Trump: Pausing interest rate hikes is always better than raising them, and he hopes interest rates will fall.

According to Bitget market data, the Nikkei 225 index opened 801.21 points lower on Thursday, July 16, down 1.17% to 67,950.30 points. South Korea’s KOSPI index opened down 325.88 points the same day, a 4.47% drop, at 6,958.53 points. Samsung Electronics declined 5%, while SK Hynix fell 8%.

According to Bitget's market data, the Nikkei 225 index has posted an intraday drop of 2.00%.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the head of South Korea's Financial Services Commission has stated that measures related to single ETFs will be announced.

South Korea's Economic Daily, citing investment banking sources, reported that the country's foreign exchange regulatory authorities are discussing using the Foreign Exchange Stabilization Fund to purchase U.S. dollars raised through SK Hynix's ADR issuance, to curb potential sharp fluctuations in the USD/KRW exchange rate.

According to monitoring by Onchain Lens, BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes appears to be steadily increasing his Ethereum (ETH) holdings through over-the-counter (OTC) trades. He transferred 1.25 million USDC to Galaxy Digital, and received 646.33 ETH (valued at approximately $1.24 million) minutes later. Separately, he sent another 1.25 million USDC to FalconX, likely for another OTC transaction.

U.S. officials say days after holding brief meetings with several senior aides, U.S. President Donald Trump is leaning toward expanding U.S. military operations against Iran. Potential options include intensifying airstrikes, deploying ground forces to seize Iranian islands near the Strait of Hormuz, and bombing a fortified site possibly used for secret nuclear activities. On July 15, the U.S. military carried out a maritime blockade against Iran in the Arabian Gulf, stopping an oil tanker that was attempting to sail to an Iranian port and was not carrying cargo. An Iranian military spokesperson stated that the only way to reopen the waterway is for the U.S. to abide by the memorandum of understanding and enforce "Iranian regulations" in the Strait of Hormuz. According to BIT (bit.com) market data, U.S. stocks closed on Wednesday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.29%, the S&P 500 up 0.38%, and the Nasdaq gaining 0.6%. Apple (AAPL.O) rose 4%, ASML (ASML.O) climbed 2%, SK Hynix (SKHY.O) fell 9%, SanDisk (SNDK.O) dropped 8%, and Intel (INTC.O) decreased 4.4%. According to HTX market data, Bitcoin is currently trading at $64,847, down 0.08% in the past 24 hours. Over the past 24 hours, global crypto liquidations totaled $303 million, including $112 million in long positions and $191 million in short positions.