US side says Russia-Ukraine peace talks have made progress, Bitcoin remains volatile, and US major stock indexes are mixed.

According to Bitget market data, South Korea’s KOSPI index opened 101.87 points higher on Wednesday, October 21, rising 1.83% to 5654.61 points. SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics each gained around 3%.

Citadel Securities’ Head of Equity and Derivatives Strategy Scott Rubner said that after the U.S. midterm elections, investors are expected to re-enter positions in AI-related stocks, driving this recently sell-off-hit investment theme to outperform the broader market next month. Currently, institutional clients tend to wait for political uncertainty to subside, while retail investors continue to actively buy the dip. During an interview with Bloomberg TV on Tuesday at Citadel Securities’ Global Markets Future Forum in New York, Rubner noted that investors generally view midterm elections as a critical event to clarify risks, and the post-election period could be when AI stocks regain their lead. He added that the message from clients is: “Willing to buy at higher prices, but don’t want to enter the market now ahead of major political events.” This reflects that some funds would rather wait for market clarity than rush to deploy capital amid the recent pullback.

According to people familiar with the matter, Nvidia (NVDA.O) is in talks to invest in Australian AI cloud service provider Firmus, with the potential deal valued at hundreds of millions of dollars. Firmus abruptly pulled its IPO plan earlier this month. The negotiations signal that Nvidia may continue to back a cohort of cloud computing firms that have not yet been fully market-proven, the so-called Neocloud (new AI cloud service providers). These companies previously took on heavy debt to purchase Nvidia GPUs and deploy them in data centers, and are now facing mounting financial pressure. Analysts note that Nvidia has committed more than $170 billion in funding to these firms and other large clients, including extending credit guarantees to help customers secure debt financing. (The Information)

OKX-ICE Joint Venture Co-Chair Andrew Cuomo stated that issuers’ opposition to tokenized stock trading is a “normal reaction,” noting that it is expected for companies to adopt a wait-and-see approach. The growing number of firms refusing to allow their stocks to participate in tokenized transactions is a foreseeable scenario in the process of testing new market structures. Cuomo, who also serves on OKX’s board of directors and is a former New York State Governor, made the remarks during a Tuesday media conference call, after Microsoft, Alphabet, and Goldman Sachs joined the opposition. “This is a very normal reaction. The model is designed to give companies the right to decide for themselves whether to participate, and they can choose to join or opt out,” he said. He added: “We have always anticipated that, as this is a transformative, impactful change, many companies will choose to wait and see how things develop rather than be among the first participants.” A public notice released Monday shows that a total of 16 companies oppose the trading of tokenized versions of their stocks on the OKXICE platform, a planned joint launch by crypto exchange OKX and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), parent company of the New York Stock Exchange. The seven newly disclosed opposing firms include Microsoft, Alphabet, Goldman Sachs, Qualcomm, Caterpillar, McDonald’s, and Western Digital. Earlier, companies such as Broadcom, Verizon, and UnitedHealth Group had also raised objections.

According to Axios, after meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff will present a peace plan to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Bitcoin yield platform HoneyB’s developer Nectar Group has raised $5 million in a seed funding round led by Portal Ventures, with participation from Peer Venture Partners, Anchorage Digital Ventures, an unnamed family office, and angel investors. Nectar Group co-founder and CEO Josh Gordon disclosed that the company launched the financing round at the end of Q4 2025 and closed it in early Q3 2026. Gordon noted the round used a Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE) structure, accompanied by a 1:1 token subscription warrant, and carried a post-money valuation of $30 million. He also stated that none of the investors secured board seats, board observer status, or advisory roles.