The total market capitalization of global stock markets has risen to 137% of global GDP, approaching its all-time high.

SK Hynix is set to release its second-quarter earnings on the 29th, and following Samsung Electronics, the chipmaker is also expected to post a record-high profit for the period. According to reports from 14 securities firms compiled by South Korean financial information provider Yonhap Infomax over the past month, SK Hynix’s second-quarter revenue and operating profit are projected to reach 84.0597 trillion won and 64.0899 trillion won, respectively. The projected second-quarter operating profit is about 17 trillion won higher than the full-year 2023 operating profit of 47.2 trillion won. Adding the 37.6103 trillion won operating profit from this year’s first quarter, SK Hynix’s first-half operating profit alone will exceed 100 trillion won. Earlier this month, Samsung Electronics also released its preliminary earnings report, with its Device Solutions (DS) division delivering strong performance, logging an operating profit of 89.4 trillion won. If SK Hynix’s results meet market expectations, the combined operating profit of the two companies for the second quarter will exceed 150 trillion won. (Jinshi)

South Korean media reports that amid the rapid growth of South Korea’s exchange-traded fund (ETF) market this year, individual investors’ net purchases of ETFs have reached 70 trillion won, equivalent to 70% of their net purchases in the main stock board. Even as South Korea’s stock market has seen a correction this month, retail investors’ net purchases have continued to rise. According to data released by the Korea Exchange (KRX) and financial data firm Yonhap Infomax on the 26th, as of the 24th, South Korean individual investors’ net ETF purchases this year stood at 69.5 trillion won, approaching the 70 trillion won mark. In the same period, their net purchases in the main stock board totaled 109.9 trillion won, accounting for 63.2% of their total net purchases in the main board. In other words, for every 10 million won retail investors allocate to main board investments, 6.3 million won goes to ETFs.

The mysterious whale (0xf292) has built a 2.10M $CXMT ($13.04M) short position and is now up ~$502K. The whale also has another $4.32M in $CXMT limit short orders waiting to be filled. Current liquidation price: $13.45.

Arthur Hayes(@CryptoHayes) bought another 645 $ETH ($1.2M) 9 hours ago. Since July 15, Arthur Hayes has bought a total of 3,915 $ETH ($7.47M) at an average price of $1,909 and is now down ~$113K.

According to Bloomberg, roughly $1.4 billion in profits Donald Trump and his affiliates earned from meme coins and token-related operations has become the single biggest obstacle to the passage of the CLARITY Act. Democrats are pushing for stricter provisions to prevent the president from continuing to profit from the crypto industry overseen by his administration, while Trump needs at least seven Democratic senators to back the bill to advance it. The Democratic party objects to having the Department of Justice, led by a Trump-nominated attorney general, serve as the primary enforcer of the ethics rules, and is demanding independent law enforcement authority for state attorneys general. Bipartisan senators Ruben Gallego and Thom Tillis are discussing compromise proposals, but Senate Majority Leader John Thune has stated the bill may not be passed before the August recess. Critics argue the current draft allows Trump to sell large stakes in his crypto business or place them in a blind trust, but does not mandate a sale; the provisions only apply when an official holds a "direct interest" in crypto assets, leaving unclear whether Trump’s roughly 38% indirect stake in World Liberty Financial via DT Marks DEFI LLC falls under the rules. The bill also does not restrict the children of government officials, and the ethics requirements will expire on January 20, 2029. Beyond ethics concerns, Democrats are calling for stronger consumer protections and anti-illegal finance measures, while the banking industry is pushing for tighter restrictions on stablecoin rewards. The likelihood of the CLARITY Act being passed this year has dropped to roughly 33%, about half the probability it held after the Senate Banking Committee backed an earlier version in May.

According to monitoring by Onchain Lens, a whale has accumulated 1.58 million LINK tokens via multiple transactions from Binance over the past week, worth approximately $13.2 million.