Crypto Market Fear Subsides Significantly, Today's Fear and Greed Index at 45

A senior U.S. official said the U.S. and Iran have agreed to halt mutual attacks, and the two sides plan to meet Tuesday in Doha, Qatar’s capital, to resolve disputes over the Strait of Hormuz. This comes just 11 days after fresh attacks by both sides shortly after signing a ceasefire memorandum, when former President Trump threatened to restart the war and “finish the mission,” leaving the situation on a knife-edge. “We have decided to halt all military operations,” the senior U.S. official stated, using military terminology referring to attacks and other offensive actions. According to a source familiar with the talks, the meeting was originally scheduled for Tuesday in Switzerland to address Iran’s nuclear program, but following the escalation, the location has been changed and the focus shifted back to the Strait of Hormuz. Nick Stewart, who leads the U.S. technical team, is expected to attend the talks, per a U.S. official and an informed source.

According to a New York Times report, a senior U.S. official said technical talks between the U.S. and Iran on implementing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) are still scheduled for the coming days. Despite recent reciprocal strikes between the two sides, the official noted that no talks have been canceled so far, adding that the two sides are exchanging information via so-called "de-escalation channels". Earlier, a reporter from Israel’s i24NEWS had reported that the upcoming U.S.-Iran talks had been called off.

Data from prediction market platform Predict.fun indicates that the first knockout match of the 2026 Canada-Mexico-USA World Cup’s 32-team knockout stage is approaching. The clash between Canada and South Africa will kick off at 3 a.m. Beijing time today. Current predicted win probabilities stand at 58% for Canada (CAN), 16% for South Africa (RSA), and a 27% chance of a draw. The data shows that the market has given higher support to the Canadian national team’s overall strength ahead of the match.

According to an official announcement from Predict.fun, the knockout stage of the World Cup’s 32-team tournament has officially launched, with the platform simultaneously upgrading its Predict Cup event mechanism. For this knockout round, Predict.fun will open 11 prediction markets per match and boost Fan Points rewards. The official added that the ongoing event still has a prize pool of over $1.1 million up for grabs, with rewards disbursed immediately after each knockout match’s conclusion. Notably, the Canada vs. South Africa match is set to kick off in under 3 hours, with a direct $25,000 reward allocated for this fixture, giving users more frequent chances to participate and win. Predict.fun stated that as the knockout stage commences, the platform will incentivize users to actively join World Cup prediction markets and compete for subsequent prize pool rewards via more markets, higher point rewards, and a more frequent reward distribution system.

According to official announcements from Predict.fun, rewards for the World Cup group stage event are now available for collection, with the current prize pool totaling $840,000. The platform noted that users who participated and secured rewards during the group stage can now claim them via the platform. With the conclusion of the 32-team group stage, the number of World Cup-related markets on Predict.fun has risen from the initial 6 to 11, providing more trading and points-chasing opportunities for new participants. For the upcoming knockout stage, the platform will release over $1 million in additional event rewards, giving users ongoing opportunities to compete for leaderboard positions and split the subsequent prize pool.

South Korean investors’ margin lending for stock trading hits an all-time high: South Korea’s margin loans have reached a record of approximately $26 billion, doubling since the start of 2025. However, when measured as a share of South Korea’s free-float market capitalization, margin lending currently makes up only around 0.8% — the lowest level since the 2020 pandemic low. This is because the sharp rise in South Korea’s total stock market capitalization has far outpaced the growth of leverage. Meanwhile, during the recent market correction, the daily forced liquidation ratio surged to 4-5% of total outstanding margin loans, far exceeding the normal level of roughly 1%. This means that leveraged investors unable to meet margin call requirements are forcing brokers to liquidate 4-5% of all margin positions in a single day. Record leverage is exacerbating volatility in the South Korean market.