JH Kim

The three major U.S. stock indices are showing declines. The Nasdaq Composite is trading at 23,246.19 points, down 0.51% from the previous close at 00:09 on the 2nd. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 47,656.65 points, down 0.13%, and the S&P 500 index is at 6,830.21 points, down 0.28%.

The three major U.S. stock indices closed higher. On the 29th, the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.65% from the previous day to 23,365.69 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.61% to 47,716.42 points, and the S&P 500 closed up 0.54% at 6,849.09 points.

Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of Russia's Security Council, claimed that Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, will not be a signatory to a future peace agreement with Russia. On the 28th (local time), according to economic breaking news channel Walter Bloomberg, Medvedev strongly criticized Zelensky via X (formerly Twitter), asserting that the Ukrainian government was "on the verge of collapse." He said there was no possibility that Zelensky would be a future party to a peace agreement with Russia. These remarks came shortly after Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, resigned following a search of his home. Yermak has been regarded as a close aide to Zelensky. Meanwhile, Medvedev claimed the Zelensky administration was being weakened by internal corruption and political turmoil, but the Ukrainian government has denied the related allegations.

Virtual asset (cryptocurrency) exchanges operating in the UK will be subject to an enhanced monitoring system to prevent tax evasion from next year. On the 28th (local time), crypto-focused media CoinDesk reported that HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said it is introducing new rules requiring exchanges to compulsorily collect the entire transaction records of all UK resident customers from January 1, 2026. This is part of policies to block tax evasion and undeclared income arising from virtual asset transactions. The new rules were prepared as the UK government pursues transparency-enhancing policies in line with international standards, and reporting is expected to include entire on-chain and off-chain transaction data such as buys and sells, deposits and withdrawals, and inter-chain movements. An HMRC official said, "The possibility of tax evasion through virtual assets is increasing," and "We are strengthening exchanges' data reporting obligations to ensure accurate taxation and market transparency." If this measure is implemented, the tax reporting burden on virtual asset investors in the UK is expected to increase, and since exchanges will have to build large-scale data collection, storage and reporting systems, operational costs are likely to rise.

On the 28th (local time), economic news channel Walter Bloomberg cited the British daily The Telegraph and reported that U.S. President Donald Trump is considering recognizing Ukrainian territory occupied by Russia as Russian territory. According to the outlet, the proposal is part of a negotiation package to end the war, and U.S. peace envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner are reportedly to deliver it to Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. The Telegraph said the plan is still in its early stages and it is unclear whether it will actually be adopted as official policy by the Trump administration. However, locally, analyses suggest such a measure could bring significant changes to the U.S. diplomatic stance and the dynamics of the war in Ukraine. The Ukrainian government strongly opposes the possibility of recognizing Russia's illegal occupied territories, and Western allies also remain negative toward peace negotiations conditioned on territorial concessions.

The three major U.S. stock indexes are showing an upward trend. The Nasdaq Composite was trading at 23,292.15 points at 00:50 on the 29th, up 0.33% from the previous day. The Dow Jones index was up 0.58% at 47,702.81 points, and the S&P 500 was up 0.34% at 6,835.52 points.

Europe's largest asset manager Amundi has launched a euro-denominated money market fund in the form of 'tokenized shares' (tokenized shares). This is Amundi's first major experiment offering traditional financial products in tokenized form, and it has attracted attention from the crypto asset industry. On the 27th (local time), according to crypto-focused media Cointelegraph, this tokenized fund maintains the same structure as existing money market funds but is designed to offer both a blockchain-based tokenized version and the traditional version simultaneously so that investors can choose their preferred method. Ahead of the launch of this tokenized product, Amundi built infrastructure in cooperation with major European custodian bank CACEIS. It explained that this allows custody, settlement, and management procedures for tokenized assets to be managed at the same level as existing financial systems. As attempts to tokenize money market funds in the European financial market gradually expand, Amundi's move is interpreted as a sign that tokenization has entered a full-fledged stage in institutional finance.

Prediction market platform Kalshi's valuation has surged to more than double in a few weeks, signaling the start of a 'capital war' within the industry. Investment appears to be concentrating on two platforms amid the two-horse race with Polymarket. On the 27th (local time), according to crypto-focused media The Block, Kalshi raised $1 billion in an investment round led by Sequoia and CapitalG at a valuation of $11 billion. This is more than double the $500 million valuation (with $300 million raised) reported in October. The new funds flowing in this quarter alone total $1.3 billion. Rival Polymarket is also reportedly seeking new funding based on a recent valuation of $12–15 billion. Unlike in the past when funds were dispersed to NFTs, GameFi, and AI, a feature of this cycle is that large-scale capital is concentrating only on Kalshi and Polymarket. The industry analyzed this as "the clear formation of a duopoly in the prediction market industry."

Stock token platform Edel Finance has come under increased scrutiny after it was revealed that wallets linked to the internal team had pre-secured more than 30% of the EDEL token supply. According to crypto media DL News on the 27th (local time), addresses connected to Edel Finance secured 30% of the supply immediately after the token generation event (TGE). The amount is approximately $11,000,000 at current market prices. Edel Finance recently launched the EDEL token and announced that only 12.7% of the supply was allocated to the team, promoting a fair launch (Fair-Launch). However, as wallets associated with the project obtained 30% of the supply right after the TGE, allegations have arisen that insiders pre-emptively captured gains before a price surge. It was confirmed that internal wallets were used in this process, intensifying the controversy. Edel Finance co-founder James Sherbon did not deny that the team sniped tokens. Sherbon explained that the purchase was part of a plan to place 60% of the tokens into a vesting contract. Nevertheless, the community has pointed out that the token supply structure and actual movements do not match, and there are signs that obfuscation techniques were used during the sniping transactions. Signs of internal wallet involvement in the EDEL token distribution have been exposed, and transparency concerns in the market continue.

The UK government is pursuing a new tax regime that eases the tax burden on DeFi (decentralized finance) users. The core measure is to revise the existing rule that treats DeFi deposit actions as asset disposals, delaying the tax point to the point when real gains are realized. On the 27th (local time), according to crypto-focused media CoinDesk, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is considering introducing an NGNL (No Gain, No Loss) tax model that more reasonably reflects the activities of DeFi users. If the new rules are applied, depositing crypto to protocols for DeFi lending or liquidity provision would not immediately trigger capital gains tax. Under current UK tax law, deposit actions are treated as asset disposals, so capital gains tax could be imposed even for lending purposes, and this has been pointed out as a structure unfavorable to DeFi users. If the NGNL approach is finalized, taxation will be deferred until actual gains or losses are realized when assets are monetized. In this regard, Aave's CEO called it "a big win for UK DeFi users." Whether the new tax regime will be adopted will be finally determined after undergoing regulatory review procedures.

The three major U.S. stock indices closed higher. On the 27th, the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.86% from the previous day to 23,224.34 points. The Dow Jones rose 0.73% to 47,456.09 points, and the S&P 500 rose 0.74% to 6,816.11 points at the close.

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) warned that rapidly growing tokenized money market funds could introduce new risks to traditional financial markets. On the 26th (local time), according to virtual asset (cryptocurrency)-focused media DL News, BIS analyzed in its latest report that "the size of tokenized money market funds increased by 265% over the past year, reaching about $9 billion." BIS pointed out that this growth rate could further amplify vulnerabilities found in existing money market funds and stablecoins. The report emphasized that "tokenized money market funds could transmit traditional financial risks such as bank runs and liquidity crunches to the digital asset ecosystem," and "proactive regulation is needed before this expands into a systemic threat." BIS acknowledged that the tokenization market can increase financial efficiency, but cited as a main concern that the same risks could spread at a faster pace.

U.S. House Democrats have officially raised concerns about U.S. President Donald Trump's involvement in virtual asset (cryptocurrency) businesses. The report, led by House Judiciary Committee Democratic ranking member Jamie Raskin (Jamie Raskin), alleges that President Trump took improper gains through virtual asset businesses during his term. According to CoinDesk on the 26th (local time), the Democratic report claims that President Trump and his family accumulated hundreds of millions of dollars in virtual asset-related wealth during the first year of his term. The report states, "President Trump's pro-virtual-asset policies served the Trump family's private interests rather than the public interest," and points out that "there is quid pro quo influence and foreign interests involved." The report also asserts that "the administration's virtual asset policy approach represented a private use of executive authority," describing it as "a new form of corruption." The White House immediately rebutted the claims. White House spokesperson Caroline Leavitt said in a statement, "The president and his family have not been involved in conflicts of interest and will not be in the future." Observers say the Democratic report could lead to further discussions about additional investigations within the House.