U.S. stock index futures moved lower in premarket trading as crude oil prices climbed on escalating tensions involving Iran, heightening geopolitical risk in the Middle East. Markets are bracing for elevated volatility in energy shares at the open.

JPMorgan Chase will allow institutional clients to pledge Bitcoin and Ethereum as collateral for U.S. dollar loans, Bloomberg reported ahead of Friday's market open. The program is designed to broaden the bank's use of digital assets in its credit and lending systems by late 2025, while relying on third-party custodians to handle custody and reduce direct risk. Under the structure described in the report, JPMorgan will not hold the digital assets linked to these loans. Instead, approved custodians will safeguard clients' pledged Bitcoin and Ether, enabling the bank to extend credit lines or structured loans secured by crypto in a framework similar to how equities or bonds are used as collateral. The bank has been expanding its collateral policy in steps. In June, it began accepting crypto exchange-traded funds as collateral; the latest move extends eligibility to the underlying assets themselves. Market participants note that using digital assets introduces operational demands that differ from traditional collateral. Samuel Patt, co-founder of OP_NET, said the shift reflects evolving institutional priorities, but emphasized the need to manage real-time volatility and liquidity risks, including intraday price moves and continuous evaluation of custodian reliability. That typically requires real-time pricing, dynamic margining, and strengthened custody controls. The move also aligns with broader activity across U.S. finance. BNY Mellon partnered with Goldman Sachs in July last year on a tokenized money market product built on existing custody infrastructure. Morgan Stanley has also confirmed plans to enable crypto trading for retail clients through its E*TRADE platform and has expanded access to crypto funds across multiple account types.

U.S. consumers have been grappling with elevated inflation for some time. That pressure was already evident before the Strait of Hormuz shut down, a development that adds new uncertainty to the outlook.

Coinbase is set to launch round-the-clock stock perpetual futures for international traders this week. CEO Brian Armstrong said traditional markets "close" even as news continues to move prices, arguing that 24/7 price discovery can expand trading opportunities and support stronger risk management.

G7 foreign ministers have pledged to protect global energy supplies and ensure security in the Strait of Hormuz as attacks by Iranian proxy forces raise risks in the region, Reuters reported.

Iran said it could "completely close" the Strait of Hormuz after President Trump threatened to "obliterate" the country's power plants. The Strait is a critical energy chokepoint, with about 20% of the world's oil supply moving through the waterway.

UPDATE: Resolv Labs said it is investigating an incident involving unauthorized minting of USR. The company confirmed its collateral pool remains intact and reported no asset losses.

Blockchain data show a transfer of 220,000,000 USDT, valued at about US$219,979,617, from OKEX to an unidentified wallet.