Bitcoin Drops Below $87,000

Goldman Sachs released a report stating that Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) reported Q2 revenue of $3 billion, up 36% year-over-year and 20% quarter-over-quarter, exceeding both the bank’s and market expectations, as well as management’s QoQ guidance of 14% to 16%. During the period, gross margin stood at 25.3%, higher than the bank’s (21%) and market’s (21.4%) expectations, and also above management’s 20% to 22% guidance range. Goldman Sachs noted that the QoQ revenue growth was mainly driven by increased wafer shipments and higher average selling prices, while management attributed the gross margin improvement to a better product mix and rising average selling prices. For Q3 guidance: revenue is projected to grow 2% to 4% QoQ, in line with Goldman’s and market expectations; gross margin guidance of 26% to 28% outpaces both the bank’s and market forecasts. The bank maintained a "Buy" rating on SMIC, holding a positive view on the company’s long-term growth prospects, driven by rising demand from local fabless semiconductor clients and AI-related opportunities. Goldman Sachs set a Hong Kong-listed share target price of HK$135. (Jinshi)

According to monitoring by ai_9684xtpa, a Bitcoin (BTC) whale that has held its position for roughly three years appears to be initiating a sell-off. Address bc1q7…jvlgw deposited 158.7 BTC to Coinbase eight hours ago, valued at approximately $10.01 million. The funds trace back to address 3JLdM…jEp9L, which withdrew BTC from Kraken on March 11, 2023, and has held the asset long-term since. During the current bull market, this address once posted unrealized gains exceeding $15.31 million. If all 158.7 BTC transferred to Coinbase are sold, the whale is projected to realize a profit of around $6.206 million, a figure that marks a more than 40% drop from its peak unrealized gains.

According to Bloomberg, fintech firm Chime Financial is exploring adding stablecoins as a new feature to its consumer banking platform, the latest sign that stablecoin adoption is expanding further beyond the crypto market into everyday payments. Sources familiar with the matter disclosed that Chime invited blockchain technology companies to submit proposals in late spring this year, aiming to deliver end-to-end stablecoin wallet services. It remains unclear which technology supplier Chime will ultimately select, nor the specific stablecoin products and functionalities it will roll out.

This whale, who held 2.93M $HYPE($163.37M), is selling $HYPE again! 2 weeks ago, he sold 1.03M $HYPE ($57.44M). 1 hour ago, he sold another 923,743 $HYPE($53.02M). He still holds 969,595 $HYPE ($55.5M).

According to Bitget's market data, WTI crude oil has dropped below $80 per barrel, posting an intraday decline of 0.57%.

GF Securities maintains a "Buy" rating on Intel, with a $136 price target, noting that the company’s equity financing sends a positive signal. Intel expanded its share offering size from the original planned $15 billion to $20 billion; institutional demand reportedly exceeded $100 billion, with an offering price of $95, and the overallotment option has been fully exercised. Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan and his family subscribed approximately $12 million worth of shares at the offering price. GF Securities believes this demonstrates management’s confidence in the company’s outlook and is expected to support fiscal 2027 capital expenditures. The firm projects Intel’s foundry business will reach break-even in Q4 2027, with margin leverage fully realized in 2028. It notes steady progress in 18A process node yield and external customer expansion, particularly with Apple, while Intel’s EMIB customer base continues to grow, with Google and AWS both advancing related collaborations. GF Securities maintains its forecast that 18A yield will hit around 80% in Q2 2026, adding that Clearwater Forest (CWF) has entered mass production ramp-up, with Apple’s high-volume production of 14A being a key focus. If the foundry business’s break-even is delayed to 2028, the main reason is expected to be increased new investment requirements. For the EMIB business, GF Securities raised Intel’s backend segment revenue forecasts for 2027 and 2028 to $1.1 billion and $7 billion respectively, driven primarily by AWS’s Trainium3 expected to adopt EMIB-T in 2027, and Google’s Humufish/Triggerfish ramping up production from H2 2027 to 2028. GF Securities also forecasts that AWS and Microsoft’s ASIC products may adopt EMIB in 2028. Intel has also secured support from Unimicron and plans to produce silicon capacitors in-house.