Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claims to have attacked and destroyed two "violating vessels"

According to on-chain analyst Ai Yi (@ai_9684xtpa), Binance contract smart money account "Yu Yu m" has incurred an unrealized loss of $2.091 million from its long positions in SK Hynix-related contracts, topping the 3-day loss leaderboard. Data shows the account holds 7,462.68 SKHX tokens (valued at roughly $11.03 million) with an average entry price of $1,477.89, translating to an unrealized loss of $1.954 million. It also holds 25,733.63 SKHY tokens (valued at ~$4.045 million) with an average entry price of $157.22, adding $137,000 in unrealized losses. Despite the cumulative unrealized loss exceeding $2.09 million, the account has sufficient margin, with liquidation prices for its SKHX and SKHY positions standing at $756 and $27.59 respectively, meaning no imminent liquidation risk in the short term.

According to Bitget data, South Korea’s KOSPI index has fallen back below the 6,600 level, down 3.10% on the day, while SK Hynix is currently down 5.4%.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced today that, in response to the latest aggressive acts by enemy forces, under the military operation codenamed "Nasr 2", the IRGC launched strikes targeting multiple ammunition depots, a satellite communications center, and buildings housing US troops in Bahrain, inflicting "significant losses" on the enemy. The IRGC added that the retaliatory strikes are still ongoing. (CCTV International News)

According to surveys by foreign media, economists expect the Bank of Korea (BOK) to implement its first interest rate hike in over three years on Thursday, with another hike before the end of the year. South Korea’s June inflation rate rose to 3.2%, hitting a 2.5-year high and exceeding the BOK’s 2% target for four consecutive months. Inflation is projected to average around 3% in the second half of this year, paving the way for the start of a tightening cycle. Strong economic growth, rising housing prices, and persistently high household debt have given policymakers room to tighten policy. South Korea’s economy grew at its fastest pace in nearly six years in the first quarter, and BOK Governor Rhee Chang-yong stated that given elevated oil prices due to Middle East conflicts, inflation is expected to stay above the BOK’s target for a considerable period, making interest rate hikes necessary. In a survey conducted from July 7 to 13, all but one of the 37 economists polled expect the BOK to raise its benchmark interest rate to 2.75% on July 16. The majority of surveyed economists (28 out of 31) forecast another rate hike by the end of the fourth quarter, pushing the policy rate to 3.00%. One economist projects the benchmark rate will reach 3.25%, while the remaining two predict it will stay at 2.75%. The median forecast shows the BOK will raise its benchmark rate to 3.25% in the first quarter of 2027 and maintain that level at least until the end of next year, a 25 basis point increase from the forecast in the May survey.

On-chain analyst Ai Yi (@ai_9684xtpa) monitored that the newly created address 0x2e8…6f5f4 withdrew 37,000 ETH from Gemini 10 hours ago, worth $65.66 million, and subsequently staked the funds in batches to the Eth2 Beacon Chain.

Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin stated that Ethereum Layer 1 (L1) gas fees should remain low to support ecosystem growth. He projected that tens of thousands of companies will deploy on Ethereum L1, Layer 2 (L2), and permissioned Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) networks over the next two to three years, with cross-layer interoperability being achieved. Lubin added that mass adoption will boost ETH’s monetary premium and lift L1 total fee revenue; staking and other locking mechanisms will reduce circulating supply, and if ETH returns to a net burn state, its value is poised to rise further.