The stock-market collapse that followed the technology bubble’s peak around 2000 is called the dot-com crash.
The Nasdaq Composite reached an intraday peak of 5,132.52 on March 10, 2000. Many internet and technology companies had attracted enormous valuations despite limited profits, and investors began reassessing those expectations as interest rates rose and business models failed.
The Nasdaq then lost roughly 78% of its value from its 2000 peak to its October 2002 low. Several highly visible companies disappeared, merged, or entered bankruptcy, while profitable technology firms eventually helped lead a later recovery.
The crash did not mean that the internet itself lacked economic value. Instead, it showed that a transformative technology can coexist with unsustainable share prices. The term dot-com refers to the .com domain associated with many internet startups.