The stock-market crash that followed the bursting of the technology bubble around 2000 is called the dot-com crash.
During the late 1990s, investors poured money into internet and technology companies, often valuing firms more for expected future growth than for current profits. The Nasdaq Composite, heavily weighted toward technology shares, reached a record closing level on 10 March 2000.
Many companies struggled to generate revenue, and rising interest rates reduced the appeal of speculative growth stocks. The Nasdaq then fell sharply, and numerous internet companies failed or were acquired at much lower valuations.
The dot-com crash is sometimes treated as identical to the entire dot-com bubble, but the terms describe different phases: the bubble was the period of rapidly rising prices, while the crash was the subsequent collapse. The episode did not cause a worldwide banking crisis on the scale of 2008.