AI-linked memory and semiconductor stocks have started to retreat, while Bitcoin has bounced from levels near a two-year low, prompting traders to watch whether investor risk appetite is beginning to shift.
ETF performance shows how wide the gap had become. The Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM) gained more than 100% in the first half of the year, while the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) rose 60%. By comparison, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), the largest Bitcoin ETF, fell 30% alongside the underlying asset. For months, capital had been much more concentrated in AI infrastructure trades than in crypto.
High-flying AI names are now pulling back
Some of the strongest moves came from companies tied directly to computing demand. Sandisk (SNDK), which designs and manufactures NAND flash memory used in AI servers, smartphones, and data centers, surged more than 530% this year. Micron Technology (MU), one of the largest producers of DRAM and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips supporting AI infrastructure, climbed more than 230%.
That leadership has started to wobble. The Roundhill Memory ETF is down about 25% from its all-time high on June 22, and the VanEck Semiconductor ETF has fallen 12%. Bitcoin, which dropped below $58,000 on July 1, has since recovered to trade above $61,000.
Meta report added pressure to AI-linked trades
Selling in AI-related names accelerated on Wednesday after Bloomberg reported that Meta Platforms (META) had created a business unit called Meta Compute and planned to sell excess GPU computing capacity to third parties.
The news hit companies that had benefited from the AI computing boom, especially “neocloud” providers renting GPU infrastructure to AI developers. It also affected former Bitcoin miners that had shifted computing resources into high-performance computing (HPC) and GPU hosting. IREN, Cipher Digital (CIFR), and TerraWulf (WULF) are each down at least 20% from their highs.
It is still too early to call this a lasting asset rotation. Even so, after months in which capital favored AI infrastructure over crypto, the recent pullback in semiconductor leaders and Bitcoin’s rebound are being watched as an early sign that investors may be recalibrating digital-asset exposure.