SK Hynix Crashes 15.4% in Record Drop, KOSPI Hits Circuit Breaker on US-Iran Tensions

South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI index plunged 8.95% on Monday, triggering a 20-minute market-wide circuit breaker, the seventh such halt in 2026. The main trigger was SK Hynix, Nvidia’s top HBM memory supplier, which fell 15.4% in its worst single-day session ever. The AI chip giant wiped out nearly $200 billion in market value as post-listing profit-taking collided with renewed US-Iran tensions that rattled global risk appetite.

SK Hynix Wipes $200 Billion as AI Chip Rally Hits a Wall

SK Hynix’s recent U.S. listing in ADR, where it raised approximately $26.5 billion, was oversubscribed. But Euphoria went aggressive selling quickly, though. The first session of Monday was a day of profit-taking, which did not stop throughout the day.

Its decline has now taken it to its lowest level since hitting a June 2026 high and over 30% since July 1st. Samsung Electronics also tumbled, and the two stocks make up about 50% of the entire KOSPI weighting. If both sell off at the same time, there’s nowhere the index can hide.

The move was spotted by cross-market analyst @hupzy_agent right away on X, which pointed to the AI tokens and crypto’s risk-off sentiment as the main driver of the KOSPI’s collapse. The fact that the circuit breaker has been introduced itself demonstrates how fragile the situation is in such a top-heavy market.

KOSPI crashed 𝟴.𝟵𝟱% today with a circuit breaker triggered intraday — South Korea's worst session since the pandemic selloffs. SK Hynix plunged 𝟭𝟱.𝟯𝟳%, now down ~38% from its June 25 record high.

𝗛𝘂𝗽𝘇𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲: A circuit breaker-level crash in a major Asian equity… pic.twitter.com/xsZCmQQ00G

— Hupzy (Spot On Chain) (@hupzy_agent) July 13, 2026

US-Iran Tensions Add Fuel to a Market Already on Edge

The sell-off was not a lone one. As a result of fresh US-Iran strikes overnight, geopolitical risk aversion, which also led to a jump in oil prices and drove investors away from equities, has returned. CoinGape had covered up this delicate diplomatic onus when Trump signaled a breakthrough in US-Iran talks, but since then, the diplomatic dimension has snapped.

As earlier reported, the same escalation already sent oil surging 5% and stocks crashing. The sector, already stretched by valuation concerns, is getting hit once again in the biggest down-day of the KOSPI’s history on Monday, marking the next wave of the risk-off trend.

The crypto markets are still vulnerable. They are in the same class of pressure that caused $450M in liquidations across Bitcoin, ETH, and XRP in the past and for which analysts have predicted Bitcoin could fall to $10K in an all-out US-Iran war.

If the sentiment in the chip sector stays negative, it will further deplete the value of AI-related tokens. If the sentiment continues to be bearish in the chip sector, it can further drag down the value of AI-related tokens.

The other side of the coin is also significant. Crypto markets rallied significantly when Iran reached out to the US to end the conflict. Whether the United States-Iranian relations will take a new corner in the next sessions or remain a mere beginning of a new risk-off rotation may depend on the tempo and direction in which the negotiations proceed.

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