JH Kim

On the 22nd (local time), according to breaking economic news channel Walter Bloomberg, Beth Hammack, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland (the Cleveland Fed), warned that "if the Federal Reserve (the Fed) cuts rates too quickly, economic overheating could reappear."

On the 22nd (local time), according to economic news channel Walter Bloomberg, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said 10 candidates will be interviewed by next week for the selection of the next chair of the Federal Reserve (Fed).

The three major U.S. stock indexes are showing gains. The Nasdaq Composite is trading at 22,700.17 points, up 0.30% from the previous close as of 00:00 on the 23rd. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 46,338.69 points, up 0.05%, and the S&P 500 is at 6,675.41 points, up 0.17%.

On the 22nd, Story-based IP tokenization platform Aria announced via its official X (formerly Twitter) that it tokenized about KRW 140 billion worth of K-pop IP on the Story blockchain. Aria is a platform that tokenizes global artists' music IP to support investment and trading, and it aims to be an IP tokenization solution with institutional investor-level fund structure, risk management, and legal safeguards.

According to foreign reports on the 22nd, the People's Bank of China, China's central bank, froze the loan prime rate (LPR), which is effectively treated as the benchmark rate. Following this announcement, the 1-year LPR is maintained at 3%, and the 5-year LPR is maintained at 3.5%. The People's Bank of China cut the 1-year and 5-year LPR by 10bp (1bp=0.01% point) in May this year and has maintained the freeze for four months since June. LPR is calculated by aggregating the rates of 20 major commercial banks every month. The LPR, effectively called the benchmark rate, is commonly used as the basis for calculating loan interest rates: the 5-year LPR for mortgages and the 1-year LPR for consumer loans such as credit loans.

On the 22nd, according to the cryptocurrency-focused media The Block, global crypto exchange Crypto.com had some users' personal information leaked in a previously unreported cyberattack. The incident is reported to have occurred after teenage hacker Noah Urban of the cybercrime group 'Scattered Spider' and accomplice 'Jack' hacked Crypto.com employee accounts. They obtained security data through phishing attacks and gained access to personal information by compromising employee accounts. However, Crypto.com stated, "Only a very small amount of personal data was affected, and customer funds were not leaked." Urban had $4 million worth of crypto assets, cash, and precious metals seized in an FBI search in March 2023, and was arrested in January 2024. He was charged with involvement in hacking 13 companies, pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to 10 years. Meanwhile, on-chain analyst ZachXBT criticized, "It is a problem that Crypto.com did not disclose this attack," saying, "This exchange has already been hacked several times."

On the 22nd, according to crypto asset (cryptocurrency) specialist media The Block, European Union (EU) finance ministers moved a step closer to forming a common position on the introduction of the central bank digital currency (CBDC) known as the digital euro. At a meeting in Copenhagen, ministers discussed options such as operating the digital euro alongside private bank deposits and allowing consumers and merchants to use e-wallets based on the Eurosystem balance sheet. The agreement draft included provisions to give EU ministers a say on whether to issue it and on individual holding limits. Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), emphasized, "The digital euro is a political statement that goes beyond a mere means of payment, demonstrating Europe's sovereignty and independent infrastructure." However, actual issuance is expected to take years. The ECB expects to prepare the relevant legislation by June 2026 and then undergo a preparatory process of up to 3 years.

On the 22nd, according to Cointelegraph, a media outlet specializing in virtual assets (cryptocurrencies), the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region's virtual asset trading volume increased from $1.4 trillion to $2.36 trillion over the past 12 months, an approximately 69% surge that led global growth. Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa followed, while Europe and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) were the only regions to show a decrease in trading volume in 2025.

On the 22nd, according to crypto asset (cryptocurrency) media Cointelegraph, Chinese fintech firm AnchorX launched AxCNH, a yuan stablecoin dedicated to cross-border transactions. AxCNH is an overcollateralized stablecoin and was unveiled on the 17th at the 'Belt and Road Summit' held in Hong Kong. The token is expected to be used for cross-border payments and trade between participating countries.

According to economic breaking-news channel Walter Bloomberg on the 22nd, Kim Jong Un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, said, "No intention of reunification at all, and the North and South are two states that cannot become one."

The three major U.S. stock indexes closed higher. The Nasdaq Composite index on the 20th rose 0.72% from the previous day to 22,631.48 points. The Dow Jones index rose 0.37% to 46,314.57 points, and the S&P 500 index rose 0.44% to 6,661.03 points at the close.

On the 19th (local time), The Washington Post reported that the Donald Trump administration plans to sell Israel an offensive weapons package worth about $6 billion as part of preparations for combat with the Palestinian militant group Hamas. The package includes 30 of the latest-model Apache attack helicopters (about $3.8 billion) and 3250 ground assault vehicles (about $1.9 billion). The delivery timing is expected to be in 2–3 years, considering approval procedures and production schedules. The U.S. State Department is reported to be in contact with the leadership of the House and Senate foreign affairs committees to submit the matter to Congress. The Trump administration has continued to expand military support for Israel since taking office.

On the 19th (local time), according to crypto-focused media Crypto Briefing, U.S. Democratic senators have begun cooperating with Republicans to seek a bipartisan agreement on the digital asset market structure bill, the 'CLARITY Act'. The CLARITY Act aims to establish a regulatory framework for the virtual asset industry. The bill includes provisions to clearly delineate the jurisdictions of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and to exempt virtual assets that meet certain requirements from the registration requirements under the Securities Act of 1933.

According to Binance News on the 19th (local time), Caroline Pham, Acting Chair of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), appointed Scott Lucas, head of digital asset markets at J.P. Morgan, and Sandy Kaul, vice president at Franklin Templeton, as co-chairs of the Digital Asset Markets Subcommittee under the Global Markets Advisory Committee (GMAC). GMAC is involved in the CFTC's policy decisions and advises on global discussions related to market structure and digital asset regulation.

On the 19th (local time), according to CoinDesk, a media outlet specializing in virtual assets (cryptocurrencies), the U.S. Treasury has begun the implementation procedures for the stablecoin regulatory law 'Genius Act (GENIUS Act)'. The Treasury plans to solicit public comments related to regulatory compliance, anti-money laundering, tax issues, etc., until October 20.

According to CNBC on the 19th (local time), Steve Miran, a member of the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed), said there is no evidence that tariffs increase inflation. He added, "It is reasonable to reach the neutral rate gradually in 50bp increments." Meanwhile, Miran had previously advocated a 50bp rate cut alone at a recent Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.

On the 19th (local time), according to economic breaking-news channel Walter Bloomberg, President Trump said after a call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, "It was a good conversation," and that he plans to visit China early next year. Xi Jinping also said he would visit the United States at an appropriate time.

The three major U.S. stock indexes are showing an upward trend. The Nasdaq Composite was trading at 22,560.18 points at 00:01 on the 20th, up 0.40% from the previous day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.16% at 46,216.53 points, and the S&P 500 was up 0.19% at 6,644.51 points.