ChainCatcher news, the privacy security network Nillion announced a partnership with the Bahraini telecom operator stc Bahrain. This collaboration marks the deep integration of Nillion's blind computing privacy technology into real-world Web2 scenarios, aiming to promote the development of privacy solutions in the Middle East.In the first phase of the partnership, stc Bahrain will deploy nodes on Nillion's blind computing network PETnet. As a decentralized privacy platform, PETnet aims to utilize advanced privacy-enhancing technologies such as multi-party computation to ensure data storage security and the processing of private data. stc Bahrain, as the first telecom partner to operate nodes on the Nillion network, will bring greater decentralization and security to PETnet.Meanwhile, Nillion will join stc Bahrain's Web3 Launchpad program as a Pearling Path partner. stc Bahrain will leverage Nillion's blind computing network to develop scalable application cases. By combining Nillion's advanced secure computing solutions with stc Bahrain's robust telecom infrastructure and Bahrain's data embassy laws, Nillion aims to set new standards for high-value data management and protection for global users, including specific Web2 application scenarios.It is reported that as the first decentralized blind computing network, Nillion was founded by former Uber founding engineer Conrad Whelan, dedicated to achieving the storage, transmission, and processing of high-value sensitive data in an encrypted state throughout the entire process. Through its innovative Orchestration Layer, Nada language compiler, and dual-layer network architecture design, Nillion supports developers in easily building privacy applications without needing to understand privacy-enhancing technologies (PET), while also ensuring decentralization, thereby empowering the development of the privacy application ecosystem and providing strong support for data application ecosystems, AI, data markets, privacy DeFi, medical analytics, and other application scenarios.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi reports, Saudi Arabia announced a $14.9 billion technology investment and strategic partnerships at the Riyadh LEAP technology conference on February 9, marking an expansion of the country's AI and digital infrastructure strategy.The Saudi Ministry of Communications and Information Technology announced that it will allocate $10.9 billion for AI infrastructure and startup funding, while Grog will invest $1.5 billion to establish the world's largest AI-centered data center in Saudi Arabia.The report mentioned that the Chinese AI company DeepSeek has begun operations at Aramco's digital data center in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, which is another significant advancement in the country's continuously expanding AI infrastructure.

ChainCatcher message, Binance P2P has added support for Pepe (PEPE), and it is now possible to trade PEPE with fiat currencies in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bitcoin.com News, shows that a recent survey by Ripple indicates that 52% of financial leaders in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) prioritize blockchain payments and tokenized assets for development. The survey points out that, led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, blockchain technology is expected to fundamentally change banking in the region by 2025.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, early-stage venture capital firm Sigma Capital has launched a $100 million fund focused on Web3 startups.According to an announcement released via email on Tuesday, the Dubai-based company is trying to leverage the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) reputation as a cryptocurrency hub. The fund will focus on decentralized finance (DeFi), tokenization, and blockchain infrastructure by managing a portfolio of liquid tokens.

ChainCatcher news, the blockchain MANTRA built for tokenizing real-world assets (RWA) has signed a $1 billion agreement with investment group Damac Group. MANTRA will tokenize assets of the real estate developer DAMAC Group worth at least $1 billion in early 2025.Damac's portfolio spans various sectors including real estate development, data centers, and hotels, and it will use MANTRA to tokenize its extensive asset portfolio.MANTRA stated that in the coming weeks, it will announce which DAMAC assets will be tokenized and the specific details of the token issuance, which is set to begin in early 2025.

ChainCatcher news, Raafi Hossain, co-founder and CEO of the Middle Eastern fintech company Fasset, which intends to enter the stablecoin space, introduced several examples of customers using stablecoins, including the sale of a $8 million Dubai property, a Tanzanian buyer purchasing Indonesian cooking oil, renting a villa on Palm Jumeirah for $100,000, and private yacht rentals. Fasset is a Dubai-based "super app" focused on markets from Morocco to Malaysia.Dubai's Careem Networks FZ LLC, which provides taxi, food, and financial services, and Abu Dhabi's Astra Tech, which operates the communication app Botim, are also exploring the launch of payment tools supported by stablecoins.Hossain stated that stablecoins provide users with a way to "bypass geographical and institutional barriers to efficiently and quickly execute high-value transactions."Careem Pay Vice President Mohammad El Saadi mentioned that the technology "has the potential to reduce costs, speed up processing times, and improve working capital management for cross-border transfers." The company has opened 8 new fiat payment channels in the UAE over the past 11 months.Meanwhile, Astra Tech's Vice President of Products Rishabh Singh stated that Botim has been experimenting with the AE Coin, which is pegged to the dirham and has been approved by the Central Bank of the UAE.According to data from DeFi Llama, the total market capitalization of all circulating stablecoins has grown from less than $140 billion at the end of 2023 to over $200 billion today.So far, the dominant stablecoin is USDT, whose issuer, Tether Holdings Ltd., recently stated that it expects to achieve over $10 billion in net profit in 2024. According to CoinGecko, the total circulating supply of USDT is close to $140 billion.The use of USDT is concentrated in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa time zones, particularly in the Middle East. (Bloomberg)

ChainCatcher news, according to Bitcoin.com, UAE investment firm Hodler Investments' subsidiary Permianchain has partnered with Vertical Data to provide modular and portable data center solutions using its GPU as a service technology. GPU as a service or "boxed solutions" enable faster, safer, and more efficient AI-driven computing.A statement said that the solution will be available in the UAE and the broader Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The goal is to bring high-performance, low-latency AI processing closer to where critical data is generated, reducing latency and enhancing real-time decision-making capabilities.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bitcoin Magazine columnist Pete Rizzo, Trump’s new Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff expressed the view that Bitcoin is a "dis-inflationary force," and he also pointed out that the current global allocation to Bitcoin is severely insufficient.

ChainCatcher news, according to official sources, the investment division of the stablecoin issuer Tether, Tether Trade Finance, has completed its first financing for a Middle Eastern crude oil transaction.It is reported that the transaction was completed in October 2024 and aims to facilitate the loading and transportation of 670,000 barrels of Middle Eastern crude oil, valued at approximately 45 million dollars.

ChainCatcher news, according to Caixin reports, former Binance CEO Zhao Changpeng stated at the second Gulf Investment Forum held in Bahrain: "Many people do not know the benefits here."Zhao Changpeng also mentioned that he has learned that Hong Kong peers are actively exploring RWA, but the price fluctuations of real-world assets are relatively small, making it difficult to form sufficient trading volume in the secondary market, and liquidity tends to gradually shrink. We need to wait for innovators to propose use cases that truly bring liquidity.In addition, Zhao Changpeng expressed great optimism about investment opportunities in the Middle East, focusing not only on blockchain investments but also strategically positioning in AI, biotechnology, and other fields in the GCC countries.It is reported that after obtaining the cryptocurrency service provider license granted by the Central Bank of Bahrain, Binance has also received approval for a banking license from the CBB, which means Binance has legal currency entry and exit channels in the region.

ChainCatcher news, OOKC Group announced a strategic investment in Port3 Network, investing millions of dollars to help establish its office in the Middle East and expand into the Middle Eastern and European markets. Port3 Network is an AI-focused Web3 data platform, and its SoQuest has already amassed six million Web3 users and a large database.OOKC Group, headquartered in Dubai, is a comprehensive investment institution that integrates investment and consulting in the Middle East and North Africa, with localized advantageous resources. OOKC Group will assist Port3 Network in various aspects to complete the local resource connection and achieve expansion and deep cultivation in the Middle Eastern and European markets.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes predicts that if tensions between Iran and Israel escalate, the price of Bitcoin will rise alongside the surge in oil and energy prices.

ChainCatcher news, on Wednesday local time, the ADP employment report, known as the "little non-farm," was released, showing employment data exceeding expectations and a significant improvement compared to the previous month. This indicates that despite some signs of weakness in the overall U.S. employment, it remains generally stable, and the market continues to accept the logic that the Federal Reserve does not need to make significant interest rate cuts next time. Meanwhile, tensions in the Middle East have escalated, increasing market concerns.According to 4E observations, U.S. stocks opened lower and then fluctuated slightly upward, with the Dow closing up 0.09%, the Nasdaq up 0.08%, and the S&P 500 up 0.01%. Continuing to be affected by the escalating tensions in the Middle East, risk appetite was suppressed, and Bitcoin briefly fell to $60,000, currently reported at $61,000, while Ethereum dropped over 4.3%, falling below $2,400 to its lowest level in nearly two weeks.In the forex and commodities market, non-U.S. currencies fell broadly, and the U.S. dollar index rose for three consecutive days this week, hitting its highest level in nearly three weeks; spot gold experienced significant volatility, with prices initially dropping sharply before rebounding. Although the "little non-farm" ADP data stimulated the rise of the dollar and U.S. Treasury yields, the tensions in the Middle East provided support for gold prices. The market is concerned about Israel's strikes on Iran's oil industry, with oil prices rising nearly 4% at one point.

ChainCatcher news, on Tuesday local time, Iran launched a missile attack on Israel, escalating tensions in the Middle East once again and triggering cautious sentiment in global markets, with U.S. stocks and the crypto market responding with declines.All three major U.S. stock indices closed lower, with the Dow down 0.41%, the S&P 500 down 0.93%, and the Nasdaq down 1.53%, making technology stocks the worst-performing sector; the crypto market saw a significant drop, with Bitcoin nearly falling below $60,000, currently quoted at $61,523, down 2.75% in 24 hours, and Ethereum down 5.11%, as market sentiment returned to panic. Data shows that Bitcoin fell about 4% in the first two days of October, in stark contrast to the historical average increase of 20% for the entire month of October; in commodities, the safe-haven asset gold was favored, with December gold futures on the NYSE rising 1.16%, and concerns over crude oil supply intensified, causing international crude oil prices to rise more than 4% at one point.The escalation of tensions in the Middle East has led to a rapid increase in market panic, resulting in a sell-off of risk assets and increased market volatility. eeee.com is a financial trading platform that supports assets such as cryptocurrencies, stock indices, commodity gold, and foreign exchange, recently launching a USDT stablecoin wealth management product with an annualized return of 5.5%, providing investors with potential hedging options. 4E reminds you to pay attention to market volatility risks and to allocate assets wisely.

ChainCatcher news, the escalating tensions in the Middle East have triggered a cautious sentiment in global markets, causing the cryptocurrency market to decline. Data shows that Bitcoin fell by about 4% in the first two days of October, in stark contrast to the average increase of 20% in October over the past decade.Sean McNulty, trading director at liquidity provider Arbelos Markets, believes that given the Federal Reserve has started to cut interest rates, this sell-off is a "temporary setback," and the government after the November U.S. presidential election may also be more friendly towards the cryptocurrency industry. "October is often the best month for Bitcoin, and this seasonal trend still exists."

According to ChainCatcher news, as reported by Cointelegraph, a report by Chainalysis states that from July 2023 to June 2024, the Middle East and North Africa region accounted for 7.5% of the global cryptocurrency trading volume. The total transaction amount during this period was $338.7 billion, with the vast majority of the trading volume coming from institutional and professional investors. The report indicates that an estimated 93% of the transaction amounts exceeded $10,000, while small retail investors only accounted for 1.8% of the trading volume in the region. The on-chain traffic in the region is primarily conducted through centralized trading platforms. However, the report also noted that the UAE and Saudi Arabia have shown "high interest" in decentralized platforms.Chainalysis emphasized that the UAE has rapidly emerged as a global cryptocurrency hub due to its regulatory clarity and forward-looking attitude towards digital asset technology. In August 2024, the Dubai Court of First Instance ruled that cryptocurrencies can be a legal means of payment for employment contracts and recognized employees' rights to receive digital tokens as stipulated in legal work agreements.

ChainCatcher news, according to Assiyaq, the UAE-based Web3 service provider Verofax has announced the completion of a $3 million bridge financing. This round of financing was led by investors including King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Plug & Play Tech Center, Navig8 Group, and Trove Capital UK. Other participants in this round of financing include Jawa Brothers Advisory, Alzamil Pedco CVC, and Tracecore CVC.The newly acquired funds will be used to advance Verofax's projects in the Middle East and the EU. These projects include AI guidelines tailored for the Gulf Cooperation Council region and a sports fan guide for audiences in the EU and North America.Verofax was founded in 2018 by Wassim Merheby and Jamil Zablah, leveraging Web3 technologies such as augmented reality, blockchain, and artificial intelligence to enhance the marketing experience for tourists, shoppers, and brands.It is reported that in 2022, Verofax raised $1.5 million in a pre-Series A financing round led by Benson Oak Ventures, with participation from 500 Global, Wami Capital, and Vernalis Capital.

ChainCatcher news, Hong Kong Web3 venture capital firm Animoca is weighing various options for a potential return to the public market after its delisting from the Australian Securities Exchange in 2020. The company stated that it is considering an initial public offering in Hong Kong or the Middle East by the end of 2025 or early 2026.Animoca Brands Chairman Yat Siu mentioned that the company has not yet selected advisors for a potential IPO, but Animoca intends to conduct a non-deal roadshow in September as part of its preparations. The non-deal roadshow allows investors to learn about the company's current initiatives and future plans, such as the IPO, without selling securities.