ChainCatcher news, according to Cryptoslate, Polygon Labs CEO Marc Boiron attributed the difficulty in achieving broader adoption of the Polygon network to racial bias against its co-founder Sandeep Nailwal. In a post on the X platform on November 25, Boiron suggested that Nailwal's Indian heritage has led to prejudice that hinders the recognition of Polygon, despite its widespread use across the blockchain industry.He wrote, "If Sandeep were not Indian, Web3 would have embraced Polygon at scale, rather than treating it as a second-class citizen even when Polygon's proof of stake is more commonly used than all other blockchains combined." When a user in the cryptocurrency community argued that Indians hold significant positions in major tech companies worldwide, Boiron responded that geography also plays a role.He pointed out that Indians like Sreeram Kannan at EigenLayer face much less bias when working in Western countries compared to those working in India. Meanwhile, the broader Web3 community remains divided on this issue. Some users believe that the challenges faced by Polygon stem from competition from emerging Ethereum Layer 2 networks or the network's own strategies, rather than bias.

ChainCatcher news, the Colombian Stock Exchange BVC stated that it is "exploring" the possibility of launching a cryptocurrency ETF through its overseas investment department.According to Criptonoticias, BVC mentioned that it is "negotiating" with its public foreign securities platform, the Colombian Global Market (MGC). BVC's equity investment director Nicolás Sánchez stated, "As new participants and market makers enter the market, BVC is working to expand its product range and improve market efficiency."

ChainCatcher news reports that, according to Protos, the price of Bitcoin has previously surpassed $93,000, setting a new historical high. Market news indicates that Gulf oil-producing countries such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, or Qatar may be purchasing Bitcoin at the sovereign level. Relevant sovereign funds may disclose related information during the Abu Dhabi Bitcoin Summit from December 9 to 10.As Bitcoin's total market capitalization has surpassed that of the world's largest oil company, Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia, as the largest oil producer in the Gulf region, is receiving significant attention. As the holder of the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, the investment trends of Gulf oil-producing countries will have a substantial impact on the global crypto asset market.At the same time, as the host of the upcoming Bitcoin conference, the UAE is also considered likely to participate. Additionally, there have been ongoing market rumors that Qatar may also engage in sovereign investments.

ChainCatcher news, on September 11, multiple U.S. lawmakers sent a letter to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler stating that they have launched a joint investigation into the SEC due to concerns that the agency may have engaged in politically motivated hiring practices.The letter, signed by Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (Republican from Ohio), Financial Services Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry (Republican from North Carolina), and Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer (Republican from Kentucky), outlines specific concerns regarding political hiring within the SEC.The investigation aims to determine whether the SEC considered political affiliations when hiring senior employees, potentially undermining the agency's impartiality and violating federal law.The evidence cited by the lawmakers suggests that under Gensler's leadership, political considerations influenced the SEC's hiring of senior staff. The letter specifically notes that Dr. Haoxiang Zhu was hired as the Director of Trading and Markets in November 2021.Reportedly, in an email prior to his appointment, Zhu assured Gensler of his political compatibility, writing in May 2021, "I believe I am in the right position politically," after discussing the role with Gensler.

ChainCatcher news, the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce (SIC) of Colombia has accused the decentralized identity project Worldcoin, founded by Sam Altman, and its parent company Tools for Humanity of violating the country's personal data protection regulations.The SIC has issued a preliminary prosecution notice, accusing these companies of failing to comply with relevant policies when collecting sensitive personal data. Worldcoin is currently collecting data at 25 locations in Colombia, including the capital Bogotá, using its Orb devices. If found guilty, the SIC may impose economic sanctions on Worldcoin, temporarily suspending or permanently shutting down its operations in Colombia. Worldcoin has not yet responded to the allegations.

ChainCatcher news, Matan Sibon, the founder of the EigenLayer ecosystem project eOracle, has questioned CoinDesk's recent report on Eigen Labs.Matan stated that last week, CoinDesk's deputy editor Sam Kessler invited him for an interview to complete an article about restaking technology. However, during the interview, Sam continuously steered the conversation towards the topic of "whether the Eigen Labs team has pressured ecosystem projects to request airdrops of tokens," despite Matan repeatedly denying this and expressing that, based on his personal understanding of the ecosystem projects, such as Altlayer, Renzo, and Ether.fi, none of them would feel "pressured." However, these responses did not appear in CoinDesk's report.Matan further added that exposing conflicts of interest is one thing, but accusing a team of abusing power to pressure other projects in the ecosystem for "profit" is another matter. CoinDesk would be better off retracting the report or providing evidence.Previously, CoinDesk reported that Eigen Labs employees distributed their wallet addresses to ecosystem projects to "profit" through airdrops. EigenLayer responded by stating that there is currently no discovery or evidence indicating that any employees of Eigen Labs have pressured any teams inappropriately to benefit Eigen Labs or its employees.

According to ChainCatcher news, BNB Chain announced Bedrock and Avalon Finance as the winners of the second round of BIA. The former is a multi-asset re-collateralization protocol, while the latter is a liquidity hub for BTC LSDFi and CeDeFi lending. These two projects will enter the MVB program and gain access to the Launch-as-a-Service (LaaS) package.

ChainCatcher News, a man from Columbia County, Drawdy, was sentenced to federal prison after admitting to a scheme to sell expensive computer equipment to over 40 customers who never received their orders. U.S. District Court Judge J. Randal Hall also ordered Drawdy to pay restitution totaling more than $1.1 million and to serve three years of supervised release after completing his prison term.From August 2021 to April 2022, Drawdy participated in an online cryptocurrency discussion forum and received over $1.1 million from at least 42 victims, who believed they were paying Drawdy to provide them with cryptocurrency "mining" computers. However, Drawdy did not deliver the computers, instead pocketing the payments and ultimately ceasing communication with the customers.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg, AI startup Hebbia has completed a $130 million financing round, led by a16z, with participation from Index Ventures, Google Ventures, and billionaire Peter Thiel. According to a source familiar with the matter, the New York-based company is currently valued at approximately $700 million. Hebbia plans to use the new funds for research and to hire more software engineers.It is reported that Hebbia was founded in 2020 and uses AI technology to help businesses sift through various documents to answer complex questions. Its clients include the U.S. Air Force, asset management firms, and legal service companies.

ChainCatcher news, according to the "Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily," reporters have learned that due to personal life and work planning, former Vice President of Ant Group and President of Ant Digital Technology, Jiang Guofei, has resigned. The Ant Digital Technology previously led by Jiang Guofei will now be headed by Dr. Zhao Wenbiao, a senior vice president of Ant Group and former president of the Big Security Business Group, as CEO, with Ant's former CTO Ni Xingjun serving as chairman. Zhao Wenbiao previously led the construction of the Alipay and Ant Group's intelligent risk control system AlphaRisk and I MAGE, while also leading the team in tackling key technologies such as trustworthy AI and large security models.

ChainCatcher news, BNB Chain and Binance Labs announced the launch of the BNB Incubator Alliance (BIA). This incubator aims to support and accelerate the development of early blockchain projects through a series of global events. Award-winning projects in the program will have the opportunity to enter the "Most Valuable Builder" (MVB) program, receive BNB Chain grants, and potential investment opportunities from Binance Labs.The BNB Incubator Alliance will collaborate with partners to host offline events globally. These events will focus on early projects selected by the co-hosts, including BNB Chain, Binance Labs, top venture capital firms, and incubators.

ChainCatcher news, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), headquartered in Switzerland, announced on Wednesday that the Saudi Arabian central bank has joined the mBridge project, a cross-border experiment using central bank digital currencies (CBDC) for international trade.The mBridge project was launched in 2021 as a collaborative initiative between the BIS Innovation Hub and the central banks of China, Hong Kong, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), aimed at testing the feasibility of using CBDC for instant cross-border trade and other payments on the project's blockchain, the mBridge Ledger.

ChainCatcher news, according to official sources, Worldcoin has announced the expansion of its World ID verification service to Colombia. Currently, Worldcoin has established verification points in two cities in Colombia: Bogotá and Medellín.