US technology and artificial intelligence stocks were under pressure in pre-market trading on Monday, following renewed concerns voiced by several industry leaders over the weekend regarding the rapid pace of AI development. In contrast, the cryptocurrency market displayed strength during the same period, with digital assets moving higher as investors weighed the diverging risk sentiment.

Bitcoin (BTC) gained approximately 1% over the past 24 hours, climbing to $77,800, while Ethereum (ETH) also rose 1% to reach $2,500. The positive momentum in crypto came as tech equities faced selling pressure, highlighting a notable divergence in market risk appetite.

Anthropic Chief Executive Dario Amodei has called on the industry to slow its development pace in order to allow sufficient time to perfect safety measures. OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman and xAI founder Elon Musk, who developed the Grok system, have also echoed similar sentiments regarding the need for caution in AI advancement.

According to market data compiled by Woofun AI, Anthropic has selected the Nasdaq for its anticipated IPO, while OpenAI will not go public in 2026. These developments come as investors closely monitor the regulatory landscape and its potential impact on the sector's future growth.

In Asian markets, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 3%, with SK Hynix (000660) shares dropping 6%. The weakness in Asian tech shares mirrored the broader risk-off tone seen in global technology markets.

Within the Nasdaq 100, the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ.US) declined 1.5%. Nebius (NBIS.US) shares fell 6%, and CoreWeave (CRWV.US) dropped 5%. SanDisk (SNDK.US) and Intel (INTC.US) both slid 5% as the selloff spread across the AI and semiconductor complex.

Meanwhile, commodity markets painted a different picture, with Brent crude oil surging more than 3% to $107 per barrel, while WTI crude traded above $103. In the bond market, the 10-year US Treasury yield stood just below 5%, and the 30-year yield reached 5.355%.

Precious metals took a hit, with gold falling nearly 1% to approximately $4,300 per ounce, while silver declined 1.5%. This mixed performance across asset classes underscores the typical divergence in risk preference following the ongoing AI regulatory debate.