Story perspectives

CoreWeave’s bonds plunge below 80 cents amid default fears

By Drooid · Oct 16, 2026, 2:02 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

CoreWeave Bonds Plummet

CoreWeave’s 2032 unsecured bonds fell below 80 cents on the dollar, yielding over 15%.
Credit-default swaps on CoreWeave rose above 1,100 basis points, indicating more than 50% default risk.
CoreWeave’s shares dropped 15% to $65.78 after a 17% intraday fall to $64.41.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said CoreWeave’s financial strength is improving and its cost of capital is decreasing.

Summary

CoreWeave Founders Sell

CoreWeave’s three co-founders have sold $3.3 billion of stock since the March 2025 IPO.
Michael Intrator off-loaded over $907 million of shares in 2026, ranking among top five insider sellers.
Brian Venturo’s Q2 share sales total $734 million, raising his cumulative proceeds above $1.2 billion.
Collectively the founders have lost about $15 billion of paper wealth since the June 2025 peak.
Company spokesperson said the sales are pre-scheduled, fully disclosed and standard for founders with concentrated holdings.

History

Historical Context

Lehman Brothers, founded in 1850, grew into the United States’ fourth-largest investment bank with about 25,000 staff before its September 15 2008 Chapter 11 filing—the nation’s biggest bankruptcy—triggered a global credit crunch and prompted Federal Reserve emergency measures. The collapse, followed by Barclays’ $1.35 billion acquisition of Lehman’s core, set a precedent for market-stress responses echoed in today’s CoreWeave bond turmoil.

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CoreWeave Bonds Plummet

CoreWeave’s 2032 unsecured bonds fell below 80 cents on the dollar, yielding over 15%.
Credit-default swaps on CoreWeave rose above 1,100 basis points, indicating more than 50% default risk.
CoreWeave’s shares dropped 15% to $65.78 after a 17% intraday fall to $64.41.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said CoreWeave’s financial strength is improving and its cost of capital is decreasing.

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