On March 18, among the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market cap, River (+9.11%) and MemeCore (+6.61%) showed the largest gains, while Mantle (-10.07%) and Aster (-8.73%) experienced the largest declines.

SBI VC Trade will launch USDC lending services in Japan on March 20, allowing users to earn yields by lending up to 5,000 USDC through fixed-term agreements. This product is a loan rather than a deposit; users must bear trading risks, cannot withdraw funds during the lending period, and face asset recovery risks.

Gate News reports that on March 18, according to market data, cryptocurrency-related stocks in the US pre-market session rose broadly. MSTR rose 0.59%; SBET rose 0.12%; SBET rose 0.24%; BMNR rose 1.08%; CRCL rose 1.5%; a certain CEX-related concept stock rose 2.09%.

Beijing Municipal Government released "Several Measures to Promote Steady and Progressive Economic Development," proposing three supporting policies to promote artificial intelligence applications, including financial subsidies for computing power rental costs and high-quality solutions, as well as support of up to 50 million yuan for demonstration projects.

On March 18, U.S. storage concept stocks continued to rise, with SanDisk up 3.6% and Micron Technology up 2.7%. This put on-chain shorts under pressure, with crypto KOL CBB's short address holding approximately 12.9 million dollars, with unrealized losses of approximately 1.4 million dollars, with notable losses on short positions in SNDK and MU respectively.

On March 18, the iShares Korea ETF (EWY) rose to $134.4 as the South Korean KOSPI index gained 5.04%, with after-hours trading up 3.1%. Meanwhile, the EWY futures contract on the Hyperliquid platform traded at $139, up 6.2% in 24 hours. Whale address unrealized gains expanded to nearly $2 million.

Mastercard announced the acquisition of blockchain payments company BVNK for up to $1.8 billion, aimed at connecting traditional finance with blockchain systems to support digital asset payments. This move reflects Mastercard's strategic transformation in the stablecoin and digital asset sectors. Despite short-term stock price declines, the long-term development prospects are promising.

Nado decentralized exchange launched Silver commodity perpetual futures (XAG-PERP) on March 18, supporting up to 20x leverage with an isolated margin mode that ensures liquidation of a single position does not affect other holdings. Trading hours align with CME Globex, with position reduction operations only available during non-trading sessions.

Gate News bot message: According to Gate's official announcement on March 18, 2026 Gate launches the "Crazy Wednesday" activity, running from March 18, 2026 at 14:00 to March 22 at 16:00 (UTC+8). Users can unlock blind boxes by completing multiple tasks including flash swaps, spot trading, contract trading, and deposits. Prizes include FOGO tokens, lucky bags, and Leica cameras, with a 100% win rate. During the event, the platform offers a USDT 14-day fixed wealth management product with 8% annualized yield. New users can enjoy a 3-day 100% annualized yield bonus. Additionally, surplus asset wealth management products are available including 0G, APT, AZTEC, and IDOS, with maximum annualized yields reaching 300%. Users who stake BTC, ETH, and SOL can enjoy up to 16% annualized yield, with SOL staking of 0-1 eligible for 16% annualized returns. All rewards will be distributed within 14 business days after the event concludes.

On March 18, Alibaba Cloud announced price increases of up to 34% for its AI computing power and storage products due to the global explosion in AI demand and supply chain price increases. Computing cards and file storage products also saw significant price increases. This round of price increases is primarily driven by the surge in Token call volume, with Alibaba Cloud prioritizing AI computing power demand for Token business.