Google Ties Stock Options to Chip Supply, Clinical Results and Leveraged Short Squeeze are Turning Long-Term Expectations into Price. The latest developments in Homsud indicate that whether the supply can stably reach the market remains a hard constraint.

1|Google Ties Stock Options to Marvell, Procures with Capital Incentive Embedded in Same Contract

Marvell disclosed that it has issued warrants to Google to subscribe to up to 58.97 million shares of common stock, with an exercise price of $206.58 per share, exercisable no later than August 2033. If all are exercised, approximately $12.2 billion would be calculated at the exercise price. The warrants are tied to Google's revenue target for custom chip procurement.

This does not mean Google has already paid $12.2 billion, nor has it locked in all future orders. The procurement scale and vendor equity incentives are written into the same arrangement, which may strengthen long-term cooperation between the two parties and increase the opportunity cost of exiting the partnership. Major cloud providers are using capital tools to increase supply chain certainty in key design stages.

(Source: Marvell / CNBC)

2|Bitcoin's Sharp Rise Triggers Massive Short Squeeze, Leveraging Amplifies Short-Term Market

Bitcoin broke through $68,000 during trading on August 19, approaching $69,000 at one point. CoinDesk cited CoinGlass data indicating that around $1.4 billion worth of short positions were liquidated in the previous four hours. Ethereum rose nearly 9%. News of long-term Treasury bond repurchases concurrently suppressed US bond yields, but this cannot be construed as the direct cause of the rise.

After surpassing the short squeeze level, additional buying continued to drive the market higher. What the market needs to observe is not $69,000 itself, but whether leverage is accumulating again, if spot funds can support, in order to determine whether this trend is a short squeeze or a longer trend. Short-term fluctuations could still be further amplified.

(Source: CoinDesk / CoinGlass / CNBC)

3|Moderna and Meruson's Personalized mRNA Vaccine Phase III Trial Meets Criteria

Meruson and Moderna announced on August 19 that the personalized mRNA candidate vaccine intismetran autogene combined with Pembrolizumab's III phase INTerpath-001 trial achieved the primary and key secondary endpoints. This global randomized, double-blind trial included 1,137 fully resected stage IIB to IV melanoma patients, with registration number NCT05933577.

This is not regulatory approval. Full efficacy, long-term survival, and safety data are still pending disclosure and review. For the mRNA platform, Phase III clinical endpoints have provided a validation milestone for the oncology pipeline, but the outcome for one indication does not equate to widespread commercialization.

(Source: Merck / Moderna / ClinicalTrials.gov)

4|UAE Cuts Trade with Iran, Hormuz Sees U.S.-Led Oil Shipping Lane

The UAE announced on August 19 a halt to trade, commercial links, and financial transactions with Iran. AP reported that the UAE had been targeted by Iran again. According to Axios citing U.S. officials, the U.S. military organized a shipping lane in the Strait of Hormuz near Oman, through which about 10 million barrels of oil pass daily, roughly half of pre-war levels.

While trade settlement channels are tightening, physical crude flows are being attempted to be maintained. The shipping route has yet to normalize. Reuters data on August 14 showed only 9 ships transited the strait in a day, averaging about 12 ships in August, far lower than the pre-conflict level of around 130 ships. Oil price risks depend on security, insurance costs, and continuity. (Continuation of yesterday's report)

(Source: AP / Axios / Reuters)

Also Worth Knowing ↓

Cognition CEO Scott Wu denies SpaceX sought acquisition. Bloomberg reported that SpaceX had considered acquiring Devin developer Cognition at around a $40 billion valuation, but Wu stated the company is not for sale. The parties are still discussing a computing power collaboration with no agreement yet. (Continuation of yesterday's report) (Source: Bloomberg / TechCrunch / Reuters)

The U.S. Treasury raises the single-day limit for some long-term bond repurchases to at least $4 billion. Reuters stated the operation covers 10- to 30-year bonds, causing the 30-year yield to subsequently decline. Repurchases are not equivalent to Fed rate adjustments. (Source: U.S. Treasury / Reuters / CNBC)

The U.S. pauses 50% tariffs on Canadian goods for three days. Trump claims an agreement, while Reuters noted key terms are still undisclosed. The pause does not mean trade conditions have been finalized. (Continuation of yesterday's report) (Source: White House / Reuters / BBC)

Samsung Electronics reportedly raises new orders' prices by 5% to 15% for some advanced processes. The SF4 price increase for Chinese and American customers is said to be 10% to 15%, with AI chip demand boosting capacity utilization. (Source: Reuters / Tom's Hardware)

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed a draft of the "Cryptocurrency Asset Regulation Act," which includes two types of cryptocurrency issuance exemptions. The SEC stated that one type is applicable to early-stage projects that raise up to $5 million within four years, while the other type can raise up to $75 million within 12 months. The proposal is not yet in effect. (Source: SEC)

Sarah Friar, CFO of OpenAI, announced that the company plans to go public in 2027 or earlier. On the same day, OpenAI pledged not to retain data from corporate clients using its models. The Wall Street Journal reported that this arrangement is aimed at attracting corporate clients unhappy with Anthropic's data retention policy. The exact timing of the IPO is still an internal expectation. (Source: CNBC / The Wall Street Journal / TechCrunch)