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JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon annual letter cites risks in geopolitics, AI, private markets

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JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon annual letter cites risks in geopolitics, AI, private markets

Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO, JPMorganChase, speaks during the Reagan National Defense Forum at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, U.S. December 6, 2025.

Jonathan Alcorn | Reuters

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon is calling for a broad recommitment to American ideals as his bank navigates geopolitical uncertainty, a teetering economy and the revolutionary impact of artificial intelligence.

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Dimon in his annual letter to shareholders, published Monday, noted the country’s 250th anniversary as “the perfect time to rededicate ourselves to the values that made this great nation of ours — freedom, liberty and opportunity.”

“The challenges we all face are significant. The list is long but at the top are the terrible ongoing war and violence in Ukraine, the current war in Iran and the broader hostilities in the Middle East, terrorist activity and growing geopolitical tensions, importantly with China,” Dimon said. “Even in troubled times, we have confidence that America do what it has always done — look to the values that have defined our singular nation and sustained our leadership of the free world.”

Dimon, the longtime leader of the world’s largest bank by market cap, is among the most outspoken of U.S. corporate leaders. His annual letter offers not only a matter of record for his firm’s performance, but also sweeping perspectives on the global state of affairs.

In Monday’s letter, Dimon noted headwinds including global conflicts, persistent inflation, private market upheaval and what he called “poor bank regulations.”

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Dimon said that while regulations like those put in place after the 2008 financial crisis “accomplished some good things … they also created a fragmented, slow-moving system with expensive, overlapping and excessive rules and regulations — some of which made the financial system weaker and reduced productive lending.”

He specifically cited negative consequences of capital and liquidity requirements, the current construction of the Federal Reserve’s stress test and a “badly handled” process at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Dimon also said JPMorgan’s reaction to revised proposals for Basel 3 Endgame and a global systemically important bank (GSIB) surcharge — issued by U.S. regulators last month — were “mixed.”

“While it was good to see that the recent proposals for the Basel 3 Endgame (B3E) and GSIB attempted to reduce the increase in required capital from the 2023 proposals, there are still some aspects that are frankly nonsensical,” Dimon said.

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The CEO said the aggregate proposed surcharges of about 5%, the bank would need to hold “as much as 50% more capital across the vast majority of loans to U.S. consumers and businesses when compared with a large non-GSIB bank for the same set of loans.”

“Frankly, it’s not right, and it’s un-American,” he said.

On trade and geopolitics

Dimon identified geopolitical tensions as the primary risk facing his bank, namely the wars in Ukraine and Iran and their impacts on commodities and global markets — deeming war “the realm of uncertainty.”

“The outcome of current geopolitical events may very well be the defining factor in how the future global economic order unfolds,” he said. “Then again, it may not.”

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He also cited a “realignment of economic relations in the world” brought on by U.S. trade policy. U.S. President Donald Trump has made tariffs a signature policy of his second term in office, introducing higher duties on dozens of trade partners and import categories.

“The trade battles are clearly not over, and it should be expected that many nations are analyzing how and with whom they should create trade arrangements,” Dimon said. “While some of this is necessary for national security and resiliency, which are paramount, it is hard to figure out what the long-term effects will be.”

On private markets

Dimon also spoke to recent upheaval in the private markets, as fears around loans made to software firms spur massive redemption requests at private credit funds.

“By and large, private credit does not tend to have great transparency or rigorous valuation ‘marks’ of their loans — this increases the chance that people will sell if they think the environment will get worse — even if actual realized losses barely change,” Dimon said.

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The executive added that actual losses are already higher than they should be relative to the environment.

“However this plays out, it should be expected that at some point insurance regulators will insist on more rigorous ratings or markdowns, which will likely lead to demands for more capital,” he said.

On AI

Dimon reiterated Monday that the pace of AI adoption is unlike any technology that came before it. He said while its implementation will be “transformational,” it remains to be seen how the AI revolution will unfold.

“Overall, the investment in AI is not a speculative bubble; rather, it will deliver significant benefits. However, at this time, we cannot predict the ultimate winners and losers in AI- related industries,” Dimon said.

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“We will not put our heads in the sand. We will deploy AI, as we deploy all technology, to do a better job for our customers (and employees),” he wrote.

JPMorgan has been at the forefront of Wall Street firms introducing AI at every level of its business. Last year, JPMorgan Chief Analytics Officer Derek Waldron gave CNBC an early demonstration into how it’s using agentic AI to speed up work and improve results for customers and shareholders.

In February, Dimon said AI was reshaping JPMorgan’s workforce and that the bank had “huge redeployment plans” for employees.

“We have focused on some of the ‘known and predictable’ and some of the ‘known unknown’ events,” he said. “But huge technological shifts like AI always have second- and third-order effects as well that can deeply impact society. … We should be monitoring for this kind of transformation, too.”

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— CNBC’s Leslie Picker and Ritika Shah contributed to this report.

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Polymarket Launches Stablecoin, Overhauls Trading System

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Polymarket is rolling out its biggest platform upgrade to date, introducing a new stablecoin and rebuilding its trading system. 

The changes will take place over the next few weeks and aim to make the platform faster, simpler, and more reliable for users.

At the center of the update is a new collateral token called “Polymarket USD.” It will replace USDC.e and is backed 1:1 by USDC. 

For most users, the switch will happen automatically with a one-time approval. However, advanced users and bot traders will need to manually convert their funds.

At the same time, Polymarket is upgrading how trades are placed and matched. The platform is introducing a new order book system and updated smart contracts. 

These changes are designed to improve speed, reduce costs, and support more advanced trading activity.

As part of the transition, all existing order books will be cleared, and trading will pause briefly during a scheduled maintenance window. Polymarket said it will announce the exact timing in advance.

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For everyday users, the impact will be minimal. The interface will handle most changes in the background. However, traders may notice smoother performance and quicker order execution after the upgrade.

Overall, the update signals a shift in how Polymarket operates. The platform is moving toward a more structured, exchange-like system built for higher trading volume and broader use.

The post Polymarket Launches Stablecoin, Overhauls Trading System appeared first on BeInCrypto.

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Bernstein Sees Upside from Loan Growth, Tokenization

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Bernstein Sees Upside from Loan Growth, Tokenization

Figure Technology Solutions, a blockchain-based lending platform that went public last year, may be undervalued at current levels as loan originations accelerate and its tokenized credit marketplace scales, according to Bernstein analysts.

In a report published Monday, Bernstein assigned Figure an “Outperform” rating and a $67 price target — nearly double the stock’s recent trading level of around $32.

The bullish call follows a surge in lending activity. Figure originated $1.2 billion in loans in March, up 33% from the previous month and marking the first time monthly volumes exceeded $1 billion. 

The company primarily originates home equity lines of credit (HELOCs), which allow homeowners to borrow against their equity in the property, typically at lower interest rates than unsecured loans.

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It uses the Provence blockchain to reduce friction in the loan process which it claims makes it more efficient than traditional lenders. According to Provenance, Figure is able to shave 117 basis points per loan by transacting on the blockchain.

First-quarter originations reached $2.9 billion, more than doubling from a year earlier and defying the usual seasonal slowdown in HELOC demand. The figure is now tracking roughly $12 billion in annualized loan volume.

Figure’s growth has been driven by rising consumer loan demand, an expanding partner network and the continued rollout of its blockchain-based credit infrastructure, including its YLDS stablecoin. Source: Bernstein

Figure’s strong start to the year follows a largely positive fourth quarter, where earnings and revenue increased, though profits fell short of expectations.

Related: CoinShares stock makes US debut on Nasdaq following SPAC merger

Figure stock struggles despite strong fundamentals

Despite improving operating performance, Figure shares have fallen more than 20% this year, reflecting broader volatility across digital asset–linked stocks and sector-specific pressures.

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The stock has also struggled to regain momentum following its high-profile Nasdaq market debut last September. That closely watched initial public offering valued the company at nearly $800 million.

Figure Technology (FIGR) stock’s year-to-date performance. Source: Yahoo Finance

Still, Bernstein’s analysis valued the company at roughly 25 times its projected 2027 EBITDA — meaning the stock trades at a multiple of its expected earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. 

This valuation sits above existing digital asset companies, reflecting what analysts describe as Figure’s “structural prospects” as both a tokenization platform and a profitable lending business.

However, risks remain. According to Bernstein, HELOC demand can be sensitive to mortgage refinancing trends, while the broader private credit market — a key pillar of Figure’s growth strategy — has shown signs of increasing pressure.

Related: Crypto Biz: Bitcoin treasuries break ranks as BTC dips below $70K

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