South Korea's government unveiled plans for major chip, physical AI, and AI data center projects, with President Lee Jae-myung emphasizing the need to secure AI elements faster than other countries. The plan includes building four chip plants in the southwest, investing approximately 800 trillion Korean won, with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix each constructing two new factories. Total chip sector investment over the next 15 years is expected to reach at least 30 trillion won, targeting next-generation memory, edge AI, and defense. The southwest region will see investments of 5 to 20 trillion won in new projects, with Gwangju and Jeolla potentially investing 520 trillion won. This ambitious push comes amid a broader strategy to achieve regional balanced development, with the announcement timed to follow the earlier revelation that Samsung and SK together plan a decade-long, 2,655 trillion won investment blitz in AI-related sectors like chips and data centers.
Korean KOSDAQ-listed crypto treasury firms face delisting as new rules take effect July 1
Revised listing rules in South Korea will come into force on July 1, raising the bar for companies and squeezing several KOSDAQ-listed crypto treasury firms. Already battered by Bitcoin's price decline and an outflow of capital from the market, BitMEX (BITMEX), a Bitcoin holding company, tumbled 6.3% to 1,228 won, dropping its market cap below the minimum threshold for the second half of the year and putting it at risk of delisting. Parataxis Ethereum (268 billion won) and Bit Planet (331 billion won) exceed the current floor but fall short of the higher threshold set for January next year. Parataxis Korea has been suspended since April due to capital impairment and is undergoing a listing eligibility review. The core driver of the crisis is weak virtual asset prices, which have eroded the market values of these firms.
Samsung and SK reportedly plan $1.3 trillion AI investment, but shares slump on market skepticism
Samsung Group and SK Group are reportedly formulating a ten-year capital expenditure plan totaling 2,000 trillion Korean won (approximately $1.3 trillion), integrated into President Lee Jae-myung's core industrial development strategy. The initiative is seen as a direct response to surging demand linked to AI, spanning chips, memory, and data center infrastructure. However, the Korean KOSPI index fell 3%, with Samsung Electronics down 5% and SK Hynix down 4.5%, as investors questioned the feasibility and return profile of the enormous spending. The sell-off was severe enough to trigger a sidecar on the KOSDAQ market. The market's cold reaction highlights concerns that the AI spending spree may not yield commensurate returns in the near term.
South Korean securities firm Kiwoom Securities is advancing talks to acquire an equity stake in Bithumb, the country's second-largest virtual asset exchange, through a third-party allocation capital increase. The specific shareholding and investment amount are still under discussion. Kiwoom's entry follows similar moves by major securities companies like Samsung Securities, Mirae Asset Securities, and Korea Investment & Securities, which have already ventured into the virtual asset exchange space. This trend underscores the growing convergence of traditional finance and crypto in Korea, driven by regulatory clarity and retail demand.
Baidu's Kunlun Core reportedly eyes $50 billion Hong Kong IPO, with Tencent as a key customer
Baidu's AI chip division, Kunlun Core, is reportedly planning to list in Hong Kong, targeting a valuation of around $50 billion. Baidu's stock surged over 8% on the news. Sources indicate that Tencent has already become a customer, and ByteDance is also considering adopting its AI chips. The Kunlun Core P800 has completed mass-scale verification, delivering multiple 10,000-card clusters in 2025 and completing key version training of Wenxin 5.1 on a domestically produced cluster. The IPO, if successful, would mark a major milestone for China's AI chip independence.
Chinese embodied intelligence company ZhiPing has completed a new financing round totaling nearly 5 billion yuan (approximately $700 million), pushing its valuation past 20 billion yuan. This makes it the first embodied AI company in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to officially break the 20 billion yuan valuation mark. The proceeds will accelerate the iteration and mass production of its "robot brain" and further solidify its integrated "model × hardware × scenario" capabilities. The massive round underscores China's aggressive push into humanoid and general-purpose robotics.
KOSPI falls 3% as South Korea unveils mega chip and AI project plans
South Korea's benchmark KOSPI index fell over 3% on Monday, as the government announced colossal investment plans for chips and AI. Samsung Electronics dropped 5% and SK Hynix fell 4.5% despite the companies being at the center of the proposed 2,000 trillion won spending blitz. The Korea Exchange activated a circuit breaker on the KOSDAQ market due to a surge in futures volatility. The sell-off reflects mounting worries that the huge capital outlays, driven by AI hype, might not generate adequate returns, stoking fears of an investment bust reminiscent of past cycles.
Nearly 20 semiconductor firms to hike prices on July 1, AI demand and cost pressures bite
Close to 20 global analog and power semiconductor companies are set to implement a new round of price increases starting July 1, with hikes ranging from 10% to 25%. The industry is seeing multi-batch, step-wise price adjustments this year as AI data center construction drives surging demand for power management and signal chain chips. AI server and data center power chips will see a 15-25% increase, while industrial automation and energy storage isolation chips will rise 10-15%. The price pressure stems from both upstream wafer and material cost increases and a supply shortage, with many manufacturers reporting full order books and improved production visibility.
BitMEX replaces CEO, CFO, and growth head in leadership shake-up
Crypto exchange BitMEX has replaced its CEO Stephan Lutz, CFO Ina Steiner, and Chief Growth Officer Raphael Polansky. Former Global General Counsel and COO Peter Wilkinson has taken over as CEO. The exchange, co-founded by Arthur Hayes, Ben Delo, and Samuel Reed in 2014, saw its founders resign after criminal charges were filed in the United States in 2020 over anti-money laundering failures. Lutz had become CEO during the 2022 crypto downturn. The management overhaul signals a broader strategic recalibration for the veteran derivatives exchange.
Coinbase cuts AI costs by nearly half by defaulting to Chinese open-weight models GLM and Kimi
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong shared that the company has slashed its AI spending by nearly half by defaulting to Chinese open-weight models GLM 5.2 from Zhipu and Kimi 2.7 from Moonshot AI through its LLM gateway. The optimization, achieved via better defaults, routing, and caching, contrasts with setting usage caps. Coinbase found that 91% of employees never hit limits, so it redirected strategy toward cheaper defaults. The move highlights the growing influence of Chinese AI models as cost-effective alternatives in enterprise applications.
a16z co-founder Marc Andreessen says China's GLM-5.2 is the first model to rival top US systems
a16z co-founder Marc Andreessen stated that many in the AI field believe Zhipu's GLM-5.2 may be the first Chinese AI model that matches or exceeds leading US open models across multiple capability dimensions. Andreessen called this a "critically timed milestone" reflecting the shift from US dominance to a multipolar AI landscape. The comment underscores the rapid catch-up by Chinese AI firms, narrowing the gap with Western counterparts.
Hong Kong financial secretary calls city a "super converter" for mainland enterprises going global
Hong Kong's Financial Secretary Paul Chan said the city is not just a key channel for attracting investment but a "critical link" for mainland businesses to international markets, acting as a "super converter" of standards and rules. Under China's "dual circulation" strategy, Hong Kong's international advantages can help domestic firms connect with global demand. Chan emphasized that Hong Kong can also channel international long-term capital into hard-tech startups needing "patient capital," supporting early-stage and long-term investments. The remarks reinforce Hong Kong's role as a bridge between China's innovation ecosystem and global finance.
USDT premium in India surges above 8.5% amid regulatory crackdown on crypto remittances
India is facing a severe shortage of USDT and other stablecoins, pushing the local premium above 8.5%. The shortage stems from enforcement actions against entities offering crypto foreign exchange services, which disrupted remittance channels frequently used by overseas Indians. As a result, the price of USDT on local exchanges has significantly exceeded international parity. The crackdown highlights the delicate balance between crypto utility and financial oversight in India, where digital assets are popular for cross-border transfers.
Korean KOSDAQ index swings back to gains after circuit breaker triggered
South Korea's KOSDAQ index reversed early losses and turned positive, up 0.73% at 8472.21, after earlier sliding over 3%. The earlier drop prompted the Korea Exchange to activate a temporary trading halt on the KOSDAQ market. Meanwhile, the KOSPI index also rebounded from a sharp decline triggered by skepticism over the massive chip and AI investment plans announced by Samsung and SK Group. The volatile session reflects uncertainty over Korea's ambitious tech bets.
China's Unitree rolls out 15,000th humanoid robot, deploys to production line
Chinese robotics firm Unitree celebrated the production of its 15,000th general-purpose humanoid robot, the Unitree G2. The robot was immediately delivered to contract manufacturer Longcheer Technology to begin actual work on ODM production lines. The milestone underscores China's rapid progress in scaling embodied AI and automation for industrial use.
On-chain data shows a whale, identified as Wang Chun, withdrew 4,950 ETH (approximately $7.74 million) from Binance. Since May 26, this entity has pulled out 91,945 ETH (around $159.9 million) and 973 WBTC (about $60.72 million), signaling massive accumulation. The persistent outflows from the exchange suggest that large investors are moving assets into self-custody, reflecting a cautious market sentiment.
Machi Big Brother sells Bored Apes at a loss, raises funds to go long on ETH but gets liquidated
Jeffrey Huang, known as Machi Big Brother, sold 34 Bored Ape NFTs in the past month at a loss of 399 ETH (about $631,000) to fund leveraged long positions on ETH. The biggest loss came from Bored Ape #6057, purchased four years ago for 76.84 ETH and sold for only 7.65 ETH—a 90% loss. Huang funneled the proceeds into Hyperliquid to bet long on ETH but faced multiple forced liquidations. The trades exemplify the high-stakes risk-taking prevalent among some Asian crypto whales.
Machi Big Brother tweets fuel brief spike in Meme coin Machi
Machi Big Brother (Huang Li-cheng) posted a series of tweets mentioning the meme coin Machi, causing its price to surge temporarily. The token is currently trading at $0.000691, up 246% on the day. It remains unclear whether Huang's account was compromised; the community has been warned to exercise caution. The incident reflects the outsized influence of crypto influencers on low-cap meme tokens, a common phenomenon in Asian markets.
BitLobster, a Web3 AI companion platform, announced the launch of a physical poker card set called "Crypto World Poker," where each of the 54 cards will feature a representative Web3 figure, including exchange founders, key opinion leaders (KOLs), and meme culture icons. The final roster will be partly determined through community nominations on the official X platform. The limited-edition cards will be distributed via a lucky draw to participating users. The initiative taps into the vibrant Chinese crypto community's culture of memorializing industry lore.
