JH Kim

Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan (JP Morgan) chief executive officer (CEO), acknowledged that blockchain and stablecoins are a 'real technology' that have proven the efficiency of financial transactions. The market is focusing on the change in Dimon's remarks, as he had maintained a critical stance toward virtual assets (cryptocurrencies) until now. On the 30th (local time), according to virtual asset-focused media CryptoBriefing, CEO Dimon said, "Blockchain and stablecoins are real technologies that increase transaction speed and settlement efficiency," and added, "This area is clearly showing practical progress." Earlier, JPMorgan Chase announced that it had successfully tokenized a private fund (Tokenized Private Fund) through its blockchain network Kinexys Fund Flow (Kinexys Fund Flow). This is regarded as the first case of one of the world's major banks actually applying tokenization technology in the asset management field. JPMorgan plans to expand the application of the technology to inter-institutional fund transfers and payment infrastructure in the future. This statement suggests that traditional finance has begun to adopt blockchain technology into practical business areas.

The U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee is expected to soon release a bipartisan draft of the CLARITY Act, a market-structure bill for virtual assets (cryptocurrencies) that covers the commodities segment. On the 30th (local time), Crypto in America host Elinor Terrett said, "The Senate Agriculture Committee is expected to release the market-structure draft soon," adding, "The timing of the release is likely tomorrow or next week." He explained, "This move shows that discussions on market-structure legislation have progressed again following last week's roundtable between the crypto industry and Congress." The bill is reported to include provisions clarifying the criteria for classifying virtual assets as commodities and the supervisory authority of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The industry expects the bill to form the basis of a digital asset regulatory framework going forward.

The Trump administration has decided to delay for one year the implementation of a rule to increase the number of Chinese companies included on the U.S. Commerce Department's sanctions list. On the 30th (local time), according to economic news channel Walter Bloomberg (Walter Bloomberg), the administration said, "It decided to hold off on the Commerce Department's measure to expand the sanctions list until next year in order to minimize disruption to corporate activity and supply chains."

The three major U.S. stock indexes are showing mixed performance. The Nasdaq Composite is trading at 23,718.10 points, down 0.77% from the previous day as of 00:04 on the 31st. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 0.72% at 47,972.93 points, and the S&P 500 is down 0.33% at 6,867.80 points.

Global payments company Mastercard plans to acquire stablecoin infrastructure startup Zero Hash for about $2 billion. The acquisition is being evaluated as one of the largest virtual asset (cryptocurrency) infrastructure investment cases among traditional financial firms. On the 29th (local time), Fortune reported that Mastercard plans to integrate stablecoin settlement functionality into its own payment network through the Zero Hash acquisition. The acquisition process is expected to be officially completed after regulatory approval. Zero Hash is an infrastructure company that provides institutions and corporate clients with stablecoin issuance, custody, and on- and off-ramps (conversion to fiat currency) solutions. Mastercard intends to use the acquisition to accelerate stablecoin payment processing and the expansion of business-to-business blockchain payment networks. The outlet said, "This acquisition is part of a move by global payment networks to strategically absorb digital asset settlement technology," and added, "It can be interpreted as a signal that Mastercard is chasing Visa's earlier model in the blockchain payments market."

The three major U.S. stock indices closed mixed. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.55% from the previous day on the 30th to 23,958.47 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.15% to 47,632.65 points, and the S&P 500 index closed at 6,890.73 points.

Jerome Powell (Jerome Powell), chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed), said he could slow the pace of monetary policy adjustments citing a gap in economic data caused by the government shutdown. He added that a mood to ease the pace of rate cuts is growing within the Fed. On the 29th (local time), according to economic news channel Walter Bloomberg, Powell said at a press conference, "During the shutdown period, key data such as employment indicators were not sufficiently available," and "We may need to slow the pace of policy (interest rate) adjustments. I hope to be able to obtain more data by December." He went on to explain, "More and more Fed officials want to slow down rate cuts," and "After two consecutive rate cuts, some officials had been inclined to take a wait-and-see stance, and now the view that at least one cycle should be waited for is spreading."

Jerome Powell, chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed), said that upward price pressure from tariffs is likely to be temporary. He also said that, excluding duplicate counts in the labor statistics, job growth is effectively stalled. On the 29th (local time), according to economic breaking-news channel Walter Bloomberg, Powell said at a press conference, "Tariff measures could raise inflation by about 0.2~0.4 percentage points," adding, "however, this is likely to be a one-off factor." He went on, "If you remove duplicate counts in the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data, recent job growth is almost zero," and "there are clear signs of a slowdown in the labor market." Powell previously said, "Inflation excluding tariff effects does not deviate significantly from the 2% target." His remarks were interpreted as reaffirming that inflation risks are limited amid growing expectations for monetary easing.

Jerome Powell, chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed), assessed that inflation excluding the effects of tariffs has not deviated greatly from the Fed's 2% target. He explained that monetary policy remains somewhat restrictive. On the 29th (local time), according to economic news channel Walter Bloomberg, Powell said at a press conference, "The inflation rate excluding tariffs is close to the 2% target," and "We view current monetary policy as still somewhat restrictive."

Jerome Powell, chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed), said the possibility of an additional rate cut in December is "not certain." This is interpreted as a remark preemptively warning against the market's expectations of early easing. On the 29th (local time), according to the economic news channel Walter Bloomberg, Powell said, "I cannot guarantee that an additional rate cut will be carried out at the December meeting," and added, "Policy decisions depend on economic indicators to be released in the future."

Jerome Powell (Jerome Powell), chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed), said that the employment and inflation outlooks have not changed significantly since the September Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. However, he warned that there still exists a risk that inflation could be more persistent than expected. On the 29th (local time), according to economic news channel Walter Bloomberg (Walter Bloomberg), Powell said, "The data gathered so far suggest that the employment and price outlooks have not changed significantly since the September meeting," and "however, the risk that inflation may persist longer remains a challenge that needs to be managed." He added, "Economic indicators released before the shutdown show that the U.S. economy is maintaining a somewhat resilient trend," and assessed, "the labor market is slowing moderately, but consumer activity remains at a solid level."

The U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) officially announced that it will halt Balance Sheet Reduction effective December 1. On the 29th (local time), according to breaking economic news channel Walter Bloomberg, the Fed said in a statement, "We will stop asset reduction from December 1 and adjust the amount of maturing bond repayments," adding, "This is a measure to maintain market liquidity and the stability of the financial system."

The U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) announced on the 29th (local time) in an official statement that it would lower the benchmark interest rate by 25bp. This matches market expectations. As a result, the U.S. benchmark interest rate was lowered to 3.75%~4.00%.

An analysis has found that if the U.S. federal government shutdown persists, it could cause up to $14 billion in economic losses. This could reduce this year's fourth-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) by up to 2%. On the 29th (local time), according to economic news channel Walter Bloomberg, the U.S. Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said in a report, "If the gap in government spending continues, the U.S. economy is expected to incur losses of $7 billion to $14 billion," and "this means that gaps in federal government spending can directly hit the real economy." The CBO explained that this estimate includes not only short-term administrative shutdowns but also indirect effects such as delayed federal contracts, unpaid wages, and reduced consumption. Economists pointed out that if the shutdown lasts more than a month, private sector employment and domestic demand could both weaken. Meanwhile, the current shutdown was triggered by delays in passing the budget, and Republicans and Democrats have still not reached agreement on spending priorities.

Bank of America (BofA) projected that Jerome Powell, chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed), is unlikely to provide specific policy guidance at this Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. On the 29th (local time), according to the economic news channel Walter Bloomberg, BofA said in a report, "Given the widening divergence between the labor market and consumer indicators, Chair Powell is unlikely to present a clear direction on the future path of interest rates." BofA also forecasted, "This statement may mention a solid rebound in U.S. economic activity, and quantitative tightening (QT) will end immediately." Meanwhile, BofA projected the first rate cut in October 2025, with additional cuts in June, September, and December 2026. Markets are watching whether the Fed will provide concrete signals of a monetary policy shift at this FOMC meeting.

U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (Elizabeth Warren) and Bernie Sanders (Bernie Sanders) criticized the Trump administration's policy to expand retirement fund investments in virtual assets (cryptocurrencies). The two senators warned that the measure could cause financial losses for millions of Americans. On the 29th (local time), according to Bloomberg (Bloomberg), Warren and Sanders said in a joint statement, "President Trump's executive order is exposing retirees' hard-earned savings to highly volatile financial products," and added, "It is being packaged as an alternative asset, but in reality it is a risky asset lacking transparency and with overstated profitability." President Trump is reported to be considering expanding the share of virtual assets within pension and retirement fund portfolios through a recent executive order. Warren and Sanders added, "Including retirees' funds in speculative assets could undermine long-term financial stability." As differences between the two sides become clear, discussion of virtual asset regulation and institutional investment in the U.S. is reemerging as a hot political issue.

On the 29th (local time), on-chain data platform Unfolded reported that virtual asset (cryptocurrency)-specialized media Blockworks is shutting down its news business.

The three major U.S. stock indices are showing an uptrend. The Nasdaq Composite Index was trading at 23,962.35 points at 00:05 on the 30th, up 0.57% from the previous day. The Dow Jones Index was up 0.50% at 47,942.96 points, and the S&P 500 index was up 0.20% at 6,904.81 points.