A limited number of supertankers remain available for hire in the Persian Gulf, posing a potential logistical crisis that could result in production shutdowns and a global supply shortage. Bloomberg posted on X, highlighting the critical situation as the scarcity of vessels may disrupt oil transportation and impact global markets. The shortage of supertankers in this key region underscores the vulnerability of the global oil supply chain, with potential repercussions for production and distribution worldwide. Industry experts are closely monitoring the situation, as any prolonged disruption could have significant economic implications.

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) is set to embark on technical experiments utilizing blockchain technology to facilitate the settlement of deposits held by financial institutions at the central bank. According to Cointelegraph, BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda announced this initiative in a speech titled “The New Financial Ecosystem and the Role of Central Banks.” The project involves a sandbox environment to test the settlement process using central bank money in the form of current account deposits on a blockchain-based system. The experiments aim to explore methods of integrating with existing systems and examine potential use cases, such as domestic interbank and securities settlements. The focus is on settlements using central bank current account deposits, which financial institutions maintain at the BOJ. Ueda emphasized that the BOJ will proceed with the assistance of external experts, framing the initiative as a controlled technical test rather than a policy implementation. The sandbox will also investigate interoperability with current systems, including the Bank of Japan Financial Network System (BOJ-NET), with insights potentially contributing to BOJ-NET improvements. Ueda highlighted the potential of integrating artificial intelligence and blockchain to enhance financial services through transaction and settlement data recorded on distributed systems. However, he cautioned about the risks associated with smart contract design, noting that inadequate design could threaten the stability of financial markets and payment systems. This initiative coincides with Japan's efforts to refine its digital asset regulatory framework. In 2025, the Financial Services Agency conducted public consultations on reclassifying certain tokens under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, potentially subjecting select digital assets to securities-style disclosure and market conduct rules. The Japanese government has also positioned blockchain and tokenization as integral to its “New Capitalism 2025” growth strategy, emphasizing digital infrastructure as a key component of financial modernization. Additionally, Japan is advancing stablecoin integration at the private sector level. On October 27, 2025, JPYC launched the country's first yen-backed stablecoin under the revised Payment Services Act, recognizing stablecoins as electronic payment instruments. Furthermore, on March 2, Sony Bank and stablecoin issuer JPYC signed a memorandum of understanding to explore real-time transfers, enabling customers to purchase yen-backed stablecoins directly from bank accounts.

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung announced plans to strengthen cooperation with the Philippines in several key sectors. According to Jin10, the collaboration will focus on artificial intelligence, green energy, shipbuilding, and cultural exchanges. This initiative aims to bolster economic ties and foster innovation between the two nations. The partnership is expected to leverage South Korea's technological expertise and the Philippines' growing market potential, contributing to sustainable development and mutual growth.

Polymarket's latest data reveals diverse market predictions for Bitcoin's price movements in March. According to Foresight News, there is a 40% probability that Bitcoin will fall to $60,000, a 76% chance it will drop to $65,000, a 50% likelihood it will rise to $75,000, and a 25% chance it will reach $80,000. The current trading volume in this prediction market exceeds $8.51 million.

Berenberg Bank's Andrew Wishart has highlighted concerns over rising inflation risks stemming from Middle East tensions, which may lead the Bank of England to postpone interest rate cuts initially planned for March. According to Jin10, Wishart noted that the previous slowdown in food and commodity prices was expected to reduce overall inflation to 2% by April. However, the Bank of England might now need to wait for a significant deceleration in service price inflation to counteract the upward pressure from energy prices before reconsidering rate cuts. Wishart further explained that as the UK is a net importer of energy, continued increases in energy prices could widen the trade deficit and diminish demand for the British pound. The Bank of England aims to avoid imposing additional downward pressure on the currency to prevent further inflation escalation.

Dragonfly Capital's managing partner, Haseeb Qureshi, has expressed that artificial intelligence, rather than humans, are the real users of cryptocurrency systems. According to Bitalk News, Qureshi highlighted that the crypto ecosystem contains pitfalls absent in traditional financial systems. He argued that if users were blamed for lacking security awareness a decade ago and continue to be blamed today, the issue might not lie with the users but with the choice of users. These systems, he noted, are not designed for humans but are well-suited for non-human participants. The concept of smart contracts was initially introduced by Ethereum's early builders, who were highly technical software engineers. However, most users do not belong to this category. Qureshi pointed out that AI agents think in a manner more aligned with these engineers, suggesting a closer fit between AI and the crypto systems.

Ollama has announced the support for launching Pi, a minimalist AI programming agent toolkit, with a single command, ollama launch pi. According to BlockBeats, Pi, developed by Mario Zechner, features a built-in plugin extension system, allowing users to create extensions. It can be installed globally via npm, with configuration files stored in the ~/.pi/agent/ directory, and supports integration with Ollama's local models, such as qwen3-coder, and various cloud service providers. Jeffrey Morgan, founder of Ollama, praised Pi's design for its precision and high customizability, noting its effective performance even with small parameter models, including the Qwen 3.5 series local models. The ollama launch command, introduced on January 23, supports zero-configuration startup for programming tools like Claude Code, OpenCode, Codex, and Droid. The addition of Pi further expands the available agent ecosystem.

Derlin Holdings, a company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, has disclosed its Bitcoin mining output for February. According to ChainCatcher, the company produced 51.712 Bitcoins during the month, averaging approximately 1.8469 Bitcoins per day. By February 28, the total Bitcoin output reached 136.2684 Bitcoins. Derlin Holdings anticipates its annual Bitcoin production to be between 640 and 660 Bitcoins by 2026.

XPL has seen a notable increase in its value over the past 24 hours, with a rise of 17.55%, according to Foresight News. The current price stands at 0.11285 USDT.

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East is causing significant disruptions in the supply of chemicals used for fertilizer and nickel processing, prompting Asian sulfur traders to seek alternative sources. According to Jin10, vessels carrying sulfur remain stranded in the Persian Gulf, forcing traders to look for other suppliers to meet demand. However, they report that supplies from regions like Canada are limited. Traders have been receiving urgent inquiries from Indonesian clients about the status of shipments queued in critical waterways and future supply plans. This situation highlights the supply shocks affecting various corners of the commodity market. Approximately half of the global maritime sulfur trade, around 20 million tons annually, originates from the Gulf region and must pass through the Strait of Hormuz to reach global markets. Major exporters include Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, and Iran.

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) has begun technical experiments using blockchain technology to test the settlement of deposits held at the central bank, marking a significant step in its exploration of distributed ledger systems within core financial infrastructure.

SpaceX may file for an IPO with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as early as March 2026. According to media predictions, the company could raise $30 billion, with an overall valuation of approximately $175 million, surpassing Tesla and Meta.

The Bank of Japan is testing how central bank deposits could be used for settlements on blockchain systems through a controlled sandbox project. Governor Kazuo Ueda said the trials will explore connections with existing payment systems and potential uses like interbank and securities settlement.

Uniswap and Tornado: The same judge gave Uniswap and Tornado different fates. (Golden Finance: It's all about timing and fate.)

The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear a case brought by Stephen Thaler on whether art made only by AI can be protected by copyright in the United States. The U.S. Copyright Office had already rejected the work because it had no human creator, and the courts have now left that rule unchanged.

Anthropic's predicament is inevitable because it faces the core contradiction of the challenges of cutting-edge AI.

Iran: The market follows the same pattern in every geopolitical conflict. How to strategize for the US-Iran conflict? Golden Finance: The US-Iran conflict is currently repeating this pattern.

The AI ​​venture capital circle is currently experiencing a vigorous "word-making movement" and "technology repackaging".

Currently, the Iranian rial has fallen to approximately 1.315 million rials per US dollar in the free market. In just three months, the rial has depreciated by more than 30 times, a devaluation rate exceeding 3000%, causing the wealth of Iranian citizens to evaporate almost instantly.

Turkey’s ruling AK Party has introduced a sweeping economic bill that would formally bring cryptocurrency gains under the country’s tax regime, marking one of Turkey's clearest moves yet to integrate digital assets into its financial system.