Blab Crypto
SK Hynix Surpasses Bitcoin in Market Capitalization Amid AI-Driven Memory Boom
On 22 June 2026, SK Hynix’s stock surged to a market value of $1.35 trillion, briefly eclipsing Samsung Electronics and overtaking Bitcoin’s $1.29 trillion cap. According to Coinglass, the semiconductor titan jumped into 16th place on the global asset leaderboard, while Bitcoin slipped to 18th.
The rally is powered by a soaring appetite for high‑bandwidth memory (HBM), the specialized chip that delivers the raw throughput required to train and run massive AI models. SK Hynix dominates the market, supplying more than 60 % of global HBM and serving as NVIDIA’s exclusive partner for HBM3E. In Q1 2026 the company posted revenue of 52.58 trillion won and an operating profit of 37.61 trillion won, yielding a 72 % margin. Analysts now project Q2 operating profit between 62 and 65 trillion won, with some brokerages forecasting figures above 68 trillion won.
During its earnings call, SK Hynix executives reiterated that the memory shortage driven by AI will persist for several years. The firm plans to ramp up capital expenditures to expand advanced capacity, a strategy that began in 2009 when HBM demand was modest. The real payoff came with the 2022 launch of ChatGPT, which created a flood of AI workloads that rely on HBM.
SK Hynix’s ascent has roots in a severe debt crisis that followed the dot‑com collapse. The company was once relegated to junk status and even entertained a sale to Micron, which was ultimately rejected. In 2012, SK Group chairman Choi Tae‑won used SK Square, the group’s investment arm, to acquire SK Hynix for roughly $3 billion, rename it, and inject research and development funding. SK Square now holds about 20 % of the company.
SK Square had previously explored the crypto arena. In 2021 it purchased a 35 % stake in the Korean exchange Korbit for 90 billion won and announced plans to launch a token named SK Coin. The initiative stalled after the Terra/LUNA collapse in 2022, and no further progress has been reported.
Reuters reports that SK Hynix intends to list on Nasdaq as early as August, a move that could lower trading barriers for U.S. institutional and passive funds. NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang has said the partnership could unlock business opportunities worth hundreds of billions of dollars for South Korea.
The concentration of HBM production among SK Hynix, Samsung, and Micron, coupled with 2‑to‑3‑year expansion cycles, creates a tangible supply constraint—no marketing narrative, just physical scarcity. The shift in valuation logic—from cyclical to growth—has turned SK Hynix’s market cap surpassing Bitcoin into a public signal about scarcity in the physical layer.
In the crypto‑AI space, progress remains modest. An IC3 report co‑released by Cornell University and other institutions notes that the integration of crypto and AI is still in its infancy, with hype outpacing tangible development. The Bittensor project, a prominent crypto‑AI initiative, saw its token TAO decline 20 % over the past three months. The project’s co‑founder said the core team still controls the incentive layer and estimates 18 months to complete core mechanism development.
Bitcoin miners are experiencing a “capitulation phase,” with network difficulty down more than 20 % from its peak—the largest decline since China’s 2021 crackdown. Mining firms such as Core Scientific, TeraWulf, and Hut 8 have announced moves into AI and high‑performance computing, but a VanEck report estimates a short‑term funding gap of $50 billion and a long‑term capital requirement of $221 billion.
Arthur Hayes, in his article “Reality Test,” argues that since ChatGPT’s release the AI industry has issued about $1.5 trillion in debt—roughly equal to the increase in U.S. M2—leaving Bitcoin without new liquidity. He cautions that if the AI bubble bursts, bank credit contraction could force Bitcoin sales.
Since late 2025, many traders who were active in crypto have shifted focus to U.S. and Korean stocks, chasing the AI hardware rally. Capital flows into AI infrastructure are driven by real orders, physical barriers, and quantifiable profit margins, which stand in stark contrast to the uncertain value chain positioning of crypto‑AI projects.
In sum, SK Hynix’s market‑cap milestone underscores the sustained demand for HBM in AI workloads and the company’s long‑term investment in the technology. The planned Nasdaq listing and continued partnership with NVIDIA signal further growth potential. Meanwhile, crypto‑AI initiatives remain in early development stages, and the broader crypto market has seen capital migrate toward tangible hardware assets rather than speculative digital tokens.
The rally is powered by a soaring appetite for high‑bandwidth memory (HBM), the specialized chip that delivers the raw throughput required to train and run massive AI models. SK Hynix dominates the market, supplying more than 60 % of global HBM and serving as NVIDIA’s exclusive partner for HBM3E. In Q1 2026 the company posted revenue of 52.58 trillion won and an operating profit of 37.61 trillion won, yielding a 72 % margin. Analysts now project Q2 operating profit between 62 and 65 trillion won, with some brokerages forecasting figures above 68 trillion won.
During its earnings call, SK Hynix executives reiterated that the memory shortage driven by AI will persist for several years. The firm plans to ramp up capital expenditures to expand advanced capacity, a strategy that began in 2009 when HBM demand was modest. The real payoff came with the 2022 launch of ChatGPT, which created a flood of AI workloads that rely on HBM.
SK Hynix’s ascent has roots in a severe debt crisis that followed the dot‑com collapse. The company was once relegated to junk status and even entertained a sale to Micron, which was ultimately rejected. In 2012, SK Group chairman Choi Tae‑won used SK Square, the group’s investment arm, to acquire SK Hynix for roughly $3 billion, rename it, and inject research and development funding. SK Square now holds about 20 % of the company.
SK Square had previously explored the crypto arena. In 2021 it purchased a 35 % stake in the Korean exchange Korbit for 90 billion won and announced plans to launch a token named SK Coin. The initiative stalled after the Terra/LUNA collapse in 2022, and no further progress has been reported.
Reuters reports that SK Hynix intends to list on Nasdaq as early as August, a move that could lower trading barriers for U.S. institutional and passive funds. NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang has said the partnership could unlock business opportunities worth hundreds of billions of dollars for South Korea.
The concentration of HBM production among SK Hynix, Samsung, and Micron, coupled with 2‑to‑3‑year expansion cycles, creates a tangible supply constraint—no marketing narrative, just physical scarcity. The shift in valuation logic—from cyclical to growth—has turned SK Hynix’s market cap surpassing Bitcoin into a public signal about scarcity in the physical layer.
In the crypto‑AI space, progress remains modest. An IC3 report co‑released by Cornell University and other institutions notes that the integration of crypto and AI is still in its infancy, with hype outpacing tangible development. The Bittensor project, a prominent crypto‑AI initiative, saw its token TAO decline 20 % over the past three months. The project’s co‑founder said the core team still controls the incentive layer and estimates 18 months to complete core mechanism development.
Bitcoin miners are experiencing a “capitulation phase,” with network difficulty down more than 20 % from its peak—the largest decline since China’s 2021 crackdown. Mining firms such as Core Scientific, TeraWulf, and Hut 8 have announced moves into AI and high‑performance computing, but a VanEck report estimates a short‑term funding gap of $50 billion and a long‑term capital requirement of $221 billion.
Arthur Hayes, in his article “Reality Test,” argues that since ChatGPT’s release the AI industry has issued about $1.5 trillion in debt—roughly equal to the increase in U.S. M2—leaving Bitcoin without new liquidity. He cautions that if the AI bubble bursts, bank credit contraction could force Bitcoin sales.
Since late 2025, many traders who were active in crypto have shifted focus to U.S. and Korean stocks, chasing the AI hardware rally. Capital flows into AI infrastructure are driven by real orders, physical barriers, and quantifiable profit margins, which stand in stark contrast to the uncertain value chain positioning of crypto‑AI projects.
In sum, SK Hynix’s market‑cap milestone underscores the sustained demand for HBM in AI workloads and the company’s long‑term investment in the technology. The planned Nasdaq listing and continued partnership with NVIDIA signal further growth potential. Meanwhile, crypto‑AI initiatives remain in early development stages, and the broader crypto market has seen capital migrate toward tangible hardware assets rather than speculative digital tokens.
