ChainCatcher news, the Central Bank of Russia has introduced regulations to manage foreign exchange operations involving digital rights. According to Russian law, digital rights include electronic records such as cryptocurrencies, tokenized securities, and digital tokens. These rights represent claims or obligations related to assets or services. The new decree will take effect on January 11 and outlines the obligations of residents engaged in such transactions, aiming to clarify and strengthen the oversight of digital assets used for trade and payment purposes.A key requirement outlined in the regulation is that foreign trade contracts involving digital rights settlements must be registered with authorized banks. The document states: "Foreign trade contracts, including those settled using digital rights, must be registered with authorized banks. The registration thresholds for these contracts remain unchanged: import contracts exceeding 3 million rubles and export contracts exceeding 10 million rubles."In addition to registration, the Central Bank of Russia also explained: "The regulation specifies the documents and information that residents must provide to banks, including transaction data related to the transfer or receipt of digital rights as a means of payment under foreign trade contracts, as well as data related to other foreign exchange operations involving digital rights."By defining these requirements, the Central Bank of Russia aims to integrate digital rights into the broader financial system while reducing the risks associated with their use.

According to ChainCatcher news and the official website, the Shenzhen Development and Reform Commission launched the application scenario innovation project solicitation on January 9. This plan aims to collect application projects of new technologies such as artificial intelligence large models, generative artificial intelligence, and blockchain from government departments, enterprises, and institutions.In the financial sector, the focus is on application scenarios such as big data risk control for small and micro enterprises, intelligent anti-fraud, blockchain cross-border convenient payment, and digital RMB business circles. The project solicitation deadline is January 22, 2025, and selected projects will be included in the opportunity list for application scenarios and receive "online + offline" promotion support.

ChainCatcher news, according to crowdfundinsider, Doha Bank has launched Visa Commercial Payments (VCP) in Qatar, becoming the first bank in the region to offer this service. This move aims to simplify the corporate payment process, enhance security, and align with the Qatari government's digital payment objectives. VCP will help corporate clients improve cash flow, eliminate manual processes, and provide a seamless payment experience through an intuitive user interface by automating reconciliation and providing virtual card payment details.Doha Bank's Deputy CEO Dimitrios Kokosioulis stated that this collaboration will further strengthen the long-term partnership with Visa and meet the evolving payment needs. Visa's Vice President and General Manager for Qatar and Kuwait, Shashank Singh, also emphasized the importance of this collaboration for digital innovation in the financial industry.

ChainCatcher message, according to a report released by NiceHash and Digital Mining Solutions on January 7, publicly listed Bitcoin mining companies are following in the footsteps of MicroStrategy by increasing their Bitcoin treasury holdings.The report states: "In 2024, there has been a significant shift among Bitcoin mining companies, with many choosing to retain more of their mined Bitcoin or not selling it at all."Mining companies may choose not to sell Bitcoin for various reasons, including expectations of further appreciation in BTC prices or strengthening their balance sheets, as well as for hedging against currency devaluation.The report mentions that MARA Holdings, Riot Platforms, and Hut 8 have used borrowed funds to increase their Bitcoin holdings, further expanding their treasury strategies. Four of the largest 16 Bitcoin-holding companies are mining firms.The report states that, in addition to their core mining operations, by 2024, some mining companies "will further diversify into high-performance computing and artificial intelligence to generate predictable revenue streams to buffer against mining volatility."This trend is particularly evident in the United States, where "the harsh mining economics and lucrative AI/HPC business are enticing them to diversify into other computing fields." In addition to increasing their BTC holdings, mining companies like CleanSpark have also chosen to retain most of the BTC produced in recent months. Several Bitcoin miners with a market capitalization of at least $100 million have generated significant revenue from AI and HPC initiatives. For example, in the first three quarters of 2024, HPC/AI revenue accounted for nearly 8% of Hut 8's revenue and nearly 7% of Hive Digital's revenue.

ChainCatcher news, publicly traded company Sol Strategies (stock code: CYFRF, HODL.CN) announced on Monday that it will invest 25 million Canadian dollars in the Solana ecosystem through an unsecured credit facility.The unsecured revolving credit facility will accrue interest at a rate of 5% per annum, compounded daily. Sol Strategies has drawn 4 million Canadian dollars in principal and plans to use "the remaining funds to make large-scale purchases of Solana tokens to support its staking operations and acquisitions." According to the statement, it must utilize the entire facility by January 6, 2027.The company, headquartered in Toronto, is the latest initiative following the rebranding of Cypherpunk Holdings to become one of the major Solana stakers and ecosystem participants.In July last year, Cypherpunk Holdings appointed Leah Wald as CEO, shifting its focus to the Solana ecosystem. The company has sold several investments, including equity in Animoca Brands, which was previously its second-largest holding after Bitcoin, and it has also directly invested in SOL and Solana validators.As of December 31, 2024, Sol Strategies has staked over 1.5 million SOL (worth approximately 450 million Canadian dollars) in its validator operations, including over 140,000 SOL owned by the company.Last December, the company announced its intention to seek a listing on Nasdaq. From Wald's appointment as CEO to the end of last year, the price of HODL has increased by over 2,000%. (The Block)

ChainCatcher news, the founder of Week in Ethereum News (WiE), Evan Van Ness, stated on social media: "Due to a conversation with the leadership of the Ethereum Foundation (EF) earlier this year, I announce that this newsletter will cease operations, as the communication indicated they believe continuing the Week in Ethereum News is not valuable.For the remainder of 2024, WiE has received very little funding support from the Ethereum Foundation. Although this support was mostly symbolic, the EF leadership's choice to cut this trivial support clearly indicates that WiE will end immediately.The Ethereum Foundation withdrawing support has made it more clear than anything else that it is time for WiE to conclude.The Week in Ethereum News once had a good track record. Over the years, at conferences, many developers have told me that WiE has impacted their Solidity or security careers. They often mentioned that this newsletter influenced their decision to purchase ETH. Once upon a time, this established newsletter was the upstream source for most Ethereum news supporters.But unfortunately, WiE failed to find a sustainable business model. Advertising and sponsorships are hard to sell because the marketing director does not value developers. I have high standards for content, but completing it in a profitable way has proven to be too time-consuming."

ChainCatcher news, Xu Youxi, the president of the Financial Investment Association, stated in his New Year's address that he will promote the expansion of the digital asset market as a future growth driver for the capital market by advancing token securities legislation and virtual asset ETFs. He will also strive to innovate financial infrastructure to help financial investment companies find new growth opportunities in the digital asset market.He committed to supporting the business expansion and capability enhancement of financial investment companies, assisting large securities firms in becoming top securities companies in Asia, and promoting the expansion of comprehensive financial investment companies into overseas markets. In addition, the president also stated that he will actively promote policy reforms, including corporate payment and settlement, and support measures such as the BDC system and expanding financing channels for small and medium-sized securities companies.

ChainCatcher news, according to Xinmin Evening News, under the guidance of the Shanghai headquarters of the People's Bank of China, the Shanghai branch of Bank of China completed a corporate dividend transfer to Singapore using digital renminbi remittance, successfully landing the first cross-border digital renminbi capital account business between China and Singapore.The Shanghai branch of Bank of China actively supports the digital renminbi pilot work: in cooperation with the Shanghai Gold Exchange, it completed a cross-border settlement of 100 million yuan in digital renminbi for precious metal transactions, marking the first cross-border digital renminbi payment in the financial factor market; using digital renminbi to pay Baowu Group for imported iron ore, achieving a breakthrough in cross-border digital renminbi payments in the bulk commodity sector; during the 7th China International Import Expo, in collaboration with Shanghai Public Transport Card Co., Ltd., it held a product launch event for the "Smart Travel Card" within the expo venue, continuously expanding the application of digital renminbi in multiple scenarios.

ChainCatcher news, BIO Protocol announces that former MakerDAO founding team member seanwbren.eth has joined to lead the AI agent sector of BioDAO.BIO Protocol states that BIO integrates various AI technologies, including maximizing integration using the ElizaOS framework, closely monitoring Prime Intellect to utilize its models when available, and building a decentralized knowledge graph in the SciGraph of ID Theory.

ChainCatcher news, Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency mining chip manufacturer Nano Labs announced that it has officially renamed its wholly-owned subsidiary Tsuki HK Limited to Nano bit HK Limited. This subsidiary will engage in Bitcoin-related business within the Bitcoin ecosystem.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi reports, the Federal Reserve's median forecast for the 2025 interest rate is only a 50 basis point cut, but the Bank of Canada (BCA) expects more rate cuts. BCA analysts stated in a report that inflation is likely to be lower than the Federal Reserve's 2025 forecast, while the unemployment rate may be higher than the Federal Reserve's 2025 forecast.They stated, "Therefore, a loosening policy of more than 50 basis points will be needed." The Federal Reserve predicts an unemployment rate of 4.3% by the end of 2025, "which requires a significant improvement in the momentum of the labor market, and we believe that such a trend reversal is unlikely to occur."

ChainCatcher news, TRON founder Justin Sun posted on platform X stating, "Regarding issuing tokens, this is my personal view on the matter. Issuing tokens itself is a financial tool and innovation. Financial tools are difficult to bring business value; they are merely amplifiers.Just like an IPO cannot determine whether a company is good or not, if a company's business form and business model are incorrect, going public is unlikely to save it. However, if a business is good, the financial tools suitable for it will also have strong value.Whether issuing tokens has value is a question that still needs to be asked of the business's number one position, as they have the deepest perception. The question is quite simple: after issuing tokens, is the business easier to operate or more difficult? Does it provide a better experience for users, and does it solve the problems and bottlenecks on the business side?"

ChainCatcher news, the French financial market regulator Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) has approved the French bank BPCE to conduct cryptocurrency business.According to the official notice released by the AMF on December 20, BPCE's cryptocurrency subsidiary Hexarq has obtained authorization as a Crypto Asset Service Provider (CASP). With this approval, Hexarq is officially authorized to provide a range of crypto services, including crypto custody, as well as the buying, selling, and trading of cryptocurrencies against euros.

ChainCatcher news, Cango Inc. saw its stock price rise by 280% due to its entry into the Bitcoin mining business, with two board members planning to sell $2 million worth of company stock.According to new documents released on Thursday, Cango CEO Jiayuan Lin and director Zhipeng Song plan to sell 100,000 and 200,000 shares of the company stock, respectively, with the sale expected around December 20. The total market value of the shares being sold is estimated at $2.07 million.Cango was founded in 2010 as a digital platform for providing auto loans. It went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 2018. Last month, Cango announced the acquisition of 32 EH/s Bitcoin mining machines from Bitmain as part of its entry into the Bitcoin mining sector. In November alone, the company mined 363.9 BTC. This move triggered a 290% surge in Cango's stock price, jumping from around $2.80 to $8.00.

ChainCatcher News: Japanese listed company Metaplanet announced the launch of Bitcoin Treasury Operations as an official new business line.

ChainCatcher news, the Hong Kong listed company FEG Holdings Corporation Limited has released a supplementary announcement regarding the establishment of a joint venture, disclosing that its joint venture will focus on establishing and operating digital asset businesses in virtual real estate and decentralized finance, aiming to design and build multiple virtual environments in Decentraland, including a virtual stock trading hall, financial education center, decentralized exploration zone, virtual conference center, and innovation lab.In addition, FEG Holdings has also announced that it has identified a proposed CEO for the joint venture, and together with its joint partners, will contribute a total of HKD 25 million, but the related amount will continue to be determined based on budget allocation and operational expense analysis.

ChainCatcher news, citing sources from The Wall Street Journal, reports that the American hedge fund Starboard Value has acquired a stake in Riot Platforms, with specific shareholding details unclear, and is pushing the company to improve its business model.According to reports, Starboard has been urging Riot to convert some of its Bitcoin mining sites into data centers to host machines for large tech companies, providing high-performance computing (HPC).Riot is currently a "pure" Bitcoin miner, with its revenue solely coming from Bitcoin mining, while some of its peers, such as Core Scientific (CORZ), utilize a significant portion of their facilities for HPC and artificial intelligence computing.

ChainCatcher news, the cryptocurrency venture capital firm Digital Currency Group (DCG) has decided to split its Foundry mining business into two independent entities, Fortitude Mining and Foundry.Fortitude Mining will house Foundry's previous self-mining operations and physical infrastructure. On the other hand, Foundry will maintain its pool operations and other Bitcoin mining service lines.DCG noted in a shareholder letter that it is adjusting its business to accommodate future growth. The letter stated, "We believe that (Fortitude) will be stronger as an independent company, so we are spinning it off as a wholly-owned subsidiary of DCG."To ensure a smoother transition, DCG will bring some of Foundry's leadership into the new subsidiary. To gain further support and raise funds, DCG plans to recruit additional staff from outside. Fortitude has already requested its hosting service providers to invoice the new entity, which has been ongoing for at least a month. (Blockspace)Previously, sources disclosed that the world's largest Bitcoin mining pool, Foundry, is laying off 27% of its workforce during the planned restructuring, affecting 16% of Foundry's employees in the U.S. and parts of the team in India.

ChainCatcher news, Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao posted on X: "A live demonstration is worth a thousand words.Many people tried to pitch their projects to me at the conference, often taking selfies with me as well. This doesn't work. I'm not smart enough to understand a project in a few seconds.Business cards are more useful to me. I can easily hand them to my team, which is much easier than asking me for contact information."