The popular AI framework Virtuals Protocol will host an in-person meet-up in Hong Kong on Friday, January 17.

On March 13, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said the country was targeted by 7 missiles and 27 drones last Friday. The same day, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) set the official April selling price for Murban crude oil at $69.45 per barrel. Meanwhile, crypto influencer "Ling Wanwan's Cat" revealed that some Middle Eastern family offices have recently reached out to Singapore to plan fund transfers to the country. Several Dubai-based family offices have also begun discussing plans to set up operations there. However, any such funds entering Singapore must first go through compliance procedures, including background checks by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

March 13 – Several European countries, including France and Italy, have held talks with Iran to secure safe passage for their ships through the Strait of Hormuz and restore Gulf energy transit, according to the Financial Times. Three officials familiar with the negotiations said multiple European nations are in preliminary discussions to resume oil and gas exports without escalating the conflict. Two noted France is among the participating countries; another added Italy is also seeking engagement with Iran on the issue. European governments have sought to avoid direct involvement in the conflict, with some criticizing initial U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. Still, they are deeply concerned that a prolonged strait blockade could drive up energy costs for businesses and households. One official also noted some European countries oppose engaging Iran. A UK official said Britain has not entered direct talks with Iran over strait access, but Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab—current

On March 13, crypto proprietary trading firm Velotrade—founded by former derivatives traders from JPMorgan, Dresdner Kleinwort, and Bank of America—announced the launch of its crypto prop trading platform. Traders on the platform can operate accounts ranging from $5,000 to $200,000 without using their own capital and receive a share of profits. Velotrade noted its team previously ran a fintech trade finance platform that has paid out $25 billion in total to clients since 2016. The new platform will exclusively support crypto asset trading, utilizing AI hedging tools and institutional liquidity bridging. It will sync real-market position replication with traders’ profits to build a business model tied to traders’ earnings, and offers up to 6x leverage for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).

March 13: US Q4 GDP growth revised sharply to 0.7% (from initial 1.4%), missing 1.5% market expectations — signaling a clear slowdown in economic momentum. Post-data, markets still expect the Federal Reserve’s first rate cut to come before September, but uncertainty lingers amid sticky inflation and Middle East-driven oil price gains. US January PCE: 0.3% month-over-month (2.8% year-over-year); core PCE (ex food/energy): 0.4% m/m (3.1% y/y) — a two-year high, with two straight months of 0.4% m/m increases, indicating persistent inflation stickiness.

March 13th: NASDAQ-listed UTime (WTO) announced it has signed a non-binding letter of intent (LOI) to acquire 100% equity in cryptocurrency data platform Feixiaohao (Non Small). The acquisition is valued at up to $80 million, with the transaction comprising $64 million in common stock or convertible preferred stock and $16 million in cash. Upon completion, UTime intends to leverage Non Small’s Web3 data platform—which serves millions of cryptocurrency users—to enter the blockchain data infrastructure space. The company also plans to explore integrating digital asset data services with its mobile and smart hardware products.

March 13: Traders are betting the Fed will cut interest rates before September, per market sources.