The investment craze that collapsed in 2000 after extreme internet-company valuations was the dot-com bubble.
During the late 1990s, investors became enthusiastic about businesses connected to the rapidly expanding World Wide Web. Many companies with limited revenue or no profits received very high valuations, particularly after listing shares on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
The Nasdaq Composite reached a record closing level on 10 March 2000. As investors began demanding clearer evidence of sustainable earnings, technology shares fell sharply. Numerous companies failed, while surviving firms generally lost much of their market value.
The dot-com collapse is not identical to the broader 2000–02 bear market, although the bubble’s deflation helped drive that decline. Some internet businesses eventually became successful, showing that the crash reflected excessive pricing rather than the disappearance of the internet as a technology.