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New investors have continued buying Bitcoin even as spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds have been selling, according to Bitfinex.
On October 17, the cryptocurrency exchange wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that new Bitcoin buyers have added about 570,000 BTC since late July despite ETF selling.
Bitfinex said their average purchase price was about $75,000. That level has acted as support each time Bitcoin has pulled back since August.
The exchange said buying by new market participants has helped support the lower end of Bitcoin's price range even as ETF fund flows have weakened.

Arthur Hayes, the BitMEX co-founder, sharply criticized the business models of artificial intelligence companies including OpenAI and Anthropic, arguing that Bitcoin could rise further as the AI investment bubble grows.
Bitcoin.com reported on October 17 that Hayes made the remarks a day earlier on Luke Martin’s Convergence podcast, where he said “AI model companies are worthless.”
Hayes argued that AI firms are continuing to draw investment while burning through large amounts of capital, with implicit backing from the U.S. government. They are raising money through debt and equity issuance, he said, and that implicit government support is allowing them to keep wasting money.
He also claimed that Anthropic, OpenAI and SpaceX are all unprofitable and all receive support from the U.S. government.
Hayes said that if the AI investment bubble keeps expanding and then triggers a market shock, the government would likely step in with a bailout. “The bigger the AI bubble gets, the bigger the bailout will be, and the higher Bitcoin will go,” he said.
He also argued that Bitcoin is an asset that reflects excessive liquidity creation and inefficient capital allocation. “We are wasting money, and Bitcoin serves as a signal that we are wasting money,” he said.
Separately, Hayes criticized the recent token issuance market. Referring to cases in which newly issued tokens plunged immediately after launch, he said retail investors who bought at token generation events, or TGEs, are the ones who ultimately get hurt.

Ethereum will develop into core infrastructure for the global financial system and the artificial intelligence economy over the next decade, SharpLink Chief Executive Officer Joseph Chalom said.
Chalom made the remarks during a recent discussion at Token2049 on October 17. By 2035, Ethereum will become a key layer supporting the trading and settlement of financial assets worldwide, he said.
SharpLink is a company that strategically holds Ethereum in reserve.
Chalom said asset tokenization and the spread of AI agents will drive Ethereum’s growth. In the future, all assets will trade 24 hours a day, transaction costs will fall to near zero, and settlement will happen instantly, he said.
He also emphasized the role of AI agents. Billions of AI agents will analyze millions of data points and deliver optimal financial decisions to consumers. That would allow retail investors to access financial services on par with those offered by major Wall Street institutions.
Chalom also cited Ethereum’s decentralized structure as a key competitive strength. AI agents would be able to lend, borrow and trade derivatives freely across financial platforms without needing permission from any specific company or financial institution.
He also pointed to the potential for further technological advances. Zero-knowledge proof technology, among other developments, will improve Ethereum’s transaction speed and privacy protections, he said. That could also help address future threats quantum computing may pose to existing cryptographic systems.

Google's latest quantum-computing chip has delivered a sharp performance improvement, fueling concerns that quantum computers could pose a greater threat to early Bitcoin wallets.
CoinDesk reported on October 17 that Google said its quantum chip Willow reduced the error rate in generating specialized quantum states needed for advanced calculations to about one-fortieth of the previous level.
CoinDesk said the improvement lowered one of the technical barriers to cracking Bitcoin wallets.
Some early Bitcoin wallets have had public keys exposed since the time they were mined, giving attackers ample time to analyze them, the outlet said.
In the experiment, Google increased the accuracy of a technology needed for complex quantum-computing calculations to 99.99%. Even so, the success rate was only about 8%, leaving the technology impractical for real-world use.
CoinDesk also stressed that the result does not mean the cost of attacking Bitcoin wallets has fallen by a factor of 40. It added that further advances would still be needed to carry out large-scale quantum calculations reliably enough for an actual attack.

US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds posted net outflows of $82.41 million.
Trader T data for Oct. 16 showed $71.8 million leaving BlackRock's IBIT and $10.61 million exiting Fidelity's FBTC. BlackRock accounted for about 87% of the day's total net outflows.
The remaining products, including Grayscale's GBTC and mini ETF BTC, Bitwise's BITB and Ark Invest's ARKB, recorded neither net inflows nor net outflows.
Cumulative net outflows for the month totaled $614.9 million. Even so, the funds remained in net inflow territory for the year, with cumulative net inflows of $315.5 million.

Debt concerns tied to artificial intelligence companies and a sharp surge in crude oil prices are pressuring financial markets. Major cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), also weakened as U.S. technology stocks slumped.
As of 11:15 a.m. in Korea on October 17, Bitcoin traded at $81,614 on Binance's USDT market, down 0.67% from 24 hours earlier. It rose as high as $82,940 and fell as low as $80,809 over the past 24 hours, highlighting continued volatility. Ether slipped 0.63% to $2,424.25, while Solana (SOL) fell 0.74% to $104.66. XRP also dropped 2.02% to $1.3074.
On October 16, the Nasdaq Composite closed down 2.15% at 26,140.03 in New York trading. The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average also fell 1.09% and 0.34%, respectively. Bloomberg reported that a semiconductor-sector index fell for an eighth straight session, its longest losing streak since 2008, dropping about 16% over that stretch. The Nasdaq 100 also posted a weekly decline of 5.5%.
Heavy borrowing to fund AI infrastructure investment has emerged as a key market concern. Prices for CoreWeave's corporate bonds fell to levels implying about a 60% probability of default. That has deepened doubts about whether AI demand and revenue growth can justify massive data-center investment.
"The key concern is how much money the hyperscalers are borrowing," Dennis Polmer, chief investment officer at Montes Financial, said. They have exhausted massive cash flow and are now turning to debt, which will create problems ahead, he said.
Rising oil prices added to inflation pressure. Brent crude climbed above $110 a barrel intraday as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and Ukraine persisted. December Brent settled at $109.86, up 3.72% from the previous session, while November West Texas Intermediate closed at $101.41, up 3.51%. Treasury yields, which had been falling on safe-haven demand, faced renewed upward pressure after the spike in crude.
In crypto markets, a recovery in spot demand remains a key challenge. Colin Vasco of Coinbase Institutional said the correlation between Bitcoin and semiconductor stocks has fallen to less than half its January peak. Even so, he said spot demand remains too weak to provide solid support for prices.
At the same time, some investors continued to view the technology selloff as a buying opportunity. ARK Invest added to its holdings of CoreWeave and Cerebras Systems. Keith Lerner, chief investment officer at Truist Advisory Services, said much of the bad news had already been priced into technology shares and kept an overweight stance on the sector. In the coming earnings season, the main focus will be how much AI revenue growth can offset the burden of investment and borrowing.

U.S. stocks fell across the board as concerns over debt burdens at companies investing in artificial intelligence, along with rising crude prices, weighed on sentiment. Losses were most pronounced on the Nasdaq as selling concentrated in AI and semiconductor shares.
On Oct. 16 in New York, the Nasdaq Composite closed at 26,140.03, down 572.99 points, or 2.15%, from the previous session. The S&P 500 fell 84.62 points, or 1.09%, to 7,659.44. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 175.28 points, or 0.34%, to 52,002.41.
Concerns over debt tied to AI infrastructure spending pressured sentiment toward technology stocks. The pressure intensified as geopolitical instability in the Middle East and Ukraine drove oil prices higher.
At ICE Futures Europe in London, December Brent crude rose 3.72% from the previous session to settle at $109.86 a barrel. It climbed above $110 intraday and posted its highest close since May 19.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, November West Texas Intermediate crude settled up 3.51% at $101.41 a barrel. It extended gains for a seventh straight session and reached its highest level since Sept. 17.

CryptoQuant Chief Executive Officer Ki Young Ju said concerns over Morgan Stanley Capital International-related factors affecting Strategy Inc. have already been reflected in the stock price, while Wall Street analysts remain bullish on the company.
In a post on X on Oct. 16, Ju wrote that “analysts don’t care about MSCI” and that market consensus on Strategy remains “very bullish.”
He cited price targets from major investment banks to support that view. Citigroup has a $240 target on Strategy, Barclays sees $175, and B. Riley has set $195. Ju added that “price targets are not falling — they’re rising.”
On MSCI-related factors, Ju said the impact on the stock is likely to be limited. “MSCI is a matter of fund flows, and that has already been priced in,” he wrote.
Ju said the key indicators to watch going forward are Strategy’s market capitalization-to-net asset value multiple, or mNAV, the price of preferred stock STRC, and the company’s cash reserves.
According to Ju, Strategy’s mNAV is around 1x, while STRC is trading near par value. He also said the company’s $3.75 billion in reserves supports dividend payments.
The remarks suggest investors should pay closer attention to Strategy’s valuation and financing conditions than to concerns over MSCI-related trading flows.

Trading in Tesla-linked crypto derivatives surged while U.S. stock markets were closed after Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk unveiled a new Roadster prototype with flight capability.
CoinDesk reported on October 16 that Musk showcased the flying Roadster prototype on October 15, using SpaceX thruster technology. Following the reveal, the price of a perpetual futures contract tracking Tesla shares on decentralized derivatives exchange Hyperliquid rose about 4.9%.
Tesla shares ended the regular session at $362.44, but the Tesla-linked perpetual futures contract on Hyperliquid climbed to about $378. Hourly trading volume in the product surged 1,580% to $47 million from $2.8 million.
The jump in activity was also notable. The contract recorded its second-busiest trading day since listing about a year ago. Given that only about nine hours had passed since the start of the trading day, the move underscored strong market interest.
According to RootData, Binance posted the largest 24-hour trading volume in Tesla-linked products at $279 million, while Hyperliquid recorded $159 million. Open interest, however, was highest on Hyperliquid at $99 million. Tesla shares also rose about 4.5% in premarket trading.
The surge shows how 24-hour crypto derivatives markets are being used to reflect company-specific news during hours when traditional financial markets are closed. Hyperliquid's Tesla-linked product is not a tokenized security representing actual shares, but a perpetual futures contract that tracks Tesla's stock price.
The product was listed through Trade.xyz and is settled in the stablecoin USDC. It allows traders to use up to 20 times leverage without a separate brokerage account and can be traded around the clock regardless of Nasdaq regular trading hours.
Tesla is scheduled to report third-quarter earnings on October 21.

Bitcoin is testing a move above its 20-month moving average, a long-term trend line that could open the way for a broader advance if breached, Cointelegraph reported, citing an analysis from CryptoQuant.
CryptoQuant, an on-chain analytics firm, said on October 16 that Bitcoin was meeting resistance near its 20-month simple moving average, or SMA. In past cycles, the cryptocurrency went on to form new cycle highs after breaking above that level.
Bitcoin's 20-month moving average stood at $87,165 as of that day, according to CryptoQuant. The level also serves as the middle line of the Bollinger Bands, a volatility indicator. In CryptoQuant's market cycle framework, it is classified as a key price zone where bullish and bearish trends can reverse.
The upper Bollinger Band currently stands at $121,640, while the lower band is at $52,694. CryptoQuant defines the area between the lower band and the 20-month moving average as an accumulation-based zone. It describes the moving average itself as a boundary line for trend reversals. In December last year, Bitcoin broke below that moving average, triggering heavier selling pressure.
CryptoQuant contributor GugaOnChain said the market's reset process had been completed nearly a year after Bitcoin hit its all-time high of $124,709 on October 6, 2025. He added that it was too early to view the current price range as the top of the current upcycle, arguing that on-chain indicators still showed room for further gains.
Still, major resistance has formed near the 20-month moving average. Bitcoin's opening price for this year was $87,490, close to that moving average, and exchange order books show a large buildup of sell orders around the same range. As a result, whether Bitcoin can break through the $87,000 zone is seen as a key factor for its next move.
CryptoQuant said other on-chain indicators also point to the possibility of a recovery in upward momentum. More recently, another contributor, Xwin Research Japan, expressed cautious optimism that Bitcoin's upward momentum could recover by the end of this month based on three on-chain indicators.
Earlier, CryptoQuant Chief Executive Officer Ki Young Ju said in late August that the bear market had ended, citing a bull-bear market cycle indicator. That gauge rose to 0.186 recently from 0.042 in August, strengthening the bullish signal. Still, technical indicators such as moving averages and Bollinger Bands alone cannot confirm further price gains, meaning Bitcoin still needs to break through key resistance levels.

Japan’s three largest banks said they have confirmed the feasibility of jointly issuing a yen-based stablecoin.
NADA News reported on October 16 that Mizuho Bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. said a joint pilot project confirmed the technical and operational feasibility of issuing a yen stablecoin.
The test was conducted from July 17 to July 23. It verified the entire process in cross-border settlements between Mitsubishi Corp.’s headquarters in Japan and its overseas bases, from issuance and transfer to cash redemption.
The participants said the experiment also confirmed the system’s safety and reliability.
Japan’s top three banks are pursuing a joint stablecoin issuance project with the goal of beginning live transactions within the current fiscal year.

ParataxisEthereum, a Kosdaq-listed company, plans to begin staking Ether as early as this year. The company aims to generate additional returns by deploying its Ether holdings, with plans to use more than 10,000 tokens accumulated by no later than the first half of next year.
Lee Myung-hoon, chief executive officer of ParataxisEthereum, told Bloomingbit in an interview on Oct. 16 that the company’s top priority for the second half is staking its Ether holdings. It is reviewing the legal and accounting requirements needed to do so. Lee added that the work has been underway for a considerable period. For now, the company aims to focus on buying and managing Ether and create a virtuous cycle between its existing business and its digital asset treasury, or DAT, strategy.
ParataxisEthereum became the first listed company in South Korea to adopt an Ether-based digital asset treasury strategy earlier this year. It has bought more than 10,000 Ether this year alone, making it the largest Ether holder among DAT companies in Asia. As of Oct. 16, the company held about 11,730 Ether, ranking 11th among listed companies globally, according to CoinGecko and other sources.
"Operating Strategy to Be Detailed by First Half of Next Year"
ParataxisEthereum is considering building its own infrastructure for a staking business. The move is aimed at supporting a potential custody business for domestic institutional clients. Lee said the company is also reviewing partnerships with external firms, taking into account the risks of directly holding and managing assets. It is evaluating both domestic and overseas providers.
He did not specify what portion of the company’s holdings would be staked. As a listed company, ParataxisEthereum must first meet legal and audit standards before deciding the allocation, Lee said. The company plans to flesh out its strategy for managing its holdings, including staking, by the first half of next year.
One differentiating factor from other DAT companies, Lee said, is the cash flow generated by ParataxisEthereum’s existing business. The company posted about $10.1 million in revenue last year from its database security business. It said the financial stability provided by a security business that is not tied to crypto-market cycles gives it a foundation to pursue its DAT strategy over the long term.
Staking yields are not the only reason ParataxisEthereum chose Ether as a strategic asset. Lee said he also sees strong growth potential in the Ethereum blockchain itself. Ether can generate its own operating return and is developing into infrastructure for the future of finance. From a long-term perspective, Lee said, the asset is still in the early stages of its broader growth cycle.
"Potential Synergy With Database Security Business"
ParataxisEthereum also sees potential for its DAT strategy to create synergies with its security business. The company said the expertise it has built in serving institutions and managing system stability could be extended into digital-asset security, internal controls and risk management.
Demand in the institution-led crypto market will continue to grow for regulatory compliance, identity verification and audit trails, Lee said. The company believes the technology and client trust it has built in data security and identity management could give it a clear first-mover advantage in a market where standards and infrastructure have yet to be established.
Lee also pointed to potential use by domestic institutions. For institutions facing restrictions on direct crypto investment, ParataxisEthereum, as a Kosdaq-listed company, could provide Ether exposure, he said. The company is sharing the significance of the DAT strategy and Ether’s potential with South Korean financial institutions. It is not yet at a stage where it can announce specific partnerships.
Lee also addressed the cancellation of a planned merger with Parataxis Korea. Earlier this month, ParataxisEthereum said in a filing on Oct. 6 that it would withdraw the merger plan. Lee said the company reviewed the conditions for pursuing the merger based on external legal advice and decided to scrap it after considering shareholder interests. Under the current circumstances, the decision is not a temporary suspension made on the premise of reviving the deal later.

Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh signaled the Fed could leave interest rates unchanged this month, sharply weakening market expectations for another increase.
Bloomberg reported on Oct. 16 that Warsh, speaking at the International Monetary Fund’s annual meeting in Bangkok that day, said the central bank had tightened monetary policy somewhat about a month earlier and would not prejudge decisions at upcoming meetings.
“We tightened monetary policy somewhat about a month ago,” Warsh said. “I won’t prejudge what decision we will make at future meetings.”
Warsh avoided specific comments on the U.S. economic outlook or the direction of monetary policy. On economic conditions since the September Federal Open Market Committee meeting, he said the global economy had moved largely in line with the Fed’s expectations.
After his remarks, market expectations for another rate increase fell sharply. The probability of a benchmark-rate hike at the Oct. 27-28 FOMC meeting dropped to less than 15% from about 27% before he spoke. Major U.S. stock-index futures rose, while the dollar edged lower.
Wall Street analysts also leaned toward a pause. Goldman Sachs said recent remarks from Warsh and other Fed officials suggest the central bank will skip an October rate increase, with the final hike of the year coming in December.
The Fed raised its benchmark rate by 0.25 percentage point in September.
U.S. inflation data released earlier this week all came in above market forecasts. The consumer price index rose 3.7% in September from a year earlier, above expectations for 3.6%. The producer price index also rose 1.3% from the previous month, far exceeding the 0.5% forecast.

XRP has underperformed major digital assets such as Bitcoin and Ether, with rising circulating supply and relatively weak investment demand cited as the main reasons.
According to CoinDesk on October 16, XRP was trading at about $1.33, roughly 62.5% below its all-time high of $3.55 reached in January 2018. Over the same period, Bitcoin has gained 314% and Ether 66%. BNB, which has a market capitalization similar to XRP's, has risen about 2,800%.
A key reason for the weak price performance is the increase in circulating supply. Nikolai Sondergaard, a senior research analyst at Nansen, said XRP's circulating supply rose about 63% to 63.1 billion tokens from 38.7 billion in 2017. The increase diluted the value of individual tokens.
Even as supply increased, investment demand for XRP remained relatively weak. In particular, institutional inflows lagged those for Bitcoin and Ether.
Cumulative net inflows into U.S. spot XRP exchange-traded funds total about $1.8 billion, far below the levels seen by Bitcoin and Ether ETFs. Nansen said XRP spot trading volume fell 53.5%, perpetual futures volume dropped 44%, and the number of active addresses declined 10.7%.
Ripple's business strategy also appears to have weighed on XRP. Paul Howard, a senior director at Wincent, said Ripple has focused on cross-border remittances and payments infrastructure rather than areas attracting stronger investor interest, such as decentralized finance, or DeFi, and artificial intelligence.
XRP's long legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was also cited as a factor limiting price gains. The lawsuit between Ripple and the SEC ended in August last year.

Tight Watch on Products Linked to South Korean Stocks and Indexes
Crackdown on Recruiting Domestic Investors Through Referral Codes
South Korea’s financial authorities will crack down on illegal domestic business by offshore perpetual futures platforms linked to South Korean stocks and stock indexes. If violations are found in the process of recruiting Korean investors or soliciting trades through referral codes or similar methods, authorities plan to respond with measures including criminal complaints to investigative agencies.
The Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service announced that policy direction on Oct. 16 as they issued an investor alert on perpetual futures trading. The move follows an increase in trading of products linked to South Korea’s stock market on overseas crypto platforms.
Global crypto exchanges are increasingly offering perpetual futures tied to South Korean stocks and stock indexes. That broadens trading beyond cryptocurrencies into products that let investors bet on price moves in the domestic equity market. Authorities plan to closely examine whether those platforms violate South Korean law when they encourage Korean investors to sign up and trade.
The review will go beyond investor recruitment. Authorities will monitor how many products based on South Korean stocks and indexes are being launched and traded. They will also analyze the impact of such trading on the domestic stock market.
Perpetual futures are derivatives that allow investors to bet on price moves without a contract expiration date. Unlike standard futures, which settle assets or cash at a set future date, perpetual futures have no maturity and trade 24 hours a day, including weekends and holidays. Authorities stressed that investors should not assume products labeled “futures” have the same structure or investor protections as regulated products in South Korea.
Authorities also urged caution over high leverage. Many products on offshore platforms offer leverage of 10 times to 200 times. In a product offering 150 times leverage on a South Korean stock index, a move of about 0.66% against an investor’s position could trigger liquidation of the entire investment. The higher the leverage, the less time investors may have to post additional margin.
Recovering losses after an incident may also be difficult. South Korea’s domestic listed futures and options market requires retail investors to meet conditions such as minimum deposits, prior education and simulated trading. Most offshore crypto platforms, by contrast, are not supervised under South Korean financial law. If a platform goes bankrupt, suspends operations or halts trading unilaterally, resolving disputes through domestic systems would be difficult. There are also limits to verifying how customer assets are being held.
Financial authorities said these types of perpetual futures are not institutionally permitted in South Korea. Any decision on whether to allow them in the future, and how to regulate them, will be made after reviewing investor protection, spillover effects on the domestic market and overseas discussions.

About $89.4 million flowed out of U.S. spot cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds in a single day. Ethereum products posted the largest outflows, while Zcash, Hyperliquid and Solana funds also saw net withdrawals. Bitcoin products recorded a modest net inflow.
Combined flows across U.S. spot ETFs tied to 15 assets showed a net outflow of about $89.4 million on Oct. 15, according to SoSoValue data. Ethereum ETFs alone posted $60.22 million in net outflows, weighing on the overall total.
Other altcoin products also saw money leave. Zcash (ZEC) ETFs posted $14.76 million in net outflows, while Hyperliquid and Solana recorded $10.28 million and $9.82 million, respectively. BNB, Polkadot and XRP products also logged smaller net outflows.
By contrast, Bitcoin ETFs drew $5.06 million in net inflows. Near Protocol and Chainlink products also attracted $1.13 million and about $12,000, respectively. Those inflows were not enough to offset outflows from other assets.
The divergence between Bitcoin and Ethereum also held over the past 30 days. Bitcoin ETFs posted $2.1 billion in net inflows, while Ethereum ETFs logged $360.05 million in net outflows.
Solana and XRP, despite their one-day outflows, maintained net inflow leads on a cumulative 30-day basis. Over that period, Solana ETFs drew $201.43 million and XRP ETFs attracted $90.58 million. BNB ETFs also recorded $98.61 million in net inflows, underscoring differences in investor demand across assets.

US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds returned to net inflows after one day.
US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded combined net inflows of $5.06 million on Oct. 15, according to SoSoValue. The funds had posted net outflows of $261.46 million a day earlier, marking a return to positive flows, though the amount was modest.
By product, only BlackRock's IBIT posted net inflows, with $16.79 million. Grayscale's Bitcoin Mini Trust (BTC) saw net outflows of $7.64 million, while Invesco Galaxy's BTCO recorded net outflows of $4.09 million. The remaining products, including Fidelity's FBTC and Ark 21Shares' ARKB, saw no net inflows or outflows.

Rule to Exclude Non-Operating Companies
November List Finalized, Changes Take Effect at Month-End
Removal Could Spur Outflows From Index-Tracking Funds
Strategy, Metaplanet and other companies with large Bitcoin holdings are at risk of being removed from MSCI indexes. The threat follows MSCI's adoption of a new standard designed to screen out companies whose profile is driven more by asset holdings than by operating businesses. If the removals are confirmed, selling by index-tracking funds could weigh on their shares.
Global index provider MSCI said on Oct. 15 that it had adopted rules restricting non-operating companies from inclusion in its Global Investable Market Indexes, or GIMI. The changes revise a proposal first presented in August and will apply starting with the November index review. The final list of deletions will be released on Nov. 11, with the changes taking effect after the market close on Nov. 30.
In an advance impact analysis published by MSCI, Strategy, Metaplanet and Upexi were identified as deletion candidates. SharpLink, TON Strategy, Solana Company and DeFi Development were placed on a watch list for possible future removal.
Under the new rule, MSCI first checks whether a company holds sufficient operating assets. Companies that fail that test are then assessed using five financial ratios. If they meet the exclusion threshold on four or more of those measures, they lose eligibility for index inclusion. The framework does not judge companies solely by the share of crypto assets they hold.
MSCI built in a buffer for companies already in the indexes. In principle, a company would be removed only if it met the exclusion criteria in each of its two most recent annual reporting periods. MSCI may also use the latest interim financial statements if needed.
What the market is watching is the movement of index-tracking money. Passive funds hold stocks to mirror index composition rather than a company's growth outlook. If a stock is removed, those funds may have to cut positions or sell out entirely, leaving the company exposed to selling pressure and a weaker demand base.
JPMorgan previously estimated that Strategy could see about $2.8 billion of outflows if it is removed from MSCI indexes. That estimate, however, was based on an earlier MSCI proposal related to digital-asset companies.
The change could also create indirect pressure on the Bitcoin market. Strategy buys Bitcoin with money raised through common stock and preferred share issuance. The company said on Oct. 12 that it had used $21 million in proceeds from common stock sales to purchase Bitcoin. Given that structure, a lower share price and tougher funding conditions after index removal could reduce its capacity for additional purchases. That would weaken demand from one of the market's major corporate buyers.
Strategy has argued that the impact of any removal would be limited. In comments submitted to MSCI in August opposing the proposal, the company said funds tracking the relevant indexes held about 13 million of its shares, or 3.1% of its basic shares outstanding. It said that amount was smaller than its average daily trading volume.
The company also challenged the classification itself. Strategy said it reports its Bitcoin business as an operating segment under U.S. accounting standards and that treating it as a non-operating company is unfair. It added that MSCI was effectively reviving a previously withdrawn proposal to exclude digital-asset companies under a different standard.

Opens 1.8% higher, approaches 5,700
Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix rebound together
Individuals and institutions buy; foreigners sell
The Kospi opened higher on October 16, recouping part of the previous session’s losses after tumbling more than 7% a day earlier. Heavyweight chip stocks including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix rebounded, while individual and institutional investors bought shares. Investor sentiment, badly shaken by the rout, also showed signs of stabilizing after overnight gains on Wall Street.
As of 9:57 a.m., the Kospi was up 140.26 points, or 2.53%, at 5,694.48. The benchmark opened at 5,653.99, up 99.77 points, or 1.80%, from the previous session. It later climbed as high as 5,699.83, nearing a recovery of the 5,700 level.
On the main board, individuals were net buyers of 116.5 billion won and institutions bought a net 144.9 billion won. Foreign investors, by contrast, were net sellers of 361.9 billion won, extending their selling trend.
Buying returned to chip heavyweights that had plunged the previous day. Samsung Electronics rose 4,500 won, or 2.14%, to 214,500 won, while SK Hynix gained 29,000 won, or 2.30%, to 1.291 million won. Hyundai Motor advanced 5.25%, Samsung Electro-Mechanics added 3.18%, and SK Square rose 3.01%.
The Kosdaq also widened its gains. At the same time, the Kosdaq index was up 27.92 points, or 3.67%, at 788.74. It opened at 772.17, up 11.35 points, or 1.49%, from the previous close, and moved closer to the 790 mark.
The rebound came after circuit breakers briefly halted trading in both markets the previous day. The Kospi closed down 454.59 points, or 7.57%, at 5,554.22 on October 15. Selling intensified as concerns mounted over U.S. inflation and the possibility of further monetary tightening, while doubts also surfaced about the durability of AI infrastructure spending. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix had slumped 9.48% and 11.06%, respectively.
Overnight gains in U.S. equities also lent support to the domestic market. With U.S. Treasury yields falling, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.08%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite gained 0.33% and 0.08%, respectively. In South Korea, bargain buying after the steep selloff appeared to be lifting both benchmarks.

Dow rises 1% as all three major indexes rebound
Falling Treasury yields ease pressure from tighter policy
Semiconductor stocks gain on optimism over AI spending
U.S. stocks rebounded despite an unfavorable inflation reading. Falling Treasury yields eased rate pressure on investors, while expectations that AI spending will boost corporate earnings helped drive buying.
On Oct. 15, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 52,177.69, up 556.21 points, or 1.08%, from the previous session. The S&P 500 rose 25.12 points, or 0.33%, to 7,744.06. The Nasdaq Composite added 20.16 points, or 0.08%, to 26,713.03, finishing marginally higher.
The inflation report was not supportive for equities. The producer price index for September rose 1.3% from a month earlier, far above expectations. Even so, interest-rate futures markets still favored the view that the Federal Reserve would keep its benchmark rate unchanged this month. CME FedWatch showed the probability of an October rate increase at about 27%.
In the bond market, yields fell sharply instead. The 10-year Treasury yield dropped to 5.086%, according to Tradeweb data. That marked the biggest one-day decline since Aug. 1. The move was attributed to a shift into safe-haven Treasuries as investors worried about borrowing costs for AI companies. Bond yields fall when prices rise.
Despite broader concerns around the AI industry, expectations for earnings growth at related companies remained intact. Goldman Sachs projected 27% year-over-year growth in third-quarter earnings per share for S&P 500 companies. It said more than half of the total profit increase would come from companies benefiting from investment in AI infrastructure.
Among semiconductor stocks, companies tied to custom AI chips and GPUs led the gains. Marvell Technology jumped 5.8%, while Broadcom rose 3.67% to close at $375.81. AMD gained 2.80% to $649.42. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index added 45.09 points, or 0.34%, to 13,217.82.
AMD also outlined plans to expand supply to meet rising orders. Chief Executive Officer Lisa Su said the company would significantly increase semiconductor supply by 2027 and predicted strong demand would continue over the next several years. She added that AMD would need to secure additional advanced wafer production capacity to meet that demand. AMD is currently working with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to procure memory.