japan

According to BBX data, the listed entities in the global capital markets (NASDAQ and Japanese stocks) disclosed the latest developments in digital asset investment and treasury expansion yesterday and in recent days. The core information is as follows:Core Scientific (NASDAQ: $CORZ) resumes accumulation in Q2, increasing holdings to 848 BTC: The latest financial report from NASDAQ-listed mining company Core Scientific shows that its Bitcoin holdings have increased from 547 to 848 BTC, with a net addition of 301 BTC. Previously, the company had sold a large amount of Bitcoin to facilitate its transformation towards the AI and high-performance computing (HPC) industries, but it reestablished its accumulation strategy in Q2. The financial report indicates that its Q2 revenue surged to $164.2 million (over 100% year-on-year growth), and gross profit skyrocketed to $70 million. At the same time, the company decisively terminated its BTC mining chip procurement contract with Block (under Jack Dorsey) at a cost of $41.9 million in losses.Tokyo Stock Exchange-listed company Iole announces allocation of HYPE as a strategic asset: Iole, listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's startup board, officially announced that in addition to Bitcoin, it has formally established HYPE as a strategic treasury asset for the company. The company plans to gradually increase its total HYPE purchase plan to 100 million yen (approximately $610,000) by the end of August. Currently, the company completed its first batch of purchases worth approximately 10 million yen on July 28, holding about 1,078.25 HYPE.gumi and SB I launch a 3 billion yen cryptocurrency investment fund: Japanese listed gaming company gumi announced that its subsidiary gC Labs, in collaboration with SB I Financial Services, will officially operate the cryptocurrency investment fund "SB I Crypto Fund I" starting August 1. The total scale of the fund is approximately 3 billion yen (about $18.32 million), and it has received funding from leading institutions such as Daiwa Securities Group, with its investment targets strictly focusing on Bitcoin (BTC) listed on exchanges and major high-liquidity altcoins.HeartSciences advances merger with DCG's mining company: NASDAQ-listed company HeartSciences (NASDAQ: $HSCS) announced that it has formally submitted a preliminary proxy statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding the previously announced proposed business merger plan with Fortitude Mining Holdings (a wholly-owned subsidiary of DCG), accelerating the process of going public in the mainstream capital market.

According to official news, Japanese gaming giant Gumi, through its subsidiary gC Labs, will launch the "SBI Crypto Fund I" cryptocurrency investment fund in collaboration with SBI Financial Services on August 1. The fund has a scale of approximately 3 billion yen (about 18.3 million USD), with a duration of three years, adopting a private placement structure, and several institutions including Daiwa Securities Group are participating in the investment.The fund will primarily invest in Bitcoin and mainstream altcoins, utilizing a combination of staking, rebalancing, and hedging strategies. The fund aims to serve as a bridge between the cryptocurrency asset market and Japanese enterprises, accumulating performance for the future development of financial products such as cryptocurrency ETFs. Currently, Japan has not yet approved cryptocurrency ETFs, and the launch of this fund is seen as an attempt to integrate traditional finance with digital assets.

According to Jinshi, the Japanese government on Thursday lowered its economic growth forecast for the current fiscal year due to rising oil prices caused by tensions in the Middle East, which are squeezing household spending and corporate profits. The inflation-adjusted GDP growth rate is expected to be 0.9% for the fiscal year ending March 2027, down from the 1.3% forecast in January. However, the economic growth rate for the next fiscal year is expected to accelerate to 1.1%.

The Japanese listed company eole (Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth: 2334) purchased approximately 10.08 million yen (about 61,600 USD) for 1,078.2547 HYPE, with an average cost of about 9,352.77 yen (about 57.1 USD), becoming the first listed company in Japan to purchase HYPE.The company plans to make additional purchases in batches before the end of August, bringing the total investment in HYPE to 100 million yen (about 610,500 USD), and will incorporate it into the digital asset reserves under the "Neo Crypto Bank" concept to support on-chain finance and Web3 business.

According to Jinshi, foreign investment in Japanese stocks reached 912.1 billion yen for the week ending July 24, with the previous value revised from -79.6 billion yen to -81.9 billion yen.

According to Jinshi reports, T. Rowe Price portfolio manager Vincent Chung stated that the Bank of Japan is expected to maintain interest rates on Friday but may signal a faster pace of rate hikes. He pointed out that if the Bank of Japan accelerates the normalization of its policy, there could be two more rate hikes this year. For the yen to achieve a significant and sustained appreciation, a combination of faster tightening of monetary policy, a decline in energy prices, and more coordinated exchange rate intervention measures is needed.

According to Gate market data, the South Korean KOSPI index opened up 1.2%, with SK Hynix rising 2%, following the announcement of a surge in second-quarter operating profit, although it was below expectations; Samsung Electronics rose 3%. The Nikkei 225 index opened up 0.18%.

According to the latest survey by TrendForce, in June, the top three MLCC suppliers in Japan and South Korea (Murata, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Taiyo Yuden) achieved a monthly shipment volume that reached a nearly five-year high, with 140 billion, 98 billion, and 40 billion units respectively, and the growth momentum continued into July. AI applications are the main driving force, with CSP manufacturers maintaining strong procurement demand for self-developed ASIC platforms such as Google TPU and AWS Trainium, driving continuous growth in demand for high-capacity, low-voltage, small-sized MLCCs.At the same time, Japanese and South Korean suppliers are accelerating the shift of production capacity from consumer-grade X5R to high-end X6S/X7R specifications, resulting in a severe squeeze on the production capacity of mid-to-high capacity (1µF-22µF) consumer-grade MLCCs, with mainstream inventory days generally falling below 30 days. The overflow effect of production capacity has led channels, agents, and second- and third-tier customers to urgently pull goods, significantly increasing order visibility for Taiwanese and mainland suppliers, leading to rising prices, with agents raising prices by an average of 20-25%, and spot market prices have soared to 2-3 times the original price. TrendForce pointed out that the consumer-grade MLCC market currently shows a structural mismatch of "weak end demand, strong channel pricing."

According to The Block, the Japanese listed company Metaplanet has acquired Siiibo Securities, which holds a type of financial product business license, and is authorized to design and sell securities in Japan.Research firm Benchmark pointed out that the market generally views this acquisition of approximately 2.1 billion yen (about 13 million USD) as a small-scale expansion. However, Metaplanet actually plans to use this as a basis to issue Bitcoin collateralized bonds called "Bitbonds" with an annualized interest rate of about 4% to 6%, and subsequently migrate to the blockchain and settle through stablecoins, gradually forming a secondary market. Metaplanet aims to allow companies wishing to adopt a Bitcoin balance sheet strategy to issue bonds on its platform to purchase BTC, and under the "Project Nova" roadmap, to create a new type of financial institution centered around Bitcoin. Currently, the company holds approximately 43,000 BTC, making it the third largest Bitcoin treasury among publicly listed companies globally.

According to Gate market data, the Nikkei 225 index closed up 320.04 points on July 27 (Monday), an increase of 0.5%, reporting at 64,931.19 points.The South Korean KOSPI index also closed up 65.12 points on the same day, an increase of 0.97%, reporting at 6,755.74 points, with SK Hynix rising 3.5% and Samsung Electronics rising 2%.

According to the Nikkei, Seiji Kihara, the head of the Liberal Democratic Party's "Next Generation AI and On-Chain Finance Project Team," stated at a financial summit held in Tokyo that Japan's current 2x leverage limit on cryptocurrency trading is "too strict." The healthy development of the market requires sufficient liquidity and a price discovery mechanism, and relaxing restrictions is an inevitable trend.The project team is promoting adjustments to relevant regulatory policies, aiming to attract more cryptocurrency funds back to the Japanese market by enhancing market liquidity.

Japanese regulatory authorities are advancing the adjustment of the legal framework for digital asset investment. A spot Bitcoin ETF may be approved for listing as early as 2028, but the timeline still depends on the progress of regulation, product review, and tax reform.On July 15, the Japanese Diet approved the transfer of Bitcoin and approximately 105 other crypto assets from the Payment Services Act framework to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, removing a major legal obstacle for related funds to be listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Major Japanese financial groups such as SBI Holdings and Nomura are preparing digital asset products. Japan also plans to adjust the crypto asset tax system from a maximum miscellaneous income tax of 55% to a separate reporting tax system of approximately 20.315%.

According to the Nikkei, Japan's revised Financial Instruments and Exchange Act was passed by a vote in the full session of the House of Councillors on July 15, officially bringing crypto assets (virtual currencies) under the regulatory framework for financial products.While the new law strengthens user protection, it requires exchanges to pay a liability reserve, and the industry generally expects this move to become an important catalyst for industry elimination and consolidation. Saito Masahiko, head of the Financial Services Agency's Market Division, clearly stated that the agency does not endorse crypto asset trading and makes no recommendations.

Noetra, a company developing foundational models for physical AI and robotics supported by the Japanese government, CEO Hironobu Tamba stated in an interview that the company represents Japan's "last chance" to enhance domestic supply capabilities for critical technologies. In its first year, Noetra received over 380 billion yen (approximately 2.33 billion USD) in government funding and support from 44 companies, including SoftBank, Honda, and Sony. The company plans to procure 27,500 Nvidia Rubin chips, starting AI infrastructure construction in April 2027 and commencing operations in June 2028.Tamba stated that Noetra will provide Japanese companies with reliable and secure foundational models, enabling them to manage data independently. The Japanese government's goal is to deploy 10 million AI robots in manufacturing, shipbuilding, nursing, and other fields by 2040, while also advancing key technology projects like the chip foundry company Rapidus to enhance self-sufficiency and technological levels in the Sino-U.S. AI competition.

According to Cointelegraph, Japanese logistics company AZ-COM Maruwa Holdings plans to use the JPYC stablecoin to make payments to approximately 2,300 business partners, potentially becoming the first large-scale enterprise in Japan to use the yen stablecoin JPYC. This stablecoin will be used to pay transportation contractors (including truck drivers) fees and compensation.Since JPYC does not charge transfer fees, using the stablecoin allows for faster and more frequent payments. AZ-COM Maruwa is also considering establishing a partnership with JPYC and plans to invest over 1 billion yen (approximately 6.2 million USD). AZ-COM Maruwa is a medium-sized Japanese logistics company, with major clients including Amazon Japan.

SBI Holdings announced that it has completed the acquisition of a majority stake in the Singapore cryptocurrency platform Coinhako on July 16 and will include it within its consolidated subsidiaries.The transaction has received the necessary approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.