Morgan Stanley employee mistakenly sent an email, exposing a list of over 100 potential Asia-focused investment banking deals.

US SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda stated that the agency has dropped several cryptocurrency cases inherited from the previous administration. The reason is that continuing to defend legal interpretations set to be overturned in court could harm the SEC’s credibility. Uyeda noted that as the SEC prepares to make a "180-degree shift" in its relevant legal interpretations, he does not want the agency’s litigation attorneys to keep defending its prior stance in court. He added that sticking to positions ultimately set to be overturned would "damage the SEC’s reputation". Furthermore, Uyeda referred to the SEC’s "innovation exemption" for tokenized securities as a "pilot program", arguing that this mechanism could create "significant potential opportunities" for new market entrants and traditional financial institutions.

Visa’s “Money Travels 2026” report reveals that if stablecoins offer bank-equivalent fraud protection and deposit insurance, U.S. consumers’ willingness to use stablecoins for cross-border transfers will climb from 36% to 56%. The survey identifies stablecoin awareness as a major barrier: 56% of U.S. respondents said they have never heard of stablecoins. When stablecoins are offered by existing financial service providers, that willingness rises to 45%; 61% of respondents said they would trust traditional banks to provide digital currency services, while 60% would trust global payment networks. Visa notes that stablecoins currently do not carry FDIC deposit insurance, adding that the data is based solely on hypothetical scenarios and does not mean such protections are imminent. Conducted by Morning Consult between February 24 and March 2, the survey covered 45,445 people across 20 markets, including 2,192 U.S. adults. In Latin America, willingness to use stablecoins for cross-border transfers jumps from 34% to 74% when the relevant protections are in place.

Sources familiar with the matter have revealed that the board of UK Finance recently sent a letter to Coinbase, stating that after reviewing its membership framework, the crypto exchange failed to meet the organization’s membership standards, leading to the decision to terminate Coinbase’s membership. Coinbase still retains the right to appeal this ruling. UK Finance represents around 300 financial institutions, including major UK and international banks, market infrastructure firms, and payment providers. Both Coinbase and UK Finance declined to comment. In recent years, the crypto industry’s influence in policy discussions has continued to rise, though it has faced disagreements with traditional financial institutions over issues such as stablecoin yields and banking services. The revocation of Coinbase’s membership comes at a time when discussions between the UK crypto sector and traditional financial institutions on topics like banking service access are heating up.

Beating AI News Brief: According to a WSJ report, two senior executives from Anthropic have invested in a Peter Thiel-backed startup developing hardware capable of detecting airborne viruses. The report notes that the project focuses on biosecurity, aiming to address potential biosecurity risks stemming from the rapid advancement of AI technology. The hardware can detect airborne viruses to help identify potential biological threats at an earlier stage. This investment also reflects that the AI industry’s attention to AI-related biosecurity risks is expanding from model security to real-world protective infrastructure.

Serenity said it has recently begun positioning in multiple small-cap South Korean listed companies, which mainly supply products including memory chips, test equipment, machinery, and optical components to Micron (MU), SK Hynix, Samsung, and some U.S. firms. Serenity noted that among small South Korean companies with a market capitalization of roughly $30 million to $250 million, many are driven by AI demand and at business inflection points, spanning sectors like optical components, CPUs, memory, and semiconductor equipment. Serenity stated that due to the high risk and volatility of these companies, he will not disclose specific target names, but believes individual firms could see their market cap grow from $40 million to $400 million—enough for him personally to offset the associated investment risks.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian addressed the UN General Assembly, stating that despite the nearly seven-month war with the United States and Israel, Iran "will never kneel" but remains willing to resolve conflicts through diplomatic channels. Responding to U.S. President Donald Trump’s earlier threat to "destroy" Iran if a deal is not reached quickly, Pezeshkian said sanctions, pressure, and "bullying" will only further strengthen the Iranian people’s will to resist. He added that any agreement must include the U.S. ending its blockade of Iranian ships and ports, noting that "it cannot be that everyone benefits from the Strait of Hormuz while Iran is barred from passage." The Strait of Hormuz typically handles around one-fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas shipments. Since the war broke out in late February, the strait has effectively been closed due to Iranian attacks on commercial vessels and the U.S. blockade. On Tuesday local time, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff held indirect talks on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, mediated by Qatar, marking the first contact between the two sides since June. Witkoff expressed hope that the talks would be "constructive and promising," but Iran’s Foreign Ministry said the discussions were "nothing new," adding that Iran still insists on conditions including an end to the U.S. blockade and the unfreezing of Iranian assets.