Syz the moment

South Korean retail investors were once among Bitcoin's biggest marginal buyers. Those flows have largely disappeared as speculation shifted toward domestic equities, particularly high-beta names such as SK Hynix and Samsung amid the KOSPI rally. If that speculative capital starts rotating out of Korean equities, could some of it find its way back into crypto? It may be too early to say, but a reversal in the KOSPI is one potential catalyst we're watching closely. Source: TME

The Fed turned hawkish, when inflation rolled over. Source: Andreas Steno Larsen @AndreasSteno

More than $730 billion in market value has been erased across Asian equity markets today as AI and semiconductor stocks came under heavy selling pressure. 🇰🇷 South Korea's KOSPI: -7.89% ($324B wiped out) 🇯🇵 Japan's Nikkei: -2.47% ($214B wiped out) 🇨🇳 China's Shanghai Composite: -2.1% ($191B wiped out) The selloff follows two major warnings over the weekend. The IMF cautioned that AI-related equity valuations have become increasingly speculative and detached from fundamentals. Meanwhile, Wealspring Asset, whose founder famously called the 2007 market peak, warned that a massive global AI bubble has formed, adding that its "collapse point may not be far away." After months of relentless optimism, markets are suddenly being forced to price in the possibility that AI expectations have run too far, too fast. Source: Bull Theory

Pro-crypto president indeed... Source: Nic @puckrin

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) climbed more than 10% on Wednesday after a report said the social media company is developing a cloud computing business that would monetize surplus artificial intelligence computing capacity. Meta's plan to monetize excess AI compute may have exposed the first real crack in the AI CapEx narrative. If hyperscalers can generate revenue from spare capacity, or eventually reduce spending without sacrificing AI capabilities, the market's assumption of persistent compute scarcity comes into question. That would be a negative for the hardware and infrastructure layer, but potentially positive for hyperscalers that can monetize existing assets more efficiently (more here). Chart below shows KOSPI, SOX and META (inverted). Source: TME

His immediate predecessor, Joe Biden, made 13 transactions over four years. In his first term, Trump made 517. Source: FT

June payrolls rose by only 57,000, well below expectations of 115,000 and down sharply from May's revised 129,000. At first glance, the unemployment rate improved to 4.2%. But the headline masks growing weakness. The labor force participation rate fell to 61.5%, its lowest level since March 2021, while household employment plunged by 507,000 people in a single month. Wage growth remained resilient, with average hourly earnings rising 0.3% month-over-month and 3.5% year-over-year, suggesting inflationary pressures have not fully disappeared. Under the surface, the picture is mixed: 📈 Professional & business services: +36K 📈 Social assistance: +25K 📈 Healthcare: +22K 📈 Government: +8K But leisure & hospitality LOST 61,000 jobs 🚨, despite expectations that the World Cup would boost seasonal hiring. The labor market is no longer collapsing. But it is clearly cooling. For the Fed, this report strengthens the case that growth is slowing, even if wage pressures remain sticky. Source: CNBC

May job openings came in at 7.594 million, well above expectations. A stronger labor market lowers recession risk, but it also gives the Fed less reason to cut rates soon. Markets are still reading it as a soft landing signal, and that's enough to bring risk appetite back. Source: Bull Theory