SK Group chairman and Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry head Chey Tae-won said global semiconductor demand will jump at least 50% to 60% next year, with AI-related demand rising 60% to 100%. Speaking at a Jeju Forum press briefing, he warned that new supply additions will be almost zero, widening the supply-demand gap. Beyond energy and power equipment, he expects material supply and facility construction to become new bottlenecks, noting that wire and cable shortages are already pushing up prices, while submarine cables are undersupplied. Chey said the AI industry still needs time to build an independent ecosystem.

South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service has sent an investigation report to Dunamu, operator of major crypto exchange Upbit, initiating sanction proceedings after a 44.5 billion won ($34 million) hack. The FSS has been probing potential violations of the Virtual Asset User Protection Act since the incident, though no direct penalties exist for hacking or system failures. Dunamu will present its explanation before the FSS issues a pre-sanction notice with the penalty level, followed by final decisions from the Sanctions Review Committee, Securities and Futures Commission, and Financial Services Commission.

Moonshot AI has informed investors it is adjusting its corporate structure to prepare for a Hong Kong IPO, with a potential listing within six months, Sina Finance reported. The firm just launched its 2.8-trillion-parameter open-source model Kimi K3, featuring 100K context, native multimodal capabilities, and long-cycle intelligent coding and self-evolving workflows. If successful, the IPO could further boost investor sentiment around Chinese AI infrastructure plays, with related semiconductor and computing names already in focus.

ChangXin Technology, a Chinese memory chip maker often compared to CXMT, announced its STAR Market IPO results with 7,702,207 winning lottery numbers, each entitled to 500 shares at 8.66 yuan ($1.19) per share. The initial offering totals approximately 6.69 billion shares. The listing provides a benchmark for Chinese semiconductor valuations amid AI-driven demand and could influence tech stock sentiment across Asian markets.

The unofficial largest Chinese community for Base changed its name to “Base Too Dog” in apparent frustration after Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong briefly changed his profile picture to Superman, hinting at a major move. The community interpreted it as a sign of big Base ecosystem news, pushing the meme coin $BRIAN to a $37 million market cap and adding $100 million in TVL to Base that day. Armstrong reverted his picture a day later, and $BRIAN crashed to just $1.97 million. The incident highlights how sensitive Chinese-speaking crypto communities can be to leadership signals.

Consensys general counsel Matt Corva disclosed that a North Korean hacker using the alias Tyler Knapp gained access to MetaMask development through a third-party HR provider, bypassing direct hire background checks. The hacker worked for about a month on wallet fiat on-ramp features before anomalous IP and behavior triggered security monitoring. All access was revoked immediately, and product releases were suspended. No data or fund loss occurred. The incident raises fresh concerns about supply chain attacks, particularly for Asian exchanges and wallet providers that often outsource development.

Investor “Serenity” flagged that SK Hynix American depositary receipts (SKHY) are trading at a more than 25% premium over the Seoul-listed shares, with two classes becoming convertible on July 29. The convergence could pressure ADR premiums while potentially boosting Korean stocks. Currently, ADRs represent about 2.5% of outstanding shares, with another 22.5% eligible for conversion, expanding the float significantly. Asian traders have historically exploited such ADR-local differentials, especially in HBM-linked names during AI supply chain mania.

During WAIC 2026, Shanghai officially launched the Humanoid Robot Pilot Service Platform, aggregating 480 upstream and downstream suppliers to match domestically produced core components. The platform partners with industry bodies and universities to draft group and industry standards and open-source software and hardware for secondary development. It also connects to Pudong innovation voucher and subsidy policies, covering up to 50% of pilot service costs, and links banks and insurers for specialized R&D loans and liability coverage. The move signals accelerated industrialization of humanoid robots in China.

South Korea’s finance ministry said it will permit foreign financial institutions to borrow won through temporary overdrafts and use won-denominated bonds as collateral in financial transactions. The measures aim to turn the won from a restricted currency into a more global one. Effective July 6, Korea extended USD/KRW onshore trading to 24 hours, marking a major opening. For crypto markets, deeper won liquidity and easier cross-border collateralization could eventually lower frictions for institutional crypto trades linked to Korean exchanges, though near-term impact is limited.