Bitmine Immersion Technologies founder and chairman Tom Lee has singled out Ethereum as an asset that will benefit from the spread of artificial intelligence. He said broader AI adoption will increase demand for safeguards to control systems, and consumers are unlikely to trust governments, big tech companies or banks to play that role. He reiterated his view in a chairman’s message, while market data showed heavy selling in global semiconductor stocks and declines in major cryptocurrencies.

Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are seen as maintaining a structural competitive edge over Japanese semiconductor companies even in the AI memory era, a Bain Capital executive said. Yuji Sugimoto (스기모토 유지), head of Bain Capital Japan, attributed their strength to chaebol-led top-down leadership and ownership structures that enable swift decisions on large-scale investment. He discussed Kioxia’s turnaround after Bain led a consortium buyout of Toshiba Memory.