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South Korea’s semiconductor leader Samsung Electronics has been reported to be studying internally whether there are viable options to issue ADRs (American depositary receipts) in the US. Bloomberg reported on July 14 that Samsung has held preliminary discussions with multiple investment banks about pursuing a US listing; Samsung then promptly denied that it “has not considered issuing ADRs,” but according to information from Korean media and semiconductor-industry insiders, management has actually ordered an assessment of cost-effectiveness, and even sent people to ask for guidance from its rival SK hynix, which only recently climbed onto Nasdaq with $26.5 billion.
(Background recap: SK hynix’s ADR surged 13% on its first day, while the main Korean (parent) shares plunged 15%! Will volatility keep getting bigger?)
(Additional background: The biggest ADR listing case in history! SK hynix plans to raise $29.4 billion by listing in the US, and will invest heavily to expand production of NVIDIA AI chips)
Key highlights
Bloomberg 7/14 report: Samsung Electronics exploring a US listing

The United States is pushing a new export oil pipeline linking Iraq and Syria, using Banias port to bypass the Strait of Hormuz and directly erode Iran’s future leverage in global energy supply. Trump says that a “massive-scale” oil cooperation deal will be announced this week.
(Background recap: Breaking news》Trump announces the U.S. military is restarting the “Iran blockade”! A 20% cargo protection fee will be forcibly charged for transit through the Strait of Hormuz)
(Additional context: If you don’t go through the Strait of Hormuz, does the oil truly not come out? Are there alternative options?)
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Barak convenes companies such as Chevron, with Syrian ports becoming new gateways
The risks in the Strait of Hormuz remain unresolved, and Middle Eastern oil producers collectively seek a way out
Rebuilding pipelines across areas left behind by IS residual forces remains an unknown
The United States is actively promoting a new export oil pipeline plan, aiming to route Iraqi crude through Syria for export, thereby bypassing the Strait of Hormuz and directly weakening Iran’s future leverage in global energy supply

The Ministry of Finance released the tax revenue ledger for the first half of the year: NT$2.5 trillion in tax income, up 81.5% year over year, with Securities Transaction Tax serving as the biggest growth engine. In June alone, the Securities Transaction Tax surpassed NT$80 billion in a single month for the first time, marking 11 consecutive red months. The cumulative total for the first half reached NT$333.6 billion, already exceeding last year’s full-year figure.
（Background: Discover an Eastern mysterious force? Bloomberg interviews… Wait, BNB: Can’t resist breaking the rules—borrowing NT$5 million with FOMO to trade Taiwan stocks, and the whole island went crazy borrowing money to invest in stocks）
（Background addition: Did you get money to buy the dip in Bitcoin? The excess tax revenue—KMT called for “distributing NT$10k to everyone,” and the Ministry of Finance responded）
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June’s monthly Securities Transaction Tax first crossed the NT$80 billion mark
The truth behind the surge in income tax: low-base effects at work
Domestic demand props up the market, with business tax providing steady gains
According to the Ministry of Finance data, as of the end of June, the cumulative Securities Transaction Tax actually collected totaled NT$333.6 billion,

San Francisco AI safety startup Andon Labs carried out an experiment: it handed an entire physical coffee shop to AI. They built an AI agent named “Mona” using Google’s Gemini, gave it about $20k in working capital, and opened a coffee shop in Stockholm, Sweden. Human staff only had to brew coffee; everything else—restocking inventory, hiring people, signing contracts, handling government licenses—was handed over to AI, which issued orders via Slack. In the end, they faced terrifying consequences.
(Recap: This shop was managed by AI, but it ordered too many candles, forgot to schedule weekend staff, and now it’s losing $13k.)
(Background: Anthropic let Claude run a business shop—yet the more it sold, the more it lost; it couldn’t withstand price cuts… AI)

A man in his 40s who runs an investment analysis YouTube channel in South Korea was stabbed multiple times with a knife at his face and body by a man in his 20s on the morning of July 13 inside a commercial building in Nam-gu, Busan. After being taken to the hospital, he fortunately was not in life-threatening danger. The South Busan Police Station arrested the suspect for attempted murder and, in a preliminary assessment, determined that the two men did not know each other and that the crime was committed in a “grudge relationship.” According to a report by the “North Korea Daily News,” the suspect was a subscriber to this channel. He fell for the channel host’s analysis that “these stocks will rise,” made large investments, and ended up trapped and then, after finding out where the creator was located, went to the address with a concealed weapon.
(Background brief: Out of 30 South Korean adults, 1 has posted additional margin! More than 1.2 million accounts were liquidated—principal wiped out and still owing the broker)
(Background supplement: South Korea’s stock market plunged more than 8% in a single day! The KOSPI triggered its seventh circuit breaker of the year, with SK Hynix leading the decline, down 13%)
Key points

Bloomberg on Tuesday (7/14) cited an exclusive disclosure from an insider, saying OpenAI’s long-awaited first consumer hardware product is a smart speaker that “can move by itself” and has “no screen.” It includes a rechargeable battery, a camera, and multiple sensors, allowing users to pick it up and move it from one room to another, where it can understand the environment around the user. The device is positioned as an “AI companion,” with voice powered by a more advanced GPT-Live, enabling it to both listen and speak at the same time. OpenAI plans to announce it later this year, with a formal release in 2027.
(Background recap: OpenAI’s first leaked AI hardware product—smart speaker that can recognize faces, observe, and help you buy things, with the earliest possible launch in early 2027)
(Background: OpenAI shocker! Rumors of a merger involving Jony Ive, the legendary Apple designer’s company)

South Korean stocks staged a revengeful rebound. On Wednesday (7/15), the Korea KOSPI index surged nonstop from the open, briefly touching 7,400 points during the session and jumping 7.94% in a single day, nearing the 8% circuit-breaker threshold. Memory giant SK hynix soared 12% to lead the move.
This sharp rally was mainly driven by easing of Fed rate-hike pressure after the U.S. June CPI cooled more than expected, along with the continued buzz over the NASDAQ ADR listing theme for SK hynix.
(Background recap: South Korean stocks plunged more than 8% in a single day! KOSPI triggered the seventh circuit breaker of the year, with SK hynix falling 13% to lead the decline.)
(Additional context: Don’t just look at hynix—take a global view of memory-related stocks at once: Korea’s pricing, Taiwan eating the supply chain, and Japan’s hidden champions.)
Key takeaways
The KOSPI index touched 7,400 points during Wednesday’s session, up 7.94% on the day, nearing the Korean stock market circuit breaker

Three insiders told Axios that Trump held a meeting in the White House Situation Room on Tuesday to discuss an attack on Iran on a far larger scale than the strikes currently under way in the Strait of Hormuz. The goal is to force Tehran to reopen the strait and to make concessions on its nuclear issue. Trump publicly said, “Next week it’s the power plants, next week it’s the bridges,” suggesting that the fighting would spread from the sea to Iran’s mainland. According to a report by Axios, compiled and reported by D.O.N. Trend.
(Background recap: The U.S. military’s fourth night of airstrikes on Iran! 7 hours of relentless bombing of dozens of targets, with clashes in the strait and a blockade launched in parallel)
(Additional context: Three ships hit in a single day! Iran’s missile strikes on the Strait of Hormuz, cutting off a global 25% oil lifeline could prompt U.S. military involvement)
The fighting may start at sea and move into Iran’s mainland. Three insiders told Axios that, in a meeting in the White House Situation Room on Tuesday local time, Trump discussed a large-scale offensive targeting Iran, with the scope

Sony (SONY) previously announced that in 2028 it will completely stop producing PlayStation physical game discs, prompting nearly 300k players to sign a petition in protest. However, an EU consumer protection commission openly admitted that this falls purely within the scope of business freedom, and that the EU has no right to intervene.
（Background recap: Xbox rumors say “the next generation will cut the disc drive”! PS officially announces that all games in 2028 will go digital, and long-time players are furious and shouting.)
（Background add-on: Hideo Kojima warns that pure digitalization is “terrifying”! PS disc production ending in 2028 is just the beginning—do you truly ever own the games you play?）
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Sony to shut down physical discs in 2028, accused of paving the way for a PS6-only digital future
EU cools things off: this is business and contract freedom
Analyst: 500k people unsubscribe, Sony only dips 1%
Nearly 300k players sign on, on social media

Nissin Foods breaks with the tradition of needing to brew instant noodles with hot water for 55 years by launching the world’s first “cold-brew cup noodles” series that only requires cold-water soaking. Starting July 20, they will be available in Japan. The two flavors are priced at 285 yen each, and you can eat them after waiting 5 minutes.
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Five years of refinement: Patent cold-water rehydration technology is the key
Kimchi-spicy and chicken with salt and lemon
Can Taiwan get it?
You read that right—instant noodles can be brewed with cold water! Japan’s food giant Nissin (Nissin Foods) this week launched a new product that highlights ice-water brewing and also clearly states that customers are not allowed to use hot water: the “cold-brew cup noodles” (冷しカップヌードル). It is expected to roll out through distribution channels nationwide across Japan starting July 20.
The way to eat is simple: pour ice water into the cup, wait 5 minutes, and you’re ready to go. Each cup costs 285 yen, which is roughly NT$56. Since 1971

The EU’s age verification mechanism for its digital identity wallets is set to be tied to Google Play Integrity and Apple App Attestation. An official GitHub discussion has attracted nearly 300 opposing comments, with developers blasting the move as a violation of the interoperability principle meant to be configurable by the specifications.
(Background: The EU issues a tough warning to Apple: if iOS system access is not opened, the maximum fine could be 20% of global revenue.)
(Additional background: Europe has teamed up to launch a COVID-19 digital contact tracing platform, but reports say it quietly removed a “decentralized protocol”

The Ministry of Finance of South Korea announced a restructuring plan for its sovereign wealth fund. It will set up a strategic investment account within KIC, targeting nuclear energy, aerospace, and overseas supply chains.
(Background recap: South Korea rolls out “AI-second-level monitoring” to crack down on crypto market manipulation, advancing the second phase of legislation on the Digital Asset Basic Act)
(Additional context: The IMF has raised its 2026 economic growth forecast for South Korea to 2.6%, the highest in the world—memory sales are going extremely well)
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- Shifting from the Temasek model to an internal KIC account
- Aligned with South Korea’s economic growth strategy in the second half of 2026
- Differences between the Temasek model and the internal KIC account
South Korea has shelved its plan to establish a standalone sovereign wealth fund modeled after Singapore’s Temasek Holdings and Australia’s Future Fund. Instead, it will set up a strategic investment account within the Korea Investment Corporation (KIC), focused on enhancing the country’s competitiveness and future growth…

On the 14th, Spotify announced the launch of “Talk to Spotify,” a conversational AI music assistant. Premium users can use text or voice to chat with the app to decide what content to play. The feature is rolling out in beta first in the United States, Ireland, and Sweden.
(Background recap: Spotify is moving into the AI audio space, using Claude Code to help you generate personalized podcasts—review notes, daily reports, educational explainers, and more.)
(Additional context: AI music startup Suno’s valuation doubled in half a year to reach $5.4 billion, and its settlement and licensing agreements with Warner are expected to drive new product launches.)
Streaming platform Spotify has hundreds of millions of songs, but users often open the app and scroll for half a day, not knowing what they should listen to. Over the past decade, Spotify has relied on

Google Images is celebrating its 25th anniversary and has rolled out its biggest update since launch: it has built an infinitely scrollable “For You” inspiration wall and a collections feature by emulating Pinterest, and it has also directly embedded the Nano Banana image-generation model into AI Overviews, allowing users to generate customized images within the search page.
(Recap: Google launches Nano Banana 2 Lite! Generates images in 4 seconds, costing just $0.034 per 1,000 images—aiming to capture the enterprise automation AI image market)
(Background: Pinterest’s new “Ask Pinterest” AI shopping app—looking to break through with aesthetic taste)
The search engine’s calling, in theory, is to help users find answers as quickly as possible and then leave. But Google Im

Bitmine released its quarterly report covering through the end of May. Ethereum staking revenue accounted for 98% of total revenue. Tom Lee estimates that annual earnings after full staking could reach $284 million. Less than half a month after Robinhood Chain went live, trading volume has already surpassed $1 billion.
（Background recap: BitMine released its 2025 financial report: full-year net profit of $328 million, and an annual dividend of $0.01. Next year Q1 will roll out the Ethereum staking platform MAVAN）
（Additional context: BitMine added more positions again—holding 5.7 million ETH worth $8.9 billion, with annual staking earnings exceeding 200 million）
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The first performance report after the MAVAN platform launch
Tom Lee: annual earnings could reach $284 million
From a mining company to an Ethereum infrastructure provider

SK hynix’s U.S. listing on the stock market lasted only three days. Its ADR premium surged from 3% at the IPO to 51%. It didn’t get hit until the 13th by South Korea’s selloff wave, which sent it down sharply—then on the 14th, Barclays called out a target price of $330.
(Recap: On day one, the Hynix ADR jumped 13%, while the Korean shares of the original listing crashed 15%! Will the volatility keep getting bigger?)
(Additional background: IBM crashed 24% in pre-market trading! The CEO warned that Q2 would miss, and customers put all their budgets into抢 memory.)
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How did the 51% premium come about?
Bubble or shortage?
The math behind the memory crunch
For the same stock, on the 13th it was already hammered lower by South Korea’s historic selloff wave, down 9.3%. Yet the next day, SK hynix’s U.S. ADR rebounded directly—up 27% at the close on the 14th—ending at $193.92. It was listed on...

The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) announced on the 14th that Yongfeng Financial Holding’s securities unit’s “stock gift card” innovation experiment has been completed successfully and is now officially open for applications. The sandbox pilot attracted more than 90k participants, drove nearly 50k new account openings, and has accumulated redemption amounts approaching NT$90k.
(Background recap: Yongfeng Financial Holding’s securities unit “stock gift card” received FSC approval and can directly be redeemed for 241 Taiwan stock listings.)
(Additional context: Yuanta 0050 investors are “breaking the million mark to set a Taiwan record” ETF splitting soon, but netizens are saying: beware of crying and fainting at the summit)
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Put stocks into a gift card—investment opportunities are available at convenience stores, too
From the sandbox to normalization
Bring capital market entry barriers into everyday life scenarios
The FSC announced on the 14th that the financial technology innovation experiment for “stock gift cards” handled by Yongfeng Financial Holding’s securities unit has been completed successfully, with results showing it can help guide the public