The first trading day of 2026 saw Asian equity markets, led by a powerful rally in artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor stocks, sharply outperform a stagnant cryptocurrency market. Major indexes in South Korea and Taiwan hit record highs, fueled by investor enthusiasm for chipmakers, while Bitcoin registered only a minimal gain.
Chinese AI chipmaker Biren Technology made a spectacular debut on the Hong Kong exchange, with its share price more than doubling from its HK$19.60 IPO price to reach as high as HK$42.88. The listing raised approximately $717 million and was massively oversubscribed, indicating robust retail and institutional demand. Biren, seen as a domestic alternative to Nvidia, maintained strong investor interest despite being on the U.S. Entity List since 2023. The trend continued as Baidu's shares surged over 93% after it filed for an IPO of its AI chip unit, Kunlunxin, which analysts estimate could be valued over $3 billion.
In South Korea, the KOSPI index climbed 1.6% to an all-time high of 4,281, driven by semiconductor giants. Samsung Electronics rose 3.5%, and SK Hynix reached a record 668,000 won. Analysts from Daol Investment & Securities raised price targets, with Daishin Securities projecting SK Hynix could generate 100 trillion won in operating profit in 2026. The country's semiconductor exports for December rose 22.2% year-on-year to $173.4 billion.
Taiwan's market momentum was anchored by TSMC, which rose 1.44% in regular trading and gained another 1.82% after-hours. The company is rapidly expanding its advanced 2nm chip production, with revenue from this node projected to surpass its 3nm and 5nm revenue by Q3 2026. TSMC is also accelerating its roadmap for 1.4nm chips and plans to operate ten 2nm fabrication plants across Taiwan and the U.S. by 2027.
In stark contrast, the cryptocurrency market showed muted activity. Bitcoin gained a mere 0.3% to $88,895, and Ether rose 0.4% to around $2,997, both continuing to trade in a narrow range. Analysts noted that despite positive macro conditions and a risk-on sentiment in equities, capital flows and trader attention were firmly focused on traditional tech and AI stocks, leaving digital assets behind in the year-opening rally.
