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Today, South Korean semiconductor concept stocks are under pressure and have retreated, but trading in related asset markets remains active. According to data from the Gate platform, SK Hynix (000660) is currently priced at $1,175.12, with a 24-hour decline of 2.11%; Samsung Electronics (005930) is currently priced at $183.02, with a 24-hour decline of 1.94%.According to CoinGlass data, trading in the SKHYNIX and SAMSUNG contract markets is active, with the open interest of the two underlying contracts increasing by 4.03% and 7.30%, respectively. The trading volume of the contracts increased by 451.63% and 1069.65%, respectively. In Gate's related stock derivatives, the SKHX contract open interest reached $180 million, ranking second in the entire network, with a 24-hour trading volume of $180 million; the SAMSUNG contract open interest reached $8.14 million, ranking second in the entire network, with a 24-hour trading volume of $5.94 million.

According to eight people familiar with the discussions, despite warnings from tech companies that this move could affect the United States' dominance in the field of artificial intelligence, the Trump administration is still considering imposing a new round of comprehensive tariffs on semiconductors.

According to SemiWiki, WSTS data shows that the global semiconductor market sales reached $368 billion in the second quarter of 2026, a quarter-on-quarter increase of 35% and a year-on-year increase of 104%, setting a new historical high. The growth is mainly driven by AI demand, with significant quarter-on-quarter increases from memory manufacturers, SK Hynix and Sandisk at 51%, Kioxia at 76%; Nvidia's AI processor business grew 18% quarter-on-quarter, and Broadcom is expected to grow 33% quarter-on-quarter.Kioxia and Sandisk rose to eighth and ninth place globally, respectively, with both companies' revenues growing more than four times year-on-year. Excluding major AI suppliers, the other top 20 semiconductor manufacturers only saw a quarter-on-quarter increase of 9%, with guidance indicating a total quarter-on-quarter growth of about 6% for the third quarter of 2026. The growth expectations for memory manufacturers in the third quarter have clearly slowed down.Based on the latest forecasts, the semiconductor market growth rate for the entire year of 2026 is expected to reach or exceed 90%, with Semiconductor Intelligence predicting a growth of 101% and RCD Advisors predicting 112%; in the storage sector, WSTS expects a growth of 249%, while Gartner predicts 280%. Most institutions expect the growth rate to fall back to the mid-20% range in 2027.

On August 25, Bank of America data showed that actively managed long-term funds significantly reduced their holdings in global semiconductor stocks last month, selling approximately $44.4 billion, indicating that institutional funds are withdrawing from the most crowded AI trades. The flow of funds has shifted towards telecommunications, energy, materials, and grid modernization, reflecting a more noticeable redistribution within the AI theme.This set of data explains part of the recent market pressure. Ahead of NVIDIA's earnings report, the market still holds high expectations for AI demand, but semiconductor stocks have previously risen too much, and positions have become more concentrated. Once long-term interest rates rise, AI revenue expectations cool, or the return on capital expenditures for cloud vendors is questioned, the semiconductor sector will be the first to bear the pressure of position reduction. Bank of America also pointed out that the themes that funds sold the most in the past year include AI computing and quantum computing, indicating that funds have not completely left AI but are reducing exposure to highly crowded sectors.Bank of America expects that semiconductor stocks will continue to be influenced in the short term by NVIDIA's performance, cloud vendor guidance, and interest rate trends; in the medium term, funds may be more willing to allocate to sub-sectors such as electricity, equipment, networks, and storage that can share in AI infrastructure spending.

Bitcoin Magazine posted on the X platform that the publicly traded company Iconic Digital has increased its holdings by 21 bitcoins, bringing its total holdings to 2,882 bitcoins, valued at $168 million.

According to the Economic Daily, semiconductor silicon wafers have seen a significant price increase for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, covering the full range of specifications including 6-inch, 8-inch, and 12-inch, with an increase starting at 10%. Industry insiders believe this is the first price adjustment in over three years, and major Taiwanese silicon wafer suppliers such as GlobalWafers, TSMC, and Hejian are expected to see improvements in revenue and profitability.GlobalWafers stated that recent demand in some end markets has gradually improved, inventory adjustments in the supply chain are healthier than in the past, and market signals are more positive than last year, but prices still depend on the product, specifications, and customer situations. TSMC mentioned that under cost pressures and demand support, they have begun communicating price adjustments with customers, and operations in the second half of the year are expected to outperform the first half. Hejian indicated that they are actively negotiating price adjustments with customers and continuing to promote advanced packaging and related products.Industry analysis suggests that this round of price increases mainly reflects the rebound in chip demand driven by AI, with increased usage in advanced and mature processes, allowing the upstream silicon wafer industry to gradually feel the recovery. Currently, the negotiation progress varies among factories and customers, with some 12-inch polished wafers already subject to new quotes with double-digit percentage increases, and discussions for 8-inch and 6-inch products are also moving in a similar upward direction.

SK Hynix (SKHY.O) stated in a document that it has not yet decided whether to build semiconductor manufacturing facilities in Japan. The company responded to media reports regarding its potential factory construction in Japan.SK Hynix stated: "To enhance the competitiveness of the memory chip business, the company is evaluating various options, including the establishment of additional production bases, but no decisions have been made as of now." The company said it would further disclose relevant information when specific details are confirmed, or within one month after the release of this report.

According to a report by Infomax under the Korea Herald, SK Hynix is advancing its plan to build a semiconductor factory in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, with an investment scale of hundreds of trillions of Korean won. SK Group Chairman Choi Tae-won recently visited the area personally. Miyagi Prefecture is one of the three major semiconductor industry bases supported by the Japanese government.The report states that this factory will be an overseas production base added by SK Hynix outside of its clusters in Yongin, South Korea, and Hunan, China, aimed at meeting the ongoing tight global supply and demand situation for memory. If the plan materializes, SK Hynix will become the third foreign semiconductor company to establish a factory in Japan, following Micron and TSMC. The report points out that due to ongoing pressure from the United States for South Korean companies to increase investments in the U.S., this investment in Japan may further intensify U.S. pressure, while the Japanese government's subsidy policy is also an important consideration. SK Hynix has not officially responded to this news. Previously, on August 20, SK Hynix announced a 40 trillion won share buyback cancellation plan.

Silicon Data, a GPU market data infrastructure company, announced the completion of a $30.5 million Series A financing first closing, led by Valor Atreides AI Fund, with participation from CME Ventures, DRW, Samsung Next, VanEck, Jump Trading, Wintermute, and others. The funds will be used for GPU benchmark pricing, performance measurement, institutional and alternative data, as well as derivatives, insurance, and credit market risk infrastructure.Silicon Data currently collects data from approximately 100 GPU leasing platforms in over 40 countries worldwide, processing more than 150,000 verified price records daily. CME Group is planning to adopt Silicon Data's benchmark as the reference price for the proposed cash-settled GPU futures, pending regulatory approval.

According to market news, the CME Group and Silicon Data will launch computing power futures on October 5.

According to Bloomberg, former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner's AI fund Situational Awareness has splurged $400 million this week to support a private company, which is the semiconductor manufacturing startup Source Foundry. It is reported that VC giant Sequoia Capital has also provided support for this startup. So far, representatives from Situational Awareness and Source Foundry have not responded to requests for comments, while Sequoia Capital has declined to confirm the hedge fund's investment situation.It is reported that Source Foundry is dedicated to developing a semiconductor manufacturing process that is simpler, cheaper, and faster than existing methods, aiming to bridge the widening gap between the demand for AI computing power and the capacity expansion of chip manufacturing. Analysts believe that Leopold Aschenbrenner's large-scale investment reflects the ongoing strong demand in the market for new chip manufacturing technologies, as AI developers' demand for computing power is increasing day by day. However, this investment also reveals that Situational Awareness has formed a highly concentrated risk exposure before facing significant financial pressure due to severe fluctuations in its publicly held technology positions.

On July 29, the U.S. Department of Commerce signed letters of intent with seven companies, totaling up to $874 million, to support seven "post-GPU era" underlying technology routes such as CPO, ferroelectric memory, and 3D packaging in the form of equity investments. This marks a shift in the U.S. chip strategy from "capacity reshoring" to "technology route selection."The seven companies and their technology directions include: GlobalFoundries (CPO silicon photonic integration, $300 million), Kepler Computing (ferroelectric 3D memory, $245 million), Multibeam (multi-electron beam direct-write lithography and advanced packaging, $140 million), Extropic (thermodynamic sampling unit TSU, $75 million), Thintronics (ultra-low loss dielectric materials, $50 million), Aeluma (large-size phosphorus-free optoelectronic device substrates, $30 million), and OBSIDIA (hardware zero-trust chip anti-counterfeiting, $34 million). All companies are required to provide non-controlling minority equity to the U.S. government.This move shows that the funding usage of the CHIPS Act is shifting from subsidizing wafer fabs to directly holding equity in cutting-edge technology companies with national capital, in order to secure rule-making authority in the post-Moore era.

U.S. President Trump officially signed the executive order on polysilicon tariffs.

According to the South Korean media The Elec, GlobalWafers stated during the Q2 earnings call that the production lines for 12-inch, 8-inch, and 6-inch wafers are nearing full capacity, with some advanced 12-inch products experiencing supply constraints due to a surge in demand for AI chips, HBM, and advanced packaging. Shin-Etsu Chemical achieved double-digit growth in 12-inch shipments both year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter in Q2, and Sungrow also believes that customer inventory adjustments are nearing completion. Although SK Siltron is gradually releasing capacity from new production lines, it is still difficult to meet the growth rate of orders.Tight supply is driving changes in long-term contract models, and GlobalWafers signed a 10-year LTA (including advance payment) with Micron last month. Prices in the non-LTA market have begun to rise and are expected to continue to increase in the second half of the year. GlobalWafers stated that it is negotiating with customers to incorporate price adjustment mechanisms into new contracts, and Nexchip also emphasized the need for "broad and meaningful price increases" to support reinvestment. Industry insiders expect that as new factories from Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron come online, wafer demand will double in the second half of 2027, and supply shortages may further intensify.

According to Gate market data, as of the close, the China-Korea Semiconductor ETF (513310) had a total trading volume of 23.7 billion, marking the third highest record in history. The highest record was 25.9 billion on July 29, 2026, and the second highest was 24 billion on July 21, 2026. This ETF tracks the China Securities Korea Exchange China-Korea Semiconductor Index, with the top two holdings being Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.Today, the South Korean KOSPI index closed up 3.76%, with SK Hynix rising 5.8% and Samsung Electronics rising 2.5%.

According to Gate market data, Intel (INTC.O) has increased by 10%, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index is currently up by 6.2%.

According to Gate market data, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose more than 5% during the day. Among them, Arm (ARM.O) increased by 11.5%, Marvell Technology Group (MRVL.O) rose by 11%, Intel (INTC.O) increased by more than 7%, and Micron Technology (MU.O) rose by 6.7%.

The Gate stock derivatives section will launch on August 4 at 13:30 (UTC+8) with the following perpetual contract trading (settled in USDT) for CAMBRICON (寒武纪 688256.SH), EOPTOLINK (新易盛 300502.SZ), IEIT (浪潮信息 000977.SZ), MONTAGE (澜起科技 688008.SH), FII (工业富联 601138.SH), NAURA (北方华创 002371.SZ), AMEC (中微公司 688012.SH), SUNGROW (阳光电源 300274.SZ), CMOC (洛阳钼业 603993.SH), BLUEFOCUS (蓝色光标 300058.SZ), supporting 1-20x leverage.In addition, Gate will launch the 12th phase of the new coin airdrop event in the stock derivatives section from August 4 at 16:00 to August 13 at 16:00 (UTC+8). New users who complete their first contract trade will receive 5 USDT; daily trading volume of the participating coins can accumulate up to 35 USDT; trading the participating coins will share a prize pool of 30,000 USDT. The total prize pool for the event is 50,000 USDT, with a maximum of 240 USDT available for each individual.