The South Korean stock market has experienced a significant surge, prompting some retirees to withdraw their pension funds and borrow money to invest in stocks. According to PANews, these individuals are leveraging their investments heavily, focusing on major companies such as Samsung and SK Hynix. This trend reflects a high-risk approach as retirees gamble their pensions in pursuit of potential stock market gains.

Bitcoin's market capitalization percentage has finally become a tradable asset, marking the first version of a broader form of trading.

SpaceX has chosen Goldman Sachs to participate in its record-breaking initial public offering (IPO), according to a prospectus filed by the company on Wednesday. The transaction is expected to yield significant financial returns and could position Goldman Sachs as the lead underwriter for other high-profile IPOs, such as those of OpenAI and Anthropic. SpaceX's IPO is anticipated to be the largest in history, with the company's valuation reaching $1.25 trillion in its latest acquisition round. Goldman Sachs will hold the prominent 'lead left' position in the IPO prospectus, likely overseeing the final allocation, pricing, and valuation of shares, and receiving the largest share of underwriting fees. Matt Kennedy, a senior IPO strategist at Renaissance Capital, noted that executing a transaction of this magnitude could be complex but highly lucrative. Sources indicate that SpaceX's IPO is expected to be at least twice the size of Alibaba's $25 billion IPO in 2014, which paid $300.4 million in commissions to underwriting banks, about 1.2% of the total transaction size. Other major IPOs, such as Meta's in 2012 and Uber's in 2019, also had underwriting fees slightly above 1%. Based on similar rates, SpaceX's IPO could generate over $500 million in underwriting fees. For context, Goldman Sachs reported total equity underwriting revenue of $535 million last quarter.

IOTrader, a project on the BNB Smart Chain, has announced the completion of a $3.8 million strategic funding round. According to Odaily, the round was led by Animoca Brands and ViaBTC Capital, with participation from Everwood Capital, CANDAQ, WAGMI Ventures, Credit Scend, and Web3 Labs. The project focuses on integrating perpetual futures, prediction markets, custom event markets, and AI-assisted trading into a single wallet experience on the BNB Smart Chain. The platform has achieved a cumulative trading volume exceeding $1 billion. Its smart contracts have undergone a third-party security audit, and its token whitepaper has been submitted to the Central Bank of Ireland under the EU MiCA framework.

Kate Fraher, the former chief risk officer of Silvergate, has decided to settle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2024 to circumvent a lengthy court battle. According to Cointelegraph, Fraher faced allegations of misleading investors regarding anti-money laundering protocols and the bank's oversight of cryptocurrency clients. In her initial public remarks on Wednesday concerning the settlement, Fraher asserted that no financial institution had demonstrated a failure in Silvergate's anti-money laundering measures. She chose to settle to "move forward," agreeing to a civil penalty of $250,000 and accepting a five-year prohibition from serving as a company executive or board director. Fraher highlighted the intense pressure exerted by the process, noting the personal impact, including being de-banked and having credit lines abruptly closed. These tactics, she claimed, were designed to disrupt daily life and enforce compliance. Her comments shed light on the circumstances surrounding Silvergate's voluntary closure following FTX's collapse. Fraher's ability to speak out came after the SEC lifted the longstanding "gag rule" on Monday. She clarified that the wind-down was not due to a "bank run" or market volatility from FTX's November 2022 collapse, despite the bank experiencing a deposit run of approximately 70%. Instead, Fraher attributed the decision to the "broader administrative and regulatory pressure" on the digital asset industry, which rendered operating a viable business unfeasible. The situation has been dubbed "Operation Chokepoint 2.0" by industry experts, referring to an alleged strategy by U.S. financial regulators to sever banking services for crypto companies, thereby hindering their operations within the financial system. Silvergate was not alone in facing these stringent measures, which intensified post-FTX's collapse. Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank also closed in early 2023, partly due to deposit runs, liquidity stress, and contagion effects linked to FTX and several bankrupt crypto lending platforms in 2022. However, Fraher noted that by early 2023, Silvergate had weathered the FTX collapse by restructuring with "appropriate capital levels" and a "right-sized workforce" to ensure safe operations. Fraher commended the SEC's current leadership under Paul Atkins for abolishing the gag rule, which she deemed an "unconstitutional policy." "I am glad the right to speak the truth has finally been restored," Fraher stated, emphasizing the need to discuss the long-term professional and personal toll imposed on individuals by regulation through enforcement.

Business activity in the euro area has contracted at the fastest rate in two and a half years, raising concerns about the economic impact of the ongoing conflict in Iran. Bloomberg posted on X, highlighting the growing apprehension among economists and policymakers about the potential repercussions on the region's economic stability. The decline in business activity underscores the challenges faced by the euro area as it navigates geopolitical tensions and their effects on economic performance.

Fireblocks is deepening its push into AI-powered finance with the launch of its new Agentic Payments Suite, a platform designed to help autonomous AI agents send, receive, and manage payments using stablecoins.

OpenAI will invest more than S$300 million to expand Singapore’s AI ecosystem, including opening its first overseas Applied AI Lab and creating more than 200 technical jobs. Singapore is also deepening AI partnerships with global firms including Google to boost AI adoption, workforce training, healthcare research, and public services.

Eurozone economic activity in May contracted at the fastest pace in two and a half years, as the war-induced surge in living costs hit service sector demand and pushed overall input price inflation to a three-and-a-half-year high. According to Jin10, the latest data shows that the Eurozone's composite PMI preliminary reading for May fell from 48.8 to 47.5, marking the lowest level since October 2023 and falling short of market expectations of 48.8. This indicates that private sector activity in the Eurozone has contracted for the second consecutive month. The preliminary PMI for the Eurozone's service sector dropped from 47.6 to 46.4. Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, stated, "The preliminary PMI survey data for May shows that the Middle East war is increasingly damaging the Eurozone economy. The survey data suggests that the Eurozone economy is likely to contract by 0.2% in the second quarter." Williamson added, "The service sector has been particularly hard hit due to the surge in living costs caused by the war, especially the rise in energy prices, which has weakened demand."

The Eurozone's manufacturing sector showed signs of slowing down in May, with the preliminary Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) coming in at 51.4. According to Jin10, this figure is below the anticipated 51.8 and marks a decline from the previous month's reading of 52.2. The PMI is a key indicator of economic health in the manufacturing sector, with a reading above 50 indicating expansion. The latest data suggests a deceleration in growth, raising concerns about the region's economic momentum.

Crypto researchers provide a brief overview of 10 emerging Hyperliquid native protocols that are attracting attention.

Samsung, Artificial Intelligence, The First Large-Scale Strike in the AI ​​Era Originated from the Factory That Creates AI. Golden Finance: A true train to the future cannot have only a brightly lit engine.

In the early hours of May 21, NVIDIA released its financial report for the first quarter of fiscal year 2027. This is not just a company's report card; it's more like a pulse gauge for the global artificial intelligence industry.

HSBC CEO Georges Elhedery told staff that AI will remove some jobs but also create new ones, urging employees to accept the change rather than resist it. He said the bank is focusing on retraining workers so they can use AI tools and become more productive in their roles.

MovitOn is pitching a bold new vision for blockchain utility: transforming ordinary travelers into a decentralized global delivery network powered by AI, smart contracts, and crypto payments.

SpaceX is poised to become the largest IPO in history with a valuation of $1.75 trillion. Starlink is a core cash cow, projected to generate $11.4 billion in revenue and achieve an EBITDA margin of 63% by 2025, with over 10.3 million users. However, the xAI acquisition has been a significant drag, resulting in a loss of $6.4 billion in 2025.

SpaceX’s IPO filing revealed the company holds 18,712 Bitcoin worth about $1.45 billion, making it one of the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin holders. The filing also showed SpaceX lost $4.28 billion in the first quarter of 2026 while continuing to spend heavily on rockets, AI infrastructure and Starlink expansion.