kpi

On October 13, Paul S. Atkins, Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), issued a statement announcing that the Commission voted that day to approve a proposed rule change by a certain securities exchange, allowing for the listing of binary options based on specific key performance indicators (KPIs) reported by certain stock issuers.According to the approval order, these binary KPI options will be listed and traded on the securities exchange, classified as cash-settled, European-style, standardized options, and recognized as NMS securities, protected under securities law. Their listing and trading methods will be largely similar to existing standardized non-binary options and will be subject to the exchange's rules regarding customer accounts, margin, trading halts, auction mechanisms, market maker designations and quoting obligations, order types, validity periods, and order instructions.The approval order only covers the aforementioned specific binary option contracts traded on exchanges that comply with securities law and the listing and trading of standardized securities options, and does not involve similar products that are based on the same KPIs but have different structures. The statement also noted that the approval order does not address or exclude the jurisdiction of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over contracts based on the same KPIs but designed to fall under its jurisdiction.

According to the South China Morning Post, former U.S. officials stated that Chinese semiconductor factories have stockpiled hundreds of immersion lithography machines worth billions of dollars in recent years and urged Washington and its allies to stop further exports. The Centre for Technology & Statecraft, established in August 2026, released a report in late September estimating that by early 2026, Chinese wafer fabs had acquired approximately 343 immersion deep ultraviolet lithography systems. The report was co-authored by former U.S. export control official Nicholas Brown and former White House and Department of Commerce technology policy advisor Saif Khan.The report estimates that about 270 of these are ASML Twinscan NXT:1980i. The authors claim that although these devices lag behind extreme ultraviolet lithography machines, they can be modified for the production of 7-nanometer logic chips and advanced memory required for artificial intelligence processors (including Huawei's Ascend series). Chinese wafer fabs spent over $13 billion in 2024 to purchase about 90 NXT:1980i units, and acquired another 89 units in 2025. ASML disclosed that, by destination, China accounted for 41% of its net system sales in 2024, 33% in 2025, dropping to 19% in the first quarter of 2026 and 14% in the second quarter.Since September 2023, the Netherlands has required export licenses for the NXT:2000i and more advanced immersion deep ultraviolet equipment, effectively banning these models from being shipped to China; a year later, the licensing requirements were extended to the NXT:1980i, but this model can still be approved for shipment on a case-by-case basis.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg, stablecoin issuer Tether and its existing partners are seeking to raise at least $200 million for a digital asset financial company that will acquire Tether's XAUt token.Insiders revealed that Tether and Singapore-based financial services company Antalpha Platform Holding are leading efforts to raise at least $200 million for DAT. If successful, the platform will use the funds to accumulate Tether's gold token XAUt. Antalpha Platform is a strategic partner of Bitmain.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jin10 data reports, the U.S. Department of Commerce stated on Tuesday that the international trade deficit in March, including goods and services, widened by 14%, reaching a record $140.5 billion after seasonal adjustments, due to businesses rushing to import foreign products before tariffs were imposed by the White House.Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had previously expected the U.S. trade deficit to widen from $127 billion in February to $136 billion.

ChainCatcher news, the modular L2 protocol Layer N announced that it has received a strategic investment from BlackPine. The team stated that this investment marks Layer N's official entry into the Asian market, aiming to expand the availability of native Web3 products in the region.According to the RootData page, Layer N completed a $5 million seed round financing in September this year, led by Founders Fund and dao5.

ChainCatcher news, according to Mashable, the South Korean girl group BLACKPINK will land on the metaverse platform Roblox on August 25, launching a virtual space called "Blackpink the Palace." Players can explore interactive scenes from the group's classic MVs, mine in-game currency, and take selfies with the game avatars of Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa. Fans who visit in the first 24 hours will receive a special badge.