PANews

Author: Frank, PANews
In the early morning of February 28, 2026, the global geopolitical landscape was shaken as the Iran-U.S. conflict reignited. This black swan event that altered the geopolitical pattern triggered intense chain reactions in the physical world, and similarly caused a chaotic capital vortex in the digital realm.
On the decentralized prediction market Polymarket, a contract titled “Will Khamenei step down as Iran’s Supreme Leader before February 28?” has accumulated a trading volume of $81.63 million. As the news of the physical world’s death was gradually confirmed, the settlement of this massive smart contract faced severe paralysis and controversy. Both Yes proposals were rejected twice, and the market was forced into the final arbitration stage of the UMA oracle. This dispute once again sparked reflections on the judgment of prediction markets, and multiple addresses were exposed, suspected of being insider addresses that seized over $1 million in profits.

Hong Kong is actively deploying a digital asset strategy, planning to establish a dedicated platform to support tokenized bonds and promote interconnectivity with other regions. The government has demonstrated the issuance of tokenized bonds and optimized the tax system to attract global capital, aiming to position Hong Kong as an Asian digital financial hub. This strategy not only consolidates its status as a financial center but also provides crucial support for the development of global digital assets.

Against the backdrop of rapid AI development, despite concerns about the programmer profession, Naval Ravikant believes that software engineers remain indispensable because they understand underlying logic and can solve problems that AI cannot handle. Specializing in a specific field and striving to become top talent remains an effective strategy to prevent being replaced by AI.

Daily Market Highlights and Trend Analysis, produced by PANews.
Macro Market
Following the joint military strike by the US and Israel against Iran that resulted in the death of Khamenei, the Middle East powder keg has been fully ignited. Trump's tough stance has heightened market anxiety, as he openly stated that military operations could last four weeks and would not cease until objectives are met; meanwhile, Iran responded firmly, declaring that the decision to cease fire lies with Iran.
Panic quickly swept through traditional financial markets. US stock index futures opened sharply lower on Monday, with S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Dow Jones futures all down over 1%. Short-term government bond yields briefly dropped to their lowest levels since 2022, as funds frantically flee overvalued risk assets.
In the rush to safe havens, precious metals unsurprisingly became the ultimate refuge for global capital. Spot gold surged 2% to $5,390 per ounce, and spot silver jumped 2.6% to $96.

Author: Trustln, AML Infrastructure
On February 12, 2026, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) conditionally approved Bridge to obtain a National Trust Bank Charter, effectively ushering in an era of stablecoin settlement directly endorsed by the federal government. This move not only represents a structural overreach of state-level money transfer business (MTL) regulatory authority but also reflects the United States' defensive financial strategy to internalize offshore stablecoin liquidity through private payment giants.

Author: Zen, PANews
When it comes to crazy investing, Koreans are serious. The Korean stock market's historic surge that began in the first half of last year has proven this once again.
As of the end of February 2026, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) has risen nearly 50% this year, making it the world's top-performing stock market.
On February 25, the KOSPI broke through 6,000 points for the first time during trading; the next day, it closed above 6,300 points for the first time, with 10 out of the last 11 trading days recording gains, continuously hitting new highs. On February 28, Samsung Electronics' market value surpassed the $1 trillion mark, becoming the first Korean company to join the "trillion-dollar club."
As the founder of the on-chain data analysis platform CryptoQuant said, "We Koreans love gambling. Don't underestimate this country."
Market reform, an不可忽视的催化剂

With the proliferation of AI programming tools, the tech industry is experiencing efficiency anxiety. Executives frequently use AI to write code, which increases employee pressure; however, actual working hours for employees have not decreased and instead, "AI fatigue" has emerged. Surveys show a clear perception gap between executives and regular employees, with employees feeling that the benefits of AI are far below executive expectations, leading to more work being shifted onto engineers, increasing workload and complexity. This situation could result in a flood of wasteful, resource-wasting software.

Maitong MSX and Republic collaborate to launch the Pre-IPO Private Equity Tokenization Zone, breaking the high barriers and information asymmetry of traditional investments, connecting ordinary investors with investment opportunities in unlisted companies. This market is gradually entering the mainstream and may trigger a restructuring of capital structures, although it still faces challenges such as regulation and liquidity.

This article analyzes investment strategies in the US-Iran conflict, emphasizing a three-stage model of the market during geopolitical conflicts: shock, re-pricing, and rotation. Retail investors often panic-sell due to emotions, while institutions follow historical patterns to position themselves. The article points out that during the initial phase of the conflict, panic selling is not advisable; instead, focus on assets such as energy, defense, and gold, and prioritize companies with pricing power to better cope with market volatility and inflation risks.

Highlights of this issue
According to incomplete statistics from PANews, there were 15 investment and financing events in the global blockchain industry last week (2.23-3.1), with a total funding amount exceeding $129 million. The overview is as follows:
In the DeFi sector, 2 investment and financing events were announced, including the Web trading and payment application Based built on Hyperliquid infrastructure, which completed a $11.5 million Series A funding round led by Pantera Capital;

On March 1, 2026, a U.S.-Israel military strike resulted in the killing of Iran's top leader, triggering intense volatility in global markets. Traditional safe-haven assets like crude oil and gold rose, while Bitcoin faced significant turmoil. Options market data shows that institutional funds remain optimistic about the future, but hedging demand surged in the short term. Overall, the crypto market is expected to experience a corrective rebound after the panic, with particular attention to the $76,000 options maximum pain point.

The article describes the author's experience of being attacked by Iranian missiles in Dubai. Although initially indifferent to the conflict, the increasing sound of explosions and messages from friends made the author realize the seriousness of the situation. Despite panic and chaos during the night, the streets remained relatively calm due to the stability of the United Arab Emirates. The author analyzes the potential impact of this incident on Dubai's economy, especially the tourism industry and foreign immigrants, and believes that the city may continue to face shocks in the future.

News Preview:
Bitway (BTW) will be launched on March 2nd, supporting trading on Binance Alpha;
MANTRA Chain plans to upgrade to v7.0.0 software on March 3rd;
Gemini will cease operations in the UK, with customer accounts only able to withdraw starting March 5th;
HyperLiquid co-founder: 173,000 HYPE tokens will be unstaked and distributed to team members on March 6th;
RedStone (RED) will unlock approximately 40.85 million tokens at midnight Beijing time on March 7th, accounting for 16.13% of the current circulating supply, valued at about $6.2 million.
March 2nd
Macroeconomics:
At 22:45 on March 2nd, the US will release the February S&P Global Manufacturing PMI

Source: Anthony Pompliano Podcast
Compilation: Felix, PANews
Bo Hines, CEO of Tether USAT (a US-regulated, dollar-backed stablecoin launched by Tether), is also a former White House cryptocurrency advisor who participated in shaping U.S. digital asset policies during critical industry development periods.
Recently, Bo Hines gave an interview at the New York Bitcoin Investor Week, where he disclosed details of his work on cryptocurrency policy at the White House and discussed topics such as the mainstream adoption of stablecoins and why user experience is more important than returns.
PANews has summarized the highlights of the conversation. Below are the details.
Host: You previously worked at the White House and are now the

Written by: Ada, Deep Tide TechFlow
Pang Ruoming hadn't even settled into his seat at Meta when he left.
In July 2025, Mark Zuckerberg secured this highly sought-after Chinese AI infrastructure engineer from Apple with a multi-year compensation package worth over $200 million. Pang Ruoming was assigned to Meta's Super Intelligence Lab to build the infrastructure for the next generation of AI models.
Seven months later, OpenAI poached him.
According to The Information, OpenAI launched a months-long recruitment campaign targeting Pang Ruoming. Although he told colleagues that "he was very happy working at Meta," he ultimately chose to leave. Bloomberg reported that his compensation package at Meta was tied to milestones, and an early departure meant forfeiting most of his unvested benefits.