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By Janet H. Cho

The Trump administration is aiming to address the federal government's shortage of specialized technical expertise by creating a government-wide U.S. "Tech Force." The move comes as the government seeks to replace some of the expertise it lost after mass downsizing earlier this year.

Tech Force will "surge teams of top engineers, data scientists, and technology leaders to tackle the government's most complex and large-scale challenges," in fields like artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data science, and software engineering. They would work on initiatives to modernize the federal government, focus on the most mission-critical projects, "fast-track AI adoption" across the government, and "unleash" private sector innovation at tech companies that are part of the program.

The government would hire 1,000 fellows for one- or two-year stints, led and mentored by experienced technical managers hired from the private sector to serve one- or two-year terms in the federal government.

The Office of Personnel Management, the Office of Management and Budget, the General Services Administration, the White House Office of Science Technology and Policy, and other agency leaders announced the program on Monday as part of the administration's AI Action Plan.

Participants will receive technical training and work closely with senior engineers from the tech industry, as they work on "the most mission-critical projects" across several federal departments and agencies, including State, Treasury, Labor, Transportation, and Homeland Security, among others.

"If you want to help your country lead in the age of rapid technological advancement, we need you," Office of Personnel Management director Scott Kupor said. "Tech Force offers the chance to build and lead projects of national importance, while creating powerful career opportunities in both public service and the private sector."

Donald Moynihan, a professor of public policy at the University of Michigan's Ford School, said that while getting new tech talent into government is always a good idea, "the problem is especially acute because the Trump administration got rid of some very talented technologists already in government, such as those working at the U.S. Digital Service and 18F."

For example, the business unit known as 18F had about 90 tech consultants and engineers focused on making digital services in the federal government more efficient and responsive. But its members were abruptly fired on March 1, during the GAO's mass purge of government workers.

"The reality is that tech talent in the government is in a recovery mode because of the actions of DOGE," Moynihan said. DOGE is the acronym for the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency, which helped identify areas to cut.

The learning curve for government jobs is steep, Moynihan added, and short deployments mean that people may not be in their roles long enough to be successful.

Private sector companies participating in the Tech Force program include a long list of top tech and AI companies, such as Magnificent Seven members Amazon, Apple, Alphabet-owned Google's public sector group, Microsoft, Meta Platforms, and Nvidia.

Other participants range from big tech companies like IBM, Dell Technologies, and Oracle to AI start-up OpenAI, software providers such as Palantir, Salesforce, and SAP, plus companies ranging from Uber Technologies to Coinbase to Zoom, among others. (Read a full list here.)

Moynihan pointed out that many of the corporations providing the talent for Tech Force are also contractors with the federal government. This raises questions about potential conflicts for employees who are expected to return to their companies. "Will they be committed to building government capacity when their companies benefit from bidding to provide services and vendor lock-in?" he asked.

The Tech Force program also aims to give 200 students in technology programs "meaningful public-service experience and the opportunity to earn college credits" in exchange for a volunteer Semester of Service.

Write to Janet H. Cho at janet.cho@dowjones.com

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By Vicky Ge Huang

Bitcoin fell below $86,000 on Monday, mirroring a broader decline in stocks and other risk assets as investors rotate out of high-growth assets and shift to value plays.

The largest cryptocurrency traded at around $85,700 as of early Monday afternoon, down more than 30% from its early October peak above $126,000. The decline has weighed on crypto-linked stocks. Shares of crypto exchange Coinbase Global, stablecoin company Circle Internet Group and bitcoin-treasury firm Strategy were all down about 5% or more.

This item is part of a Wall Street Journal live coverage event. The full stream can be found by searching P/WSJL (WSJ Live Coverage).

By Vicky Ge Huang

JPMorgan Chase is joining the list of traditional financial firms seeking to bring blockchain technology to an investing staple: the money-market fund.

The banking giant's $4 trillion asset-management arm is rolling out its first tokenized money-market fund on the Ethereum blockchain. JPMorgan will seed the fund with $100 million of its own capital, and then open it to outside investors on Tuesday.

Called My OnChain Net Yield Fund, or "MONY," the private fund is supported by JPMorgan's tokenization platform, Kinexys Digital Assets, and will be open to qualified investors, or individuals with at least $5 million in investments and institutions with a minimum of $25 million. The fund has a $1 million investment minimum.

Wall Street has waded deeper into tokenization since the passage of the Genius Act earlier this year. The landmark measure, which establishes a regulatory framework for tokenized dollars known as stablecoins, has unleashed a wave of efforts to tokenize everything from stocks and bonds to funds and real assets.

"There is a massive amount of interest from clients around tokenization, " said John Donohue, head of global liquidity at J.P. Morgan Asset Management. "And we expect to be a leader in this space and work with clients to make sure that we have a product lineup that allows them to have the choices that we have in traditional money-market funds on blockchain."

Investors can subscribe to the MONY fund through the bank's Morgan Money portal, a money-market investing platform. In exchange, they will receive digital tokens in their crypto wallets.

Like most money-market funds, JPMorgan's MONY holds baskets of relatively safe short-term debt securities that usually yield more than bank deposits. It pays interest and accrues dividends daily. Investors can subscribe and redeem shares using cash or USDC, the stablecoin issued by Circle Internet Group.

Money-market funds, an investing stalwart since the 1970s, have grown more popular this past year. Assets in money funds total about $7.7 trillion, up from $6.9 trillion at the start of 2025, according to the Investment Company Institute. Meanwhile, the total market capitalization of all stablecoins has grown to more than $300 billion, according to CoinGecko.

Tokenized money-market funds have become an attractive offering for crypto investors because they allow holders to earn a yield while their assets remain entirely on the blockchain. This solves a previous dilemma where investors typically held large amounts of idled cash in stablecoins, which traditionally don't pass on interest income to holders.

For fund managers, tokenization can help cut costs and reduce the time it takes to settle transactions. Some tokenized money-market funds are accepted as collateral on several crypto exchanges. And proponents say such offerings can help traditional asset managers attract new clients in the digital-assets space.

JPMorgan's expansion into tokenization is the latest move in a growing trend initiated by several major asset managers, including BlackRock, which operates the largest tokenized money-market fund with more than $1.8 billion in assets under management.

In July, Goldman Sachs and Bank of New York Mellon said they would partner to launch digital tokens that confer ownership of money-market funds managed by many of the biggest investment firms, including BlackRock and Fidelity Investments, as well as their own asset-management arms.

JPMorgan recently tokenized a private-equity fund on its blockchain platform for wealthy clients served by its private bank. And companies, including Robinhood, Kraken and Gemini, earlier this year launched tokenized stocks and exchange-traded funds for non-U.S. investors.

Write to Vicky Ge Huang at vicky.huang@wsj.com

By Elias Schisgall

J.P. Morgan facilitated a U.S. Commercial Paper issuance for Galaxy Digital on the blockchain platform Solana, with notes purchased by Coinbase Global and Franklin Templeton.

The bank, a unit of JPMorgan Chase, said its transaction for Galaxy, a crytocurrency-focused financial-services firm, was one of the earliest debt issuances to be executed on a public blockchain. It added that the issuance sets a precedent for institutional investors looking to build blockchain-based securities into their portfolios.

"Today's transaction is an important step toward understanding the role blockchain will play in the future of financial markets," Scott Lucas, who leads J.P. Morgan's digital-assets-markets arm, said. "This trade demonstrates institutional appetite for digital assets and our capability to securely bring new instruments on-chain using Solana," he added.

J.P. Morgan created the on-chain token and managed the delivery and payment for the transaction. It said the issuance and redemption proceeds would be paid in USDC stablecoins issued by Circle.

The bank didn't disclose the size of the transaction.

Write to Elias Schisgall at elias.schisgall@wsj.com