The 2000 market crash that followed the collapse of highly valued internet-company shares was the Dot-com crash.
During the late 1990s, investors poured money into internet businesses and other technology companies. Many firms had little revenue or profit, but their valuations rose on expectations that online commerce would transform the economy. The Nasdaq Composite became a widely watched measure of this speculative boom.
The Nasdaq peaked at 5,048.62 on March 10, 2000. As investors reassessed unrealistic business models and tightened their expectations, technology shares fell sharply. Numerous dot-com companies failed, while surviving firms faced a much more demanding investment environment.
The crash did not destroy the internet as a technology or business platform. Instead, it separated companies with sustainable models from ventures dependent on continual funding and optimistic forecasts. The later growth of major technology firms occurred after the bubble period, not because the bubble’s valuations were justified.