Powell: Expects Yellen to Assume Fed Chair as Planned

April 16 — The top U.S. derivatives regulator is investigating crude oil futures trades with “highly precise timing” that occurred just before recent shifts in former President Trump’s Iran war policy, Bloomberg reported. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is leading the probe into trades on CME Group and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) platforms, according to sources familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because the information is not public. Both trading platforms have been asked to submit relevant trade data to the regulator to assist with the investigation.

April 16 — Official sources confirm that AO, a scalable blockchain network built on Arweave, has launched its **Network Availability Staking Alpha (NASA)** test program. A key milestone for the AO ecosystem, the initiative aims to boost the availability and reliability of its decentralized data network through a staking mechanism. Currently in the Alpha stage, users can participate in network availability validation and earn rewards by providing data services to Arweave gateways and staking AO tokens. In the initial pilot, AO’s "Availability Staking" rule requires node operators to stake 25 AO coins to join the network—where they compete to deliver fast, stable responses to user requests. The system will distribute rewards from a monthly pool of 1,000 AO tokens based on node performance in data services. Powered by the next-gen HyperBEAM architecture, the program enables gateways and routing services to achieve higher verifiability and trustlessness while cutting operating cos

**Fed’s Mester: High Oil Prices May Lift Core Inflation, Justify Steady Rates Temporarily** April 16, Federal Reserve official Mester said Wednesday high oil prices could push remaining core inflation this year nearly a percentage point above the Fed’s 2% target, signaling the central bank may need to hold interest rates steady. “We’re likely to see some pass-through of oil prices to core inflation,” Mester noted, adding key inflation measures will end the year “a bit below 3%, perhaps around 3%” with further upside risks. The Fed may keep its policy rate in the current 3.50%-3.75% range “for some time” while monitoring inflation, employment and economic data in coming months—a view shared by many colleagues. Last year’s tariff hikes are likely to fade gradually this quarter, and housing inflation is easing. However, rising oil prices have kept inflation elevated across service industries; Mester said he would be open to rate hikes if inflation rises and boosts expectations.

April 16: Per HTX market data, Bitcoin extended its rally after Federal Reserve official Mester noted rates should remain unchanged for some time. It’s currently trading at $74,709, up 0.89% over the past 24 hours. Total network liquidations hit $260 million in the same period, with $110 million in long liquidations and $150 million in short liquidations. Per Bitget data, U.S. equities closed Wednesday with the Dow Jones falling 0.15%, the S&P 500 rising 0.8%, and the Nasdaq climbing 1.59%—the latter two notching fresh all-time highs. Crude oil futures pulled back, with WTI and Brent crude trading lower intraday.

April 16 (Local Time) — White House Press Secretary Levitt said Wednesday that reports the White House is seeking an extension of the Iran ceasefire are inaccurate. She noted communications with Iran on the second round of negotiations have been “productive,” and the talks are likely to resume in Pakistan. Reuters reports a source familiar with Tehran’s stance said Iran may consider allowing unimpeded shipping in the Omani portion of the Strait of Hormuz — without risk of attack — if a deal to de-escalate conflict is reached. The proposal includes this idea, per the source. Iran would keep control of its own waters in the strait, while Oman would oversee matters in its portion. The source did not clarify if Iran would remove any mines it may have placed there, or if all vessels (including those tied to Israel) would get safe passage. The proposal hinges on Washington meeting Tehran’s demands, the source added — a key condition for any breakthrough on the strait. April 15 (Local Time)

On April 16th, Coinbase announced via official sources that it will add Diem (DIEM) and Opengradient (OPG) to its listing roadmap.