member with immediate effect, bringing to an end his 33-year association with the company. Blockonomi reports that the departure took effect on November 12, while multiple other outlets describe the same abrupt transition and say Nvidia will conduct a search for a permanent leader, both internally and externally. Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress was named interim CEO and will continue in her finance role. BeInCrypto notes that she has spent 13 years overseeing Nvidia's finances and previously worked at Microsoft during its early cloud expansion. Blockonomi also reports that former Synopsys CEO Harvey C. Jones was appointed as Nvidia's first board chair, adding a governance change alongside the executive transition. Coverage of the reasons for Huang's departure varies. CoinEdition cites reports about personal relationships and alleged shipments of Nvidia chips linked to China. Bitcoin.com refers to allegations of affairs and an investigation into a reported foreign-intelligence effort, while BeInCrypto characterizes the matter as involving a suspected Chinese spy. These claims appeared in different summaries and should not be treated as identical descriptions of the allegations. The leadership change was already affecting Nvidia equity and leveraged trading. CoinEdition reports that shares fell 8.13% to $159.61 at 9:39 a.m. EST, while CryptoPotato also describes an approximately 8% decline. Crypto.news separately reports that a crypto trader was fully liquidated for $1.54 million on Hyperliquid after Nvidia-related selling triggered losses across leveraged positions tied to the chipmaker's shares. Crypto markets were broadly lower as the Nvidia news unfolded. Bitcoin traded at $71,413, down 4.23% over 24 hours and 6.36% over seven days, with a $1.44 trillion market capitalization. Total crypto market capitalization stood at $2.45 trillion, while the Fear & Greed index registered 28, or Fear. DeFiLlama showed Hyperliquid's total value locked at $1.73 billion, down 2.2% over seven days, providing context for the venue where Crypto.news reported the $1.54 million liquidation. The immediate focus is Nvidia's permanent succession process and whether markets can stabilize after the reported share decline. Cointribune's account of prediction-market interest adds a speculative dimension: bettors reportedly assigned former Apple CEO Tim Cook a 10% chance of becoming Nvidia's next leader after a 91% peak, with Nvidia executives Ian Buck and Kress described as favorites. No permanent appointment has been announced, leaving the interim arrangement in place while the board assesses the candidates.