According to BlockBeats, on July 8th, with the 60-day ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran teetering on the brink of collapse, tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has "essentially ground to a halt." Jorge Leon, head of geopolitical analysis at research firm Rystad, stated: "Traffic appears to be completely disrupted so far today. This 'essential standstill' reflects the current risk expectations more than any statements from Washington or Tehran."

According to Kpler data, only four oil tankers have passed through the strait so far today. Kpler senior oil analyst Navin Das stated that since the 60-day ceasefire agreement reached between the US and Iran on June 17, the average daily number of tankers passing through has been approximately 32. This figure is almost three times the average daily passage during the period from the outbreak of the conflict (February) to the agreement on June 17, although it is still far below pre-war levels.

BlockBeats reported on July 8th that Apple officially announced details of its multi-year agreement with Broadcom, expected to exceed $30 billion. The two companies will jointly design and manufacture custom ASIC chip components and cutting-edge wireless connectivity technologies for multiple Apple products. Under the agreement, Broadcom will manufacture more than 15 billion chips in the United States and invest $1.5 billion to expand its manufacturing facility in Fort Collins, Colorado. This facility will primarily produce FBAR filters and advanced radio frequency components—core chips enabling wireless communication in devices such as iPhones and Macs. Apple has been collaborating with Broadcom on this technology since 2023. Apple CEO Tim Cook emphasized in a statement that this move "further underscores our unwavering commitment to American manufacturing and innovation"; Broadcom CEO Hock Tan stated that they are "honored to continue deepening our relationship after decades of successful collaboration." This agreement is the largest collaborative project to date in Apple's previously announced four-year, $600 billion U.S. investment plan.

This strategic upgrade in the agreement represents a comprehensive expansion from traditional radio frequency components to custom ASIC chips, aligning closely with previous reports of Apple's collaboration with Broadcom to develop an AI server processor codenamed "Baltra"—a chip expected to be mass-produced in 2026 using TSMC's N3P process, designed to provide customized computing power for Apple's internal AI workloads. For Broadcom, Apple contributes approximately 20% of its annual revenue; this renewal provides long-term revenue visibility and validates the irreplaceable nature of its custom ASIC business model. Broadcom has already expanded its AI ASIC customer base to leading technology companies such as Google, Meta, ByteDance, and OpenAI, with AI-related revenue reaching $8.4 billion in the first quarter, a year-on-year increase of 106%. JPMorgan Chase predicts that Broadcom's AI revenue will grow 2 to 2.5 times in 2027 and double again in 2028. It is noteworthy that this agreement was signed just before Cook stepped down – Cook will become executive chairman on September 1, and Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering, Tenus, will take over as CEO. The new agreement means that Apple is unlikely to fully switch to its own cellular baseband before 2031, and the timeline for self-developed alternatives is longer than outsiders imagined.

According to BlockBeats, on July 8th, based on Bit (Bit.com) market data, the semiconductor and memory sectors strengthened after the US stock market opened, with the following:

Nvidia (NVDA) rose 0.46%; AMD rose 0.27%; Qualcomm (QCOM) rose 0.63%; Seagate Technology (STX) rose 1.28%; Western Digital (WDC) rose 3.39%; SanDisk (SNDK) rose 3.4%. Micron Technology (MU) rose 1.1%.