Playnance has rolled out public trading for its token GCOIN on MEXC, with the GCOIN/USDT pair opening on March 18, 2026 at 13:00 UTC. The launch follows the project's Token Generation Event earlier the same day and comes after MEXC's Kickstarter activity tied to a 50,000 USDT airdrop. Playnance says more than 1 billion GCOIN were staked within hours, and withdrawals on MEXC are set to start on March 19.

SBI VC Trade said it will introduce a fixed-term USDC lending product in Japan on Thursday, allowing retail customers to lend USDC to the platform for interest payments. The firm said each offering will accept applications up to 5,000 USDC, and the arrangement is treated as a loan to SBI VC Trade rather than a deposit, leaving users exposed to counterparty risk and lockups during the term.

Playnance launched GCOIN trading on MEXC, with the GCOIN/USDT pair opening on March 18, 2026 at 13:00 UTC after the project's Token Generation Event earlier that day. The company said MEXC deposits are already available, while withdrawals are scheduled to start on March 19. Playnance also cited over 300,000 GCOIN holders, more than 10,000 on-chain games, and over 2 million on-chain transactions processed daily.

On March 18, 2026, Aster said it expanded its collaboration with World Liberty Financial (WLFI) by rolling out USD1-denominated perpetual contracts and related trading incentives. The initial USD1 perps list BTC, ETH, and SOL pairs, with 10+ more pairs planned in the coming weeks, alongside 0-bps maker fees and a 0.5-bps taker fee on USD1 markets. Aster also said users may earn WLFI token rewards and additional incentives for holding USD1 on the platform as it prepares for the Aster Chain mainnet.

On March 18, 2026, Aster said it expanded its collaboration with World Liberty Financial (WLFI) by adding USD1 as collateral and launching USD1-denominated perpetual contracts. The rollout starts with BTC, ETH and SOL pairs, with 10+ more pairs planned in the coming weeks, alongside incentives such as up to 2.5 million WLFI tokens distributed monthly and a 0.5-bps taker fee on USD1 pairs. Aster said the integration is aimed at strengthening USD1 liquidity and supporting the launch of its Layer 1 network, Aster Chain.

XRP has moved higher in a short-term market upswing, and a technical setup highlighted on March 18 points to potential follow-through after a multi-week consolidation. The analysis flags $1.66 and $1.85 as upside levels to watch, while options positioning around the $1.40 strike could influence near-term support and volatility.

U.S. producer inflation rose faster than expected in February, with PPI up 0.7% month over month and 3.4% year over year. As markets awaited the Fed's March decision and Jerome Powell's 2:30 p.m. ET remarks, major tokens traded lower, including Bitcoin near $72,394 and Ethereum around $2,243.

On March 18, SEC Chair Paul Atkins said he is considering a crypto “safe harbor” that would let projects operate without immediate securities registration while they work toward decentralization. He also described four crypto asset categories—digital commodities, collectibles, tools, and payment stablecoins—as outside securities laws, and suggested custody rules could be revised to allow broker-dealers to hold crypto and traditional securities together.