From August 25 to 29, the virtual asset market showed mixed trends as the Jackson Hole conference and concerns over inflation due to tariffs intersected. Bitcoin recorded a 0.3% drop from the previous week, settling at $112,253 on the 29th, while Ethereum rose by 5.6% to $4,488. In the altcoin market, Cronos (CRO, +130.23%), Pump.dapump (PUMP, +23.43%), and Solana (SOL, +18.68%) led the bullish trend.
This week's primary burden on the market was the expanded concern over inflation due to tariffs. Following the proposed "Safe Trade Bill" on the 15th, Goldman Sachs analyzed that if the passing of tariffs intensifies, the core PCE could rise to 3.3% by 2025. The Safe Trade Bill primarily imposes a 10% basic tariff on all products imported into the United States, especially imposing a maximum tariff of 100% on imports from China.
Research from Yale University has suggested that the prices of essential goods, such as metals, clothing, and agricultural products, could maintain high pressure at levels of 15% to 18% in the long term, reflecting concerns over structural inflation in the market.
At the Jackson Hole conference, views from the Federal Reserve on this issue were diverging. Some described inflation due to tariffs as a "temporary shock," noting that weakness in the labor market could offset price pressures, which acted as factors for the decline in the dollar and U.S. government bond rates, as well as the rebound in risky assets. However, at the same time, by officially abandoning the average inflation targeting (AIT) and reaffirming the goal of keeping inflation at 2%, a hawkish stance was also indicated. Accordingly, while the possibility of a rate cut in September has increased, forecasts have emerged that if inflation becomes structural, continued cuts may be constrained.
Kim Joon-sung, a researcher at Jangle, noted, "This week has been a period where short-term liquidity expectations through Jackson Hole coexisted with concerns over inflation due to tariffs," and emphasized the need to closely examine whether changes in policy trends could actually lead to liquidity provision rather than merely signaling a short-term rebound.
◇ Circle states no intention for a Korean won stablecoin... only suggests collaboration on USDC
Hiss Tabbert, the president of Circle, the world's second-largest stablecoin provider, has reportedly met with key figures from South Korea's top four financial institutions, including Shinhan, KB, Woori, and Hana, and indicated that there is no intention to cooperate on issuing a Korean won stablecoin, only suggesting collaboration on the U.S. dollar stablecoin (USDC). This stance is contrary to the high expectations of domestic financial institutions for the introduction of a Korean won stablecoin.
Circle currently holds about 25% of the global market share, significantly lagging behind the leader Tether (65%), making market expansion critical. Experts interpret this visit as a strategic move to seize networks and partnerships in the domestic banking sector before the full-fledged introduction of offshore stablecoin regulations.
Currently, there are no direct regulations on stablecoins in Korea, and proposals for laws such as the 'Digital Asset Basic Act' and the 'Digital Asset Innovation Act' have been submitted to the National Assembly. These bills include provisions for the definition, issuance, and distribution requirements of stablecoins and investor protection measures, making the potential institutionalization of Korean won and U.S. dollar stablecoins a major focus of interest in the financial sector and industry.
◇ World Federation of Exchanges calls for regulation of tokenized stocks
The World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), representing the world's largest exchanges, has requested strong regulations on "tokenized stocks" from securities regulatory authorities in various countries. Tokenized stocks mimic real corporate shares with blockchain-based tokens; however, investors cannot become shareholders of the underlying companies.
In a letter recently sent to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) cryptocurrency task force, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), WFE warned that "tokenized stocks are marketed similarly to shares but lack the same rights and investor protections," posing serious risks to market integrity and investor protection. Particularly, it pointed out movements by platforms like Coinbase and Robinhood that aim to offer tokenized stocks based on U.S. stocks in the European market.
WFE urged regulatory authorities to apply existing securities regulations to tokenized assets, clarify ownership and custodial legal frameworks, and prevent marketing as equal products to actual shares. This warning came amid ongoing movements, such as Robinhood launching tokenized stocks in the European Union (EU) and Coinbase requesting the SEC to allow related services, highlighting it as a key issue for exchanges, issuing companies, and regulators.
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An on-chain data-based essential operational solution and trust-based community-building service targeting companies and foundations adopting Web3. Operating the crypto data intelligence platform Jangle, the Jangle research team is creating content to showcase trends in the virtual asset investment industry based on global virtual asset information and data.