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Maritime data shows the number of ships operating in the Strait of Hormuz fell to zero for the first time
Strait of Hormuz (data map) According to British news on the 16th, there were no ships in the Strait of Hormuz, the global energy shipping hub, on the 14th. This is the first time since the United States and Israel launched military operations against Iran. Data from the maritime data analysis service company "Windward Company" wrote: "On the 14th, the number of ships navigating the Strait of Hormuz dropped to zero for the first time since the conflict began. Before the war, an average of 77 ships passed through the strait every day."
As geopolitical tensions continued due to attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran, on the evening of the 15th, international crude oil futures prices once again exceeded the US$100 per barrel mark when they started a new week of trading. As of 7:50 p.m. Eastern Time on the 15th, the price of light crude oil futures for April delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose to a maximum of $101.32 per barrel.
International Energy Agency: Emergency oil reserves will soon be on the market
According to news from the International Energy Agency on the 15th, emergency oil reserves of member states will soon be put on the market to ease the current tension in international oil supply.
It is reported that each member country has submitted specific implementation plans to the International Energy Agency. According to the arrangement, members in Asia and Oceania will be the first to release reserves, while oil inventories from members in the Americas and Europe will be put on the market one after another from the end of March.
International Energy Agency (data map)
The International Energy Agency previously issued a statement saying that 32 member countries unanimously agreed to release 400 million barrels of strategic oil reserves. The latest data showed that 271.7 million barrels came from member government reserves, 116.6 million barrels came from industry reserves, and 23.6 million barrels came from other sources. About 72% of the oil planned to be released is crude oil and 28% is refined oil.
The International Energy Agency pointed out that the global oil market is facing the most serious supply obstruction in history. This emergency collective action is the largest so far and provides an important buffer for the market. But to truly restore stability to trade flows, the key still lies in restoring normal shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Among them, improving the insurance mechanism and strengthening the safety protection of ships are the keys to promoting the recovery of trade flows.
U.S. oil companies urge the resumption of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz to stabilize oil prices, and the U.S. government responds negatively
Oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz (data map)
Executives of several U.S. multinational oil companies recently stated in meetings with U.S. government officials that continued obstruction of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz may lead to further increases in international oil prices, bring volatility to the global energy market, and put pressure on the global economy. U.S. government officials said that "there is nothing that can be done at this time."
According to U.S. news on the 15th, the U.S. government previously held a series of meetings. Energy Secretary Wright and Interior Secretary Burgum met with a number of oil company executives to discuss the impact of the current situation on the economy. These business executives believe that the energy market is affected by the tension. Considering that U.S. oil production will not increase significantly in the short term, the only way to resolve the market turmoil is to promote the restoration of traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
It is reported that Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods warned during the meeting that market volatility may lead to continued rise in oil prices and supply shortages of refined oil. In addition, executives from oil companies Chevron and ConocoPhillips also expressed concerns about current supply disruptions during the meeting.
An unnamed senior administration official said the U.S. government knew oil prices would continue to rise but "there's nothing that can be done right now."
Chevron CEO Mike Wirth previously said that the market is currently "full of volatility and uncertainty and difficult to predict."
The crude oil transported through the Strait of Hormuz accounts for about one-fifth of the world's total oil transportation. As one of the world's top three exporters of liquefied natural gas, Qatar's liquefied natural gas is almost entirely shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, accounting for about 20% of the global supply.
Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, March 16 (Xinhua) U.S. President Trump put pressure on NATO allies on the 15th, claiming that if NATO cannot assist the United States in normalizing navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, it will face "very bad" consequences. The Trump administration has previously called on many countries to participate in escort operations, but has received little public response so far.
According to US media, the White House plans to announce the formation of the so-called Strait of Hormuz Escort Alliance in the next few days.
This is the thick smoke after the air strike in Tehran, the capital of Iran, taken on the evening of March 13. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Shadati
Threaten NATO
Trump gave an eight-minute phone interview to the Financial Times on the 15th, during which he sent a "tough message" about European countries' involvement in military operations against Iran. He said that Europe is an important beneficiary of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and should help ensure that "nothing happens there." If Europe does not respond or responds negatively, "I think that would be very bad for the future of NATO."
Trump asked for all the assistance the United States needs. He also specifically asked allies to send minesweepers, and he also hoped that Europe would send drones and mines.
In Trump's view, the United States does not need to help Ukraine, which is thousands of kilometers away from the United States, in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. It only does so because of the existence of NATO as a military alliance. "Now we have to see if they help us." He also said that he had long said that NATO is "a one-way street", that is, the United States provides support to its allies, but the allies may not come to help when the United States needs it.
Shipping in the Strait of Hormuz has been nearly completely disrupted since the United States and Israel launched military strikes against Iran. Later on the 15th, Trump reiterated to reporters that about seven countries were interested in participating in the escort, but he did not disclose specific information.
This photo released by the Thai Navy on March 11 shows a Thai cargo ship being attacked and on fire in the Strait of Hormuz. Published by Xinhua News Agency (Photo courtesy of the Thai Navy)
Very few respond
According to the Financial Times, Trump had a phone call with British Prime Minister Starmer on the 15th and was particularly frustrated with the British response. He said that the United Kingdom is often regarded as the United States' "number one ally" and "the longest-standing ally", but when the United States makes requests, the United Kingdom is "reluctant to come." According to the New York Times, British Energy Security and Net-Zero Emissions Minister Ed Miliband said on the 15th that the British government was exploring "all options" for air navigation and was discussing related matters with allies, but Miliband did not disclose details.
Takayuki Kobayashi, the political affairs investigation chairman of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said on the same day that relevant issues may be discussed when Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi meets Trump in Washington on the 19th. The South Korean Presidential Office only stated that it "will maintain close communication with the United States" but made no commitment. France has yet to respond publicly.
Australian Minister of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Catherine King said on the 16th that Australia would not send naval ships to the Strait of Hormuz. On the 15th, German Foreign Minister Waldful expressed doubts about the possible expansion of EU escort operations to the Strait of Hormuz, believing that there is no need for Germany to participate in it. Wadful also said that Germany requires the United States and Israel to maintain information sharing and clearly inform them of the specific goals of military operations against Iran, "and then discuss with us how to end this war."
According to informed U.S. officials’ disclosure to the Wall Street Journal, some countries have agreed to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz. However, many countries have not made public commitments due to the risks of escort, but hope to wait until the conflict subsides before intervening. The White House may announce the formation of a so-called convoy alliance as soon as this week, and the timing may change depending on the battlefield situation. Currently, the United States and some countries are still discussing whether escort operations should be launched before or after the conflict ends.
On March 10, in Washington, the capital of the United States, White House Press Secretary Levitt attended a press conference. Levitt told a news conference that the U.S. Navy is currently not escorting any tankers or other ships through the Strait of Hormuz. Published by Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Li Yuanqing)
facing difficulties
According to the "Wall Street Journal", the Trump administration faces difficulties in its military operations against Iran, including strategic-level problems such as increasing instability in the Middle East, the global energy crisis and negative domestic political consequences in the United States, all of which have proven difficult to solve through bombing alone. According to data from the American Automobile Association, the average price of gasoline in the United States surged 26% on the 15th compared with a month ago, and the average price of diesel surged 36% during the same period. Within the Republican camp, some people hope that the conflict will end immediately, while others advocate continuing to attack Iran.
Some U.S. officials and analysts speculate that the Trump administration now has three "imperfect options": first, withdraw from the war to avoid the expansion of the conflict, but this will embolden the power of Iran's hardliners; second, continue to act to further weaken Iran's military capabilities, but will also cause the United States to bear the risk of more casualties and high energy prices; third, the United States and Israel suspend bombings and switch to regular military attacks on Iran in the future, but this will fall into an endless cycle of war.
Trump told reporters on the evening of the 15th that Iran was eager to negotiate and that Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi’s statement that he had never requested negotiations was “false news.”
Earlier in the day, Araghchi told the US media that Iran had "never asked for a ceasefire or even negotiations" and was "ready to defend itself at all costs." "We don't see any reason why we should talk to the Americans" after negotiations with the United States failed, he said. (ocean)
Guangming Daily, Taiyuan, March 16 (Reporters Zhang Nan and Yang Jue) "Important Archaeological Discoveries in Shanxi in 2025" were recently announced, including the Xiyin Neolithic Site in Xia County, Yuncheng City, and the Guduo Neolithic Site in Hejin City, Yuncheng City Six archaeological projects were selected: the Potou Neolithic Age Site in Ruicheng County, Yuncheng City, the Dongwu Shang Dynasty Site in Jiang County, Yuncheng City, the Nanfeng Shang Dynasty Site in Xiangyuan County, Changzhi City, and the family tomb of the Ming Dynasty general Zhu Yinzhuang in Qinjiazhuang, Luzhou District, Changzhi City.
116 newly discovered relics of the middle and late Yangshao periods were discovered at the Xiyin Neolithic site in Xiayin County, Yuncheng City, further enriching the cultural connotation of the site; a number of important physical materials such as stone carvings and pottery silkworm chrysalis were newly unearthed from the Guduo Neolithic site in Hejin City, filling the gap in the early archaeological cultural discoveries of Yangshao in the lower reaches of the Fen River; the Potou Neolithic site in Ruicheng County clarified the framework, age and age of the multiple trenches during the Longshan period of the site Based on the construction method, the large-scale pier facilities and garrison buildings attached to the middle trench were fully revealed. At the same time, the earliest standing stone mark on the original tomb in China was discovered, which provided important clues for the exploration of the origin of tombstones. The mid-Shang Dynasty tombs excavated from the Dongwu Shang Dynasty site in Jiangxian County were rich in unearthed artifacts, some of which were engraved with words and symbols. This filled an important gap in the study of the cultural sequence of Shang cultural archeology in southern Shanxi and established an important chronological reference.
The Shang Dynasty site in Nanfeng, Xiangyuan County, Changzhi City revealed the remains of pottery workshops, sacrificial pits and many cellars in the late Shang Dynasty, showing a cultural landscape that is intertwined with Yinxu culture, Jinzhong and local cultural factors, confirming that the Changzhi Basin was simultaneously influenced by the Yin Dynasty in the late Shang Dynasty. The influence of Xu culture and the late Shang relics on the Loess Plateau; the family tomb of Zhu Yinzhang, the general of the Ming Dynasty in Qinjiazhuang, Luzhou District, is the first fully preserved Ming clan family tomb found in Shanxi, and provides precious information for the study of the Ming Dynasty clan burial system.
Fan Wenqian, director of the Shanxi Provincial Institute of Archeology, said that Shanxi Province will carry out more than 200 archaeological projects in 2025. The shortlisted projects cover major periods from prehistory to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and have made important progress in the exploration of the origin of civilization, Xia and Shang research, and urban archeology. They have provided solid support for major projects such as the "Archaeology of China" and the "Xia and Shang Civilization Research Project."
In addition, 6 projects, including the Xiyin Neolithic Site in Xia County, Yuncheng City, the Baliping Neolithic Site in Qinshui County, Jincheng City, the Potou Neolithic Site in Ruicheng County, Yuncheng City, the Zhaijiazhuang Neolithic and Xia-Shang Site in Linyi County, Yuncheng City, the Dongxia Feng Xia-Shang Site in Xiaxian County, Yuncheng City, and the Nanfeng Shang Dynasty Site in Xiangyuan County, Changzhi City, were selected as the "New Archaeological Discoveries in Shanxi that Get the Most Public Attention in 2025."
"Guangming Daily" (Page 9, March 17, 2026)
In recent years, digital currencies represented by Bitcoin have continued to attract attention, and at the same time, a series of problems have followed.
Not long ago, Lu Lei, deputy director of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, said at the 5th FinTech Bund Summit that using blockchain technology can easily bypass banks and achieve cross-border flow of funds. At the same time, digital currency money laundering is also a potential threat - using various virtual currencies as intermediaries, first convert the legal currency in the remitter's location into tokens, and then convert the tokens into the legal currency in the payee's location at the receiving end, in fact completing the cross-border payment.
For the current financial regulatory system, the use of digital currency to launder money has become a real threat. "Legal Daily" reporter conducted an interview.
Gray transactions rely on digital currency
"One day in the currency world is one year in the world." The currency circle is a circle of digital currency players.
At the beginning of this year, the digital currency market plummeted, and many senior players in the currency circle sold their digital currencies and cashed out. Jiang Ming, who has been in the industry for two years, is one of them.
"January is the peak period for cashing out, and the market has not slowed down yet, and there are more and more altcoins on the market." Despite this, Jiang Ming has no intention of quitting the currency circle.
Jiang Ming told reporters that money laundering is a major pillar of digital currency price support and is a transaction that exists on the dark web. As long as there is demand for money laundering, the price of digital currencies is bound to rise. Moreover, the currency circle itself is a bit of a gray area. Sometimes the messier the circle, the easier it is to make money.
Some Weibo bloggers in the currency circle even publicly claimed that "the biggest practical commercial value in the currency circle is the convenience of money laundering."
It has almost become a consensus that the currency circle is “a bit chaotic”, but the chaos does not stop there.
Although he rarely participates in digital currency transactions, Zhu Cheng has been paying attention to the currency circle for many years.
"Although air coins and MLM coins can be used to launder money, they also have their own problems, and many of them are just to steal money." Zhu Cheng listed the characteristics of air coins and MLM coins to reporters. "MLM coins earn income by attracting people. They have no contract address and no fixed total amount. They are generally traded through independent App software; air coins are usually developed in advance. There are obvious problems in the white paper, there is no physical support for implementation, and there is no open source progress."
Zhu Cheng’s statement was confirmed by the customer service staff of a digital asset exchange. “Some coins have no value on their own and are not supported by other projects. They only rely on the currency itself to make money. 98% of these coins are empty coins.”
"Some gray area transactions will be conducted through Bitcoin, which is why the price of Bitcoin has not collapsed." Jiang Ming revealed to reporters.
But within the currency circle, there are also different voices on this.
"In the final analysis, digital currency is just a bunch of encrypted codes. It will only generate value if it is recognized. If it is not recognized, it will have no value. As long as the currency is not issued for the purpose of making money, it is not much different from stocks. It is an investment." A currency player active in the blockchain exchange QQ group told reporters, "Similar to gold and silver, there was a lack of supervision on money laundering at the beginning. But now many large exchanges have launched digital currencies, and money laundering is not as easy as before."
There are many ways to launder digital currency money
How did digital currency become a tool for money laundering, and even became a “money laundering artifact” in the words of some players in the currency circle?
The reporter contacted a well-known Weibo blogger in the currency circle. In his opinion, "the use of digital currency to launder money is nothing more than anonymous transfers and money flushing."
According to reports, anonymity and decentralization are the two main characteristics of digital currency. Different from virtual currencies on the Internet, digital currencies, typically represented by Bitcoin, are actual media of exchange, generated through calculations based on specific algorithms, but without an issuing agency. Blockchain is a distributed data storage system that exists in a non-secure environment and its purpose is to achieve decentralization. Decentralization eliminates the supervision of trusted third-party institutions, but also allows digital currencies to be used for money laundering in theory. By purchasing digital currency in one country, converting legal currency into tokens, and then converting the tokens into legal currency in another country, cross-border transfers and remittances can be achieved to avoid supervision, and the "black money" in gray areas is laundered in the process.
"Tokens are not issued through smart contracts, and there is no formal trading platform for digital currencies. Most of them are traded through the self-built platform of the project. Therefore, the tokens can be converted into other currencies at will, which actually breaks the foreign exchange management regulations." Zhu Cheng said.
In Jiang Ming's view, cross-border transactions of digital currencies have led to regulatory difficulties and provided soil for money laundering.
Suai is a blockchain practitioner who regards digital currency money laundering as tax evasion.
"For example, if I take a lot of cash abroad, I need to pay a high tax, but if I buy it as digital currency and sell it abroad, I can escape this tax." Su Ai explained, "Buying a Bitcoin requires more than 40,000 yuan, and only a smaller amount of currency can be used to wash away more 'black money'."
There are also endless cases of money laundering using digital currencies.
Heilongjiang Provincial Higher People's Court [2016] Hei Minzhong Civil Judgment No. 274 shows that in August 2014, the criminal suspect Xu used the "OKcoin" trading platform through an account registered with Lekuda Company, and divided into three parts. Purchased 553.0346 Bitcoins in 4 transactions and conducted currency withdrawal business at the same time. All 553.0346 Bitcoins purchased were taken out of the platform in 4 transactions, transferred to the Bitcoin wallet, and then sold in Macau underground banks.
There are loopholes in the supervision of trading platforms
On September 4, 2017, seven ministries and commissions issued the "Announcement on Preventing Financing Risks of Token Issuance", officially defining the initial token issuance as "illegal financing behavior". Subsequently, "Bitcoin China" announced that it would close the trading platform starting from September 30 and would no longer accept registration from new users. On September 16, Huobi and OKCoin announced that they would cease all trading businesses related to virtual currencies.
The digital currency trading platform has now entered a cold winter.
The reporter registered accounts on multiple trading platforms as a player in the currency circle and found that the services provided by the trading platform mainly include fiat currency transactions and currency-to-crypto transactions. The former is to recharge or withdraw fiat currency into a digital currency wallet, and the latter is to conduct transactions using the virtual currency in the digital currency wallet as an intermediary.
If you want to complete legal currency transactions, you must pass different levels of identity authentication.
Taking a trading platform established in Hong Kong in 2017 as an example, it divides real-name authentication into two levels. If you pass the first level, you need to fill in your real name, ID type and ID number. If you pass the second level, you need to upload relevant ID photos and wait for manual review. The reporter filled in a pseudonym and a non-existent ID number and successfully passed the first level of real-name authentication, which means that as long as there are coins in the digital currency wallet, the reporter can conduct currency-to-crypto transactions.
According to the customer service staff, “the first level can be traded, and the second level can be withdrawn.”
The reporter further investigated and found that the recharge and withdrawal of the trading platform were all completed through the QQ group. After completing the account registration on the platform, the user needs to enter a QQ group. According to the detailed C2C transactions, currency transactions and currency deposit and withdrawal processes in the group, the user needs to actively add the "officially certified acceptor" QQ number, obtain the payment address and complete subsequent purchase operations.
Another world-renowned digital asset trading platform divides real-name authentication into three levels. Level one requires an ID card, level two requires face recognition, and level three requires video recognition. The customer service staff told reporters that the recharge of digital currency does not necessarily need to be through legal currency transactions. There are other channels and can be achieved through other platforms.
When the reporter further asked about specific matters, the customer service staff said they were unclear and asked the reporter to "ask other platforms."
A currency player analyzed that, in other words, users have the opportunity to bypass the highest level of real-name authentication and disperse and transfer digital currencies through the operation of depositing and withdrawing coins between trading platforms, providing opportunities for money laundering.
(At the request of the interviewees, the names of the interviewees in this article are pseudonyms)
Industry experts analyze how to solve the problem of digital currency supervision
The use of digital currency to launder money has become a major problem faced by financial regulatory agencies in various countries.
How to deal with money laundering using digital currencies? The reporter interviewed relevant experts in the industry.
Using digital currency to launder money is relatively hidden
Yin Zhentao, deputy director of the Law and Finance Research Office of the Institute of Finance, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, reviewed the birth of digital currency to reporters: The emergence of Bitcoin is not just for currency issuance, but it has indeed produced a brand new currency, but more importantly, Bitcoin has produced a trading system. Most of the initial users of Bitcoin were traders in gray areas, playing an important role in gray transaction fields such as drug trafficking, hacking, and money laundering. Only later did it gradually become the object of widespread public attention and application.
Digital currency has the characteristics of anonymity and decentralization, and also involves greater risks.
"Digital currency faces two risks. The first is the technical level. Digital currency relies on blockchain technology and a system, which will subject it to security impacts, such as hacker attacks on computer systems. We have seen many practical problems in this process." Yin Zhentao said.
In May 2017, the Bitcoin ransomware virus named WannaCry broke out around the world, affecting networks in more than 70 countries. Those infected with the virus were required to pay a Bitcoin ransom in exchange for unlocking their files.
Yin Zhentao believes that another risk of digital currency is credit risk. Because there are middlemen in digital currency transactions, these middlemen are different from real organizations. Organizations in reality are visible and tangible, but digital currency middlemen are on the Internet, and the risks are greater.
"For example, buying Bitcoin domestically and then converting it into other currencies in the international market arbitrarily violates foreign exchange management regulations. The characteristics of short time, high efficiency, low cost, and easy to avoid supervision make digital currency a weapon for money laundering. Compared with traditional means of money laundering, money laundering through digital currency technology is more convenient, more concealed, and easy to avoid financial supervision." Yin Zhentao said.
Zhao Zhanhan, a special researcher at the Intellectual Property Research Center of China University of Political Science and Law, believes that digital currencies are anonymous, fast and irrevocable. In addition, digital currencies such as Bitcoin are highly circulated around the world, so many criminals use digital currencies as a new money laundering channel. Moreover, there are many different ways to launder money through digital currency. Generally speaking, the chances of new money laundering methods being discovered and investigated are lower than before. Many countries still do not have the means and technology to effectively combat digital currency money laundering. These factors make criminals prefer this method of money laundering.
The use of digital currency to launder money is suspected of violating relevant laws and regulations.
"The use of digital currency to launder money mainly violates the provisions of the criminal law and relevant judicial interpretations. The criminal law specifically stipulates the crime of money laundering. The relevant judicial interpretations stipulate that those who knowingly provide illegal income and proceeds from drug crimes, organized crime of a gangland nature, and smuggling crimes in order to cover up or conceal their source and nature provide a capital account or assist in converting property into cash or financial instruments. "Anyone who assists in the transfer of funds through transfer or other settlement methods, assists in remittance of funds overseas, or uses other methods to conceal or conceal the illegal proceeds of crime and the nature and source of the proceeds, shall constitute a crime of money laundering and shall be prosecuted. Depending on the specific method of money laundering, it may be one or more of the aforementioned behaviors," Zhao Zhan said.
Speculation and hype maintain Bitcoin price
Because of this, the rise of digital currency and the development of blockchain technology have brought challenges to traditional financial supervision.
"Because of the new technology, the combination of finance and technology is completely different from the supervision of traditional finance. Theoretically, the challenge is huge, and the gray trading area cannot be seen, penetrated, or found. Our regulatory agencies are centralized, and the blockchain is decentralized. Our regulatory agency is this kind of central organization, and the blockchain is a platform-based organization." Yin Zhentao said.
At present, there are two main domestic regulations on virtual currencies. In 2013, many ministries and commissions issued the "Notice on Preventing Bitcoin Risks", giving important reminders on Bitcoin risks. On September 4, 2017, the central bank and seven other ministries and commissions jointly issued an announcement again, stating that the initial coin offering was an illegal financing without approval.
"These are the two most important regulations. Currently, our country prohibits domestic Bitcoin transactions." Yin Zhentao explained to reporters, "At the same time, our country also prohibits third-party payment institutions, which means that payment institutions are prohibited from providing payment channels for Bitcoin. In addition, there are currently not many laws and regulations to restrict and manage."
Regarding the view of some digital currency players that "money laundering is a major pillar in maintaining the price of Bitcoin," Yin Zhentao responded that the initial price increase of Bitcoin has a lot to do with its extensive application value in the field of money laundering, but at this stage, speculation and hype are the most likely to maintain the price of Bitcoin.
Zhao Zhan believes that there are various methods of using digital currency to launder money. For example, technical means may be used to transfer funds into the cryptocurrency system, and then various transfer addresses are deployed, making it difficult to query its transaction path. In other words, money laundering driven by technological progress is becoming more and more difficult to detect and prevent. In addition, it is cross-regional. The lack of a global response mechanism has exacerbated this situation.
Ensure digital currency transactions are traceable
The severe situation calls for financial regulatory changes.
"Blockchain is a decentralized distributed 'ledger system' that can be used to register and issue digital assets, property rights certificates, points, etc., and conduct transfers, payments and transactions in a peer-to-peer manner." Yin Zhentao believes that "blockchain technology is a double-edged sword. From a technical point of view, since blockchain can be used for money laundering, it can also be used for anti-money laundering through technical means. This logic is established, and this is also one of the important methods of regulatory technology that I advocate."
"For the financial supervision of digital currencies, the first point is to clarify the legal positioning. It is still unclear whether digital currencies represented by Bitcoin are a virtual asset or a virtual currency. Secondly, the effect of existing supporting policies is not obvious. Although initial coin offerings and digital currency transactions have been nominally prohibited, in fact this has not been done Total ban. The relationship between the ban on initial coin issuance and Bitcoin’s anti-money laundering is not very close, but there are certain restrictions on currency transactions, but the effect is not yet obvious. Finally, it is necessary to introduce technological means and use advanced technological means to supervise high-tech transactions in the financial field.
Zhao Zhan believes that money laundering can be tracked through digital currency. Ensuring the traceability of digital currency is the key to dealing with money laundering crimes on a global scale. At the same time, many money laundering behaviors using digital currencies are carried out through exchanges. Therefore, stricter management and regulations should be established for digital currency exchanges, requiring exchanges to effectively adopt technical and management measures, fully fulfill their anti-money laundering obligations, and promptly report to the relevant authorities after discovering money laundering behaviors.
Not only does Europe not support Trump, it even wants him to lose. The reason is simple.
After Trump launched the war against Iran, some European countries not only condemned the US-Israeli bombing raids, but also refused the US to use their military bases. Obviously, European allies did not "fight side by side" with the US as expected, but instead showed obvious alienation and opposition.
What is the reason for this change in attitude? How will it affect US-EU relations? How should Trump, who has lost the support of his allies, end his campaign in Iran? Observer.com spoke with Song Luzheng, a scholar in France and a researcher at the China Institute of Fudan University, to bring the latest interpretation.
Observer Network: After the undeclared war between the United States and Israel against Iran, Europe, as an ally, once again showed its disagreement with the United States. Why is Europe no longer willing to follow the United States? Especially when they realize that the United States pursues "Israel first", what further impact will it have on the US-European alliance?
Song Luzheng: There are several main reasons why Europe is no longer willing to follow the United States.
First, relations between Europe and the United States have been severely damaged during Trump's one year in office, and Europe is no longer able to support the United States as it did in the past.
Second, Europe believes that it is facing a threat from Russia and does not want the United States to disperse its power. What's more, the winner of the US-Iran conflict is Russia: it has diverted the attention of the international community and the West from Russia. At the same time, rising oil prices have enhanced Russia's strength and status, while Europe, which relies on energy imports, has weakened its power. Just 10 days after the war began, natural gas prices rose by 50%, and oil prices rose by 27%, which has cost Europe an extra 3 billion euros to import energy.
Von der Leyen’s speech
In response to the United States easing sanctions on Russian oil and gas due to high oil prices, von der Leyen said in the European Parliament on the 11th that it would be a strategic mistake for the EU to abandon its long-term strategy or even return to relying on Russian fossil fuels.
Third, Europe's development depends on the current international order. Although it does not agree with Iran, the international order is more important than Iran. Trump has severely disrupted this order since he came to power for more than a year. Now, without the United Nations or domestic authorization, he has launched a war against a sovereign country. His actions are equivalent to proving the legitimacy of Russia's war against Ukraine. It cannot rule out the possibility of a similar threat to Greenland.
Fourth, there are a large number of immigrants from the Middle East in Europe, and the situation in the Middle East often affects its internal stability. Most of these immigrants were uprooted by war and instability in the Middle East, and they have deep emotional and family ties with their homeland. Once the United States takes military action in the Middle East and the situation worsens, it will not only trigger a new flow of refugees, putting huge pressure on Europe's reception and resettlement capabilities, but also cause strong emotional fluctuations among the Middle Eastern immigrant groups who have settled in Europe because they are worried about the safety of their relatives and friends back home, triggering social riots and political differences, seriously disrupting normal social order and policy formulation.
Therefore, the US-Iran conflict is another impact and disruption to transatlantic relations.
In my opinion, Europe not only does not support the United States, it even hopes that the United States will defeat the war. The reason is simple: Iran is not a threat to Europe, but the United States under Trump is. Although Europe also opposes Iran, the US approach is a serious disruption and impact on the international order - which is also the focus of the biggest differences and confrontations between Europe and the United States today.
If Iran wins, it will not only restrain Trump, but also affect the U.S. midterm elections. Europe has been suffering from Trump for a long time. It especially hopes that the United States will have domestic power to check and balance. The only hope at the moment is the mid-term elections. Otherwise, if Trump wins the mid-term election after winning the general election, we still don’t know what actions he will take to threaten Europe and the world in the next three years. Especially if he points to Greenland, it will create more complex and thorny geopolitical problems within Europe and between Europe and the United States.
In fact, if Iran wins, it will play an objective role in maintaining international order just like China's counterattack against the US trade war and Europe's defense of Greenland.
Observer Network: In addition to the divisions between the United States and Europe, we have also seen differences within Europe. Starmer's government eventually gave in under pressure from Trump, while Spain steadfastly refused to allow the United States to use bases on its territory. Why did the UK and Spain make completely different choices based on the same concerns about international law? What deep dilemmas does this incident expose the EU faces when seeking "strategic autonomy"? Are the foundations of the EU's common foreign and security policy being shaken?
Song Luzheng: Spain and the United Kingdom are two extreme representatives within Europe. Spain has taken a firm opposition stance since Trump returned to the White House. It not only opposes Trump forcing European allies to increase military spending, but also openly opposes Trump's tariffs. This is completely different from other European countries appeasing or avoiding direct criticism of the United States. The same is true this time in the face of the US attack on Iran.
There are four main reasons why Spain does this: First, Prime Minister Sanchez comes from the left, not the traditional right wing of other major European countries. He places great emphasis on opposing illegal wars and adhering to the international order. He himself is also trying to build the leader of the European left-wing resistance front.
Second, Spain learned a painful lesson in the 2003 Iraq War. Supporting the illegal war of the United States did not bring national security, but suffered serious terrorist attacks, leading to rising anti-war sentiment among the people.
Third, the domestic public is strongly opposed to Trump, with up to 77% of the public having a negative view of Trump. Standing on the side of public opinion not only helps to achieve unity in the left camp, but also diverts domestic pressure. Spain has been unable to pass a budget for a long time and faces governance difficulties.
Fourth, Spain is relatively less dependent on the United States economically. Trade with the United States only accounts for 4.4% of GDP, and it has strong independence. What's more, after the diplomatic conflict between Spain and the United States, the EU quickly expressed support for Spain and became an important backing for Spain. Or the EU uses Spain to express its true position of dissatisfaction.
Although Britain is also governed by the left, the traditional special alliance between Britain and the United States is a heavy burden. Britain is dependent on the United States not only in terms of military, security, and economy, but also in terms of international status. Therefore, after experiencing initial uncooperation, the Starmer government finally had to side with the United States.
The different performances of Britain and Spain also reflect the EU's dilemma: on the one hand, it does not agree with the United States' actions, but on the other hand, it lacks the strength to say no to the United States. The so-called strategic independence is difficult to achieve.
As NATO Secretary-General Rutte publicly admitted in his speech to the European Parliament this year: "If there are still people here who think that the EU, or Europe as a whole, can defend itself without the United States, then keep dreaming. It can't be done. We can't do it. We need each other." If security cannot guarantee itself, how can we have strategic autonomy?
The EU's internal position is also highly divided. Eastern European countries, Baltic countries, and Nordic countries are adjacent to Russia and strongly rely on the United States to provide security guarantees. Therefore, they oppose all measures to worsen relations with the United States.
Due to the operating mechanism of the EU, diplomacy and security are determined by each sovereign state. Therefore, even in the context of Trump's disregard for Atlantic relations, and despite France and other Western European countries' repeated assertions of strategic autonomy, their internal divisions have prevented them from taking action.
File photo of NATO Secretary-General Rutte
Observer Network: Germany’s performance this time is also worth pondering. On the one hand, Mertz emphasized that Israel’s security is Germany’s core interest. On the other hand, he rarely “clearly condemned” Israel’s annexation plan in the West Bank and restricted arms exports to Israel. At the same time, Mertz publicly supported the United States and Israel in attacking Iran. Does this seemingly contradictory attitude indicate that Germany's Middle East policy based on "Holocaust responsibility" formed after World War II is undergoing a fundamental shift?
Song Luzheng: There are special reasons for the divisions and contradictions in Germany's foreign policy.
As one of the origins of World War II, Germany brought huge disasters to the world. In particular, the genocide against the Jews has placed a heavy burden on it. Therefore, successive German governments have made it clear that Israel’s security is Germany’s core interest. In addition, Germany is opposed to war and aggression and annexation of sovereign countries because of historical lessons. Israel's annexation plan in the West Bank violates United Nations resolutions and the United Nations Charter. For this reason, Germany finds it difficult to agree with the plan based on historical lessons and values.
After World War II, Germany's security was provided and monitored by the United States. The United States has 100,000 troops stationed in Europe, 40,000 in Germany. But Germany is also on the front line of a confrontation with Russia or China, which reflects the United States' distrust of it. If the UK still has room to say no to the US, Germany has none. This is different from the 2003 Iraq War, when France took the lead and Germany followed. Germany does not dare to stand alone on the front line against the United States. Germany's move has little direct relationship with its Middle East policy, but is a manifestation of Germany's vassalage of the United States.
Germany's Middle East policy based on "Holocaust responsibility" has not changed, but it has to compromise or persist when it comes to German-US relations and United Nations principles.
Observer Network: In France, Iranian President Pezhiziyan warned Macron that any support for the United States and Israel will be regarded as "direct participation in the war." On the one hand, Macron actively mediates and expresses regret for the casualties of Iranian civilians, saying that the attack "violates international law"; on the other hand, he dispatches warships and aircraft carriers near Cyprus and reiterates his "concern" about Iran's nuclear program. Does this "hedging your bets" approach exactly reflect the awkward situation of France and even Europe's influence in the Middle East: It wants to act as an independent mediator to safeguard its own interests (such as energy security, citizen safety), but it is unable to break away from the military alliance framework with the United States. In the end, it may lose both sides, and may even be regarded as a potential hostile force by Iran?
Song Luzheng: First of all, as a core power of the EU, the most important thing for France is to show its presence in this conflict. First, French President Macron had a phone call with the Iranian President, showing his diplomatic presence. This also makes him the only person in a major Western country who can speak to the president of Iran, which also shows the difference between his position and that of the United States. In diplomacy, words are actions.
The French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle is heading towards the Middle East
The second is to send an aircraft carrier to the Mediterranean to show its military presence. That is to say, France is not lacking in the Middle East and has actual military capabilities. But this does not mean that France will enter the war on the side of the United States.
Secondly, if France, as a medium-sized country, wants to exert global influence, it lies in its ability to play a unique balancing role among major countries. The same is true for the current conflict between the United States and Iran. He not only criticized the United States for violating international law and had a phone call with the president of Iran, but also expressed concerns about the nuclear issue. This model is France’s traditional way of demonstrating its status as a great power. At a time when the United States and Iran are fighting, France's position can be divided into two directions, and it has the right to speak to either side.
It should be said that the EU has long lost its voice in the Middle East, but France still has a place: first, it has military bases, second, it sells weapons to Middle Eastern countries, and third, it is far less dependent on external energy than the EU. 70% of its energy consumption comes from nuclear energy, and it has a certain degree of autonomy.
But generally speaking, from the perspective of strength, Israel and the United States can completely ignore the existence of France and the European Union and carry out arbitrary unilateral military intervention. France's approach is just trying to maintain a sense of presence and has no substantial influence on the US-Iran conflict. Iran's need for France is just to show that diplomacy is not isolated, while the United States prevents France from directly standing on the front line of the opposition camp.
IT House reported on March 17 that today (March 17) at the 2026 GTC conference in San Jose, California, USA, NVIDIA announced the detailed parameters of the new 88-core Vera data center CPU, claiming to be the world's first processor customized for intelligent AI and reinforcement learning.
When processing large-scale data, AI training and inference, the chip operates twice as efficiently as traditional rack-level CPUs and is 50% faster. NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang emphasized that the CPU is no longer just an auxiliary AI model, but has become the core driving force. Vera will help AI systems achieve faster "thinking" and wider expansion.
In terms of core architecture, the Vera data center CPU is equipped with 88 Olympus cores custom-designed by NVIDIA. In order to meet the stringent requirements of multi-tenant AI factory concurrent tasks, each core supports spatial multi-threading technology and can stably run two tasks at the same time.
In addition, Vera uses a second-generation low-power memory subsystem. The system is built on LPDDR5X memory and has a bandwidth of up to 1.2 TB/s. Compared with general-purpose CPUs, it significantly reduces power consumption by half while doubling bandwidth.
In order to meet the extreme expansion needs of data centers, NVIDIA simultaneously launched the Vera CPU rack based on the MGX modular architecture. The rack integrates 256 liquid-cooled Vera CPUs, which can maintain more than 22,500 independent concurrent computing environments running at full speed, more than 45,000 independent threads and 400TB of ultra-large memory. It not only achieves a 6-fold increase in CPU throughput, but also directly doubles the performance of intelligent AI workloads.
At the data transmission level, Vera is deeply paired with the GPU through NVLink-C2C interconnection technology, providing consistent bandwidth of up to 1.8 TB/s, which is 7 times that of PCIe 6.0.
Vera CPU has now entered full mass production and is expected to begin batch delivery to core customers such as Meta and Oracle in the second half of this year. IT Home attaches relevant screenshots as follows:
NVIDIA GTC 2026 Conference Topics
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