Linera Launches Babbage Testnet

March 14 – The U.S.-Iran conflict has triggered a "blockage" at the Strait of Hormuz, the global energy transport chokepoint, per maritime data. Only 77 vessels have transited the strait since March 1, in contrast to 1,229 ships that passed through between March 1 and 11 last year. Agence France-Presse (AFP) cited the UK’s Lloyd’s List Maritime Intelligence on March 13 as reporting that most of the 77 ships are in poor condition, lack proper insurance, and have unclear ownership. The maritime data and analysis provider added that these vessels primarily belong to the so-called "shadow fleet" – including tankers and LNG carriers that evade Western sanctions. (Source: FX168)

March 14 (Reuters) — World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency project co-founded by U.S. President Donald Trump, has launched its "Super Nodes" initiative. Investors who stake $5 million worth of WLFI tokens (roughly 50 million tokens) and lock them for 180 days will gain priority access to discuss partnership opportunities with the company’s business development team and executives. The proposal was approved via a community vote, with the project team citing 99% approval. Participants must stake tokens to obtain governance voting rights and earn a 2% WLFI token reward after casting at least two votes. According to the report, 75% of revenue from new WLFI token sales will go to the Trump family. The White House counsel stated that Trump himself was not involved in the business transactions and there is no conflict with his presidential duties.

March 14 — Microsoft announced its AI assistant, Copilot, will officially launch on current-gen Xbox Series X and other Xbox consoles later this year. Earlier, Copilot was integrated into platforms including Windows 11, the Xbox mobile app, and Xbox Ally. Microsoft aims to boost gamers’ experience across gaming, system management, and content discovery by bringing the AI assistant to the console ecosystem.

Early on March 14 local time, smoke was seen rising over the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad, Iraq’s capital. Iranian sources report the embassy’s air defense system was struck and destroyed. There has been no response from the U.S. side as of yet. (FX678)

On March 14, data from Farside monitoring shows U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a net inflow of $180.4 million yesterday—marking the fifth straight day of net inflows.

March 14 – Five U.S. Air Force tankers were damaged in a missile attack on Saudi Arabia’s Prince Sultan Air Base by Iran, U.S. media citing U.S. officials reported. The aircraft were damaged but not destroyed and are currently being repaired, a source said. No casualties were reported in the attack. The report did not specify the tankers’ exact model. (Golden Finance)