Enrique Abeyta:

The Biggest IPO You Never Heard About

Just last week, a company completed a historically large public offering, second only to SpaceX. That company is SK Hynix (SKHY), one of the most important names in the future of AI.

But its IPO last week barely registered outside of Wall Street. There were no countdowns. No viral X posts. No endless television coverage. Most people didn’t even realize that it happened.

Unlike Nvidia, which designs the graphics processors, SK Hynix manufactures the specialized memory chips that allow those processors to perform at their full potential.

For every ChatGPT answer, AI-generated image, and data center training the next generation of LLMs, staggering amounts of information must move between processors and memory almost instantaneously.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the story is that SK Hynix wasn't forced to come to Wall Street because it desperately needed cash. The company is already generating billions of dollars in annual profits while trading at a valuation that remains modest compared with many of today's AI leaders.

SK Hynix offers a valuable lesson: Some of history's greatest businesses quietly build extraordinary economics long before they become household names. Sometimes, the companies making the biggest difference are the ones doing the least talking.

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Davis Wilson:

New York Imposes First-in-the-Nation Statewide Freeze on ‘Hyperscale’ Data Centers

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) is imposing the nation’s first-ever statewide freeze on new “hyperscale” data centers.

Hochul is pausing state-level environmental permits for “up to” a year to give the state time to put together a framework to protect the environment, the energy grid and New Yorkers’ electric bills, her office said.

Hochul aides told reporters that the pause would apply to data centers that can use 50 megawatts or more of power.

“As data center development threatens to hike up utility bills, deplete our natural resources, and create uncertainty for New Yorkers, it’s my responsibility to take action and lead,” the governor said in a written statement.

“New York will lead the way in creating the strongest standards in the nation for data center development, ensuring that when companies succeed because of New York, New Yorkers succeed too,” she added.

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Greg Guenthner:

Bitcoin Ticks Up to $64K Following Largest Inflation Slowdown in Six Years

Bitcoin ticked above $64,000 Tuesday morning, after a widely watched inflation gauge showed consumer prices cooling more than expected in June – bolstering expectations that the Federal Reserve will leave interest rates untouched at the conclusion of its next policy meeting.

The Consumer Price Index fell 0.4% month-over-month in June, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Tuesday. Economists expected the index, which tracks price changes across a broad range of goods and services, to post a 0.1% decline for the period.

Following the report’s release, Bitcoin steadied around $64,300, up 2.3% on the day. Bitcoin’s price surge nevertheless lagged behind Ethereum, which posted a 5.4% increase to around $1,890 during the same timeframe.

The largest one-month decrease in consumer prices since April 2020 was prompted by falling energy costs, the inflation snapshot indicated, offsetting a rise in food and shelter costs. On an annual basis, inflation slowed to 3.5%, decreasing for the first time in five months.

Fabian Dori, CIO at crypto bank Sygnum, said that the government’s latest inflation numbers represent “the first real indication that the energy-driven impulse from the spring is fading rather than broadening.”

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