The market expects Anthropic to announce its IPO before November 2026. The company has attracted significant investment by selling its "AI safety" core. The question now is: Can a trillion-dollar valuation coexist with its safety promises?
First Squawk | It Before Beer
> Spicy Take: An AI safety company going public is like a fitness trainer opening a bubble tea shop—the intention is noble, but the KPI of the capital market won't wait for you to slowly "align."
Brands Start Using AI Virtual Influencers to Promote Products on Social Media
From virtual models to virtual spokespersons, AI-generated "influencers" are becoming the new standard for brand marketing. Low cost, high controllability, and never making a misstep—a nightmare for real-life influencers is here.
The Guardian
Musk: The Future Will Cost "Septillion Dollars" (1024) to Manufacture Antimatter for Interstellar Travel
Musk tweeted that by then, "everything will no longer be measured in dollars, only mass and energy." NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman publicly expressed support for antimatter propulsion research. It sounds crazy, but it's entirely feasible physically—it's just that each gram of antimatter currently costs about $62.5 trillion.
Elon Musk
> Spicy Take: When Musk starts talking about "septillion," it means he already finds "trillion" insufficiently stimulating. Next time, he might just quote prices in Planck units.
Crypto / Web3
Iranian Military Announces Closure of Strait of Hormuz Again, Accuses Israel of Violating Ceasefire Agreement
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard warned ships not to approach the strait, or their "safety cannot be guaranteed." However, ship tracking data showed vessels were still transiting north and south routes on June 20th, with the southern route resuming activity for the first time in weeks. Trump threatened to charge a "guardian angel service fee" for ships passing through the strait.
Hot Topic: The market is debating whether this "closure" is a real blockade or a bargaining chip, as ships are still actually transiting.
BBC | CNN | Lloyd's List Intelligence
Iran Resumes Crude Loading at Kharg Island, U.S. Naval Blockade Ends, Up to 20 Million Barrels of Crude to Flow into Market
As U.S.-Iran negotiations progress, Iran's largest export terminal has resumed loading. This batch of crude entering the market may ease recent oil price pressure, but the Strait of Hormuz situation remains unstable.
First Squawk
Chips / Hardware
Goldman Sachs Warns: $5.3 Trillion AI Capital Expenditure Nearing Credit Saturation
Corporates are beginning "compute cost reduction." Goldman Sachs warned that massive AI infrastructure investment may be hitting credit limits. This contrasts with the previous narrative of an "unstoppable AI arms race."
Wall Street News
Tech Companies
Cloudflare Launches AI Agent Temp Account Feature
Allows AI agents to temporarily access Cloudflare services without manual registration, lowering the barrier for automated workflows. The developer community responded enthusiastically, viewing this as a crucial step for "agent infrastructure."
Cloudflare Blog
Google IPv6 Traffic Exceeds 50%
Global internet traffic has officially entered the IPv6 era, with Google becoming the first major internet company to have over half its traffic come from IPv6. Years after IPv4 address exhaustion, migration has finally reached a tipping point.
APNIC
Hyundai Motor Group Plans to Acquire 9.65% of Boston Dynamics for 500 Billion Won, Turning It into a Wholly-Owned Subsidiary
SoftBank will exit completely, with Hyundai doubling down on robotics. Boston Dynamics' path to commercialization remains rocky, but Hyundai appears prepared for long-term investment.
IT Home
U.S. Stocks
Retail Investors Pour $370 Million into SpaceX IPO in Three Days, One of the Largest Retail Buying Frenzies for a New Stock in History
After SpaceX's listing, retail investors flocked in, with the net purchase scale of $SPCX stock setting a new record. A perfect combination of Musk's aura, space fever, and FOMO.
First Squawk
Finance / Macro
Europe's First Post-Crisis Era CLO Equity Default Sounds Alarm in Credit Market
A bottom-tier bond in a European leveraged loan CLO managed by a Bain Capital affiliate defaulted, the first since regulatory reforms post-2008. Markets fear this could be a signal of a credit cycle turning point.
First Squawk
Ukraine Attacks Oil Facilities in Crimea and Krasnodar Region, All Fuel Stations in Crimea Suspend Sales
The Governor of Crimea announced fuel is reserved for government and security agencies only, with supply to individuals and businesses suspended. Ukraine continues to strike Russian energy infrastructure.
Zelenskyy Statement
Nomura Warns: "Warsh Debut" Could Be a Once-in-a-Decade Turning Point, Beware "Preemptive Hike" Evolving into "Substantive Tightening"
The new Federal Reserve Chair's first speech was interpreted as hawkish. Nomura believes the market may be underestimating the force of the policy shift.
Wall Street News
Today's Underlying Thread
Iran closing the strait, European CLO default, Goldman Sachs warning of AI capital saturation—three seemingly unrelated pieces of news actually point to the same underlying logic: Global liquidity is tightening. Whether it's energy channels, credit markets, or tech investment, marginal costs are rising. Meanwhile, Musk is talking about "septillion dollars" and antimatter propulsion, Anthropic is preparing for an IPO, and SpaceX is seeing retail frenzy—capital is still searching for the next narrative outlet. When the leverage of the old world begins to crack, the stories of the new world must be told on a grander scale.
