**March 19 (FXStreet) — The Bank of England (BoE) voted unanimously to hold interest rates steady on Thursday, marking the first time in four and a half years the central bank has made a decision without any dissenting members.** The meeting’s tone shifted notably amid the Middle East conflict, which disrupted oil production in the world’s top oil-producing region and snarled tanker shipments through the critical Strait of Hormuz. BoE rate-setters opened the door to a potential rate hike, with Governor Andrew Bailey warning policy must “address the risks of potentially more persistent impacts on UK CPI.” Bailey added: “Whatever the outcome, our responsibility is to ensure inflation returns to the 2% target.” The BoE removed language from its February statement that the “base rate could be further reduced.” Tenreyro, the BoE’s most dovish policy member, noted a prolonged energy supply crisis may require rate hikes. Several rate-setters said they would have supported borrowin

March 19 — U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the U.S. could lift sanctions on Iranian oil shipments at sea in the coming days, adding the U.S. can unilaterally release oil reserves and that it “absolutely did not interfere in oil futures markets.”

On March 19, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated: "We will not attack Iran’s energy infrastructure." (Xinhua)

On March 19, the Bank of England held its benchmark interest rate steady at 0.75%—matching market expectations—marking the second straight hold. (FX168)

On March 19, The Block reported that Animoca Brands has announced an investment in AVAX—the native token of the Avalanche blockchain—and entered a strategic partnership with Ava Labs (the developer behind Avalanche) to jointly advance the Avalanche ecosystem. Animoca Brands declined to disclose the investment amount or other terms, per a company spokesperson. Under the partnership, the two parties will focus on three core efforts: deploying capital to Avalanche ecosystem projects, exploring product integrations, and providing advisory support. Their priority areas include real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, entertainment, and digital identity. For regional expansion, the initial focus will be on Asia and the Middle East. Animoca Brands noted it has already established regional infrastructure and institutional relationships in both regions, which Avalanche ecosystem projects can leverage for commercial deployment.

On March 19, Decrypt reported that a ride-hailing driver in Los Angeles was arrested at San Francisco International Airport on Tuesday for allegedly defrauding over $2 million in COVID-19 relief funds and using the proceeds to buy cryptocurrency. He faces federal wire fraud and money laundering charges. Per charges filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, 34-year-old Bruce Choi—a Los Angeles resident of Koreatown—posed as CEO and owner of the fictitious firm “Premier Republic” to submit fraudulent Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) applications to authorities, securing roughly $2 million in relief funds. Prosecutors noted Premier Republic “had no actual business operations or employees.” Choi then transferred the funds to cryptocurrency exchange Kraken to purchase crypto. Federal prosecutors seized nearly 40 BTC and other cryptocurrencies during the investigation. If convicted, Choi faces up to 30 years in prison per wire fraud charge and up t