Viewpoint: Chip stocks have become a new driving force for the US stock market's bull run, and the S&P 500 is expected to break through the 8,000-point mark.

According to on-chain data from Visa, in the first half of 2026, Circle’s stablecoin USDC accounted for approximately 70% of adjusted stablecoin trading volume, further widening its lead over rival Tether’s USDT. In the same period, USDT held a roughly 25% share. The data shows adjusted stablecoin trading volume hit a record $1.79 trillion in June, up 63% from $1.1 trillion in May and 125% from around $795 billion in June 2025. When calculating adjusted trading volume, Visa excludes bot activity, exchange transfers, and other blockchain transactions that do not reflect genuine economic activity. The data release comes as banks and other financial institutions expand their use of stablecoins in payments, settlements, and fund management. Standard Chartered and BNY Mellon recently added services related to Circle’s USDC rather than building their own infrastructure, reflecting that amid rising activity and demand for fiat-pegged digital assets, financial institutions are increasingly leveraging established stablecoin networks. Adjusted stablecoin trading volume totaled $8.82 trillion in the first six months of this year, higher than the full-year 2024 figure of $5.8 trillion, but still roughly $2 trillion lower than the 2025 record of $10.8 trillion. In 2020, USDT once accounted for nearly 90% of adjusted trading volume, while USDC held less than 10%; by 2022, USDC’s share had risen to around 45%.

US President Donald Trump said: "Some short sellers are in deep trouble and are being liquidated. I have never liked short sellers because they are betting against the country."

Federal Reserve Governor Waller said the Federal Reserve will not deliberately keep interest rates low to help the U.S. government finance its fiscal deficit, noting that it is reasonable to consider setting an inflation target range. Fed Chair Walsh is reaffirming the Fed’s commitment to the 2% inflation target, and favors setting an inflation target range, but adjusting the inflation target at this stage would undermine the central bank’s credibility. (Jinshi)

According to HTX market data, Ethereum has broken through the $1,800 threshold, posting a 1.4% gain in the past 24 hours.

Nvidia has denied a report from SemiAnalysis regarding product delays, stating that its AI chip roadmap remains on track.

According to market data from BIT (bit.com), crypto-related stocks in the US equities market rose broadly during intraday trading. BitMine (BMNR) gained 8.25%, Circle (CRCL) rose 7.18%, MARA increased 6.21%, Sharplink (SBET) climbed 5.93%, Robinhood (HOOD) advanced 4.48%, and Bullish (BLSH) was up 2.76%.