Morning Report | South Korean retail investors resume buying leveraged single stocks in chips, with SOXL net purchases of about 47 trillion won; Goldman Sachs expects the Federal Reserve to pause in October and possibly raise rates again in December

Compiled by: ChainCatcher

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What important events occurred in the past 24 hours?

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### South Korean Retail Investors Restart Buying Leveraged Single Stocks in Chips, Net Purchase of SOXL Approximately 4.7 Trillion Won

According to ChainCatcher, as reported by North Korea Business on October 25, after a sharp decline in the South Korean stock market, individual investors have resumed buying leveraged products betting on a rebound of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. Data from the Korea Exchange and Koscom ETF Check shows that from October 1 to 23, individuals net purchased 315.4 billion won in 14 related products, including 226.3 billion won in 7 products related to SK Hynix and 89.1 billion won in 7 products related to Samsung Electronics.

In July, the net purchase of these 14 products was 2.7728 trillion won, which turned into net selling after regulatory tightening such as the increase in depositary receipts on July 31. In August and September, there were net sales of 648.4 billion won and 497.9 billion won, respectively, and this month individuals have returned to net buying for the first time.

During the same period, the net purchase of KODEX SK Hynix leveraged products was 152.9 billion won, ranking 11th among ETFs listed in South Korea; individuals also net purchased KODEX leveraged 1.0448 trillion won and KODEX semiconductor leveraged 256.4 billion won. The KOSPI index in October fell by 18.83%. Data from the Korea Securities Depository shows that from October 1 to 22, South Korean investors net purchased 4.8009 billion USD in U.S. stocks, approximately 6.3621 trillion won.

Among them, the net purchase of SOXL, which tracks the daily returns of the U.S. semiconductor index with 3 times leverage, was 3.54764 billion USD, approximately 4.7041 trillion won, accounting for 73.9% of the net purchases of U.S. stocks during the same period. The article also noted that leveraged products track daily returns by multiples, and when the market reverses, losses can also be magnified by 2 or 3 times, potentially leading to negative compounding effects during repeated sharp rises and falls.

### Anthropic to Publicly Release IPO Prospectus as Early as October 26

According to ChainCatcher, AI company Anthropic is set to publicly release its IPO prospectus as early as October 26, U.S. time, with plans to go public in mid-November. The company submitted documents to the U.S. SEC in secret in June this year. The market had previously discussed a valuation of 2 trillion USD; however, as AI-related stocks came under pressure, some investors have recently lowered their expectations to about 1.5 trillion USD.

The prospectus has not yet been officially released, but Reuters and The Wall Street Journal have obtained drafts. Revenue for the first half of this year was 16.3 billion USD, compared to 1.1 billion USD in the same period last year. The net loss during the same period was 80.7 billion USD, of which about 72 billion USD came from valuation adjustments of convertible bonds and other financing instruments, not actual cash burned. Revenue for the third quarter was 16.8 billion USD, a quarter-over-quarter increase of about 45%, with the previous quarter's growth exceeding 140%.

The company stated that it achieved profitability in the third quarter on an adjusted basis. Future commitments for infrastructure such as cloud computing, chips, and data centers have exceeded 600 billion USD and will occur over the coming years. By 2025, 47% of revenue will be sold through Amazon and Google's cloud platforms, both of which are also investors and computing power suppliers.

The company plans to allow its seven co-founders to jointly control 50.1% of the voting rights through a special equity structure, while a long-term public trust composed of non-shareholders can still appoint and dismiss the majority of board members. The formal prospectus will need to further clarify the actual revenue contributions of the two major clients, the specific costs of computing power contracts, and whether existing shareholders can sell their stocks first upon listing.

### Bitcoin Wallet Electrum Fixes Fee Theft Vulnerability

According to ChainCatcher, Bitcoin light wallet Electrum disclosed a malicious server attack targeting transaction fees on October 24 and fixed it in version 4.8.3, corresponding to GitHub security announcement GHSA-6jp4-8v48-cc5v. When users perform regular fee increases on transactions, they may inadvertently sign funds over to attackers. Developers stated that the issue arose after users reported losing funds after signing fee increases.

The results of two reports differed: one person found that transactions in the wallet history were replaced after broadcasting a payment and claimed that the original payment did not enter the Bitcoin peer-to-peer network and was withheld by the server; another person, Raju-K12, reported losses due to the fee increase on the replaced transaction. In the attack, the malicious server withheld new transactions broadcasted by the client and inserted a conflicting transaction into the history, replacing the original output with the attacker's address.

The replacement transaction was initially signed as invalid, but the light client did not verify these signatures before displaying unconfirmed transactions; after users manually increased fees and signed via RBF, the attacker's receipt became effective. Both individuals claimed that the attacker's address matched the last four digits of the legitimate receipt address. The announcement did not disclose the amount stolen, transaction identifiers, or the attacker's address. The patch corresponds to submission 90fe308, which checks the signatures of the wallet's own inputs before writing memory pool transactions into local history, but does not overwrite inputs from external addresses and does not perform complete consensus verification.

The announcement advises users who have not upgraded to verify the output address and amount each time they sign; clients connected to their own or trusted servers are not affected by this attack. On the timeline, the issue was first privately disclosed on October 11, received reports of fee loss on October 18, the fix version was tagged on October 23, and the binary and public disclosure occurred on October 24.

### California Financial Regulator Opposes SEC Cryptocurrency Plan: Warns It May Weaken Investor Protection

According to ChainCatcher, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) has submitted a letter of opinion to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), opposing its "Regulation Crypto Assets" proposal, stating that the plan may weaken investor protection and limit state governments' review of issuance projects. DFPI Commissioner KC Mohseni stated that California opposes federal regulators undermining state-level regulatory authority and protective measures.

The proposal aims to allow eligible issuers to raise up to 5 million USD within four years through a startup exemption; another cryptocurrency financing exemption allows issuers to raise up to 75 million USD within 12 months. Relevant issuances must disclose project information, risks, and other information necessary for investor assessment, and some financing must also submit financial statements and ongoing reports.

Federal securities laws still retain the authority of states to investigate securities fraud, deceptive practices, and illegal broker or dealer activities. Blockchain payment company Ripple, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, and exchange operator Nasdaq all support the adjustment proposal; DFPI stated that its fraud tracking list has added nearly 200 cryptocurrency-related scams, an increase of 30% from the previous year.

### Sony-Supported Soneium Plans to Issue Native Token

According to ChainCatcher, the Ethereum Layer 2 network Soneium, supported by Sony, plans to issue a native token $SONEIUM to connect entertainment creators, intellectual property holders, builders, fans, and investors. The plan will be announced on October 26, 2026, with the core focus on tokenizing intellectual property, covering products such as royalty-supported assets, entertainment investments, and automated revenue sharing. The network is developed by Sony's blockchain division, Sony Block Solutions Labs.

Soneium states that tokenizing intellectual property is used to represent the future economic value of creative works on-chain, allowing creators to finance from fans and investors and share commercial profits through automated revenue sharing. The relevant tokens can represent creators, studios, or individual works, in forms such as collectibles for fan activities or fungible tokens circulating within the intellectual property economy. The Soneium Portal is positioned as an entry point for discovering, issuing, and investing in intellectual property, with royalties automatically paid through smart contracts.

IP Vault aims to support royalty-supported assets and provide indirect participation in opportunities such as music catalog funds; IP Bonds will be supported by the entertainment business. The first projects focus on Asian pop culture, with partners including Super State Holdings and DayOneDream's WAVIST platform. The former starts with the character Moriusa, while the latter targets concert business royalties involving artists such as BTOB and Lee Chae-yeon through WAVIST.

The Soneium mainnet will go live on January 14, 2025, based on Optimism's OP Stack, with transaction fees paid in ETH, and the stablecoin USDSC has been used for settlement. It hosts over 250 applications, with approximately 9.38 million USD locked in those applications. Sony invested 13 million USD in infrastructure partner Startale Labs in early 2025.

### Cryptex Submits Sixth S-1 Amendment for Multi-Asset Spot ETF, Plans to List Under Code BAGZ

According to ChainCatcher, Cryptex Digital Market Cap ETF submitted its sixth pre-effective S-1 amendment on October 23, as disclosed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), planning to list on Nasdaq under the trading code "BAGZ," initiated by Cryptex Finance.

The fund plans to directly hold various cryptocurrency assets, constructing a portfolio based on the components and weights of the Cryptex Digital Market Cap Index and rebalancing with the index.

Assets listed in the document that may initially reach 5% or more of the fund's net asset value include BTC, ETH, XRP, HYPE, DOGE, SHIB, ADA, and CTX, with specific compositions and weights changing over time. This submission is an update to the registration application and does not represent that the SEC has approved the product or that it has begun trading.

### a16z Sends Letter to CFTC: Supports Listing Computing Power Derivatives in the U.S., Claims Existing Regulatory Framework is Sufficient

According to ChainCatcher, a16z recently submitted a public opinion letter to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in response to the CFTC's request for comments on the listing of computing power derivatives contracts, expressing support for establishing a regulated computing power derivatives market in the U.S.

The relevant derivatives will help AI startups and cloud service providers hedge against risks related to computing power prices, utilization, and duration, and reduce financing costs for AI infrastructure. a16z stated that the CFTC does not need new statutory authority, as the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA), Part 38 core principles, and Part 40 self-certification procedures are sufficient, and no new regulations are needed before listing.

The letter suggests that the CFTC rely on the existing regulatory framework to support the adoption of computing power price benchmarks that comply with the principles of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and allow exchanges to launch cash-settled computing power futures, including fixed-term futures and perpetual contracts. a16z crypto is an investor in Ornn, and ICE announced plans to launch GPU computing power futures based on the Ornn computing power price index (OCPI) in May.

### Blockstream Executive Peter Bain: Institutional Clients Optimistic About Bitcoin Bull Market

Blockstream's Chief Marketing Officer Peter Bain stated in a recent interview that Bitcoin has maintained its value at $81,000 amidst stock market sell-offs, rising 10-year U.S. Treasury yields, and turmoil in Europe, which he described as "a very, very strong signal." He made these remarks during a conversation with Grace Remington and Sean Hagan.

Bain emphasized that technological development precedes price and discussed topics such as adoption, stablecoins, and tokenized stocks. He introduced Blockstream's new center established in Lugano and a new consulting department aimed at institutional clients, while explaining why financial companies are primarily concentrated in the U.S., and why Switzerland is set to become the next market—Switzerland's clear regulatory framework and robust banking foundation make it an ideal launch market.

Regarding quantum computing, Bain believes that the related threats will take decades to materialize, and that Bitcoin's real weaknesses lie elsewhere. He referenced the PHP vulnerability incident, stating that the industry needs to rethink the way software is released, and introduced Blockstream's research on quantum-resistant signature schemes, how consensus can be reached on quantum upgrades, and the Bitcoin Security Alliance.

Additionally, he provided the first update on the Liquid Network's progress: the exchange service has resumed, the network is back online, and users can transfer Bitcoin back to the main chain. Looking ahead to 2027, Bain stated that institutional clients believe Bitcoin "is expected to usher in a major bull market."

### Non-Profit Organization Runs Full-Page Ad in The Wall Street Journal Warning of Risks of Stock Tokenization

The Wall Street Journal recently published a full-page paid advertisement with the theme "YOUR STOCK. THEIR TOKENS. YOUR PROBLEM," which translates to a warning for CEOs of listed companies: your stock, their tokens, your problem, reminding the public of the risks associated with stock tokenization.

The advertisement was funded by the American conservative non-profit organization Common Sense Leadership Fund, warning that the crypto industry will tokenize company shares in unregulated venues and listing eight major risks: pricing discrepancies, ownership ambiguity, impaired capital raising, network theft, market manipulation, AML vulnerabilities, lack of investor protection, and potential legal liabilities.

Previously, a total of 22 companies, including Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, McDonald's, and Alphabet, have expressed opposition. The related documents outline the rules of the collaboration project between OKX and the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and list the companies that opposed, but do not specify the reasons for their opposition.

### Franklin Templeton: Plans to Launch Dividend Reinvestment Bitcoin ETF, Targeting 5% BTC Allocation

according to U.S. SEC filings, Franklin Templeton has registered two index ETFs that will reinvest stock dividends into Bitcoin for listing on Nasdaq, namely the Franklin US Equity Bitcoin DRIP Index ETF (FBEQ) and the Franklin US Innovation Bitcoin DRIP Index ETF (FIBT).

### Goldman Sachs Expects Fed to Pause in October, Possible Rate Hike in December

according to a Goldman Sachs report, the Federal Reserve is expected to pause interest rate hikes at the October meeting, but may implement the last rate hike of this cycle in December.

Goldman Sachs noted that since September, the financial conditions index has tightened by about 30 basis points, which is not sufficient to replace further rate hikes, and the market should not interpret the tightening of financial conditions as a signal that the rate hike cycle is nearing its end.

Goldman Sachs expects that as the impacts of tariffs, energy shocks, and AI-related price pressures gradually fade, U.S. inflation will improve by 2027, and under the baseline scenario, the Fed will not raise rates in March 2027. However, if the situation in the Middle East escalates and drives oil prices higher, sustained inflation pressures could still alter the subsequent policy path.

### Samsung's Q3 Operating Profit at 107.4 Trillion Won, SK Hynix to Release Earnings Report on Wednesday

according to The Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily, South Korean memory chip companies SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics will respectively announce their Q3 2026 results this week, with SK Hynix scheduled for Wednesday and Samsung Electronics for Thursday. Reports indicate that with rising demand for AI chips and increasing memory chip prices, both companies are expected to deliver strong performances, with combined operating profits for the third quarter projected to reach 184.4 trillion won, approximately $139.1 billion.

Samsung Electronics' preliminary results released on October 8 showed that Q3 revenue increased by 127% year-on-year, reaching 195 trillion won; operating profit was 107.4 trillion won, approximately $80.17 billion, compared to 12.17 trillion won in the same period last year, an increase of nearly 8 times. Analysts surveyed by FnGuide expect SK Hynix's Q3 revenue to be 98.2 trillion won, with operating profit at 77 trillion won. By 2025, Samsung and SK Hynix's operating profits are expected to be 43.6 trillion won and 47.2 trillion won, respectively, totaling 90.8 trillion won.

If the predictions hold true, Samsung will become the first South Korean company to exceed 100 trillion won in quarterly operating profit. As of the close on October 23, Samsung and SK Hynix's stock prices have fallen by 36% and 52%, respectively, since the end of June. Reports indicate that investors view the impressive earnings reports as expected, with focus areas including HBM4 supply, long-term agreements, and shareholder returns. TrendForce predicts that the average selling price of HBM will increase by 121% next year compared to this year, and that Samsung and SK Hynix's production for next year is already sold out.

In the Q2 earnings report, Samsung disclosed that it had signed long-term agreements with five data center clients, while SK Hynix finalized multi-year contracts with over ten clients. Samsung announced a shareholder return plan of 90 trillion to 110 trillion won this year and will determine a cash dividend of about 30 trillion won for Q3 by the end of this month. SK Hynix announced a 40 trillion won buyback plan in August and halted the evaluation for Solidigm's IPO. Kim Dong-won, head of KB Securities, stated that despite the significant stock price correction, the profit expectations for both companies have been raised, and the key catalysts for stock revaluation are expected to be the sustainability of profit growth and whether shareholder returns can be further increased.

### Ansem Turns Bearish on Bitcoin and Ethereum: Market May Correct Before Rising, AI Stock Momentum Has Started to Fade

crypto trader Ansem stated that he is currently bearish on Bitcoin, Ethereum, and large-cap stocks, but does not believe that ordinary retail speculation will significantly cool down as a result. He expects significant two-way volatility in the market in the fourth quarter, with some on-chain assets still expected to perform well. Ansem pointed out that this week's Federal Reserve interest rate decision and important earnings reports from several companies will bring significant event risks, and that popular AI stocks have formed lower highs after peaking and have lost their original trend. However, he does not currently judge this as a bearish signal for the longer-term market trend, as the market may still experience a round of correction before continuing to rise.

### Bloomberg: Trump Family-Linked Crypto Firms Intensify Hiring of Lawyers

according to Bloomberg, cryptocurrency, venture capital, and prediction market firms linked to Trump and his family are intensifying their hiring of lawyers and lobbyists in preparation for potential congressional investigations.

Democratic lawmakers have requested information from World Liberty Financial and 1789 Capital, focusing on whether the related firms have received government contracts, policy favors, and whether there are any conflicts of interest.

Bloomberg states that even if the Democrats gain a majority in Congress in the midterm elections, the investigation may face obstacles, including difficulties in compelling foreign individuals to provide testimony or documents, and whether federal agencies like the Department of Justice will take further action. The related firms and the Trump family assert that their business activities comply with legal regulations.

### Singapore Gulf Bank Parent Company Appoints Revolut Chairman to Advisory Council

Singapore Gulf Bank's (SGB) parent company Asia Gulf Holdings (AGH) announced the appointment of Revolut Group Chairman Martin Gilbert and former Minister of State for the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs Maliki Osman to its global advisory council.

The two will provide advice on global investment strategy and geopolitical affairs. Maliki Osman will also advise on government relations and regional cooperation, while Martin Gilbert will focus on global investment strategy, asset management, and investment opportunities in Asia and the Middle East and North Africa.

The council is chaired by Amy Lee, with former Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Randal Quarles serving as vice-chairman. This appointment was announced on October 26, and Maliki Osman will exit politics in May 2025.

### TheMarker: Pearl Research Labs Raises $130 Million, Token Rises 520% in Three Months Sparks Transparency Controversy

according to Israeli media TheMarker on October 25, the Israeli research lab behind the AI mining project Pearl (PRL) has raised a total of $130 million, of which $55 million is equity financing and $75 million is for a GPU infrastructure fund, with investors including Lightspeed, Ribbit, and Square Peg.

The report notes that the token has increased by approximately 520% in the three months since its launch at the end of April, with its circulating market cap once rising to $710 million, drawing market attention with its "AI version of Bitcoin" narrative.

However, the report also raised concerns that the company has not adequately disclosed details of the financing and the operational structure of the GPU infrastructure fund, leading to questions about transparency.

### SK Hynix Plans Special Dividend of About 16 Trillion Won from Kioxia Earnings

according to an exclusive report by The East Asia Daily on October 26, memory chip company SK Hynix plans to return 80% of the proceeds from the sale of its stake in Japanese NAND manufacturer Kioxia as a special dividend to shareholders. The report cites investment banks and financial circles estimating the related proceeds at about 20 trillion won, with the special dividend expected to be around 16 trillion won. The company plans to announce this plan during its Q3 earnings release on October 28.

Currently, this is an industry expectation and not an officially confirmed announcement by the company. Based on the current number of shares issued, the special dividend would amount to approximately 23,000 won per share, which is 15 times the annual fixed dividend of 1,500 won per share and 61 times the quarterly dividend of 375 won, with the possibility of installment payments still under consideration.

Last year's total dividend was 21 trillion won. The company stated during the Q2 earnings call that it is exploring various additional shareholder return methods and will share the details within the year once determined. In 2018, SK Hynix participated in a Bain Capital-led consortium to acquire the NAND business spun off from Toshiba, which was renamed Kioxia in 2019.

The company's total investment amounts to approximately 395 billion yen, of which the fund's contribution has been sold in phases by Bain and fully recovered. In the first quarter of this year, a partial disposal recovered 4.1178 trillion won, and after further disposals in the second quarter, the estimated profit after deducting the principal is about 20 trillion won. Kioxia's stock price rose from about 10,000 yen at the end of last year to a historical high of 112,700 yen on June 22 this year.

### Immunefi CEO: PHP Vulnerability Confirms the Arrival of the AI Vulnerability Apocalypse, Urges Caution on Wallet Risks

According to ChainCatcher, Mitchell Amador, CEO of the vulnerability bounty platform Immunefi, warned that internet users still face the risk of cyberattacks triggered by PHP vulnerabilities, especially small websites that are slow to adopt emergency upgrades, which may take weeks to patch. He stated that the "vulnerability apocalypse" is arriving as planned, where the cost of discovering vulnerabilities becomes cheap while the cost of fixing them remains high.

He advised users to treat any website they log into in the coming weeks as potentially compromised, avoid reusing passwords, remain cautious when connecting to encrypted wallets, and revoke token authorizations that are not recognizable. Previously, the PHP Foundation acknowledged that it delayed fixing a serious security vulnerability first discovered in 2024 due to a lack of resources. On the same day, PHP developers released emergency patches for two serious vulnerabilities, but each website still needs to complete the upgrades on its own.

Matthew Prince, CEO of Cloudflare, stated that within 24 hours of the PHP vulnerability being publicly disclosed, the web recorded millions of exploitation attempts, with thousands of attempts even before the disclosure. According to estimates by W3Techs, PHP supports about 69% of websites with known server-side programming languages, and these vulnerabilities could allow attackers to spread malware or inject malicious scripts into websites.

The FBI's cyber division also warned that these vulnerabilities could allow malicious actors to "remotely execute code in the PHP core, potentially compromising sensitive data and networks." Amador warned in an interview with Cointelegraph in June that the proliferation of cutting-edge AI models has changed the cybersecurity landscape, giving attackers an advantage and leading to the emergence of the "vulnerability apocalypse," which has triggered a resurgence of DeFi hacking attacks. Immunefi is the world's largest vulnerability bounty platform, having paid out $140 million in bounties to 650 protocols to date.

### Securitize Tokenized Stock Market Value Halves, Circle Expands Lead

According to ChainCatcher, data from Token Terminal shows that the market value of Securitize's tokenized stock SECZ has fallen from a high of $430.4 million on September 28 to $208.6 million, shrinking by more than half in less than a month. During the same period, the market value of the token tracking Circle's stock rose by about 20%, reaching $383.6 million, reclaiming the top position in the $3.3 billion tokenized stock market.

The decline in the SECZ token coincided with the sell-off of its underlying stock on the New York Stock Exchange. On October 8, Securitize's stock price briefly rose after launching a stock trading platform on Solana, but the gains were subsequently erased; Citigroup downgraded SECZ from "Buy" to "Neutral" on October 13, citing concerns about the revenue from the tokenized business.

Last Friday, SECZ stock closed down 2.1% at $7.80 per share, corresponding to a market value of $1.27 billion. Securitize is a platform that helps asset management institutions, including BlackRock, issue securities on the blockchain. The company went public on the New York Stock Exchange on July 2 and tokenized its common stock, becoming the largest tokenized stock at that time.

Although Circle's related token has a leading total market value, distributed across multiple issuers, SECZ remains the single largest tokenized stock; among them, CRCLb issued by Binance on the BNB Chain ranks first with a scale of $154.1 million.

### Federal Reserve Likely to Stand Pat, Dollar Trends Depend on Statement Tone

According to ChainCatcher, the market is pricing in a 90% probability that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates unchanged. Analysts at Monex Europe stated that the reaction in the foreign exchange market will depend on the tone of the Federal Reserve's statement. The Federal Reserve may retain the possibility of a rate hike in December but will not provide formal guidance.

### Dogecoin Foundation Terminates Exclusive License with House of Doge, the Latter Must Pay $400,000

According to ChainCatcher, the Dogecoin Foundation has terminated its exclusive trademark licensing agreement with Nasdaq-listed House of Doge, effective October 19, according to SEC filings in the United States.

House of Doge and its U.S. subsidiary must rebrand by the end of 2026 and cease using titles such as "official business partner" of the Dogecoin Foundation, with the relevant subsidiary also required to pay the foundation a termination fee of $400,000. Under the new agreement, House of Doge retains non-exclusive trademark rights for three existing 21Shares DOGE investment products.

House of Doge plans to transfer assets related to Such App to Dogecoin Labs in exchange for shares valued at approximately $4 million, a deal that has not yet been completed. Dogecoin Labs has become the foundation's new official business partner.

### Grok 4.7 Recommends 90% Republican, GPT-6.1 Nearly 100% Democrat

According to ChainCatcher, TechCrunch reported that a research study led by Cornell University professor Tapan Parikh's conversational AI research and design studio Convovo found that when asked to recommend only one candidate for the upcoming U.S. midterm elections, SpaceXAI's Grok 4.7 had 92% of responses choosing Republican candidates, while OpenAI's GPT-6.1 Sol had 97% of responses choosing Democratic candidates.

The study covered nearly 500 campaigns, with the proportion of both models recommending the same candidate being less than 10%. Researchers posed the same question to both models via API, requiring them to name one candidate without evasion or listing both sides. It was reported that consumer-facing applications refused to answer. An OpenAI spokesperson stated that ChatGPT is designed to be objective by default, and political discussions should not carry any directional bias; the study tested the developer API, and the prompt explicitly requested a candidate recommendation, which cannot represent the user experience when asking questions through chat applications.

SpaceXAI did not respond in time for comment. Reports indicated that Grok's responses frequently cited conservative sources as well as Ballotpedia, OpenSecrets, and VoteSmart, with 39% including Christian conservative voter guides, 23% including Turning Point Action, and 41% including X; GPT's results relied heavily on Wikipedia, the Associated Press, Axios, and Reddit.

The study also noted that each time Grok was called via the xAI API, it included about 1,240 additional input tokens that researchers did not write, could not view, or remove. Parikh subsequently disabled online search and sampled 30 campaigns, with GPT choosing Democrats in 24 cases, while Grok refused to choose in 27 cases.

### Musk: SpaceX Completes $40 Billion Debt Financing, Mainly for GPU Purchases

According to ChainCatcher, Phoenix Technology cited Reuters reporting that on October 26, Beijing time, SpaceX founder Elon Musk stated that the company has completed $40 billion in debt financing for graphics processor procurement. Musk posted on social media platform X that this financing is primarily for purchasing GPUs that will be delivered in the first and second quarters of next year, and the debt can be redeemed early without significantly impacting this quarter.

Musk added that SpaceX's investment-grade credit rating, along with revenue from Starlink satellite internet and launch services, has helped the company maintain its ability to secure credit financing. Earlier this month, Reuters reported that SpaceX was in talks with banks and asset management companies to raise $40 billion for the purchase of NVIDIA's AI chips.

For the three months ending September 30, SpaceX's revenue grew by 161% year-on-year to $14.58 billion. During the same period, the company's capital expenditures on computing infrastructure nearly doubled to $19.6 billion.

### Galaxy: About 11.1 Million Bitcoins Cannot Be Linked to Known Holders, Accounting for 55% of Total Mined

According to ChainCatcher, CoinDesk reported that a snapshot from Galaxy Research in October showed that of approximately 20.1 million mined bitcoins, about 11.1 million (approximately 55%) are in addresses that cannot be linked to exchanges, funds, governments, or other known entities. Alex Thorn, head of Galaxy Research, stated that this indicates that despite increasing institutionalization, a significant amount of bitcoin may still be self-custodied by individuals.

Xapo Bank believes this reflects the entry of retail investors over the past decade. However, this portion of unallocated bitcoins does not all belong to individuals who have self-custodied for the long term; it may also include coins that cannot be accessed due to lost private keys or the death of the holder, holdings of institutions or over-the-counter traders that Galaxy has not yet identified, and custodial assets spread across multiple addresses.

The remaining 45% have known allocations, including exchanges, ETFs from issuers like BlackRock, and the U.S. government; among them, the single largest holder is "Satoshi Nakamoto (Patoshi model)," holding 1,123,658 BTC.

### LinX HK Announces Completion of $4 Million Pre-A Round Financing, Accelerating Development of AI Job-Seeking Agent Luminpath

According to ChainCatcher, LinX HK, an AI recruitment technology brand targeting the Asian market, announced that it has completed a $4 million Pre-A round of financing, with institutional investors Aipollo and Lingfeng Innovation Fund collectively investing $3 million and individual investors contributing $1 million.

This round of funding will focus on investing in the product and AI technology development of LinX HK's flagship product, Luminpath. LinX HK co-founder Shuo Shan stated, "This round of financing provides further support for LinX HK to refine its product and technological capabilities.

We hope to continue advancing the development of Luminpath's AI job-seeking agent, helping users discover opportunities more efficiently, understand positions and companies, and face career choices with better preparation." It is reported that LinX HK is an AI recruitment technology brand targeting the Asian market, with its flagship product being Luminpath.

Luminpath is currently in the gray testing phase, providing users with AI-driven job search support around scenarios such as job discovery, resume optimization, customized application materials, and application assistance within authorized scopes.

### Volvo Cars Announces Additional Layoffs of 2,500 Employees, Reports a Third Quarter Operating Loss of 5.5 Billion Krona

According to ChainCatcher, on October 23, Swedish automaker Volvo Cars announced additional layoffs of 2,500 employees, equivalent to 6% of its total workforce. The financial report for the period from July to September 2026, released on the same day, showed an operating loss of 5.5 billion Swedish Krona, compared to a profit of 6.4 billion Swedish Krona in the same period last year; sales fell by 23% year-on-year to 66.8 billion Swedish Krona; the final profit and loss was a loss of 4.8 billion Swedish Krona, down from a profit of 5.1 billion Swedish Krona in the previous year.

The company's stock price fell by as much as 30%. The financial report indicated a 41% decline in sales in the Chinese market and an 11% decline globally, primarily affected by weak sales in China and the United States.

Weak sales of high-end models and an increase in the proportion of lower-priced models have worsened profitability. The relaxation of decarbonization regulations in the U.S. has also led to losses from fuel consumption credits, dragging down profits. Volvo Cars CEO Håkan Samuelsson stated at a press conference on the same day that the old strategy of developing global models in Europe and then selling high-end cars in China is no longer viable; that era has ended.

### Ondo Finance to Open OpenAI Pre-IPO Tokenized Note Subscription Next Week

According to ChainCatcher, as reported by The Block, RWA protocol Ondo Finance will open subscriptions for OpenAI pre-IPO tokenized notes next week, allowing private clients to subscribe directly to the notes, which are currently trading in the secondary market. The expected IPO of OpenAI has been postponed to 2027, with CEO Sam Altman ruling out the possibility of an IPO in 2026 citing AI safety concerns.

### S&P Global Completes Acquisition of On-Chain Security Company OpenZeppelin

According to ChainCatcher, S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI) announced that it has completed the acquisition of OpenZeppelin, a provider of on-chain financial security standards. The transaction was first announced on September 17, with financial terms undisclosed, and it is not expected to have a significant impact on S&P Global's financial performance. OpenZeppelin, founded in 2015, has completed over 900 security service projects, identifying more than 10,000 vulnerabilities before product launches.

The value transfer scale supported by its open-source smart contract library OpenZeppelin Contracts exceeds $38 trillion, covering various mainstream stablecoins and tokenized funds. This acquisition will expand S&P Global's risk assessment capabilities to the layer of on-chain technology risks, with both parties planning to jointly develop a new generation of on-chain security assessments and benchmarks.

After the acquisition, OpenZeppelin will continue to operate as an independent business unit under its original brand, with founder Demian Brener remaining in charge and reporting to S&P Global Ratings President Yann Le Pallec. OpenZeppelin Contracts will continue to be open-source, free, and publicly maintained.

### Bitcoin Treasury Company Empery Invests $65 Million in AI Data Center, Aiming for 15-Year Long-Term Cash Flow

According to ChainCatcher, Bitcoin treasury company Empery Digital (NASDAQ: EMPD) plans to invest $65 million to acquire a 25% stake in a private entity that owns an AI data center property in the U.S. Midwest. The facility currently has approximately 150 MW of power capacity and its own substation, with plans to expand to about 300 MW in the future.

According to previously disclosed information, the project is expected to adopt a 15-year triple net lease (NNN) model, with potential total lease payments of around $1 billion. Based on prior plans, the lease income corresponding to the 25% stake held by Empery is expected to exceed $440 million during the lease term, with payments expected to begin in early 2027.

However, the related lease arrangements are still subject to the final signed formal agreement. This investment reflects Empery's expansion from Bitcoin treasury operations into the AI infrastructure sector. The company previously stated that its financial commitment to the project is limited to $65 million, with potential tenants responsible for the data center renovation, electricity, and operating costs.

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Meme Popularity Rankings

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According to data from the meme token tracking and analysis platform GMGN, as of October 27 at 08:00,

The top five popular ETH tokens in the past 24 hours are: DACITY, EVMZONE, PEPINA, ZERO, cirBTC

The top five popular Solana tokens in the past 24 hours are: STONK, LAUNCH, Nothing, carti, REMUS

The top five popular Base tokens in the past 24 hours are: XDP, ELSA, STONKEX, PROS, worth

The top five popular BSC tokens in the past 24 hours are: BNCB, 불개미, GANG, Copper, 7AGENT

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What are the noteworthy articles to read in the past 24 hours?

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### [The Wall Street Journal Publishes Full-Page Ad: Eight Risks of Stock Tokenization](https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2299034)

Their concerns mainly focus on market structure. Traditional stock markets help investors compare prices across different venues through real-time buy and sell quotes and transaction reports. According to the document, TSV does not have to adopt the same real-time centralized quoting mechanism, and transaction data disclosure allows for delays of up to 10 minutes.

At the same time, the exemption does not require interoperability between different TSVs or between TSVs and traditional securities markets. A particular tokenized stock may primarily trade on one platform, or even circulate only within that platform. This could lead to fragmented liquidity and increase the risk of price divergence between different venues.

Nasdaq believes that the impact of these changes on liquidity, price discovery, and long-term shareholder value may only become apparent after the experiment has been underway for some time.

### [Between Big Banks and Crypto, an SGB Has Emerged](https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2298903)

Customers want faster fund transfers, and banks also want customers to continue using their services. Improved efficiency may reduce the balance required for each transaction; increased transaction volume does not necessarily align with the deposit scale that allows banks to operate sustainably.

Thus, the returns of free networks depend on what business customers leave behind: how many accounts are actively used, how balances circulate, and whether services like foreign exchange, conversion, and cash management can generate ongoing revenue. The contributions of these aspects still require more complete operational data for verification.

From the halted exploration by the Construction Bank in Singapore to the gradually forming funding network in Bahrain, SGB has evolved from providing accounts to facilitating funding activities between organizations. It connects to the mature U.S. dollar system externally while integrating payment, transactions, and on-chain services into customers' daily operations internally.

The name combines Singapore and Gulf, while its daily operations involve exchanges, payment companies, and global banks. SGB is turning account opening relationships into ongoing banking business among these institutions.

### [Dissecting Anthropic's Prospectus: Net Loss of $80.7 Billion in Six Months, IPO Expected as Early as Mid-November](https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2299042)

Anthropic's IPO essentially packages a vertical link of "safety research—cutting-edge models—enterprise deployment—agent autonomy" into a trillion-dollar bet. The prospectus lays both sides of the bet before investors: one side shows a tenfold revenue increase in six months and a 900% net income retention rate, while the other side reveals hundreds of billions in book losses and a rigid dependence on computing power.

It can be said that investors are not buying Anthropic's current profits but rather whether it can transform the phrase "a genius country in the data center" from the prospectus into cash flow in corporate accounts under the constraints of grid bottlenecks, reasoning costs, and model reliability.

### [Goldman Sachs Lowers Target Price for Korean Stocks by 25%, but Believes "Storage Valuation is Too Pessimistic," Korean Stock Valuation is Now "Globally Lowest"](https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2298868)

However, opinions vary on when market sentiment will truly bottom out and whether valuation can become a reliable reversal signal. This round of selling has also sparked deeper discussions: in an era of technological transformation bringing deep uncertainty, whether traditional valuation metrics can still provide reliable investment guidance.

Goldman Sachs believes that foreign capital has net sold $140 billion this year, and market sentiment remains significantly suppressed, but this also means that once market confidence is restored, the rebound potential will be considerable. Risk warnings and disclaimers

The market has risks, and investment should be cautious. This article does not constitute personal investment advice and does not take into account individual users' specific investment goals, financial situations, or needs. Users should consider whether any opinions, views, or conclusions in this article align with their specific circumstances. Investing based on this carries responsibility.

### [Stop Learning Programming, Anthropic CEO Says: Coding Jobs Are Disappearing Fast, Humans Should Learn to Play the Piano](https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2299009)

First principles are your only weapon for predicting the future. At the end of this in-depth interview, Dario said the following: "Over the past ten years, I have repeatedly experienced this: when you extrapolate based on simple curves or use simple logic to deduce the future, you arrive at some counterintuitive conclusions. Many people will say, 'That's crazy, it can't happen.'

But in the end, it really does happen. You can almost 'freely' predict the future with just a few empirical observations and first principles thinking."

The first principle of the AI era is that the cost of intelligence will approach zero. Any cognitive labor that can be logical, data-driven, and repetitive will become worthless. What humans can do is understand human hearts, connect with the physical world, control AI, and be among the 5% who can steer the ship.

### [IOSG Invests in Fun: The Global Funding Gateway Behind Polymarket](https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2298999)

Four, the logic of betting. Today, two interfaces are doing almost the same product, and the one running on Fun has a much greater chance of winning. If money cannot be transferred smoothly, the user experience is interrupted at the first step, which is to recharge the account.

The next wave of internet platforms will operate in a global market: prediction markets, exchanges, tokenized assets, sports, and iGaming platforms, all involving real money. Each must serve users scattered across different countries, currencies, payment methods, compliance systems, wallets, and chains. Building this infrastructure from scratch will take several years and will divert resources that should be spent on the market itself.

Every emerging internet market needs a global layer that allows funds to come in, move around, and go out without friction. What Fun does is this layer.

### [Latest Interview with Anthropic President: We Absolutely Will Not Create "AI Companions" or Advertisements; The Ultimate Purpose of AI Research is to Give Time Back to Humanity](https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2298949)

In this in-depth interview hosted by Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post, Anthropic President Daniela Amodei clearly stated the industry assertion: Anthropic will not create AI companion applications and will not engage in advertising monetization.

In her view, the ultimate purpose of AI research is not to create a digital cocoon for humans to escape reality, but to take over tedious and trivial tasks through end-to-end intelligence, reclaiming precious time from machines and screens, and returning it to real human life.

### [Exclusive Interview with SC Ventures of Standard Chartered Bank: How Does a Bank-Backed Venture Capital Firm Position Itself in Digital Assets? How Do They View the Integration Trend of AI and TradFi×Crypto?](https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2298925)

ChainCatcher: After the discussions at Token2049 and within the industry, what impressive changes or signals have you noticed? Compared to last year, what is your most intuitive feeling regarding market sentiment and institutional participation?

Harald E.: As we discussed today, everyone is excited about AI now. In fact, AI was already a topic last year, but the difference this year is that there is less hype and more clarity. The focus of discussions has shifted to agentic solutions, deploying agents to complete transactions, settlements, and wealth management tasks.

This year remains the main stage for AI, but people have a clearer understanding of what AI can do and what it should do. Making trading and markets more efficient is what excites me the most this year.

### [Stock Fundraising Reaches $95 Billion, Including $65 Billion from ATM Issuance; Meta "Increases" to Supplement AI Ammunition](https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2299004)

For Meta, raising funds is just the first step. The company has launched the personal AI agent Muse and the AI model Muse Wonder, and is attempting to integrate AI capabilities into advertising, consumer products, and enterprise services. However, the user growth and technological performance of new products still need to translate into sustainable revenue and cash flow.

As the AI race enters a capital-intensive phase, the core challenge facing Meta is not just whether it can continue to expand its computing power investment, but also whether it can convert the growing AI expenditures into commercial returns sufficient to cover construction and operational costs. The $95 billion financing plan provides the company with greater financial flexibility, but its long-term value still depends on the actual returns from AI investments.

### [No New Coins Issued, Focused on Low Latency; Why is BNB Chain Creating Another Layer 1?](https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2298991)

Some industry insiders have pointed out that this is a strategic infrastructure narrative, but there is still a long way to go before launch, with the chain name, Chain ID, public RPC, and native cross-chain bridge yet to be determined. The new chain is likely to focus on supporting a brand new Perpetual DEX, and Aster has launched its own public chain, making it difficult to migrate from scratch.

Regarding BNB itself, Fengmi believes that the new chain not issuing new coins and continuing to use BNB as Gas effectively brings additional demand for BNB. Official materials also indicate that the new chain supports Gas payment on behalf of users, meaning the transaction sender does not need to hold BNB.

Crypto Wuyou believes that the multi-chain approach with one coin has already been a precedent in the BNB ecosystem, with opBNB and Greenfield showing average data performance, while the main force on-chain remains BSC. Binance excels at internal and external competitions and bullish betting, and this time is betting on a new chain aimed at the AI era...

### [In-Depth Analysis by SemiAnalysis Founder: How Long Can AI Investments Last? Can Nvidia Maintain Its Moat? When Will the Memory Shortage End?](https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2298840)

Dylan Patel, founder of SemiAnalysis, pointed out that the expansion of AI infrastructure faces financing costs and chip supply bottlenecks, and these constraints may continue until 2028.

Nvidia's performance advantage still exists, but competition from self-developed chips may gradually affect its market share and pricing power; whether the high profits in the memory industry can be maintained depends on the new production capacity coming online after 2028 and changes in supply and demand.

### [Real vs. Fake Crypto Market Makers: What Kind of Market Making is Legitimate?](https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2298872)

Anyone who has traded in the cryptocurrency market will notice a familiar pattern: after a token is launched, its price quickly rises, then rapidly falls, with trading volume evaporating almost overnight. Crypto investors often attribute this extreme volatility to market makers.

This negative impression is caused by a group of institutions that manipulate prices under the guise of market making. Influenced by such institutions, in the crypto industry, "market makers" have gradually become synonymous with teams that manipulate markets, and investors worldwide have suffered losses due to such operations. The FBI has prosecuted several institutions providing "manipulation services"; in South Korea, a team inflated trading volume under the pretext of providing liquidity, and the responsible individuals have already been sentenced. However, these are illegal operators who charge fees and dump tokens, not true market makers fulfilling the function of providing liquidity.

Because there are no clear qualification requirements, anyone can claim to be a market maker, which has dragged down the credibility of the entire industry. Such manipulative behavior destroys market trust and has nothing to do with the original role of market makers in providing liquidity.