The defense minister's broker contacted BlackRock before the war to buy military industrial funds; the deal failed because the channels were not open, not because anyone intervened.

1｜Hegseth's broker tried to buy a military ETF before the war, Pentagon demanded FT retract

FT reported that U.S. Defense Secretary Hegseth's broker at Morgan Stanley contacted BlackRock in February this year, requesting to purchase the iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF, planning to invest millions of dollars. This fund manages about $3.1 billion and its top three holdings are Raytheon (RTX), Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman. On February 28, the U.S. went to war with Iran. The deal ultimately did not go through, not because of compliance review, but because the fund was not yet open to Morgan Stanley's clients.

Pentagon spokesman Parnell stated on X that the report was "completely false and fabricated," demanding FT retract the article. FT stands by its reporting, and several media outlets, including CNBC, followed up. This is not an insider trading case; the deal did not go through, and there is no legal recourse. However, it highlights a structure more noteworthy than insider trading: there is only a broker account separating the individuals commanding the war and those profiting from it. The deal failed because the product channel was not opened, not because interests were intercepted due to conflicts.

(Source: FT / CNBC / Al Jazeera / US News)

2｜AI infrastructure hits an energy wall: $635 billion spending plan faces shockwave from Iran war

S&P Global's research head Melissa Otto warned that the combined $635 billion in AI infrastructure spending by Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and Meta this year is facing energy cost shocks from the Middle East crisis. This figure has nearly doubled from last year's $383 billion. Otto stated that persistently high oil prices may force capital expenditure cuts in the first and second quarters, leading to "severe market corrections across all sectors."

Mistral borrowed $830 million to build a data center in Paris, equipped with 13,800 Nvidia GB300 GPUs. Emerald AI, invested by Nvidia, raised $25 million to use software for flexible grid scheduling at data centers, aiming to release an additional 100 gigawatts of capacity from the existing U.S. power grid. The war has inflated the energy bills for AI, but capital is still pouring in.

(Source: Reuters / S&P Global / TechCrunch / Fortune / Bloomberg)

3｜Bitcoin miners shift collectively to AI: Network computing power declines for the first time in six years

The total hash rate of the Bitcoin network saw its first quarterly decline since 2020 in the first quarter, dropping from 1 ZH/s at the end of last year to about 900-950 EH/s. On March 21, mining difficulty was adjusted down by 7.76%. Public mining companies are losing an average of $19,000 for every Bitcoin mined, and over $70 billion in AI hosting contracts have been signed.

Core Scientific plans to sell most of its Bitcoin holdings by the end of the year to raise funds for AI expansion, while Bitdeer zeroed out all its Bitcoin reserves in February. CoinShares estimates that by year-end, 70% of some mining companies' income may come from AI hosting, with operating profit margins of 80-90% and fixed income in dollars. Miners are not transitioning; they are wrapping the AI core in a Bitcoin shell.

(Source: Tom's Hardware / CoinDesk / The Block / CoinShares)

4｜China AI earnings season: Doubling revenue is standard, doubling losses is too

Zhipu released its first annual financial report after going public, showing revenue of 724 million yuan for 2025, an increase of 131.9%, with a net loss of 4.72 billion yuan, expanding by 59%. Aibin Technology also submitted its first financial report on the same day, with revenue of 1.035 billion yuan, up 207%, and a gross profit margin of 53.8%, but losses remain high. Chinese AI companies are drawing the same line; revenues are rising, but cash is burning.

InSilico Medicine signed a $2.75 billion AI pharmaceutical collaboration with Eli Lilly, with an upfront payment of $115 million, targeting clinical-stage oral GLP-1 drugs. The upfront payment is twice InSilico's annual revenue. Apple's AI national version was briefly launched and then retracted due to "software issues"; Gurman claimed it was a misoperation, and Apple still needs approval from the Cyberspace Administration. Money in Chinese AI is burning, drugs are being sold, but AI on mobile phones has yet to be authorized.

(Source: 36Kr / SCMP / Bloomberg / STAT News / MacRumors)

Also worth knowing ↓

U.S. gas prices surpassed $4 per gallon, rising 35% since the war began. The national average reached $4.018, marking the first time it has exceeded $4 since the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022. Diesel is at $5.454. The Strait of Hormuz remains closed to most vessels, blocking approximately 4.5 to 5 million barrels per day of supply. Analysts warn that if the strait does not reopen, gas prices could hit $5 per gallon. (Source: Axios / GasBuddy / Time)

The stock markets in Dubai and Abu Dhabi have evaporated $120 billion since the onset of the war. The Dubai Financial Market Index has dropped about 16% (a loss of $45 billion in market value), while Abu Dhabi has fallen about 9% (a loss of $75 billion). The tourism industry has been hit hardest, contributing 13% ($70 billion) to the UAE's GDP last year, but tens of thousands of flights have been canceled since the war began. (Source: Al Jazeera)

Stanford research: AI's flattery rate is 49% higher than humans. The Stanford Computer Science Department published a study in the journal Science, wherein most of the 2,400 participants preferred being flattered by AI rather than receiving truth from humans. AI agrees with users on social issues 49% more than humans. As more people view AI as a therapist, flattery is systematically reinforcing users' cognitive biases. (Source: Fortune / Stanford)

Eurozone inflation rose to 2.5% in March, exceeding the European Central Bank's target. The surge in energy costs is the main reason, with oil and gas prices boosted by the Iran war being transmitted to European consumers. The European Central Bank is facing a dilemma, with both economic slowdown and rising inflation occurring simultaneously. (Source: CNBC)

Cryptocurrency is being used to purchase drones for Russia and Iran. Reuters cites reports that cryptocurrencies are becoming the payment infrastructure for wartime economies, linking seemingly unrelated fields of cryptocurrency regulation and military conflict. (Source: Reuters)

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