12 Day War, JPM $100T Crypto Play, Wall Street's $9.8T Comeback
1.) The “12-Day War” Has a Branding Problem
President Trump wants to call the latest Iran-Israel conflict the “12-Day War”—a name that harks back to the fast-paced, high-stakes warfare of the Six-Day War in 1967. It’s pithy, cinematic, and politically loaded. But here’s the thing: presidents don’t name wars. Historians and journalists usually do, and even then, not immediately. As one Cornell historian put it, there’s no official body assigning titles to armed conflicts—it’s a messy consensus built over time. So while Trump may be testing a brand, the global media and historical record may have other ideas.
As for labeling it World War III? That’s an even bigger stretch. Experts argue today’s regional escalations—from Israel-Iran, to Ukraine, to Taiwan—are too disjointed to qualify as a true world war. The nuclear deterrent still holds, and unless two major powers directly exchange nuclear fire, the term remains more clickbait than classification. Or as one defense expert put it bluntly: stop trying to make World War III happen.
2.) JPMorgan’s $100T Institutional Settlement
JPMorgan is inching deeper into the crypto world—this time with a token that looks like a stablecoin, walks like a stablecoin, but insists it’s not. Meet JPMD, a deposit token the bank says will provide institutional clients with 24/7 settlement and interest-bearing utility. Built on Coinbase’s Base chain and backed by actual commercial bank deposits, JPMD is JPMorgan’s way of offering the on-chain cash experience—without leaving the comfort of the traditional banking system. It’s not public-facing, not degen-ready, and definitely not meant for your MetaMask wallet.
So why not just call it a stablecoin? Optics, regulation, and control. Stablecoins like USDT and USDC, while dominant, operate in a murky legal zone. JPMorgan wants the trust of the old guard and the tech of the new. With interest-bearing features and pre-committed clients, JPMD could signal the start of a corporate land grab for programmable dollars. It’s not a crypto revolution—it’s Wall Street rebranding it.
3.) Stocks All Time High
Wall Street’s Comeback Is Complete. Now What?
Eighty days ago, the S&P 500 was flirting with a bear market. On Friday, it closed at an all-time high of 6,173.07, sealing a $9.8 trillion recovery that few saw coming. The Nasdaq also clocked a fresh record, fueled by Big Tech’s AI binge, while the Dow inched closer to its pre-correction peak. Traders almost missed the party—markets dipped briefly after Trump threatened tariffs on Canada over a digital tax, but reversed hard into the close.
The rebound marks a dramatic reversal from April’s tariff turmoil, where headlines of “Liberation Day” and 145% duties on Chinese goods spooked global markets. But now, with China reopening rare earth exports and Washington softening its trade stance, investors have tuned out the noise. The Fed’s dovish tone, Nvidia’s gravity-defying chip sales, and an AI-fueled growth narrative are giving Wall Street its swagger back. Just one question remains: is this the top—or just the start of Act II?
