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According to a report by Reuters, influenced by multiple factors such as the tense Sino-U.S. relations, China's push for domestic software alternatives, and U.S. export controls, Microsoft has closed at least 15 branches and joint ventures in China over the past five years, executing a strategic contraction. In 2023, the company internally considered exiting the Chinese market, as some executives believed that "the geopolitical risks outweighed the limited economic returns," but ultimately did not proceed with the exit. Microsoft disclosed in 2024 that its business in China accounted for only about 1.5% of its global revenue.The report states that Microsoft's final decision to remain in China was primarily due to the establishment of a profitable path—providing Azure cloud and AI services to Chinese companies like ByteDance and Shein, helping them operate compliantly in overseas markets. Additionally, the company believes that retaining its business in China remains strategically significant for acquiring engineering talent. However, analysts question the sustainability of this AI business model: the service relies on third-party models like OpenAI, and Chinese companies are increasingly adopting domestic alternatives like Kimi, which offer comparable performance at lower costs.Microsoft's research and development presence in China is also contracting. Its predecessor, Microsoft Research Asia, has successively established new labs in Vancouver, Singapore, and Tokyo. In 2024, the company offered job opportunities to 1,000 top engineers to relocate to the U.S. and three other countries, but only about one-third accepted, with most senior engineers moving to domestic universities and tech companies. A Microsoft spokesperson responded that the company will continue to commit to the Chinese market but did not comment on specific decision details. ByteDance and Shein did not respond to related inquiries.

Grayscale's research director Zach Pandl released a report stating that despite the recent pressure on Bitcoin's price, Grayscale believes its adoption rate will continue to rise in the medium to long term for three reasons:First, the unsustainable growth of U.S. government debt is raising inflation and currency devaluation risks, which may drive various investors towards scarce assets and value storage tools; second, stablecoins and tokenization will make blockchain ubiquitous in financial services. As technology spreads, more intermediaries will have the infrastructure and regulatory conditions necessary to hold and trade Bitcoin, and Bitcoin will no longer be structurally isolated from the mainstream financial system; third, younger investors show a significantly higher preference for digital assets, and alternative investments have become a standard component of investment portfolios. Institutions, wealth management platforms, and individuals will continue to incorporate Bitcoin into diversified portfolios through tools such as exchange-traded products, a process that is already underway.Grayscale emphasizes that this bear market has not changed its expectations for the continued rise in Bitcoin's adoption rate.

SK Hynix has restarted the construction of its second NAND flash memory factory in Dalian, expecting to increase the monthly production capacity in the region by about 50%. The new production line is designed for a monthly capacity of approximately 50,000 wafers, combined with the existing Dalian Plant 1's monthly capacity of 100,000 wafers, bringing SK Hynix's total NAND production capacity in China to about 150,000 wafers per month. The factory began construction four years ago but was paused due to the downturn in the memory chip market and U.S. export restrictions on equipment to China, having only completed the structural framework.The investment in Dalian Plant 2 is driven by SK Hynix's NAND subsidiary Solidigm, with equipment installation expected to start as early as November this year, and plans to establish a mass production system in the first half of next year. Driven by the expansion of AI data centers, demand for enterprise-level SSDs has surged, with NAND prices rising nearly tenfold compared to a year ago, prompting the restart of investments. SK Hynix will adopt a dual-track strategy: the Dalian factory will use Intel's mature floating gate architecture to produce NAND at the hundred-layer level, while domestic factories like Cheongju M17 will focus on advanced NAND production of over 300 layers, the latter having announced an investment of 19.1 trillion won. Industry insiders expect that the equipment configuration of Dalian Plant 2 will be similar to that of Plant 1, maintaining a monthly production capacity in the range of 40,000 to 60,000 wafers.

According to the Economic Daily News, there are market rumors that TSMC plans to acquire AUO's L7 plant (7.5 generation line) and L5C plant (5 generation line), with the transaction amount estimated to exceed 30 billion New Taiwan Dollars (approximately 920 million USD). Both parties are negotiating based on the "Innolux model," and TSMC has sent personnel for on-site audits but has not yet signed a contract announcement. The AUO Zhongke plant is adjacent to TSMC's Zhongke No. 15 plant, providing geographical advantages.The report states that TSMC plans to use CoPoS technology as the next generation of 2.5D advanced packaging after CoWoS, introducing panel-level glass substrate packaging through "transforming round into square" to address the area waste and warping issues of ultra-large AI chips on 12-inch wafers. TSMC's first CoPoS production line has been completed and launched at the Chiayi AP7 plant. Industry insiders believe that panel manufacturers possess experience in handling large substrates and managing production lines, making them providers of "intermediate layer capabilities" for the mass production of advanced packaging.

SK Hynix plans to invest 35.2 trillion won in the second phase of chip factory construction in Yongin, South Korea.

SpaceX plans to build its own power facilities for the large semiconductor manufacturing plant Terafab being developed in Texas. Riley Trettel, who is responsible for energy and data center development, stated that a gas power plant and a large battery array will be constructed to store energy to meet the surging power demand. Elon Musk's companies have long favored vertical integration, and Tesla is also participating in the energy market in Texas.

According to Jinshi reports, Federal Reserve Governor Cook stated that low consumer confidence is related to various factors such as high inflation.

According to Reuters, informed sources say that Changxin Storage is considering building a second 12-inch DRAM wafer fab in Beijing's Yizhuang and is negotiating financing with the Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone and several state-owned technology companies. The company is seeking at least 60 million yuan (approximately 8.9 million USD) in support, but negotiations are still in the early stages, and the scale and structure of the financing may be adjusted.The proposed factory will be located at the site of Changxin Storage's existing DRAM wafer fab in Beijing. The planned production capacity and total investment for the project have not yet been determined, while building a fab capable of producing advanced DRAM typically requires over 10 billion USD. Currently, Changxin Storage operates two 12-inch DRAM wafer fabs in Hefei and one in Beijing, each with a monthly production capacity of about 100,000 wafers. Changxin Storage is also building new factories in Shanghai and Hefei, and once the related projects are fully operational, the company's monthly production capacity could double to over 600,000 wafers.This expansion comes as demand for storage chips is driven by AI infrastructure, data centers, and consumer electronics entering an upward cycle. The company completed an 8.6 billion USD IPO last month, marking the largest fundraising for a semiconductor company listed in mainland China, and its stock price has risen by 13% since going public. Changxin Storage is currently the fourth largest DRAM manufacturer in the world, but Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron together still account for nearly 90% of the global market share in the first quarter. Beijing and Shanghai are also providing funding and other support to Changxin Storage to gain economic and strategic benefits from its expansion.

According to Jinshi News, the European Union has launched a tender today, planning to establish up to 7 artificial intelligence super factories in Europe, which is an important initiative to promote technological autonomy in Europe. The plan is led by the industry and has received up to 10 billion euros in funding support, expected to leverage at least 20 billion euros in private investment.AI super factories will provide infrastructure for various enterprises and institutions, integrating advanced AI processors, software, and cloud technology, further strengthening Europe's leadership position in the technology sector.

According to Jinshi reports, Ukrainian President Zelensky stated that Ukraine has also attacked an export dock and a military factory in Russia's Rostov region.

According to Bloomberg, producing the world's most popular advanced semiconductors requires a large amount of energy and relies on rare mineral resources. A UK AI startup, CuspAI, which was founded just two years ago, is betting that artificial intelligence can optimize this process and has raised nearly $500 million in funding for this purpose.CuspAI announced the establishment of the AI Materials Foundry alliance. This alliance brings together more than 48 tech giants, industrial companies, and research institutions, including Nvidia, Meta, and Hyundai Motor Group. The alliance aims to integrate the computing power resources and research capabilities of its members to jointly develop AI software, helping researchers develop new materials suitable for chip manufacturing and other industries at lower costs and faster speeds, thereby improving the efficiency of material research and accelerating innovation in advanced semiconductors and related industries.

According to FinanceFeeds, security researchers have discovered an information-stealing malware targeting macOS devices that is attacking cryptocurrency users. This malware can hijack Telegram Desktop sessions, steal passwords and wallet databases, further controlling user accounts and stealing digital assets. Currently affected wallets and applications include software wallets like Exodus, Atomic, Electrum, Wasabi, and Monero.The malware is capable of extracting sensitive information from macOS Keychain, Safari Cookies, Apple Notes, Telegram Desktop, and multiple cryptocurrency wallet-related databases, including login credentials, authenticated session files, wallet data, and browser extension information. Security analysis points out that the danger of this attack chain lies in its reliance not on a single wallet vulnerability, but on collecting various types of data from the device, linking device intrusion, account takeover, wallet cracking, and mnemonic phrase theft together. Among these, Telegram Desktop sessions have become a key target.Attackers can copy authenticated Telegram local session data and restore the login on another Mac device without needing to enter a phone number, verification code, or Telegram two-factor authentication password. This means that Telegram 2FA cannot provide complete protection in this attack scenario, as the attacker is not performing a new login but is exploiting an already trusted local session. For cryptocurrency users, the risks are further amplified. Since Telegram is widely used for exchange customer service, project communities, OTC trading, and wallet communication, once attackers gain access to user session permissions, they could impersonate the victim, read private chats, locate asset information, and even spread malicious links to contacts.

Fox Business crypto reporter posted on X platform stating that it is currently unclear what this means for the BRCA provisions, and it is also unclear whether the version passed by the Senate Banking Committee will undergo further modifications.Support from law enforcement has become a key factor in the negotiations of this bill, with some Democratic senators, including @CortezMasto and @MarkWarner, expressing a desire to address the concerns of law enforcement before the legislation receives full support in the Senate.

Coinbase Institutional stated that U.S. non-farm employment was far below expectations, but the escalation of conflicts in the Middle East has brought inflation risks back into focus for the market. The market is shifting towards pricing "higher interest rates for a longer duration," financial conditions are tightening further, long-term risk assets are under pressure, and the probability of another interest rate hike within the year is also increasing.Amid multiple negative factors, BTC only fell by about 2%, and this relatively resilient performance may indicate that the market is undergoing a bottoming process.

According to The Block, the Benchmark Report released by Borderless.xyz for Q2 2026 shows that the delivery quotes for stablecoin cross-border payments in each month of the second quarter were all below the interbank foreign exchange rate midpoint. Data covering 108 countries and 260 payment corridors indicates that the median "parity spread" for the quarter was -3.2 basis points, further widening to -5.9 basis points in June, marking the deepest negative value of the year.The report also shows that the typical delivery cost for a $10,000 cross-border payment in the second quarter was approximately $27, and it has remained around this level for five consecutive months. If companies only connect to a single service provider in the long term, they will pay an average of about $2,330 more compared to the optimal quote for every $1 million payment scale, known as the "routing tax."Regionally, the African market showed the most significant fluctuations, with the price point spread widening by 166 basis points to 512.8 basis points; Latin America compressed to 89.0 basis points, while Asia remained relatively stable at 6.1 basis points. In specific corridors, Malawi experienced a one-day repricing of 5.8% on April 9, with the typical spread jumping from about 296 basis points to 1975 basis points.

According to the Financial Times, Intel (INTC.O) will invest 5 billion euros (approximately 5.7 billion dollars) to expand its factory in Ireland, attempting to regain its dominant position in the manufacturing sector amid the artificial intelligence boom.Intel stated in a press release that this investment will increase the capacity of its facility in the Leixlip campus, located in the suburbs of Dublin, as part of the company's plan to boost data center processor output. The expansion project will enhance the production capacity of products including the flagship Xeon server processors while advancing research and development activities.Intel Executive Vice President Naga Chandrasekaran stated in a press release that this move is also part of the plan to improve the delivery capabilities for Intel's foundry business clients. Intel's foundry business primarily manufactures chips for other technology companies and is a crucial component of the company's revitalization strategy aimed at strengthening competition with rivals like TSMC.

According to the Economic Times, the physical AI startup Mowito has completed a $3 million Pre-Seed round of financing, led by Version One Ventures, with participation from All In Capital, Unisol, and iSeed. AI researcher Soumith Chintala and founders from Foundry Robotics, Coformer.ai, Better Capital, and others participated as angel investors.Mowito was founded in 2024 by Puru Rastogi, Adityanag Nagesh, and Safar V. It builds AI foundational models for industrial robotic arms, addressing the bottleneck of software programming in manufacturing automation by allowing robots to learn tasks through human demonstration rather than explicit programming—engineers do not need to rewrite control code when product lines change. Mowito's software can run on standard, unmodified industrial robots, serving automotive and electronics manufacturing clients. This round of financing will be used for expansion into the U.S. market, expanding engineering and marketing teams, and deepening deployment in manufacturing sites.

According to Digital Daily, South Korean telecom operator KT announced that it will invest approximately 18 trillion won over the next three years, with 12 trillion won allocated for information security, IT, and networks, and 6 trillion won for AI infrastructure, while promoting new businesses in Token Factory and stablecoins.KT plans to create a Token Factory that supports token generation, mediation, and billing, combining a 1GW scale AI data center, a token optimization engine, and billing capabilities; at the same time, it intends to enter the stablecoin digital financial platform market, leveraging K Bank's 16 million customers, BC Card's 3.5 million merchants, and KT's network and security infrastructure to cover issuance, custody, settlement, and actual usage ecosystems.