JH Kim

On the 3rd (local time), according to economic breaking news channel Walter Bloomberg (Walter Bloomberg), the international spot price of gold reached $3567.16 per ounce, once again reaching an all-time high. Recently, gold prices have continued to rise day after day under the influence of global economic uncertainty, the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy outlook, and heightened geopolitical tensions.

According to breaking economic news channel Walter Bloomberg on the 3rd (local time), the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) will hold a payments innovation conference on October 21. At the event, next-generation payment technologies such as stablecoins and AI-based tokenization will be major agenda items. The Fed plans to use the conference to discuss the role of new financial infrastructure and regulatory directions amid the rapidly changing digital payments environment. Industry representatives, academic experts, and policy officials are expected to attend to examine the opportunities and risk factors of payments innovation.

The three major U.S. stock indices are showing mixed trading. At 00:01 on the 4th, the Nasdaq Composite was trading at 21,544.35 points, up 1.24% from the previous day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.16% at 45,221.22 points, and the S&P 500 index was up 0.55% at 6451.06 points.

According to foreign media on the 2nd (local time), the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said they will jointly cooperate to allow spot trading of certain virtual assets (cryptocurrencies) on registered exchanges approved by authorities. The two agencies are preparing consumer protection guidelines related to spot trading, such as leverage and margin trading, and are organizing the legal and institutional basis to ensure trading can lawfully take place within registered exchanges. In a joint statement, the SEC and CFTC clarified that under current law registered exchanges are not prohibited from handling certain spot virtual assets.

On the 2nd (local time), according to economic news channel Walter Bloomberg (Walter Bloomberg), U.S. President Donald Trump said, "A very strong interest rate cut is necessary."n

About 600 U.S. economists have signed a public letter supporting Lisa Cook, a governor of the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed), amid an attempt by President Donald Trump to remove her. On the 2nd (local time), CNBC reported that in the letter sent to President Trump, Congress, and the public, they said, "Sound economic policy requires a credible monetary policy institution, and a credible monetary policy institution requires the independence of the Fed," adding, "We support Governor Cook and the Fed's institutional independence." The letter included the names of scholars such as Nobel Prize in Economics winners Joseph Stiglitz, Claudia Goldin, Alvin Roth, Paul Milgrom, and Paul Romer, and also drew participation from former Fed economists and Christina Romer and Jared Bernstein, former chairs of the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA). Earlier, on the 25th of last month, President Trump asserted in a public letter that Governor Cook committed mortgage fraud by listing two properties she did not actually reside in during 2021 as "residences," citing this as grounds for removal. However, Governor Cook has filed a lawsuit arguing that Trump does not have the authority to remove her, seeking confirmation of her status as a member of the Federal Reserve Board (FRB) and a preliminary injunction to suspend the effect of any removal. In their statement, the economists criticized, "Trump's claim is based on unproven allegations, and this is an attempt to undermine the Fed's independence." They added, "The independence of the central bank has been a cornerstone supporting the vitality of the U.S. economy for decades."

The three major U.S. stock indexes closed lower. The Nasdaq Composite recorded 21,279.63 points, down 0.82% compared with the session three days earlier. The Dow Jones index closed at 45,295.69 points, down 0.55%, and the S&P 500 index closed at 6,414.68 points, down 0.71%.

On the 2nd (local time), Brian Armstrong, Coinbase CEO, said on X (formerly Twitter) "The first futures product that allows simultaneous investment in U.S. tech stocks and digital assets (cryptocurrencies) will be launched on September 22." The product is the first attempt to combine traditional finance and digital asset investment approaches, and investor interest is expected to be focused.

On the 2nd (local time), according to the economic breaking news channel Walter Bloomberg (Walter Bloomberg), U.S. President Donald Trump said an emergency meeting regarding tariffs will be held tomorrow.

On the 2nd (local time), according to virtual asset (cryptocurrency) specialist media CoinDesk, gold-based Individual Retirement Account (IRA) provider SmartGold announced that it will support U.S. investors in putting gold assets on the blockchain and earning yields from DeFi (decentralized finance) protocols. SmartGold partnered with tokenization platform Chintai Nexus for this. Gold held in IRAs will be tokenized on a 1:1 basis through Chintai, and can then be used as collateral assets in DeFi lending markets such as Morpho and Kamino.

On the 3rd, domestic virtual asset (cryptocurrency) exchange Bithumb announced that it had completed an inspection of its trading services. The exact time of normalization has not been announced, and trading services will resume once service stability is secured.

The three major U.S. stock indices are showing a decline. At 00:40 on the 3rd, the Nasdaq Composite index was trading at 21,073.37 points, down 1.78% from the previous close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.07% at 45,055.47 points, and the S&P 500 index was down 1.40% at 6,370.02 points.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said President Donald Trump may declare a nationwide housing emergency within months. On the 1st (local time), according to Watcherguru, Secretary Bessent said recent sharp rises in U.S. housing prices and supply shortages have intensified housing insecurity for ordinary citizens, and that declaring a state of emergency is being discussed as a response. He said, "The housing crisis is not simply a market issue but a serious matter directly tied to people's lives," and added, "President Trump is considering strong federal-level intervention." If a state of emergency is actually declared, a wide range of measures such as additional budget allocations and regulatory relaxation could be implemented. Earlier, the Trump administration had been preparing measures such as easing financial regulations and expanding housing for low-income households to respond to instability in the housing market.

U.S. President Donald Trump strongly criticized India over delays in tariff negotiations. On the 1st (local time), President Trump posted on his social media platform 'Truth Social', "India now offers to remove tariffs, but it's too late," and "that action should have been taken years ago," he said. He pointed to the trade imbalance between the two countries, saying, "The business the U.S. does with India is very small, but what India does with the U.S. is enormous," and "India sells vast amounts of goods to its largest customer, the United States, but the U.S. sells only a very small amount," he said. President Trump also criticized, "For decades, India has imposed excessive tariffs on American companies, and it has been a completely one-sided disaster," and "India buys most of its crude oil and military equipment from Russia, and buys very little from the United States."

Jean Tirole, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics, warned in an interview with the Financial Times (FT) on the 1st (local time) that if confidence in stablecoins is shaken, large-scale redemptions could occur and the government might undertake massive bailouts. Tirole pointed out, "Individual investors perceive stablecoins as safe deposits," and "If losses occur, the government will face political pressure to intervene in the market." He cited the composition of reserves as the biggest risk. Tirole explained, "US Treasuries remain popular, but considering inflation, real yields can fall into negative territory," and "Because of this, issuers may turn to risky assets in search of higher returns." He added, "Market supervision can mitigate some risks, but current regulation is insufficient due to political and fiscal interests surrounding virtual assets (cryptocurrencies)."

The three major U.S. stock indices closed lower. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.15% from the previous day on the 30th to 21,455.55 points. The Dow Jones fell 0.20% to 45,544.88 points, and the S&P 500 fell 0.61% to 6,462.32 points.