AI Chips Soar While Bitcoin Stalls: Asia’s 2026 Market Debut Shakes Up Tech-Finance Landscape

Forget the usual suspects. The real action in Asia's 2026 market debut isn't on the crypto charts—it's in the silicon.

The Hardware Takeover

Specialized processors designed for artificial intelligence workloads are stealing the spotlight, posting gains that leave traditional digital assets in the dust. These chips aren't just powering large language models; they're becoming the backbone of next-generation trading algorithms and decentralized finance infrastructure. Performance metrics are blowing past expectations, signaling a fundamental shift in where institutional money sees value.

Bitcoin's Sideways Grind

Meanwhile, the flagship cryptocurrency continues its consolidation phase. The much-hyped 'debut' on regulated Asian exchanges has, so far, failed to deliver the explosive volatility traders crave. It's a classic case of 'buy the rumor, sell the news'—or in this case, don't buy much at all. The regulatory green light from bodies like Japan's FSA created more of a polite nod than a market earthquake.

The New Alpha Generator

The divergence tells a deeper story. Capital is voting with its wallet, chasing tangible technological throughput over speculative monetary narratives. AI chipmakers are reporting order books filled by quant funds and blockchain validators alike, all desperate for more computational horsepower. It's a bet on infrastructure, not ideology.

So, while crypto maximalists watch paint dry, the quants are literally building better brushes. The finance sector's oldest rule still applies: the real money is never in the asset you're yelling about—it's in the tool everyone needs to trade it. Maybe that's the most cynical jab of all.

TLDR

• Biren shares doubled on Hong Kong debut, reaching HK$42.88 after a HK$19.60 IPO price.
• KOSPI hit a record 4,281 as Samsung rose 3.5% and SK Hynix reached 668,000 won.
• TSMC climbed to $303.89 and after-hours to $309.42, boosting Taiwan’s semiconductor momentum.
• Bitcoin gained only 0.3% to $88,895 while Asian AI chip stocks surged on 2026’s first trading day.

Asian stock markets opened 2026 with strong gains led by AI and semiconductor shares, while Bitcoin showed minimal price movement. Equity investors focused on chipmakers across China, South Korea, and Taiwan, pushing several indexes to record highs. In contrast, bitcoin rose only 0.3%, showing a muted response to the broader risk-on environment.

Chinese AI Chipmaker Biren Doubles on Debut

Chinese GPU developer Biren Technology began trading in Hong Kong and saw its share price more than double on the first day. The stock opened at HK$35.70, well above the HK$19.60 IPO price, and reached as high as HK$42.88 during the session.

The company raised HK$5.58 billion (approximately $717 million) from the listing. Retail demand was strong, with the offering oversubscribed 2,347 times by retail investors and 26 times by institutions. Biren, founded in 2019, gained early recognition for its BR100 chip and has been seen as a domestic alternative to Nvidia. Despite being added to the U.S. Entity List in 2023, investor interest has remained steady.

Other Chinese AI firms are also entering public markets. Baidu confirmed its semiconductor unit Kunlunxin has applied for a Hong Kong IPO. Additional chip startups, such as Zhipu AI and Iluvatar CoreX, are also scheduled to list in early January.

Korean and Taiwanese Chip Stocks Drive Market Gains

South Korea’s KOSPI index climbed 1.6% to reach an all-time high of 4,281 as semiconductor shares rallied. Samsung Electronics ROSE 3.5% to a one-year high, while SK Hynix reached a record 668,000 won during trading. Analysts responded by raising their forecasts. Daol Investment & Securities increased Samsung’s price target to 160,000 won, and SK Hynix’s to 950,000 won.

SK Hynix could generate 100 trillion won in operating profit in 2026, according to Daishin Securities. Meanwhile, South Korea’s semiconductor exports for December rose 22.2% year-on-year to $173.4 billion, driven by strong demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and AI servers.

In Taiwan, TSMC advanced 1.44% in regular trading and gained a further 1.82% after-hours. MediaTek also climbed by 2.8%. TSMC’s 2nm chip production is expanding rapidly, with projections that 2nm revenue could exceed that of 3nm and 5nm by Q3 2026.

TSMC is also accelerating its 1.4nm roadmap, with trial production planned for 2027 and mass production set for 2028. The company plans to operate 10 fabs for 2nm chips across Taiwan and the U.S., expanding capacity to 100,000 wafers per month by 2027.

Bitcoin Trades Sideways Despite Risk-On Sentiment

While semiconductor stocks rallied, bitcoin showed limited movement. The cryptocurrency gained just 0.3% to $88,895 during Asia’s first trading session of the year. Ether rose 0.4% to about $2,997.

Bitcoin has been trading in a narrow range between $87,000 and $90,000 in recent days. Despite positive macro conditions, traders appear hesitant to push prices higher. Market attention seems focused on equities, particularly in the AI sector.

Crypto analysts note that digital assets have not participated in the year-opening rally, even as capital flows into tech. Institutional interest in bitcoin remains steady, though momentum is currently with traditional markets, especially semiconductor and AI-linked companies.