Bitcoin Holds Near $64K as Fear Grips Markets on Record Samsung Chip Profit

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Samsung Electronics reported second-quarter operating profit of 89.4 trillion won, an all-time high that eclipsed the quarterly records of every major global technology firm. Revenue reached 171 trillion won, up 129.3% year over year, marking a third straight quarter of record results. The figure — a 1,810.3% jump from a year earlier — beat consensus estimates near 84.2 trillion won by 6.2%. The official disclosure filed on July 7 showed the semiconductor division drove nearly all group profit. Excluding roughly 20 trillion won in performance-bonus provisions, analysts estimate underlying operating profit approached 110 trillion won for the quarter.

Despite the earnings beat, the KOSPI opened sharply lower, sliding 285.27 points, or 3.54%, to 7,766.06 in early trade. Samsung shares themselves dropped 5.50% to 300,500 won as profit-taking overwhelmed the surprise, while SK Hynix fell 3.03% and Hyundai Motor lost 4.98%. Foreign investors led the retreat, net-selling 248.1 billion won, whereas retail and institutional buyers absorbed 238.5 billion and 11.1 billion won respectively. The sell-off underscored how stretched positioning can turn even record numbers into a sell-the-news event — a dynamic altcoin traders recognize well after every rally that fades on confirmation.

Kolon Industries drew a target-price upgrade to 96,000 won from 83,000 won, with the buy rating maintained, on expectations of a broadening earnings recovery. Second-quarter operating profit is projected at 79.1 billion won, up 75% year over year, with full-year profit seen climbing 105% to 223.3 billion won. Three new growth lines anchor the optimism: m-PPO, a heat-resistant engineering plastic, begins mass production in July for a Taiwanese customer; the China sportswear unit is forecast to grow revenue 40% this year; and colorless polyimide film targets foldable-display demand. The previous close was 57,600 won, leaving room for further upside.

KT retained a buy rating and a 73,000-won target as brokers looked past a soft first half toward an AI-led rebound. Second-quarter revenue is estimated at 6.80 trillion won with operating profit of 576.8 billion won, below consensus, weighed by a customer-compensation program tied to last year's hacking incident that pushed some subscribers to cheaper plans. The company on July 6 unveiled a strategy to become an AX platform company, expanding data-center, network and enterprise AI infrastructure. A 250 billion-won buyback for cancellation and a maintained dividend underpin the case. KT closed at 54,500 won ahead of the note.

The record run traces to a memory supercycle: surging global AI infrastructure spending has deepened chip shortages and pushed demand beyond high-bandwidth memory into conventional DRAM. Samsung began shipping HBM4, its sixth-generation high-bandwidth memory, as the world's first mass-production supplier, lifting its high-value product mix. Backed by the largest memory capacity in the industry, the company has signed successive long-term supply agreements with hyperscalers, blunting earlier peak-out fears. Consensus for Samsung's full-year 2026 operating profit was revised up to 374 trillion won from 366 trillion won. The same compute demand fuels Alphabet and other hyperscalers racing to secure capacity.

Not every large-cap shared the strength. Hanwha Ocean plunged more than 20% intraday after its bid for a Canadian submarine contract fell through, amplifying the broader market shock. Attention now turns to SK Hynix's planned ADR listing, which strategists flag as a catalyst that could either reinforce or undercut the semiconductor earnings momentum steering the index. The through-line is concentration risk: a handful of chip names now dictate the direction of an entire benchmark, much as a few mega-caps in equities — and a small dominant cohort in digital assets — increasingly set the tone for everything trading beneath them.

For crypto, the read-through is about liquidity and risk appetite rather than any single ticker. Bitcoin (BTC) is changing hands near $64,000 as of 10:30 UTC, holding its footing while COINOTAG's aggregate data shows a market still braced for downside: our Fear & Greed Index reads 27, firmly in Fear, and Bitcoin dominance stands at 69.4% of a total crypto market capitalization near $1.85 trillion. That elevated dominance mirrors the equity tape — capital crowding into perceived quality while the long tail lags. The same AI-driven capital-expenditure boom lifting memory makers is the macro current beneath both markets, and flows into emerging AI crypto wallet tools likely stay muted until sentiment turns.