According to BlockBeats, the Korea Exchange (KEX) will officially launch after-hours trading for exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on September 14th, starting August 7th. The KEX aims to compete with alternative trading systems like Nextrade and 24/7 cryptocurrency exchanges.

In response, asset management firms have warned that the lack of real-time fund net asset value estimates could widen the price deviation of ETFs; the industry had previously called on the Korea Exchange to postpone the launch of this service. Individual stock leveraged ETFs will not be included in the scope of after-hours trading.

According to BlockBeats, on August 7, the Moscow Exchange (MOEX) is preparing to launch a digital custody system (digital custodian platform) for crypto assets. This plan has been confirmed by several securities industry professionals and people close to the Moscow Exchange.

This digital custody system will not be based on existing trading platform architecture, nor will it be incorporated into the Russian National Depository and Settlement Authority (NSD). Instead, it will operate as an independent infrastructure. The specific model is still under discussion, and the future Russian legal crypto market may see the formation of multiple digital asset liquidity centers, including Moscow-based exchanges and platforms affiliated with large financial institutions.

Sources say the digital custody system is expected to launch by the end of 2026 or early 2027. Previously, several major Russian banks, including Sberbank, VTB, T-Bank, and Alfa-Bank, had also announced plans to build digital asset custody infrastructure.

According to the plan, each brokerage client will have an anonymous account in the digital custody system, essentially similar to an on-chain wallet address used to record investors' crypto assets. Some market participants plan to conduct crypto asset trading solely through their own custody systems, while others are considering a hybrid model of "trading through trading platforms and digital custody by banks or brokerages."

According to BlockBeats, the US July non-farm payrolls report will be released on August 7th. The market expects an increase of approximately 80,000 to 83,000 jobs, with the unemployment rate remaining at 4.2%. However, recent employment data has shown a clear divergence. Initial jobless claims in the US for the week ending August 1st fell to 199,000, marking the third consecutive week below 200,000, and corporate layoffs also declined significantly in July. However, the ADP report only added 44,000 private sector jobs, the lowest level since the beginning of the year, indicating that corporate hiring has not expanded in tandem. More importantly, the US labor force participation rate has fallen to 61.5%, the lowest since March 2021. Therefore, the 4.2% unemployment rate cannot be simply attributed to a strong labor market; some stability stems from a simultaneous slowdown in labor supply.

Against this backdrop, tonight's non-farm payrolls data will not primarily impact the market with the number of new jobs, but rather whether employment, wages, and the unemployment rate will simultaneously reinforce the Federal Reserve's concerns about inflation. Fed Chair Mossaleem stated that the likelihood of inflation persistently exceeding the target is increasing and hinted at a rate hike at the recent FOMC meeting; the market has even begun to discuss whether Warsh might raise rates at the September meeting if recent inflation data remains strong and borrowing costs are expected to rise. This makes the policy linkage between employment and inflation data even more crucial.

Meanwhile, Warsh's weakening of forward guidance forces the market to rely more on economic data to judge the Fed's policy response function. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon supports this reform, believing that re-examining the Fed's policy framework is crucial. However, he also warns that the market has accumulated significant financing through prime brokers, hedge funds, ETFs, and Treasury arbitrage, resulting in high overall leverage. When policy communication decreases and market leverage remains high, any changes in interest rate expectations could be transmitted to asset prices more quickly.

Enterprises also face challenges related to capital costs. Alphabet plans to raise up to $25 billion through the issuance of investment-grade bonds, while Tesla continues to advance the construction of its TeraFab in Texas. AI and computing infrastructure still require significant capital investment. On the other hand, the Democratic Republic of Congo's ban on the export of copper and cobalt concentrates and the risks associated with the Strait of Hormuz have not been fully eliminated. Constraints on energy and key raw material supplies may further drive up infrastructure construction costs. This means that global capital markets are facing not only interest rate issues, but also simultaneous pressure from funding, energy, and raw material costs.

For the crypto market, this environment means that highly volatile assets like Bitcoin remain highly sensitive to dollar liquidity, long-term yields, and global risk appetite. If the non-farm payroll data and subsequent inflation data reinforce expectations of interest rate hikes, the market will face pressure not only from the policy rate itself, but also from the repricing of overall risk-free rates and financing costs. Conversely, if employment and inflation cool down simultaneously, it will provide more clear policy space for risk assets. Therefore, what we really need to observe in tonight's non-farm payroll data is how the data will change the Fed's response function, and how this change will ultimately be transmitted to the dollar, long-term yields, and global capital costs.

According to BlockBeats, on August 7th, the South Korean government was reviewing a plan to set the import ratio of Middle Eastern crude oil at 60% or less in its "Basic Resource Security Plan." This plan comes at a time when South Korea's oil industry is suffering significant losses.

In the first half of this year, the Strait of Hormuz was disrupted due to the Middle East wars, causing crude oil and oil prices to surge. Last year, South Korea's dependence on Middle Eastern crude oil was about 70%, and the current goal is to reduce that to 60% or below to diversify its import sources. (Jinshi)