The Spot Price of Gold and Silver Continues to Fall

The Bank of Korea (BOK) said Monday it will partner with LS MnM, Korea Exchange (KRX), and Korea Securities Depository (KSD) to purchase domestically produced gold for the first time in 13 years via over-the-counter (OTC) transactions. The move comes as geopolitical risks have heightened South Korea’s need to diversify its foreign exchange reserves. LS MnM and Korea Zinc produce around 40 to 45 tons of gold annually as a smelting byproduct, with roughly 10% exported. The central bank noted it will consider using KRX’s trading and settlement systems and the warehousing facilities currently under development by KSD to purchase some of the exported gold, provided relevant companies submit applications. The BOK said it will arrange bulk transactions after prior consultations on price and volume to limit impacts on domestic gold prices, adding the new channel should reduce foreign exchange risks, as previous overseas gold purchases were paid in U.S. dollars. Additionally, the central bank acquired a small amount of gold ETFs in the second quarter. As of July, its gold holdings remained unchanged at 104.4 tons. South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves stood at $427.36 billion at the end of June, including $4.79 billion in gold reserves. (Jin10)

On August 3, Kimi (Yuezhi Anmian) plans to submit its Hong Kong IPO application as early as this month, with a potential fundraising of around $3 billion. In response, Kimi stated that the news is untrue.

0G treasury firm ZeroStack’s 10-Q filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) shows that as of June 30, the company held $2.6 million in cash, had a working capital deficit of $600,000, accumulated net losses of $339.1 million, and recognized $82.5 million in fair value losses on digital assets. It projects a net loss of $61.3 million for the first half of 2026. The filing further reveals that as of the same date, ZeroStack held 75.1 million 0G (Zero Gravity) tokens, with a total cost of $163.3 million, while their fair value stood at just $15.2 million – a roughly 91% drop from the book cost. The company stated that its current operations rely mainly on 0G staking rewards and token sales, and its future financing capacity will depend on 0G’s price performance and market trading liquidity. Public information shows that ZeroStack is a listed treasury company taking 0G as its core reserve asset, not the official or development team of the 0G project. By holding and staking large volumes of 0G to participate in the ecosystem, its operating performance is highly correlated with the price trend of the 0G token.

A new survey commissioned by crypto firm Coinbase and conducted by Focaldata shows that more than half of Americans believe consumers would receive better protection if Congress passes the crypto industry’s most important current regulatory bill. Additionally, 36% of respondents say they are more inclined to vote for a candidate who supports this bill, including 38% of Democratic-leaning voters and 41% of Republican-leaning voters. Only 14% of respondents say they would be less likely to support such a candidate, while roughly half of the remaining respondents are neutral or undecided.

JPMorgan strategists hold that as market performance broadens across more sectors, tech stocks or AI-related equities are unlikely to serve as the primary drivers of market returns in the second half of the year. The team led by Mislav Matejka stated that most of the sell-off in momentum trading has likely concluded, with semiconductor stocks now near oversold levels. The team wrote in the report: "As earnings per share momentum remains upward, this should help stabilize related stocks." However, it projects that market performance will continue to spread to additional sectors, and reiterated that amid heightened geopolitical tensions, investors are advised to buy on dips.

According to market data from BIT (Bit.com), Micron Technology (MU.O) fell 1.5% in pre-market trading on the US stock market.