ChainCatcher news, according to Crowdfundinsider, the artificial intelligence company OpenAI has announced its entry into the Singapore market and plans to establish a regional office for the Asia-Pacific in the local area within the year. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stated that Singapore's leading position in the field of artificial intelligence and its potential to address social challenges are the main reasons for the company's decision to set up operations there.According to OpenAI data, Singapore is one of the countries with the highest per capita usage rate of ChatGPT globally, with the number of weekly active users doubling since the beginning of this year. To support this growth, OpenAI will form a team in Singapore as a hub to serve clients and partners in the Asia-Pacific region.The company also announced a partnership with AI Singapore, committing to invest up to $1 million to develop resources and open datasets suitable for Southeast Asia's diverse languages and cultures. OpenAI has appointed Oliver Jay as Managing Director of International Business, responsible for global expansion affairs.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has called on Southeast Asian countries to classify unlicensed currency service businesses or virtual asset service providers (VASP) as criminal offenses. The agency stated in a report released on Monday that some VASPs (including those linked to known criminals) are facilitating transactions for fraud organizations and high-risk gambling websites.The report mentioned that an unnamed entity conducted "at least hundreds of millions of dollars" in transactions with criminal organizations. This includes groups associated with or directly involved in large-scale drug trafficking, human trafficking, cybercrime, and child sexual abuse materials, as well as entities sanctioned by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and wallets linked to North Korea's Lazarus Group.Masood Karimi-Pour, the regional representative of the Office on Drugs and Crime, stated in a declaration: "Governments need to recognize more than ever the seriousness, scale, and impact of this genuine global threat, and prioritize solutions to address the rapidly evolving criminal ecosystem in the region."

ChainCatcher news, the Arbitrum Foundation announced the "Path to Devcon" initiative, increasing its focus on the Asian market and viewing the growth in this region as its "strategic bet." The initiative aims to connect with the rapidly growing developer community in Asia through a series of in-person events and learning incentive activities, while also raising awareness of Arbitrum technology in the region.The Foundation pointed out that the rapidly growing developer community in Asia and the increasing adoption rate of retail cryptocurrency are on the rise, thus launching a three-pronged approach to prepare for Devcon, which will be held in Bangkok in 2024. Two in-person events, ArbiLink, held in Vietnam and Indonesia, will provide opportunities to connect with the local rapidly growing developer communities. According to GitHub data, the number of developers in these two regions has increased by 31% and 34% year-on-year, respectively.

ChainCatcher news, MN Trading founder Michaël van de Poppe posted on X: "There is a significant inflow of funds into Ethereum and Bitcoin ETFs.I believe this trend will continue, as both of these blue chips are the best bets against the potential failure of the dollar.Meanwhile, China is pushing the market forward. Perhaps Asia will provide the momentum for a bull market."

ChainCatcher news, according to official sources, Tether has announced that it has assisted the U.S. Department of Justice in freezing over $6 million in assets related to a Southeast Asian fraud scheme that deceived users by mimicking legitimate platforms. Tether froze the relevant assets and helped the U.S. Department of Justice quickly recover the funds, with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, D.C. publicly acknowledging Tether's assistance.Tether stated that it has assisted over 180 law enforcement agencies across 45 jurisdictions in freezing more than $1.8 billion worth of USDT, redistributing over $128 million of USDT to legitimate owners and law enforcement agencies, and voluntarily freezing more than 1,850 wallets associated with illegal activities.

ChainCatcher news, the world's first AI-driven comprehensive financial derivatives service platform EraAI today announced the official launch of its membership system. To align with EraAI's global strategy in the Asia-Pacific region and to gather initial traffic, achieving the market share target for the DePIN track in the Asia-Pacific region by June 2025, EraAI provides efficient, secure, and intelligent multi-domain AI technology solutions and hardware device solutions for enterprises and users within Asia.In addition, EraAI also announced a strategic partnership with D3X, with both parties working together to promote innovation in AI technology and jointly explore the Asian AI market. EraAI will leverage its advanced technology in the AI field and D3X's global resources and experience to not only optimize investment management and trading strategies but also achieve overall profitability, real-time decision-making, and automated trading, which is expected to significantly enhance the operational efficiency and innovation capabilities of enterprises in the region.EraAI's Asia-Pacific strategy will achieve a perfect combination of European and American technology with Asian traffic. Era's entry into the market will also provide blockchain and DePIN enthusiasts in the Asia-Pacific region with new services and more optimization options, laying a solid foundation for future market expansion and user growth.

ChainCatcher news, IOBC Capital partner Alva Xu shared his insights on Token2049 on the X platform, noting several changes in the Crypto primary market from the perspective of an active Crypto LP:Some large funds from Europe and the United States are accelerating their fundraising efforts, and their commitment and focus indicate their determination to compete fiercely with Asian LPs. The conversation afterward was not exciting; AUM is the enemy of venture capital funds.European and American funds are squeezing the survival space of Asian funds, and LPs are becoming as valuable as quality developers, so IR will become increasingly important in the future.In today's market shift, some GPs are showcasing various strategies, such as buying OTC shares, pushing into the secondary market, and incubating projects. The core purpose is to prove they can outperform Bitcoin returns, and isn't the essence of venture capital to support great companies early on? Therefore, these flashy strategies might be less effective than returning to the original mission, which can resonate more with investors.In light of the current situation, this LP offered three suggestions for fund fundraising:Do not emphasize financial returns and DPI, as LPs can directly buy ETFs or hold BTC.Position yourself as an explorer in the industry; a strong desire for exploration and having your own worldview can better impress LPs, after all, investing in a company represents the kind of world you want to build.Conduct due diligence on each LP's strategic planning; understanding LPs' strategic investment layout is very important.

ChainCatcher news, Howard, the Head of Developer Relations for TON Asia, pointed out in a post on X that although the mini-program gaming sector has recently been active, there are still multiple areas within the TON ecosystem that remain to be developed. Howard believes that fields such as credit card cashback, gift card business, tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs), yield products, Launchpool-type projects, and offline QR code payment solutions hold tremendous potential and are expected to develop into billion-dollar projects on Telegram mini-programs and the TON blockchain.He stated that compared to EVM ecosystems like Ethereum, TON is more suitable for young developers and Web2 game studios due to its large user base and real growth potential.

ChainCatcher news, Solana Foundation Chair Lily Liu shared a set of data at the Solana Breakpoint conference, emphasizing the importance of the Asian and Chinese markets to the Solana ecosystem. According to the data provided by Liu:40% of the top countries by user adoption are in Asia;50% of the projects in the Solana hackathon come from Asia;70% of exchange liquidity comes from Asia.

ChainCatcher message, to promote the practical application of industries such as artificial intelligence, big data, blockchain, and new infrastructure, and to cultivate the development of a trillion-level emerging industry, GBFA will hold the "Asia Digital Economy Investment Forum" in Shenzhen on September 27, 2024.At that time, representatives from well-known companies such as Shenzhen Capital Group, Dachen Venture Capital, SoftBank China, Goldman Sachs Asia, Microsoft, Hugging Face, and senior experts in the fields of AI and digital technology will be present to discuss the hotspots of artificial intelligence technology and the Web3 industry, exploring the future of new economic development.This forum will feature an investment forum and a high-quality project exhibition area, aiming to promote effective connections between policies, capital, and projects, and to drive the implementation of relevant achievements. The forum will focus on the latest hotspots, situations, and opportunities in the fields of artificial intelligence, blockchain, and big data, and will conduct in-depth analysis of the current landscape and future trends of cutting-edge technology finance. Through this top-notch exchange of ideas, we will embrace a new wave of the digital economy industry. This forum is co-sponsored by Jiezhi Computing as the title sponsor, along with GBFA Global Blockchain Fund Alliance, FINWEX, Chainfir Capital, FIBONACCI, BEAT BEE, and BUDAO LABS.

ChainCatcher news, Andrew Zhang, CTO of New Fire Technology, has been invited to attend the second Asia Vision Forum (hereinafter referred to as "Caixin Asia Forum") held in Singapore from September 25 to 27. The theme of this forum is "Global Challenges, Asian Strategies," which will delve into sustainable economic growth and emphasize the solutions and innovations needed for a shared future in Asia.The Caixin Asia Forum is launched by Caixin International with the support of the Singapore government, and is officially supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB). This forum aims to shape an important international agenda and communication platform through a multidimensional perspective from the global, Asian, and Chinese viewpoints, helping the international community better understand the real Asia and China.This forum is expected to attract hundreds of decision-makers, business leaders, and experts from around the world. During the two-day event, participants will engage in extensive discussions, share observations and thoughts, and collectively address the new risks, opportunities, and challenges brought about by global changes. One of the main goals of the forum is to promote positive action through open dialogue. On the third day of the forum, there will also be high-level practical seminars and roadshow activities to further explore topics such as investment in the Southeast Asian region.

ChainCatcher News: The Bitcoin L2 network Stacks has announced the establishment of an Asian Foundation, which will lead the growth and development of the Stacks ecosystem in Asia. Organizations including DeSpread, Spartan Group, and SNZ will become its strategic partners. The foundation will initially secure $15 million in funding from private holders of Stacks for regional operations, with the possibility of obtaining more grants in the future.