Futu Holdings' licensed virtual asset trading platform "Leopard Trade Platform" has officially launched in Hong Kong

March 26 — U.S. lawmakers introduced a bill Tuesday aimed at banning members of Congress, the president, and other top government officials from betting on prediction markets, per Cointelegraph. The measure, co-sponsored by U.S. Reps. Adrian Smith and Nikki Budzinski, is dubbed the "Preventing Real Online Threats Endangering Retiring Congressional Kin and Y.O.L.O. Act" — or the PREDICT Act.

On March 26, the Financial Times reported that U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has discussed strengthening the Treasury’s oversight of the Federal Reserve by drawing on elements of the Bank of England’s model—a move that would reshape the relationship between the Fed and the U.S. government. According to senior financial industry executives with knowledge of the matter, Yellen has told market participants she admires the 1997 reforms the UK government implemented, when the Bank of England was granted operational independence to set monetary policy. While both central banks formally maintain independence from their respective governments, the Fed has greater autonomy in how it pursues Congress’s mandates of price stability and full employment, as well as how it responds to financial instability. Yellen has publicly stated the Fed should undergo reform while preserving the independence of its monetary policy. Last year, she published a 6,000-word article in *The International

March 26 (CCTV News) — Delayed U.S.-Iran tensions have introduced fresh downside risks to the U.S. economy, prompting several institutions to raise their recession probability forecasts for the country, per recent reports. U.S. sources on March 25 highlighted the following: - Moody’s Analytics’ model now pegs the 12-month recession odds at 48.6% (up from a typical ~20%); - Goldman Sachs has lifted its forecast to 30%; - Wilmington Trust predicts a 45% chance; - EY-Parthenon forecasts 40%. Moody’s Analytics Chief Economist Mark Zandi noted the recession risk is “uncomfortably high and still rising,” framing an economic downturn as a real threat. He added: “The U.S. economy will tip into recession if current high oil prices persist through late May to the end of Q2.”