ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, New York State Assemblyman Clyde Vanel introduced Assembly Bill 7716 on April 8, 2025, proposing to use blockchain technology to protect voter records and election results. The bill has been referred to the Election Law Committee for review, requesting the New York State Board of Elections to collaborate with the Office of Information Technology Services to submit a research report within one year of the bill's enactment. This move aims to explore how the immutability and auditability features of blockchain technology can enhance the security of the electoral system.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, Plume, an integrated modular blockchain built for real-world assets (RWA), announced a strategic investment from a fund managed by alternative asset management company Apollo.Plume is building an EVM-compatible environment and full-stack infrastructure to transform traditional financial instruments, carbon credits, GPUs, collectibles, and other alternative assets into composable digital assets, integrating them into its RWAfi ecosystem with novel utility. With this funding, Plume aims to accelerate the development of its modular blockchain infrastructure, designed to provide RWA on-chain services for cryptocurrency-native enterprises, traditional financial institutions, asset issuers, and more.

ChainCatcher news, according to CryptoSlate, the Bank of Canada released an internal research discussion paper on March 21, analyzing flash loans and their policy relevance and potential risks. The research report defines flash loans as blockchain-native financial instruments that allow users to borrow crypto assets without collateral, provided that the loan must be repaid within a single atomic transaction.It is noteworthy that such internal discussion papers represent the central bank's comprehensive research outcomes on important issues and fall within the broad responsibilities of the Bank of Canada to assess the impact of emerging technologies on financial stability and market structure.Report author Jack Mandin points out that although flash loans are currently limited to blockchain networks, their underlying concept could extend to tokenized financial infrastructure if technical conditions are met. Such concepts include atomic risk-free lending, which could give rise to new systems supporting atomic transactions and programmable assets. The research also raises concerns about financial stability. If financial institutions begin to integrate smart contract lending, it could directly trigger risks.Furthermore, when blockchain assets (including those involved in flash loan activities) are embedded in traditional financial products (such as exchange-traded funds), it may create systemic risks.

ChainCatcher news, the National Pension Service of Korea (NPS) manages 1,224 trillion won (836 billion USD) in assets, and the agency plans to study how to use blockchain in its fund trading system to enhance the transparency and security of managing deposits, withdrawals, and investments.It is reported that NPS plans to initiate a preliminary disclosure process, inviting blockchain experts and companies to participate in discussions before the formal launch of the program.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bitcoin Laws, a resolution proposed by Democrats in the Georgia House suggests that the state Department of Education introduce educational content on "blockchain, cryptocurrency, and Web3" in K-12 (from kindergarten to 12th grade) curricula. The bill states: "Bitcoin is increasingly being accepted and is often used as a substitute for traditional currency."

ChainCatcher news, stablecoin blockchain startup Codex announced the completion of a $15.8 million seed round financing, led by Dragonfly Capital, with participation from Coinbase, Circle, Cumberland, Wintermute, and Selini Capital. Dragonfly invested approximately $14 million in this round of financing.

ChainCatcher news, the blockchain gaming platform Ultra announced the completion of a new funding round of $12 million, with NOIA Capital, based in Luxembourg, participating through its digital asset fund. Additionally, the company announced the appointment of former Circle Strategies partner Maxime van Steenberghe as Chief Operating Officer. The new funds will be used to support the development of a game distribution platform similar to Stream built on blockchain, as well as to recruit talent, expand and upgrade the platform, and pursue strategic acquisitions.

ChainCatcher News, the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) has officially launched a blockchain-based tokenized collateral management platform, which automates operations through smart contracts to enhance cross-market trading efficiency. The platform will be showcased at an industry event on April 23 and will promote the establishment of global tokenized collateral standards.DTCC executives stated that collateral liquidity is the "killer application" of blockchain, enabling real-time trading around the clock. This move signifies that traditional financial giants are accelerating their embrace of tokenization technology, with institutions like BlackRock and Fidelity also making strides in this area.

ChainCatcher news, Kristin Smith posted on social platform X, announcing that she will officially step down as the CEO of the Blockchain Association on May 16, 2025, and will join Solana on May 19 as the President of the Solana Policy Research Institute, leading its policy strategy layout.Smith reflected on the industry advocacy and regulatory dialogue she led during her tenure and stated that although she will be leaving her current position, this is not a farewell to the crypto industry, but rather a "shift in perspective." Currently, the Blockchain Association board has initiated the search for a successor to the CEO.

ChainCatcher message, a new tool for enhanced on-chain privacy has been launched by the team 0xbow, which includes Ethereum veteran developers Ameen Soleimani and cryptographers like Zak Cole.According to an announcement released on the X platform, this technology, named "Privacy Pools," officially went live on the mainnet on Monday. Privacy Pools is a hybrid network system that employs zero-knowledge proofs and an "Association Set Provider" to ensure that only "clean" funds can enter the pool. Its goal is to provide privacy protection for ordinary cryptocurrency users while maintaining regulatory compliance. 0xbow has received investments from institutions such as Bankless, Number Group, and Public Works, with angel investors including Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin also participating.The protocol from 0xbow is based on a paper co-authored by Buterin in 2023 with Chainalysis researcher Jacob Illum and scholars Matthias Nadler and Fabian Schar.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, Hashgraph plans to launch an institutionally private blockchain based on Hedera in Q3. The HashSphere built on Hedera technology aims to provide trading support for stablecoins and tokenized assets for heavily regulated institutions such as payment service providers and asset management companies.

According to ChainCatcher news reported by ledgerinsights, Axis Bank, one of the five largest banks in India, will use JPMorgan's Kinexys Digital Payments (formerly JPM Coin) for cross-border payments. Swift payments are inevitably limited by the differences in bank operating hours, while JPMorgan's blockchain-based bank accounts enable 24/7 instant payments.Since 2023, JPMorgan has been piloting Kinexys in GIFT City, initially conducting sandbox experiments with five banks including Axis. The city aims to compete with other international financial centers such as Singapore and Dubai. Earlier this month, it launched a tokenization consultation. Meanwhile, other banks using Kinexys include Bahrain's ABC Bank and First Abu Dhabi Bank. The Kinexys blockchain supports various other applications, including tokenized collateral. The total transaction volume of Kinexys has now exceeded $1.5 trillion, averaging $2 billion per day.