Several of Canada's largest pension funds saw negative or weak private equity portfolio returns last year, with the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan posting a return of -5.3%, marking its worst performance since 2009. In the first quarter, wealthy investors attempted to redeem over $10 billion from large private credit funds, forcing companies like Blackstone to restrict redemptions. Meanwhile, ultrashort crypto prediction contracts with durations as brief as five minutes are rapidly gaining popularity, with daily trading volumes around $70 million on platforms such as Polymarket and Kalshi.