CXMT memory breakthrough triggers Korea market crash, crypto spillover fears grow
China's CXMT (ChangXin Memory Technologies) announced it will launch a next-generation data center server memory chip using 4F² architecture by year-end, a technical threshold Samsung and SK Hynix have failed to achieve for years. The design packs equivalent memory cells into a smaller area using a vertical surrounding gate to reduce leakage. The news triggered a global selloff in chip stocks: Samsung fell 7.38% and SK Hynix plunged 10.09% on Korea's KOSPI, which closed down 5.47% at 6,035.34 points. CXMT's DRAM market share has climbed from 4% to 10% in a year.
Korea stock crash could hit crypto, ETH faces short-term pressure
Fundstrat's Tom Lee warned that the dramatic drop in Korean equities could spill over into cryptocurrency markets. Korean brokers are seeing margin liquidations, and Korean investors are major crypto holders, so ETH may face selling pressure in the short term. The KOSPI triggered a sell-side circuit breaker about an hour after opening — its first since August 20 — as the KOSPI 200 futures index fell more than 5% for one minute. BTC briefly dipped near $81,000 before recovering above $82,000, while ETH broke below $2,500.
Japan's central bank leans toward holding rates in October
Bank of Japan officials prefer not to implement a rare consecutive rate hike this month, though December remains a possibility. Without signs of a sudden rise in inflation upside risk, officials see no need to hike again after raising rates to 1.25% last month. The final decision for the October 30 meeting could still shift at the last minute. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has pushed Japan to continue normalizing policy to strengthen the yen.
Korea moves to block 27 unregistered crypto platforms including KuCoin and MEXC
South Korea's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) will block domestic access to or terminate services for 27 unregistered virtual asset service providers, including KuCoin, MEXC, BingX, Phemex and BitMart. The restrictions previously covered app downloads and updates but now extend to websites. The FIU has referred 44 unregistered operators to investigative authorities and will continue blocking replacement URLs.
UK court rules Chinese Bitcoin fraud claims governed by Chinese law
Britain's High Court ruled that Chinese investors' property claims over 61,000+ bitcoins tied to the Tianjin Lantian Gerui illegal fundraising case should be judged under Chinese law, not UK law. This means roughly 16,000 Chinese victims participating in the UK recovery proceedings may not share in the massive appreciation of the bitcoins through English law, and may only recover principal plus interest. The case highlights the complexity of cross-border crypto asset recovery.
DeepSeek fundraising nearly doubles to 100 billion yuan
Chinese AI firm DeepSeek will complete its latest funding round of approximately 100 billion yuan, up from the previously planned 50 billion yuan — doubling in less than half a month. New and existing investors each account for roughly half the amount, while the pre-money valuation remains around 500 billion yuan. New investors include Shixi Capital, SMIC Poly Capital, CPE Yuanfeng, Legend Capital and Geely, with industrial investors dominating.
Ledger confirms compromised devices sold through Southeast Asian distributor CryptoBilis
Ledger's Donjon security team confirmed that signer devices sold through Southeast Asian distributor CryptoBilis were implanted with unauthorized hardware components capable of reading the 24-word recovery phrase during initial setup and exfiltrating it via built-in eSIM over LTE. All confirmed fund losses tied to the October 9 disclosure involve CryptoBilis-sold devices. CryptoBilis has halted sales, and hardware wallet makers Trezor and OneKey have removed the distributor amid estimates of up to $103 million in stolen funds. SafePal has urged users to verify device authentication and packaging seals.
PBOC approves Visa, American Express and Mastercard to prepare bank card clearing operations
The People's Bank of China granted administrative licenses to three firms to begin preparations for bank card clearing operations: Visa Information Technology (Beijing), American Express' joint venture in Hangzhou, and Mastercard's joint venture in Beijing. The move signals further opening of China's payment clearing market to international card networks.
Upbit flags BLUR as investment warning, suspends deposits
Upbit designated Blur (BLUR) as an "investment warning" asset and suspended BLUR deposits starting 15:00 KST on October 13, affecting BLUR/KRW and BLUR/BTC pairs. The exchange cited deficiencies in Blur's business authenticity and sustainability. The review period runs through late October, and if unresolved, trading support may be terminated. BLUR has fallen over 30% in 24 hours as Blur prepares to sunset its frontend on November 12.
Tom Lee sees $2 trillion wealth transfer potentially benefiting crypto demand
Fundstrat's Tom Lee said the intergenerational wealth transfer of $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion between 2026 and 2028 could become a key driver of crypto market demand, since younger investors inheriting wealth typically have higher risk appetites. He also cited accelerating blockchain adoption for tokenization on Wall Street, AI application growth, and corporate treasury accumulation of crypto as potential market catalysts.
