On March 7, Reuters reported that the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has appointed computer scientist Gavin Kliger as Chief Data Officer. Last year, he assisted billionaire Elon Musk in driving U.S. government reform. Kliger’s new role “places him at the center of the department’s most ambitious artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives,” with his primary responsibilities including “day-to-day coordination and execution of the DoD’s AI projects, as well as direct collaboration with the U.S. Frontline AI Lab to support warfighters.”

On March 7th, Trump posted on social media: “Iran—suffering unprecedented devastation—has apologized to its Middle Eastern neighbors, surrendered, and promised no more attacks on them. This commitment is 100% because of the ruthless attacks by the U.S. and Israel. Iran tried to take over and dominate the Middle East. This is the first time in THOUSANDS of years Iran has been defeated in its fight with neighboring Middle Eastern countries. They say, ‘Thank you, President Trump.’ I say, ‘You’re welcome!’ Iran is no longer the ‘Middle East Bully’—it’s a ‘Middle East Loser’ now. This will last for decades until they surrender… or, more likely, collapse completely. Today, Iran is getting a SEVERE blow! Because of Iran’s vile behavior, regions and peoples that weren’t targets before are now under serious consideration for total destruction and inevitable death.”

**Market Focus: Iran Uncertainty, Fed Stagflation Risks, Key US/UK Data This Week** (Updated March 7) Iran’s worsening situation and lingering uncertainty over its future have fueled intense market volatility this week. Recent data signals the Federal Reserve will need to address rising inflation and weakening employment to curb stagflation risks. Below are key market-moving events (all times in Beijing Time): - **Monday 23:00**: US February New York Fed 1-Year Inflation Expectation - **Wednesday 20:30**: US February non-seasonally adjusted (NSA) CPI YoY, NSA Core CPI YoY; Seasonally adjusted (SA) CPI MoM, SA Core CPI MoM - **Friday 15:00**: UK January 3-month GDP MoM, Jan Manufacturing/Industrial Production MoM, Jan SA Goods Trade Balance - **Friday 20:30**: US January Core PCE Price Index YoY/MoM; US Jan Personal Spending MoM; US Q4 Real GDP Annualized QoQ (revised); US Jan Durable Goods Orders MoM - **Friday 22:00**: US January JOLTs Job Openings; US March 1-Year I

March 7 – Per Ashes Monitor, lending platform Spark has approved an SPK token buyback proposal. The project team transferred 570,000 USDS to a new multisig wallet two days prior, then launched small, incremental SPK purchases via decentralized exchange CoW Swap’s TWAP (Time-Weighted Average Price) function. To date, 1.84 million SPK (valued at approximately $36,000) have been repurchased. Spark’s buyback framework earmarks $35 million from its treasury as operational reserves; any surplus funds will be used to repurchase SPK at a 10% monthly rate, with the program set to run for 12 months.

March 7: OKX Founder & CEO Star Took to Social Media to Answer "Why OKX Wallet Stands Out" OKX Founder and CEO Star took to social media on March 7 to address the question, “Why does OKX Wallet stand out?” “A good wallet doesn’t just execute transactions—it also helps users understand potential risks before confirming a transaction,” Star stated.

March 7 (Herald Economy) — South Korea’s financial regulator is drafting guidelines to let listed companies invest in digital assets. Previously, the digital asset market focused mostly on individual investors, but stablecoins are set to be excluded from allowed investment targets. The regulator plans to release a trading guideline (with this provision) after the “Digital Asset Basic Law” takes effect, allowing listed firms to trade digital assets for investment or financial purposes. In the “Corporate Cryptocurrency Transaction Guidelines” being developed by South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC), stablecoins will not be included in permitted investment targets. The guidelines will outline standards for listed companies and registered professional investors to trade digital assets for investment or financial use. To prevent disorderly investment in the market’s early stages, the regulator has decided to exclude U.S. dollar stablecoins like USDT and USDC from the allow