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BlockBeats message: On July 14, according to reports by foreign media, after DeepSeek completed its latest round of funding, the personal wealth of founder Liang Wenfeng grew by more than double, making him the richest among the founders of global AI large models. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Liang Wenfeng’s current net worth is $36 billion (previously about $16.7 billion), surpassing Anthropic co-founder Dario Amodei and OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman. This comparison covers only companies whose main business and most of their income come directly from AI large models; it does not include diversified large tech groups such as Alibaba and Tencent, nor does it include companies related to the AI industry chain such as data centers and semiconductors.

BlockBeats message: On July 14, more than a dozen single-stock leveraged ETFs that were listed in South Korea at the end of May saw a sharp drop. The prices of multiple products tracking Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix nearly halved. Among them, the “SAMSUNG KODEX SK Hynix Single-Stock Leveraged ETF,” with assets under management of $3.4 billion, has fallen cumulatively by about 45% since its listing, and has retreated by more than 60% from its June peak.
The related products have combined assets under management of about $3 billion. On Monday, SK Hynix fell a record 15%. On Tuesday, it dropped again by more than 8% during the trading session; the KOSPI index once fell 5% and broke below 6,500 points. Jung In Yun, CEO of Fibonacci Asset Management, said that many retail investors view leveraged ETFs as long-term investment tools. The rapid plunge in these products has caused them to suffer significant losses, and may weaken their willingness and ability to continue buying semiconductor stocks.

Original title: (Semifinal AI Prediction Chaos: Is France in the clear? England vs. Argentina—outcome in doubt)
Original author: Asher, Odaily Planet Daily
In the previous article about predictions for the World Cup quarterfinals, six AIs all agreed that France, Spain, England, and Argentina would advance. After the four matches were finished, there were four semifinal tickets—and the AIs got not a single pick wrong.
France advanced with the easiest path. Although Mbappé missed a penalty, he then provided both an assist and a goal, helping France defeat Morocco 2-0. Spain staged another last-gasp winner: Merino scored in the 88th minute to beat Belgium 2-1. In the other two matches that went to extra time, Bellingham scored twice to help England overturn Norway 2-1. Meanwhile, Argentina were down to ten men against Switzerland, and only in the late stages of extra time did they score twice to edge through 3-1.

BlockBeats messages: On July 14, this year, foreign investors have withdrawn nearly USD 110 billion from the South Korean stock market in total, reaching a record high. The main reason is to avoid having the fast rise of South Korean equities throw their portfolio allocation ratios out of balance. As a result, South Korea’s retail investors are bearing most of the buying pressure. After purchasing KRW 42.4 trillion worth of equities in June, retail investors in South Korea have, this month, accumulated net purchases of KRW 13.2 trillion in KOSPI stocks. As of July 14, the outstanding margin financing used by retail investors to invest in KOSPI stocks was KRW 28 trillion, after previously hitting a record high of KRW 29.8 trillion on June 24.

BlockBeats message: On July 14, bitcoin fell more than 2% over the past 24 hours, trading at about $62,380. Expectations for the Federal Reserve to raise rates as early as July have clearly intensified. The money market estimates the probability of a rate hike this month at around 50%, compared with only about 10% a few days earlier.
The change in expectations stems from Federal Reserve Governor Waller's remarks that officials may need to raise rates to curb price pressures. US two-year Treasury yields subsequently rose to 4.29%, the highest level since early last year. Tensions between Iran and the US have escalated, and a sharp rise in oil prices has also reinforced inflation concerns. WTI crude oil futures have climbed from around $67 per barrel at the start of the month to nearly $80.

BlockBeats message. On July 14, InvestingLive analyst Eamonn Sheridan said he expects the U.S. June Consumer Price Index (CPI) to fall 0.2% month over month. This would be the first decline since the pandemic, driven entirely by a 15% drop in gasoline prices from mid-May to the end of June. The annualized inflation rate is expected to slow from 4.2% in May to 3.8%. Core CPI is expected to rise 0.2% month over month, while the annualized core inflation rate is expected to edge down only slightly from 2.9% in May to 2.8%.
This means that even if nominal overall inflation data improves, the Federal Reserve will have little basis to ease policy. This situation presents a challenge for Waller, who is set to make his first appearance at a congressional hearing this week: he needs to demonstrate determination to curb inflation, but also cannot come across as too hawkish so that credit conditions tighten excessively. At the same time, a fragile ceasefire in the Middle East creates two-way risks for the energy price outlook. And this balance largely depends on how the Middle East situation evolves and how it affects oil prices. (Jinshi)

BlockBeats message. On July 14, Morningstar analyst Jing Jie Yu said the company kept its fair value estimate for SK Hynix’s ADR at $160 per share. After assessing long-term cyclical risks, he believes the valuation is at a reasonable level. SK Hynix plans to use 400 trillion won raised in this listing for future fab investments. However, the primary purpose of this listing is to enhance valuation, not to address urgent financing needs. Valuation multiples for South Korean memory chip companies have long been lower than those of their U.S. peers, and SK Hynix’s existing cash is expected to be sufficient to meet investment requirements.

BlockBeats message: On July 14, according to on-chain analyst Ai Yi (@ai_9684xtpa), Binance contract “smart money” using “Yu Yu m” is going long on contracts related to SK Hynix. The position is currently in unrealized loss of $2.091 million, topping the near-3-day unrealized loss leaderboard. On-chain data shows it holds 7,462.68 SKHX (about $11.03 million). Its average opening price is $1,477.89, with an unrealized loss of $1.954 million. It also holds 25,733.63 SKHY (about $4.045 million), with an average opening price of $157.22 and an unrealized loss of $137,000.
Although the cumulative unrealized loss is currently over $2.09 million, there is sufficient margin. The liquidation prices for its SKHX and SKHY positions are $756 and $27.59, respectively, so there is no risk of liquidation in the short term.

TL;DR
• Federal Reserve Governor Waller said that if core inflation heats up again this week, the FOMC needs to consider tightening policy in the near term.
• Markets are focused on whether rate hikes are re-entering the fight for the baseline scenario from tail risk.
• Related instruments: BTC, ETH, the Nasdaq, the U.S. Dollar Index, Treasury yields, and federal funds rate futures.
Federal Reserve Governor Waller said in a speech to the New York Association of Business Economists on July 13 that if the core inflation data released this week is again hotter than expected, the FOMC would need to consider tightening monetary policy again in the near term.
According to Reuters, Waller’s remarks came a day before the June CPI release. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics schedule shows that the June CPI is set to be published at 8:30 a.m. ET on July 14. For risk assets, the data becomes a test of the policy path: will the Federal Reserve continue waiting for inflation to cool, or will rate hikes be put back on the table?