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

(Wall Street News) Feb. 28 — Sources: CIA assessed prior to a U.S. attack on Iran that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei would likely be succeeded by a hardline Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) figure if assassinated.

February 28 (Bloomberg) — Escalating tensions between the U.S., Israel and Iran have pushed traders to flock to crypto exchanges for round-the-clock hedging. Oil-linked perpetual contracts on Hyperliquid jumped ~6.2% to $70.6 per barrel. Gold and silver perpetual contracts each climbed more than 5% and 8%, hitting $5,464 per ounce and $97.5 per ounce, respectively. Silver perpetual contracts traded over $4 billion in the past 24 hours, with gold contracts reaching nearly $1.4 billion; meanwhile, stock index contracts on the platform fell 1-2%. The Iran conflict sparked a safe-haven selloff in crypto markets: Bitcoin briefly slid 3.8% to $63,038 before settling around $64,000, while ETH dropped 4.5% to $1,836 at one point. Per CoinGecko data, the total market cap of digital assets shrank by ~$128 billion following the conflict’s outbreak. Wintermute OTC Trading Head Jake Ostrovskis noted that Bitcoin’s 24/7 trading has made it the most liquid asset for traders to express macro

Feb. 28: Witnesses report a fire near Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah, with a loud explosion accompanying the blaze.

February 28 – Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi said in an interview that nearly all officials are alive and well, with only one or two military commanders martyred. Earlier, unofficial Israeli reports claimed IRGC Commander General Pakpour and Iranian Defense Minister Naqizadeh were killed in an airstrike. Israel maintains its attack has resulted in the deaths of several senior Iranian officials. (CCTV News)

Feb. 28 — Monitoring outlet Pentagon Pizza Watch reported unconfirmed claims that Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei was killed in an earlier attack. In the wake of this report, the likelihood of Khamenei stepping down by April has surged to 72% on prediction platform Polymarket.

Tuesday, Feb 28 (local time) — Israeli officials stated that strikes against Iran are expected to last at least a week. U.S. officials also project the operation will take days, not just hours. (CCTV News)