Uk Jin

As an era approaches in which artificial intelligence (AI) agents conduct financial activities on their own, some argue that stablecoins—digital assets pegged to the value of fiat currency—could take root as core payment infrastructure. According to digital-asset media outlet CoinDesk on the 14th (Korea time), Dante Disparte, Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) at Circle, said, "The most important feature of stablecoins is that they are programmable money," adding, "Blockchains can serve as a common ledger that all AI agents can reference. In an agent economy, stablecoins and blockchains can become core infrastructure." Skepticism also exists. Sean Neville, co-founder of Catena Labs, said, "It’s true that some AI developers have a negative perception of digital assets because of cases like memecoins and Ponzi schemes." He added, "If payment methods between AI agents are fragmented across multiple protocols, it could make market formation difficult," stressing that "Stablecoins can play a role only if there is a standard payment protocol that anyone can use, like SSL."

U.S. President Donald Trump urged allied nations to cooperate to keep the Strait of Hormuz open. On the 14th (Korea time), Trump wrote on Truth Social that “a number of countries affected by attempts to close the Strait of Hormuz will send warships together with the United States to keep the strait secure.” He went on to name five countries: South Korea, China, France, Japan and the United Kingdom. Trump said that “Iran’s military capability has already been destroyed by 100%,” but added that “it could still threaten the strait through drone attacks, the placement of sea mines, or short-range missile strikes.” He also said, “The United States will soon open the Strait of Hormuz and make it safe, one way or another.”

Calls have been raised for a more proactive push to develop digital-asset financial tools for refugees. The rationale is that escalating geopolitical conflicts have increased the likelihood of a rise in refugees and migrant populations worldwide. According to digital-asset news outlet Cointelegraph on the 14th (Korea time), Balaji Srinivasan, former chief technology officer (CTO) of Coinbase, said on X (formerly Twitter) that "the digital-asset industry should develop more financial tools for refugees and stateless people." Srinivasan added, "As geopolitical conflicts such as wars intensify, the number of refugees and migrants worldwide is likely to increase," and "digital assets can serve as the internet's 'wartime mode.' Transactions can continue even in the event of infrastructure collapse or under financial sanctions."

The German government is tightening tax rules on digital assets. According to Cryptopolitan on the 14th (KST), Germany will strengthen its digital-asset taxation rules from this year by incorporating the European Union’s (EU) revised Directive on Administrative Cooperation (DAC8). The rules require crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) to report user information and transaction details to tax authorities. Specifically, DAC8 stipulates the establishment of an automatic exchange framework for digital-asset transaction information among EU member states. Accordingly, digital-asset exchanges in Germany—as well as overseas firms providing services to German users—must share user information and transaction data with Germany’s federal and state tax authorities. Major digital-asset exchanges including Bitpanda, Bison, Binance, Coinbase and Kraken are expected to be covered. Some say the tougher tax rules could significantly raise the likelihood of detecting tax evasion by digital-asset investors. German media outlet Handelsblatt analyzed that “the risk of being caught for tax evasion related to digital assets is rising sharply.”

The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is introducing a new reporting regime for virtual asset (cryptocurrency) transactions starting this year. This has raised concerns that crypto-related tax filings for US investors could become even more complicated. According to The Block on the 14th (Korea time), the IRS has begun implementing Form 1099-DA, which requires virtual asset brokers (transaction intermediaries) to report investors’ transaction histories starting this year. Under the new rule, crypto exchanges such as Coinbase and Kraken must report virtual asset transactions that occur in 2025 to both investors and the IRS. However, because the data provided by exchanges under this regime is limited to “gross proceeds,” concerns have been raised that confusion could arise during the actual tax calculation process. Lawrence Zlatkin, Coinbase’s vice president of tax, explained that “Form 1099-DA reports only the gross proceeds of transactions and does not provide cost-basis information to the IRS,” adding that “taxpayers must obtain cost-basis data themselves and calculate gains and losses on their tax returns.” The burden is expected to grow especially for investors who use a range of crypto infrastructure, including multiple exchanges and personal wallets. Shehan Chandrasekera, head of tax strategy at CoinTracker, said, “For investors using DeFi or moving between multiple wallets and exchanges, manually calculating taxes is virtually impossible.” Some believe that because this is the first year of implementation, the likelihood of the IRS launching aggressive enforcement will be limited. Miles Fuller, director at TaxBit, said, “Since this is the first year the IRS will receive 1099-DA data, it will need time to process the new dataset,” adding that “it is unlikely that large-scale audits or warning letters will follow in the short term.” Meanwhile, the crypto reporting framework is expected to become clearer starting with 2026 tax filings. Under IRS rules, for virtual assets acquired in exchange accounts on or after January 1, 2026, brokers will be required to report not only proceeds but also cost-basis information.

David Sacks, the White House’s special adviser for digital asset policy, urged restraint against escalating the war with Iran. According to The Wall Street Journal on the 14th (KST), Sacks said, “It’s time to find an exit,” adding, “This is a good moment to declare victory and get out.” Sacks warned, “If desalination facilities become targets, the Gulf region will become uninhabitable,” adding that “a real catastrophe could ensue.”

Iran has urged civilians living at ports and docks near areas in the United Arab Emirates where U.S. forces are stationed to evacuate. According to Infinity Hedge on the 14th (local time), Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned civilians in and around ports, docks and nearby areas in major UAE cities where U.S. forces are stationed or operating to “leave the area to avoid harm.”

Iran is reportedly reviewing whether to allow some oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. However, the idea being discussed would permit passage only for tankers that pay for oil in yuan. According to Odaily on the 14th (Korea time), CNN, citing a senior Iranian official, reported that Iran is discussing a plan to allow a limited number of oil tankers to transit the Strait of Hormuz, and that the oil carried by those tankers may have to be paid for in yuan.

The world’s No. 2 and No. 5 centralized exchanges (CEX), Coinbase and Bybit, are said to be moving toward cooperation. On the 14th (KST), WuBlockchain, citing sources familiar with the matter, reported that Coinbase and Bybit are in negotiations to sign an investment cooperation agreement, and that Bybit is seeking to enter the U.S. regulated market through the partnership. According to CoinMarketCap, Coinbase ranks second and Bybit fifth among global digital-asset exchanges.

Global investment bank JPMorgan projected that the scale of oil production shut-ins could reach as much as 12 million barrels per day (bpd). According to Walter Bloomberg on the 13th (local time), Natasha Kaneva, head of research at J.P. Morgan Chase, said that “as transportation disruptions worsen, global oil supply disruptions could expand rapidly,” adding that “next week, oil production shut-ins worldwide could reach up to 12 million barrels per day.”

The digital-asset market is broadly in bullish territory. As of 10:24 p.m. KST on the 13th, bellwether Bitcoin was trading at $73,067, up 4.18% from the previous day. It was not just Bitcoin. Ethereum (ETH) and XRP (XRP) surged 6.23% and 4.03%, respectively, from the previous day. Major digital assets were also higher across the board, including Binance Coin (+3.42%), Solana (+5.23%), Dogecoin (+6.20%) and Cardano (+6.79%).

Decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Ammalgam has officially launched its mainnet after about a year of development and testing. On the 13th (Korea time), The Block reported that Ammalgam had officially launched its mainnet. Ammalgam is notable for introducing a decentralized lending exchange structure that integrates lending, borrowing, trading, and market-making functions into a single on-chain system. The protocol says this reduces capital fragmentation across the existing DeFi ecosystem and boosts capital efficiency by enabling the same capital to be deployed across multiple strategies. Will Fay, founder of Ammalgam, said, "I have seen many DeFi projects fail due to delays or manipulation in price feeds," adding, "We designed the protocol so it can reduce reliance on signals the system cannot control and manage risk based on liquidity that can actually be executed on-chain."

Saudi Arabia has reportedly reduced crude oil production by about 2 million barrels a day in the fallout from the Iran war, bringing output down to around 8 million barrels. On the 13th (local time), Reuters, citing multiple sources, reported that the cut of roughly 2 million barrels per day came as Saudi halted production at two major offshore oilfields. As a result, Saudi crude output is said to have fallen from about 10 million barrels previously to roughly 8 million barrels. The sources said the suspended fields were Safaniya and Zuluf. The latest cut is seen as stemming from disruptions to shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz after clashes involving the United States, Israel and Iran began, exacerbating production setbacks across Middle Eastern oil-producing countries. Saudi state oil company Aramco has not issued an official statement on the cut.

US economic growth in the fourth quarter of last year was revised to a level far lower than expected. According to the US Department of Commerce on the 13th (local time), gross domestic product (GDP) in the fourth quarter of last year rose at an annual rate of 0.7%. This was well below the market forecast of 1.4%.

The US core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index for January came in in line with market expectations. According to data released on the 13th (local time) by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) under the US Department of Commerce, the US core PCE for January rose 3.1% from a year earlier, matching market forecasts. It also increased 0.4% month on month, in line with economists’ expectations. Core PCE excludes food and energy, which are highly volatile. It is regarded as a key indicator the US central bank (Fed) looks to ahead of policy deliberations, including decisions on the benchmark interest rate.

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has foreshadowed large-scale airstrikes against Iran. According to Reuters on the 13th (Korea time), Hegseth said at a briefing, "Soon all of Iran’s defense contractors will be destroyed," adding, "On Friday, the United States will carry out its largest attack to date." He also added that "Iran’s new supreme leader may have been injured, potentially leaving his appearance severely disfigured."

U.S. President Donald Trump warned that a powerful military attack on Iran could come within a week. According to Reuters on the 13th (Korea time), Trump said in an interview with Fox News, "We will strike Iran very hard next week." He also said that, if necessary, the U.S. military could escort vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.