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On Tuesday, the global semiconductor sector faced a massive sell-off, with the decline intensifying. The trigger was Broadcom CEO Hock Tan stating that AI investments have a "casino-like" nature. He mentioned in Singapore on Monday that many investors do not even know what they are investing in and that investors have set extremely high expectations, only to find that it is just like being in a casino.The world's two largest memory chip manufacturers, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, saw their stock prices plunge by 8.8% and 9.2% at one point during the morning session, dragging down South Korea's main stock index by 7%. The two companies account for about half of the weight in the Korea Composite Stock Price Index, and their stock prices have cumulatively dropped by about 15% over the past five days. The Taiwan Weighted Stock Index, dominated by chip stocks, fell by 2.5%, with TSMC down 2%; Micron Technology dropped nearly 4% overnight, and the Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index fell by 2.7%.

According to Bloomberg, Hock Tan, CEO of chip company Broadcom, stated at an event in Singapore on Monday that the artificial intelligence craze has attracted a group of investors with strategies similar to gamblers, some of whom have little understanding of what they are betting on. He mentioned that many investors "don't even know what they are investing in," setting extremely high expectations, resulting in a situation that is "almost like being in a casino," and specifically pointed to the investment frenzy driven by a lack of understanding of cutting-edge large language models.As the head of a company that designs key components for global data centers, Tan also questioned whether companies are wasting money on AI projects and the long-term economics of AI labs that are continuously losing money. He noted that ChatGPT developer OpenAI's annualized revenue reached $50 billion in September, indicating a viable model, but it does not guarantee long-term profitability; it is still losing money due to high training costs, and currently only suggests that cutting-edge generative models have significant potential revenue growth.Tan also warned that a lack of capital could become the next constraint on industry growth. The Australia-based data center company Firmus Grid, supported by Nvidia, withdrew its planned $5.5 billion IPO last week. Before Tan's remarks, DBS Group CEO Tan Su Shan stated that after a large amount of investment, the market is re-pricing the risks associated with AI financing.

According to Bloomberg, the KOSPI index in South Korea plummeted in July, causing significant losses for many retail investors. Despite the index rebounding a record 18% on Friday, retail investors still recorded a record net sell-off of KOSPI stocks that day; the index fell a cumulative 22% in July, marking the largest monthly decline since the global financial crisis, with the total market capitalization of the South Korean stock market around $3.9 trillion.Influenced by President Lee Jae-myung's push for stock market reforms and the listing of single-stock leveraged ETFs, South Korean retail investors bought approximately 78 trillion won ($54.2 billion) worth of KOSPI stocks from May to June. After the sharp market decline in July, many investors on social media pointed fingers at the government.A 30-something investor in Seoul stated that he entered the Korean stock market for the first time in May and has now decided "not to invest in the Korean stock market anymore"; another 40-year-old investor borrowed 50 million won against his home to trade stocks and criticized the government for introducing leveraged ETFs, turning the market into a "casino."During July, the KOSPI triggered trading halts due to circuit breakers four times, setting a monthly record. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix together accounted for over 50% of the KOSPI's weight, with their stock prices falling 21% and 35% respectively in July; however, since early 2025, Samsung Electronics has still risen over four times, and SK Hynix has increased nearly tenfold.Analysts say this is a typical result of crowded trading combined with leverage, and deleveraging is difficult to complete in a matter of days. In the coming months, technology and semiconductor stocks may still experience significant volatility, but this should not be seen as a complete collapse of the AI investment logic.The South Korean government suspended the listing of new single-stock leveraged ETFs in mid-July and promised to introduce more measures to stabilize the stock market and limit retail participation in high-risk products.However, the head of the Korean Shareholders Alliance stated that retail investors' anger and criticism towards the government have reached a peak, with many investors believing that the relevant measures have come too late.

On-chain detective ZachXBT posted a warning stating that "choosing to gamble on Spartans is itself an IQ test," and questioned the long-term harvesting behavior of the operators behind Spartans. ZachXBT pointed out that Gurhan Kiziloz, a figure related to Spartans, previously operated BlockDAG Network, which has not launched its mainnet or mining products for years, yet still promoted a presale with "300 times returns" and has raised at least $350 million from inexperienced retail investors.He further stated that BlockDAG has recently shifted to casino operations and suspects that the related casino platform may be used to "legitimize BlockDAG funding sources," including circulating funds by paying high fees to employees and KOLs. Previously, several community members and content creators have also publicly questioned Spartans' marketing model and operational transparency, warning users of potential "rug pull" risks.

According to Gelonghui, Buffett responded in an exclusive interview with CNBC regarding "Berkshire currently holding about $380 billion in cash, and the market is highly concerned about why it has not made large-scale acquisitions or investments": the prices are too high, and there are too few targets.Buffett stated, "Now is not our ideal environment for deploying cash for Berkshire." He emphasized that the company has the right management team to selectively choose opportunities: "Sometimes we do nothing, but sometimes we are very active."When discussing the current macro stock market environment, Buffett used the metaphor of "a church with a casino" to describe the speculative atmosphere on Wall Street. People can move between the church and the casino, with more people in the church than in the casino, but the casino has become very attractive to people.He pointed out, "If you are buying and selling single-day options, that is not investing, nor is it speculation; it is outright gambling." Referring to a recent case where a U.S. soldier used confidential information about military operations in Venezuela to profit $400,000 in the prediction market, he said: unless one knows when we will strike into Venezuela like that person, no one can explain why they would buy a one-day option; the number of such occurrences is astonishing.We have never encountered a crowd with a greater propensity for 'gambling' than now. Buffett further noted that the surge in gambling enthusiasm does not necessarily mean the market will collapse, but it will lead to a long-term high price for many assets.

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia has accepted a class action lawsuit in 2025, accusing the famous rapper Drake of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) in the process of promoting and using the cryptocurrency casino Stake.us. The complaint also names well-known streamer Adin Ross and an Australian citizen alleged to have assisted in the fraudulent activity as defendants.The plaintiffs claim that the defendants used the tipping feature of Stake.us for fund transfers and concealed the flow of funds related to music streaming manipulation, while the platform is accused of evading U.S. gambling regulations under the guise of a "social casino." The lawsuit seeks no less than $5 million in damages and requests a jury trial. This case is not the first time Drake and Ross have faced legal risks for promoting Stake.us.

ChainCatcher message, ZachXBT released an investigation on the X platform targeting the identity of a whale with 50x leverage on Hyperliquid. By tracking on-chain transactions, it was discovered that a person named "William Parker" is associated with the 50x leverage whale on Hyperliquid. He was arrested last year for stealing approximately $1 million from two casinos in 2023 and was sentenced in Finland. Before this, he was known as Alistair Packover (William Peckover) and later changed his name.In the early 2010s, Alistair Packover made headlines in the UK multiple times due to fraud charges related to hacking and gambling. It is clear that he did not learn his lesson after serving several years for fraud and may continue to gamble. Currently, his funds are mainly stored in:0x51d99A4022a55CAd07a3c958F0600d8bb0B39921

ChainCatcher news, Musk harshly criticized Meme coins in the latest episode of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, calling them something akin to a "casino," and warned market participants not to invest their life savings into Meme coins.Meanwhile, Musk also talked about Dogecoin, adding that Dogecoin initially started as a Meme coin but is more like a joke cryptocurrency involving memes and dogs. Joe Rogan believed that the Meme coin craze is too crazy, especially with people putting real money into it.

ChainCatcher message, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik responded to the question "Have there been moments of frustration and disappointment with the EF, the community, or the industry in the past year?" during a text AMA held on the Tako platform, stating: "Of course. Perhaps the most disappointing moment for me recently was when someone said that Ethereum is bad and intolerant because we don't respect the 'casinos' on the blockchain, while other chains are willing to accept any application, so they are better.If the blockchain community has this kind of 'inverse moral issue', I have no interest in participating in blockchain. However, I found an interesting point: many people say those things on the internet, but when I chat with the community in person, everyone's values are still the same as before. So I feel a responsibility to this community; I cannot abandon them. Ethereum needs to work together to create the world we want to see.This will require some changes, such as the foundation may not be able to be too neutral at the application layer and needs to specifically support certain things, but this project must be worth us doing so."

ChainCatcher news, according to livedoor, due to suspected gambling through overseas online casino websites, the Chiba Prefectural Police in Japan transferred 30-year-old table tennis player Takaki Niwa, the bronze medalist in the men's team event at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, to the prosecution on the 29th. It is believed that during a voluntary questioning, he admitted to the relevant charges, stating that he placed bets on the outcomes of sports competitions.In an interview with Kyodo News, Niwa said, "I didn't know this was illegal, and I feel very regretful. I'm sorry to my fans."According to investigators, the Japanese police have attached a request for strict handling of the case. The charges state that in early summer 2023, Niwa accessed an online casino website through a domestic internet connection and used cryptocurrency for gambling.While the Japanese police were cracking down on online casino payment agents, they discovered users nationwide, which led to the exposure of Niwa's involvement.Niwa participated in the 2012 London Olympics at the age of 17 and won a silver medal in the men's team event at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. In the fall of 2022, he announced his retirement but continued to engage in athlete activities within Japan.

ChainCatcher news, according to the report from the Linyi Hedong public account, in early 2023, the Linyi Public Security Bureau Yihe New District Branch discovered an APP suspected of gambling during their work, with a huge flow of funds.Upon investigation, this APP was developed by Zhao at the behest of the criminal suspect Shi. Shi used his and his family's identities to open multiple fund pool accounts, allowing members to exchange virtual currency for chips within the APP, engaging in online gambling by predicting the rise and fall of virtual currency exchange rates over different time periods. At the same time, Shi recruited people like Cao and Wu with high commissions as bait, promoting the APP everywhere, actively developing agents at all levels, and attracting a large number of members to participate in gambling.Since 2023, the public security organs of Yihe New District have successively arrested 13 suspects involved in the case, including Shi, and seized over 10 million yuan in related funds. In May 2024, Shi and others were sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment by the people's court in accordance with the law.