[News Brief] Jul 24, morning | $797 Billion Wiped Off U.S. Tech Market Caps as Uncertainty Over AI Investment Grows

The ‘Magnificent Seven’ large-cap U.S. tech stocks all declined on Thursday, erasing about $797 billion in market value in a single day, according to Odaily.

Tesla fell 15% and Alphabet dropped 7.1%. The one-day market cap loss among the seven stocks was the largest since April 2025, and their combined value has declined by about $2 trillion from the peak reached in late May.

Markets focused on Alphabet’s higher capital expenditure outlook and Tesla’s plans to expand investment. Investor concerns appear to have intensified over uncertainty about whether increased AI infrastructure spending will translate into actual profits.

Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta are scheduled to report earnings next week, and the market is expected to further assess the performance of their AI investments.

President Trump warned Iran of possible military retaliation and financial sanctions after a Houthi attack on a Saudi oil tanker.

The attack has raised tensions along Middle Eastern shipping routes, increasing concerns over disruptions to global crude supply and energy transport.

The Houthis have previously continued attacks on vessels in the Red Sea and nearby waters, amplifying instability in international shipping and oil transportation.

The Iranian military said it attacked U.S. bases in Bahrain and Jordan with drones as part of Phase 24 of Operation Lightning.

According to Odaily, the Iranian military said in a statement that it struck fuel storage facilities, equipment warehouses, and troop housing at Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain using Arash drones.

It also claimed to have attacked hangars, aircraft maintenance facilities, and troop quarters at Azraq Air Base in Jordan with drones.

Odaily, citing Gate data, reported that WTI crude surged 7% intraday to break above $93 per barrel.

Brent crude also rose more than 5% to $95.31 per barrel. The sharp rise in oil prices could affect inflation pressures and sentiment toward risk assets.

According to Odaily, Japan’s regulators are pushing to overhaul the legal framework for digital asset investment, raising the possibility that spot Bitcoin ETFs could be approved and listed as early as 2028.

On July 15, Japan’s parliament approved a plan to move Bitcoin and about 105 other crypto assets from the Payment Services Act framework to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act framework. The move is seen as removing a key legal obstacle to listing related funds on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Major Japanese financial groups such as SBI Holdings and Nomura are preparing to launch digital asset products. Japan is also considering revising crypto taxation from miscellaneous income tax rates of up to 55% to a separate taxation system of about 20.315%.

The Kospi plunged 6% intraday on July 24, according to PANews.

According to Bybit market data, the Kospi was at 6,669.49 points. SK Hynix fell 7.3%, while Samsung Electronics dropped 8.2%.

According to Odaily, U.S. Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego said he would work with Republicans to propose an alternative to the ethics provisions in the CLARITY Act.

Gallego described the draft released this week as “not a serious proposal.” Earlier, Senate Republicans unveiled a draft of the CLARITY Act that would prohibit all federal officials and President Trump from issuing or endorsing digital assets.

Democrats argue that the ethics provisions are insufficient. Republican Senator Bernie Moreno countered that the draft contains “the strongest ethics language in American history.” Gallego said he would submit new wording for the provision together with Republican figures including Senator Thom Tillis.

The address linked to the Drift attacker deposited 23,095.1 ETH, worth about $44.4 million, into Tornado Cash.

PANews, citing blockchain security firm PeckShield, reported that the address deposited funds into Tornado Cash and also sent 0.85 ETH to Bybit.

Drift was attacked on April 1, 2026, suffering losses of about $285 million.

BlackRock, Coinbase, and seven other institutions have formed the Bitcoin Security Alliance and will provide $15 million over three years to support Bitcoin open-source developers.

According to CoinDesk, participants in the alliance include BlackRock, Fidelity Digital Assets, Coinbase, Strategy, Anchorage Digital, ARK Invest, Block, Blockstream, and Galaxy Digital.

The funding is intended to strengthen the security of the Bitcoin network and the development of core infrastructure. BlackRock previously stated that crypto networks still maintain an edge in responding to quantum computing threats.

According to Odaily, BitMEX is facing a class-action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Plaintiffs BKX Services and David Namdar claim they suffered combined losses of 622.66 BTC due to forced liquidations on BitMEX. BKX said it lost at least 305.81 BTC, while Namdar said he lost at least 316.85 BTC.

The complaint alleges that BitMEX’s internal trading desk had access to customers’ nonpublic information and was able to continue trading during server outages, periods when ordinary users were unable to access the platform, and liquidation events.

The plaintiffs also allege that BitMEX allowed leverage of up to 100x and conducted automatic liquidations even when collateral value was roughly double the loss amount, with remaining BTC allegedly transferred to the platform’s insurance fund.

The plaintiffs are seeking the return of the Bitcoin they claim was retained, as well as compensatory and punitive damages. The proposed class includes U.S. customers who purchased BTC swap products after July 23, 2018.

BitMEX previously announced that it would shut down services on September 23 following a strategic review by owner HDR Global Trading, and it has also stopped accepting new user registrations. The platform also plans to ban users from opening new positions starting August 26.