YM Lee

Kospi’s No. 2-4 Stocks All Hit Limit Up in First for South Korea

SK Hynix, SK Square and Samsung Electro-Mechanics all hit their daily upper trading limits, an unusual move that sent the Kospi’s second- through fourth-largest stocks by market value to the ceiling at the same time. The Korea Exchange said SK Hynix

Wintermute Says Next Altcoin Season May Be More Selective as Institutions Focus on Fewer Tokens

Wintermute, the crypto market maker, said the next altcoin season may benefit far fewer tokens than in past cycles as institutional money concentrates in a small group of assets. Cointelegraph reported on July 31 that Wintermute, in its "H1 2026 OTC

SK Hynix Hits Daily Limit; Samsung Electronics Rises 27%

Kospi Jumps 15%, Tops 6,500 Intraday as Foreigners Buy 8.91 Trillion Won

South Korea’s Kospi jumped about 15% in intraday trading on foreign buying, briefly topping 6,500. Semiconductor stocks including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix led the advance. As of 1:30 p.m. on July 31, the Kospi stood at 6,426.77, up 833.21 poi

US Spot Ether ETFs Post $7.39 Million Net Inflow, Extending Modest Gains

U.S. spot Ether exchange-traded funds recorded a net inflow of $7.39 million, extending a modest run of fresh money into the products. Trader T data for July 30 showed total net inflows of $7.39 million into U.S. spot Ether ETFs. BlackRock’s iShares

US Spot Bitcoin ETFs Log $233.15 Million in Net Inflows as Institutional Buying Continues

US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded $233.15 million in net inflows over one day, extending institutional buying. Trader T data for July 30 showed total net inflows of $233.15 million into US spot Bitcoin ETFs. BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin T

Coinkite Issues Coldcard Mk3 Security Warning as $38.3 Million Bitcoin Transfer Is Investigated

Coinkite said seed phrases generated on Coldcard Mk3 devices running firmware version 4.0.1 or later, released in March 2021, may be at risk of theft, Cointelegraph reported on July 31. Affected versions extend through 5.0.3, the final supported rele

Bhutan’s Gelephu Taps Canada’s 3iQ to Manage Part of Bitcoin Treasury

Bhutan’s special administrative region, Gelephu Mindfulness City, has hired Canadian digital-asset manager 3iQ to manage part of its Bitcoin treasury. Cointelegraph reported on July 31 that Gelephu signed a partnership with 3iQ to oversee a portion o

Lummis Says Hawley Still Opposes CLARITY Act, Stablecoin Yield Provisions May Be Revised

Divisions within the Republican Party over the CLARITY Act, a digital-asset market structure bill, continue, and some stablecoin provisions may be revised in response to opposition from the banking industry. Sen. Cynthia Lummis said on the CryptoAmer

Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix Jump About 20% as US Chip Rally, Chey Buy Boost Sentiment

Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc. jumped about 20% in early trading on July 31, lifted by an overnight rally in U.S. semiconductor stocks and news that SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won had made his first open-market purchase of SK Hynix shares.

Buy-Side Sidecars Triggered Simultaneously on Kospi and Kosdaq

[Breaking] Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix Open Up More Than 20% as Kospi Surges 14%

Bipartisan Senators Send CLARITY Act Ethics Amendment to White House

Two U.S. senators, one Republican and one Democrat, have sent the White House a proposal to revise the ethics provisions of the CLARITY Act, a digital-asset market structure bill, Cointelegraph reported on July 30. Republican Senator Thom Tillis and

Perpetual Futures Spread Beyond Crypto to Stocks, Commodities, Opening Era of 24/7 Trading

Perpetual futures contracts, a product that gained prominence in crypto markets, are rapidly spreading across traditional finance, including stocks, commodities and stakes in private companies, CoinDesk reported on July 30. Matthew Fisher, chief exec

Schumer Introduces Bill to Create Anti-Corruption Bureau Targeting Trump Crypto Profits

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer has introduced legislation to create an independent anti-corruption agency that would investigate and prosecute corruption across the federal government, including President Donald Trump’s cryptocurrency busines

Strategy Posts $8.2 Billion Q2 Net Loss as Bitcoin Slump Cuts Holdings Value

Strategy (MSTR), the world’s largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, posted a net loss of $8.2 billion in the second quarter as a drop in the cryptocurrency’s price sharply reduced the value of its holdings. Crypto media outlet CoinDesk reported on July

Axis Robotics Raises $12 Million in Seed Funding to Expand Physical AI Data Infrastructure

Axis Robotics, a physical AI data infrastructure company, has raised $12 million in seed funding. The company announced on July 27 that it secured the funding in a seed round led by Hack VC. Nomad Capital, Pi Network, 10K Ventures and multiple angel

South Korean FX, Bond Markets Focus on Oil and FOMC; Won Seen in Mid- to Upper-1,400 Range

South Korea’s foreign-exchange and bond markets are set to take their cues this week from global oil prices and the outcome of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting. Market participants expect the won to trade in the mid- to upper-1,400 range aga

Big Tech Earnings, Fed Decision Set Up Super Week as Markets Brace for Volatility

Global financial markets this week will zero in on earnings from major US technology companies and the outcome of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting. Crypto markets are also poised to react to signals on artificial intelligence investment and

This Week’s Key Economic and Crypto Events: Fed Rate Decision

<Major economic events this week> ▶ July 27 (Mon.): U.S. June durable goods orders (9:30 p.m. Korea time) ▶ July 28 (Tue.): OPEC meeting (7 p.m. Korea time); U.S. trade balance (9:30 p.m. Korea time) ▶ July 29 (Wed.): U.S. crude oil inventories (11:3

BitMart to Wind Down Exchange, End Trading Platform Operations in January 2027

Crypto exchange BitMart will wind down its trading platform in stages, first halting new registrations and deposits before formally ending exchange operations in January 2027. BitMart outlined the shutdown schedule in a notice published on July 26. S

Wise Seen Reapplying for OCC Approval Under GENIUS Act Framework

Wise may make a fresh push for approval from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency under the framework of the GENIUS Act, in a strategic shift after its earlier bid to establish a national trust bank was rejected. Citing a William Blair re

Binance Runs Monthly Phishing Drills for Staff, Repeated Failures Can Lead to Firing

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, runs monthly simulated phishing attacks on employees and may discipline repeat offenders up to and including termination. Cointelegraph reported on July 26 that Binance Chief Security Officer Jimm

Russia’s Sberbank to Build Crypto Trading, Digital Custody Infrastructure by Year-End

Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, plans to build cryptocurrency trading infrastructure and a digital custody system by Dec. 1. CoinDesk reported on July 25 that Sberbank is targeting Dec. 1 to launch the trading infrastructure and a digital custodian.

Robinhood Weighs Adding Crypto.com Prediction Contracts, Deepening Challenge to Kalshi

Robinhood Markets Inc. is in talks to add prediction-market contracts from cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com to its platform, a move that would diversify the sources of event contracts available to its users. The Wall Street Journal reported on July

Kaia Partners With Japan Regulatory Adviser finoject to Accelerate Stablecoin, Tokenization Push

Kaia has partnered with finoject, a consulting firm founded by Japanese digital-asset regulatory specialists, to expand into Japan’s stablecoin and tokenization markets. Kaia said July 24 that it signed a strategic memorandum of understanding with fi

Policy Catalysts Remain for South Korea Markets After Pullback, With STO Rules and Foreign Inflows in Focus

South Korea’s financial markets still face several key policy events in the second half of the year despite a recent stock-market correction, with capital-markets reform and digital-asset initiatives still on the agenda. The main variables include th

Kospi Opens 1.35% Lower, Falls Below 7,000

US Steps Up Pressure on Iran With 13th Straight Day of Airstrikes

The US carried out another round of airstrikes on Iran. CNN reported on July 23 that US Central Command began a new wave of strikes against Iran at 6:45 p.m. Eastern time. CENTCOM wrote on X that the operation marked the 13th straight day of action a

Korbit Unveils AI Agent Trading Support for ChatGPT and Claude

Korbit, a South Korean cryptocurrency exchange, has unveiled an AI agent trading environment that uses generative AI tools such as ChatGPT and Claude for tasks ranging from price checks to order execution. Korbit said July 24 that it had launched Kor