Taiwan drops NT$500B rescue fund as Taiex slumps, Hayes cries AI bailout

Taiwan is stepping in to stop the bleeding. The government is rolling out a NT$500 billion stock rescue fund and slapping new limits on short selling, with the curbs kicking in from Nov 9, according to Cointelegraph.

The backdrop is brutal: the Taiex just closed out its roughest week since 2001. That's a two-decade low for a benchmark that had been riding the global AI trade hard, and Taipei clearly isn't waiting around to see what Monday brings.

The short-selling restrictions are the tell. Policymakers usually reach for that lever when they think the selling is being amplified by bearish bets rather than fundamentals — and Taiwan's market is unusually exposed to the same AI semiconductor names that have been wobbling worldwide.

Arthur Hayes wasted no time. The BitMEX co-founder and perennial crypto provocateur responded to the news with a single line: 'Let the AI bailouts begin!' — a jab at the idea that the AI stock boom is now being backstopped by the state, per Cointelegraph.

Whether NT$500 billion is enough to turn the tape is the open question. Taiwan's rescue package lands as investors globally reassess how much of the AI rally was priced for perfection, and the answer will show up fast when trading resumes.