BigBreakingWire

🚨 BREAKING: Japan and U.S. Reportedly Coordinated Yen Intervention

• Japan is expected to announce on Monday that it coordinated with the United States to intervene in currency markets after the yen fell to a 40-year low, according to Reuters.

• The joint yen-buying operation follows an estimated $59 billion in intervention spending by Japanese authorities.

• The move is aimed at stabilizing the yen and preventing broader disruptions in financial markets.

• The intervention would also signal close coordination between Tokyo and Washington as policymakers seek to curb excessive currency volatility.

🚨 BREAKING: South Korean Retail Investors Lose Faith After KOSPI Crash

• South Korea's KOSPI plunged 22% in July, marking its biggest monthly decline since the global financial crisis, despite an 18% rebound on Friday.

• Retail investors, known for aggressive risk-taking, recorded their largest-ever net sales of KOSPI stocks as losses mounted.

• Encouraged by market reforms and leveraged ETFs, retail investors poured about 78 trillion won ($54.2 billion) into Korean equities during May and June, leaving many heavily exposed to July's volatility.

• Social media has been flooded with criticism of the government, with some investors saying the best rule for the KOSPI is "don't invest" and vowing to exit the market.

$SKHY $KORU

🚨 BREAKING: Trump Media Launches Paid 'Truth API' Service

• Trump Media has officially launched Truth API, a subscription service that provides businesses with real-time access to posts on Truth Social, including those from President Donald Trump.

• The service offers firms "a direct, licensed, real-time feed of the platform's most market-moving Truths," according to interim CEO Kevin McGurn.

• The product reportedly costs up to $100,000 per month and is aimed at trading firms and other institutional subscribers seeking faster access to posts.

• Critics have raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest because Trump is both the platform's most influential user and the largest shareholder of its parent company.

• Trump's @realDonaldTrump account has roughly 13 million followers and is frequently used to announce major policy decisions.

Should a sitting president be able to monetize early access to social-media posts that can move markets?

🚨 CZ Warns Users After $70 Million Bitcoin Theft

• Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) urged crypto holders to spread funds across multiple wallets after a Coldcard firmware flaw enabled the theft of roughly $70 million in Bitcoin.

• The July 30 attack exploited weak key generation in Coldcard firmware, allowing hackers to drain 1,196 Bitcoin addresses, many of which had been dormant for years, according to Galaxy Digital.

• Coldcard maker Coinkite acknowledged that all wallet models were vulnerable and released emergency firmware updates.

• The flaw, which reportedly dates back to 2021, allowed attackers to reconstruct private keys and empty more than 1,000 wallets in about 40 minutes. Users have been advised to generate entirely new seed phrases.

Reuters showed Treasury Secretary Bessent's note, "buy yen $5-10 bln." FT reported the US and Japan jointly intervened on Friday for the first time in nearly 30 years, with the New York Fed reportedly selling euros to buy yen. Japan's intervention was estimated at about $53 billion.

Bitcoin drops below $63,000. $125 million liquidated from crypto markets in the last 60 minutes.

$BTC

🚨 South Korea's KOSPI surged 17.9% in its biggest-ever daily gain as foreign investors bought a record 7.2 trillion won of stocks. SK Hynix jumped 30% and Samsung rose 27%.

The Bank of Japan kept its policy rate unchanged at 1% in an 8-1 vote, with board member Naoki Takata seeking a 25-basis-point hike. The BOJ said inflation is nearing its 2% target and signaled further tightening if conditions warrant, while lowering its FY2026 core CPI forecast to 2.5% and raising GDP growth to 0.6%.

OpenUSD, a consortium-backed stablecoin supported by over 140 firms including Visa, Mastercard, BlackRock and Coinbase, will debut on Ethereum. The token allows fee-free minting and redemption for businesses while sharing reserve income with partners, unlike USDT and USDC. Visa says it will remain "multi-coin, multi-chain."

Asian markets surged as AI optimism returned after strong Microsoft and Amazon earnings. Kospi jumped 16%, Nikkei rose 6%, while SK Hynix and Samsung soared over 25% and 20%, respectively.

#KospiJumpsRecord15%

USD/JPY plunged, fueling speculation of Japanese currency intervention. The pair dropped 2.38% intraday to a low of 159.52.

Samsung Electronics posted a more than 250-fold jump in Q2 chip profit and warned memory shortages could continue through 2028 as AI demand outpaces supply. The company signed long-term deals with major data-centre firms, while its mobile division slipped into a quarterly loss due to soaring chip costs.

South Korea's KRX is reviewing the technical feasibility of a temporary short-selling ban and tighter price limits to curb volatility, though no decision has been made yet.

$SKHY $SAMSUNG

🚨 BREAKING: AI Stock Crash Hits Asian Hedge Funds

• Goldman Sachs says Asia-focused fundamental long-short equity hedge funds are suffering their largest single-month drawdown on record, with average losses of 18.6% as of July 28.

• The funds were among the best performers in the first half of the year after major bets on AI hardware giants SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, with some posting gains of more than 100%.

• Since peaking on July 22, when year-to-date returns reached around 40%, the group has surrendered roughly 21 percentage points amid a broad selloff in AI-related stocks.

• Goldman said crowded AI trades were the main driver of the losses, while hedge funds with larger AI exposure suffered steeper declines. Managers have cut risk for eight consecutive trading sessions, with the five-day reduction in exposure reaching a record high.

🚨 BREAKING: Republicans Weigh U.S. Debt Ceiling Increase

• Politico reported that Republicans are considering a preemptive increase in the U.S. debt ceiling to avoid a fiscal cliff during a possible Trump term.

• The White House has reportedly floated raising the debt limit to $41.1 trillion through party-line spending bills ahead of the November midterm elections.

• Republicans previously raised the debt ceiling by $5 trillion, while U.S. public debt now stands at about $39.7 trillion.

• An independent forecaster estimates the X-date to avoid a U.S. default could fall between next summer and early 2028, overlapping the start of the presidential primary season.

🚨 BREAKING: Wall Street Tightens Pressure on Leveraged AI Bets

• Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan have reportedly issued margin calls to hedge funds with heavily leveraged AI positions, according to Hedgeweek.

• Fitch Ratings warned the AI boom is becoming a systemic credit risk, citing $182 billion in Big Tech bond issuance and capital spending outpacing cash generation.

• Credit default swap (CDS) spreads for major tech firms have more than doubled since early 2025, while CoreWeave's CDS pricing implies about a 50% probability of default over the next five years.

• Wall Street lenders are increasing risk controls and demanding more collateral from hedge funds with concentrated exposure to AI-related assets.

🚨 South Korea Studies Market Stabilization After Crash

• Finance Minister Koo Yoon-cheol apologized after two circuit-breaker halts in Korean stocks, saying the government regrets introducing single-stock leveraged ETFs without sufficient review.

• He said officials are studying market-stabilization measures and may tighten rules governing single-stock leveraged ETFs.

• The KOSPI plunged as much as 12% intraday after opening down over 6%, before trimming losses to around 8%.

• SK Hynix fell as much as 17% following its earnings report before recovering to a loss of roughly 8%.

🚨 BREAKING: South Korea's Market Meltdown Deepens

• South Korea's KOSPI plunged over 12% intraday, falling below 5,300 amid heavy selling.

• Retail investors faced about KRW 1.7 trillion ($1.2 billion) in forced liquidations on Wednesday, while institutions are reportedly waiting for selling pressure to ease before buying.

• U.S. futures weakened, with Nasdaq futures down 1%, S&P 500 futures down 0.3%, and Dow futures down 0.2%.

• Japan's Nikkei 225 also slid as much as 3%, touching 60,490.58 intraday.

🚨 BREAKING: South Korea Halts Trading After Market Crash

• Korea Exchange triggered a 20-minute circuit breaker on the KOSPI, after the KOSDAQ had already activated its own trading halt.

• The KOSPI plunged another 8% on Wednesday after a 10% crash on Tuesday, leaving it down over 30% in July, on track for its worst monthly decline on record.

• SK Hynix has plunged about 25% in two sessions after disappointing Q2 results, while investors await earnings from Samsung Electronics and major U.S. tech companies.

• Japan's Nikkei 225 also fell, hitting an intraday low of 61,000, down 2.23%.

#KOSPITriggersSidecarOnTechSelloff

🚨 SK Hynix Extends Sell-Off Despite Strong Q2 Results

• SK Hynix shares fell nearly 12% after reporting Q2 operating profit of KRW 60.54 trillion ($41.6 billion), up 557% YoY but below the KRW 63.55 trillion analyst consensus.

• The stock had already dropped 14.7% the previous day and has retreated sharply from its June record high.

• The company said expanding AI infrastructure continues to drive strong demand for memory chips and related products.

• Investors remain concerned about overbought valuations, the memory chip cycle and the sustainability of AI-driven demand.