The first-half 2026 funding rankings have been released, with Kalshi and Polymarket raising a combined $1.8 billion.

Metaplanet will inject 2,100 Bitcoin (BTC), valued at approximately $132 million, into Nasdaq-listed firm Super League (SLE), plus an additional $2.5 million in cash. Super League will be renamed "Superplanet", with its stock ticker proposed to be changed to SUPA. Upon completion of the transaction, Metaplanet is expected to hold roughly 95.7% of Superplanet’s shares, establishing a U.S.-listed Bitcoin treasury platform to raise capital via the U.S. capital market. Superplanet plans to expand into the growing "digital credit" market, raise funds by issuing U.S. dollar-denominated perpetual preferred shares, use the proceeds to further purchase Bitcoin, and support dividend payments through U.S. dollar reserves and operating cash flow. Metaplanet noted that this strategy aims to increase the Bitcoin per share of Superplanet, as well as boost Bitcoin holdings per share of Metaplanet stock at the group level. This structure will form two listed Bitcoin treasury platforms under the group: one in Japan and one in the U.S., both leveraging their respective local capital markets to continue accumulating Bitcoin.

Fabrinet, a key supplier of Nvidia, reported strong financial results and better-than-expected performance guidance, but its pre-market share price dropped over 11% to $531.48 due to weak data communications business performance and broader pressure on AI infrastructure stocks. For its fourth fiscal quarter, Fabrinet’s adjusted earnings per share (EPS) hit $4.10, exceeding the market expectation of $3.81; revenue rose 45% year-over-year to $1.32 billion, also beating analysts’ forecast of $1.28 billion. The company projected its first fiscal quarter adjusted EPS to be between $4.10 and $4.25, and revenue to range from $1.375 billion to $1.425 billion, both above market expectations. The strong performance was mainly driven by data center demand. CEO Seamus Grady noted that current customer demand is “showing no signs of ending.” However, the company’s data communications revenue fell 1% quarter-over-quarter to $258 million, while its high-performance computing (HPC) business grew 11% quarter-over-quarter to $118 million—both developments sparked investor concerns. B. Riley cut Fabrinet’s price target from $635 to $598, while maintaining a “neutral” rating. Fabrinet is also an important supplier of Nvidia, but B. Riley data shows its fiscal 2026 revenue from Nvidia will decline 21% year-over-year to $742 million. Although Barclays and JPMorgan Chase raised their price targets to $739 and $695 respectively, they also pointed out hidden risks in the data communications and HPC businesses. As of pre-market trading on August 18, Fabrinet has gained 31% year-to-date, with its 12-month increase exceeding 80%.

According to market data from BIT (Bit.com), U.S. metaverse firm Super League’s pre-market shares surged over 20%, lifting its market capitalization to $5.11 million. The development follows news that Metaplanet will inject 2,100 BTC (valued at roughly $132 million) plus an additional $2.5 million in cash into Nasdaq-listed Super League (SLE). Super League will be renamed "Superplanet", with its stock ticker set to change to SUPA. Once the transaction closes, Metaplanet is projected to hold around 95.7% of Superplanet’s shares, establishing a U.S.-listed Bitcoin treasury platform to raise capital via American capital markets.

South Korean retail investors are shifting funds from their domestic stock market to the U.S. market. Data from the Korea Securities Depository shows that South Korean investors net bought around $4.5 billion in U.S. stocks in July, with approximately $840 million flowing into SK Hynix’s U.S.-listed American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), making it one of the most net-purchased U.S. securities by South Korean investors. Notably, South Korean investors could have directly bought SK Hynix shares in the domestic market but opted for its U.S. ADRs, leading to a notable price gap between the two markets. Currently, SK Hynix’s ADR trades at a roughly 10% premium to its domestic shares, with higher volatility for the U.S.-listed stock. Owen Lamont, senior vice president at Acadian Asset Management, notes that this rare price discrepancy may be a sign of excessive market speculation, even a "symptom of a bubble." The shift of South Korean retail investors to U.S. stocks has not reduced their risk appetite—AI, semiconductors, and high-leverage products remain core bets. Among the top 10 U.S. stocks net bought by South Korean investors in July, four were leveraged products, with the Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3x ETF (SOXL) being the most popular. Meanwhile, South Korea’s stock market margin balance has fallen from around 37 trillion won at the end of June to about 27 trillion won by early August. Analysts point out that South Korean retail investors may have merely moved their high-risk AI trades originally conducted in the domestic market to the U.S. rather than exiting risk assets entirely. Industry experts believe that the scale of South Korean funds is insufficient to alter the overall trend of the U.S. stock market, but their concentrated trading could further amplify price volatility in high-volatility assets heavily favored by retail investors, such as AI chips, quantum computing, and leveraged ETFs.

According to monitoring by Whale Alert, Circle minted an additional 250 million USDC on the Solana network 10 minutes ago.

On-chain analytics firm Glassnode says the Bitcoin market is in a "highly contracted" state, with selling pressure from sellers easing but buyers yet to enter noticeably. BTC is currently fluctuating mainly between $63,000 and $68,700, with market trading activity dropping to its lowest level since 2019. Glassnode data shows the 30-day Seller Exhaustion Constant has fallen to its lowest level since 2013, though a historic market bottom signal has not yet been confirmed. If BTC breaks below $58,500, the next support level could drop to $52,800. Crypto analyst CryptoBusy notes that the current degree of seller exhaustion is approaching levels seen in previous bear market bottoms, though deeper sell-offs have occurred in historical cycles, meaning Bitcoin may still need to release more selling pressure to complete market clearing. Michael Terpin, founder of Transform Group, predicts Bitcoin could bottom around $57,000 in October, and views complete seller exhaustion as a key signal for the end of the bear market. However, there is no consensus on market bottoming among analysts. Some analysts point out that only 2 of Glassnode’s 10 capitulation indicators have been triggered so far, putting BTC’s potential bottom at between $49,000 and $53,000. Analysts also add that before ETF inflows and spot trading volumes show a clear recovery, it is not enough to confirm the market has entered a sustained accumulation phase. Glassnode further warns that leveraged traders have already bet on a market recovery, but current on-chain and market data have not sufficiently supported this expectation.