Japanese and South Korean chip stocks surge sharply. South Korea's KOSPI index surged more than 6%, triggering the circuit breaker mechanism, as the AI trading frenzy returns.

French shipping group CMA CGM announced on its official website that it will impose an emergency bunker surcharge starting August 1 amid renewed escalation of hostilities in the Strait of Hormuz. The company stated: "Hostilities in the Strait of Hormuz have flared up again in recent days, triggering a sharp surge in fuel prices and reversing the easing trend of recent weeks. Consequently, fuel costs have risen significantly across all regions and routes, pushing up overall shipping costs." The surcharge ranges from $65 to $165 per container and will remain in effect until further notice. (Jinshi)

The U.S. has carried out airstrikes on military targets inside Iran for the 11th consecutive night, while Iran continues to launch missile and drone attacks. Analysts say the recent attack on a Jordanian base that killed three U.S. service members demonstrates that Iran still retains strong ballistic missile strike capabilities, with some underground missile bases having resumed operations. According to reports, Iran has recently used multiple weapon systems including the Kheibar Shekan, Fattah, Zolfaghar, Fateh-110, and Qiam ballistic missiles, as well as Shahed drones and Paveh cruise missiles. Commercial satellite imagery shows that Iran is repairing roads at missile bases, clearing tunnel entrances, and gradually restoring the launch capabilities of its underground weapons depots. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Rubio stated that the U.S. remains willing to resolve the Iran crisis through diplomacy, but believes Iran is currently "not taking negotiations seriously". He emphasized that the U.S. will not allow Iran to control the Strait of Hormuz, as that would set a dangerous precedent for the safety of international shipping lanes. Separately, reports indicate that Iranian Interior Minister Momeni has visited Pakistan, urging Islamabad to continue facilitating mediation between the U.S. and Iran.

According to Lookonchain’s monitoring, whale address 0x007d is heavily betting on the Nasdaq 100 Index’s rise. Over the past 20 hours, the address opened a 2,353-unit long position in XYZ100 with 20x leverage, carrying a notional value of roughly $68.2 million and an unrealized loss of $85,000 at present. Data shows the liquidation price of this position is $26,833.85.

According to a New York Times report, the ongoing escalation of conflict in Iran has put immense pressure on Pakistan’s business community. With the collapse of the ceasefire agreement, large quantities of goods bound for Iran, including mangoes and textiles, have been stranded at the border, with some fruits already spoiled. Business leaders noted that peace would not only bring down energy prices but also give Pakistan the chance to fully tap the trade potential along its roughly 900-kilometer border with Iran. Pakistan’s economy has remained under pressure due to factors including strained relations with India and Afghanistan, and the business community had originally hoped to ease its woes by deepening trade ties with Iran. However, long-standing U.S. sanctions on Iran have severely restricted bilateral bank settlements, energy cooperation, and trade, forcing much of the commerce to rely on barter, third-country transit, or smuggling channels. Pakistan’s business and industrial circles believe that if sanctions on Iran are relaxed in the future, bilateral trade volume is expected to expand significantly. Pakistan can export rice, textiles, pharmaceuticals, and medical equipment to Iran, while Iran can supply Pakistan with cheaper oil and gas, and create opportunities for Pakistani companies to participate in Iran’s post-war reconstruction. Currently, several entrepreneurs said they will remain on the sidelines until the situation becomes clearer.

Bitcoin traded sideways near $66,000 on Wednesday, holding steady at its two-week high. Driven by upbeat AI sentiment, global chip stocks rose for the second consecutive session, while USD/JPY fell below 163 to hit its lowest level since 1986. As of press time, Bitcoin is up nearly 1% intraday, around 3% week-to-date, with 24-hour trading volume of ~$31 billion. Ethereum (ETH) trades at ~$1,920, up ~3% weekly; XRP gains 2% to $1.13, TRX edges higher; HYPE underperforms, down 4% on the day and ~10% over the past seven days. In Asian equities, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 1%. South Korea’s KOSPI surged 5% before paring gains at midday, with SK Hynix leading gains by over 13%. The move follows the U.S. semiconductor index’s more than 5% jump on Tuesday, which helped it exit its technical bear market. In the forex market, USD/JPY broke below 163, marking a nearly 40-year low. While Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama stated authorities remain ready to take decisive forex intervention steps if needed, a stronger U.S. dollar, rising U.S. Treasury yields, and Iran-related oil price hikes have collectively amplified yen depreciation pressure. Analysts note that the fiat currency depreciation environment has long been a key pillar of Bitcoin’s narrative as an "inflation hedge and currency devaluation safeguard," though Bitcoin’s recent price correlation with chip stocks remains stronger than its link to the yen exchange rate.

According to Hyperinsight monitoring, SKHX on Hyperliquid hit a peak of $1,353.2 this morning, then plunged rapidly at midday, touching a low of $1,253.1 at 13:40, down 7.4% from the high. As of press time, SKHX is trading at around $1,256.8, with its earlier gains almost fully erased. A whale opened a short position just before this round’s peak. Between 7:00 and 9:00 today, it sold a total of 2,000 SKHX via 491 transactions, at an average entry price of $1,333.98, totaling approximately $2.668 million. As of press time, the whale holds a 10x full-leverage short position of 2,000 SKHX, with an unrealized profit of about $154,200 and a return of 57.8%; its liquidation price is around $4,120.9. Currently, the whale has not placed any take-profit or stop-loss orders for SKHX. Historical transactions show this whale is a medium-high-frequency, multi-asset short-term address. Its 7-day trading volume is about $116 million, with a profit of $510,300; it previously mainly traded BTC and ETH in the crypto market, and this marks its first shift of positions to SKHX. -HyperInsight Bot is now live. Add @HyperInsightBot to your Telegram group and set it as an administrator (enable the send messages permission) to automatically sync on-chain information.