WTI crude oil dropped below the $80 mark, down 0.57% on the day.

Duan Yongping responded to recent queries about shifts in his Pop Mart holdings on Chinese investment platform Xueqiu yesterday, clarifying he has "never directly sold a single share of Pop Mart." After purchasing some of the stock, he directly sells call options, a strategy essentially identical to selling put options. Duan explained that when his short put positions approach their upper limit, he adopts the "buy stock + sell call" tactic; if the calls are assigned at expiration, the outcome is fundamentally the same as if puts had been exercised at expiration. He added that he may stick to similar strategies for a long time, with Pop Mart’s current option premium standing at roughly 5% per month. On Pop Mart’s long-term value, Duan remarked, "Looking at the long term, I don’t think Pop Mart’s current price is expensive; I have no idea about the short term." He noted this is the core logic behind his option strategy. This approach may result in lower returns, but it is a relatively conservative strategy; he may adjust his tactics if future premiums decline. Duan also stressed he has no plans to sell Pop Mart at a specific time or price, "and may not have such plans for a very long time." He further disclosed that selling puts is just one of his investment strategies, and he has used similar methods across other investments; roughly 80% to 90% of his past Apple stock holdings were likely acquired via put options. In response to recent market questions about his "simultaneous reduction and increase of holdings," Duan’s earlier comments clarify that these holding changes mainly stem from trading mechanisms like option expirations and exercises, and do not signal a long-term bearish outlook on Pop Mart.

According to multiple current and former U.S. officials, over the past year, Israel has repeatedly warned U.S. intelligence agencies and the White House that Iran is plotting to assassinate former President Donald Trump, with the warnings even detailing specific methods including snipers, hitmen, and shoulder-fired missile attacks. The warnings reportedly began in June 2025, on the eve of the Israel-Iran conflict, and increased significantly in February this year before the U.S. decided to take military action against Iran. In July this year, Israel also warned that Iran could target Air Force One with a shoulder-fired missile during Trump’s attendance at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey. The U.S. subsequently implemented enhanced security measures and moved Trump to another aircraft. However, multiple sources familiar with the matter said the CIA has been unable to independently verify the specific assassination intelligence provided by Israel, assessing it as "low confidence." Turkey also stated that its intelligence agency found no evidence to corroborate the threats at the time. Even so, the intelligence still influenced the Trump administration’s Iran policy. Sources said that when Trump decided to take military action against Iran in February this year, the assassination warning provided by Israel was one of the decision-making references. Currently, tensions between the U.S. and Iran are further spilling over into the economic sphere. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said a series of major measures targeting Iran will be announced next week, including further tightening economic sanctions and restricting the flow of goods in and out of Iranian ports through continuous military intercepts in the Strait of Hormuz.

Goldman Sachs released a report stating that Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) reported Q2 revenue of $3 billion, up 36% year-over-year and 20% quarter-over-quarter, exceeding both the bank’s and market expectations, as well as management’s QoQ guidance of 14% to 16%. During the period, gross margin stood at 25.3%, higher than the bank’s (21%) and market’s (21.4%) expectations, and also above management’s 20% to 22% guidance range. Goldman Sachs noted that the QoQ revenue growth was mainly driven by increased wafer shipments and higher average selling prices, while management attributed the gross margin improvement to a better product mix and rising average selling prices. For Q3 guidance: revenue is projected to grow 2% to 4% QoQ, in line with Goldman’s and market expectations; gross margin guidance of 26% to 28% outpaces both the bank’s and market forecasts. The bank maintained a "Buy" rating on SMIC, holding a positive view on the company’s long-term growth prospects, driven by rising demand from local fabless semiconductor clients and AI-related opportunities. Goldman Sachs set a Hong Kong-listed share target price of HK$135. (Jinshi)

According to monitoring by ai_9684xtpa, a Bitcoin (BTC) whale that has held its position for roughly three years appears to be initiating a sell-off. Address bc1q7…jvlgw deposited 158.7 BTC to Coinbase eight hours ago, valued at approximately $10.01 million. The funds trace back to address 3JLdM…jEp9L, which withdrew BTC from Kraken on March 11, 2023, and has held the asset long-term since. During the current bull market, this address once posted unrealized gains exceeding $15.31 million. If all 158.7 BTC transferred to Coinbase are sold, the whale is projected to realize a profit of around $6.206 million, a figure that marks a more than 40% drop from its peak unrealized gains.

According to Bloomberg, fintech firm Chime Financial is exploring adding stablecoins as a new feature to its consumer banking platform, the latest sign that stablecoin adoption is expanding further beyond the crypto market into everyday payments. Sources familiar with the matter disclosed that Chime invited blockchain technology companies to submit proposals in late spring this year, aiming to deliver end-to-end stablecoin wallet services. It remains unclear which technology supplier Chime will ultimately select, nor the specific stablecoin products and functionalities it will roll out.

This whale, who held 2.93M $HYPE($163.37M), is selling $HYPE again! 2 weeks ago, he sold 1.03M $HYPE ($57.44M). 1 hour ago, he sold another 923,743 $HYPE($53.02M). He still holds 969,595 $HYPE ($55.5M).