Insight: Expectation of a sharp increase in next month's US PPI data further reduces bets on Fed rate cut in 2026

March 18 (Axios) — U.S. officials tell Axios that former President Donald Trump views regime change in Iran as an “additional win” but plans to end military engagement once core objectives are met. Trump’s core goals include dismantling Iran’s missile and nuclear programs, its naval capabilities, and funding for its proxy groups.

On March 18, SBI VC Trade—the digital asset subsidiary of SBI Holdings—announced it will officially launch its USDC lending service in Japan this Thursday. Retail investors can lend their stablecoins to the platform via fixed-term agreements to earn interest, with a maximum per-period application limit of 5,000 USDC. Unlike a deposit, the product is structured as a direct loan from users to SBI VC Trade, so users bear counterparty risk themselves. SBI VC Trade noted the platform may further lend out the borrowed USDC. Users cannot withdraw or transfer funds during the fixed lending term. Critically, the product has no asset segregation protection—unlike bank deposits—meaning users could fail to fully recover their assets if the platform goes bankrupt.

March 18 — President Trump announced Wednesday he’s temporarily waiving the century-old Jones Act for 60 days to cut domestic transport costs for oil, natural gas and other commodities, his latest move to address energy price spikes driven by the Iran War. The Jones Act mandates goods moving between U.S. ports must travel on U.S.-flagged, U.S.-built and U.S.-owned vessels. The waiver exempts certain products — including coal, crude oil, refined fuels, natural gas, LNG, fertilizers, refined oil-derived goods and other energy derivatives — from those rules, allowing foreign-flagged ships to temporarily haul them between U.S. ports. Some analysts, though, say the waiver’s expected impact is limited due to massive supply chain disruptions. The war has already sparked what the International Energy Agency (IEA) calls the “largest supply disruption in global oil market history.” Trump has also vowed to deploy U.S. Navy ships to escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz and roll

On March 18, U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis—sponsor of the "Bitcoin Strategic Reserve Act"—stated the "Cryptocurrency Market Structure Clarity Act" (aka the CLARITY Act) will be finalized by year’s end, no matter what. The bill is expected to face review by the Senate Banking Committee in late April, following the Easter holiday.

On March 18th, Polymarket announced it has acquired Brahma—a crypto infrastructure startup—to expand its crypto and DeFi infrastructure.

March 18 – The Bank of Korea (BOK) officially kicked off the second phase of its digital won pilot project. It’s partnering with nine commercial banks to test deposit tokens in real-world scenarios, including government subsidy distribution, nationwide consumer payments, and fund transfers. Dubbed Project Hangang, this phase adds Kyongnam Bank and iM Bank to the seven existing banks. Together, they’re testing won-anchored deposit tokens built on a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) architecture. A core goal is to cut payment costs, offering a low-cost alternative for large businesses and small/micro-merchants burdened by high credit card fees.