ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, the latest documents show that shortly before being included in the Nasdaq 100 stock index, Microstrategy's board increased its members by 3, bringing the total number of board members to 9.The documents indicate that the new board members include Brian Brooks, Jane Dietze, and Gregg Winiarski, all of whom have experience working with large companies dealing with digital assets. Each board member will receive equity worth $2 million, half in options and half in RSUs, which will vest over four years.Brian Brooks served as the CEO of Binance.US, the U.S. branch of the global Binance exchange, from May 2021 to August 2021, and was also the Chief Legal Officer of Coinbase from September 2018 to March 2020.Jane Dietze has been the Chief Investment Officer at Brown University since July 2018, responsible for managing the Ivy League school's $7.2 billion endowment fund. Since February 2022, Dietze has also been a board member of Galaxy Digital, a digital asset company founded by Mike Novogratz.Gregg Winiarski has been the Chief Legal Officer of the sports apparel and collectibles company Fanatics since February 2023. Winiarski served as a senior advisor to Fanatics from August 2021 until he took on the top legal position in February 2023.

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, according to Cryptoslate, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has called for the Cardano Foundation to relocate to a jurisdiction that allows users to elect board members. He raised this issue in a post on social media platform X on December 18, while encouraging the Cardano community to inquire about the foundation's board structure and decision-making processes.The Cardano founder expressed concerns about the current arrangement, where board members are appointed by the Swiss government without community input. He also urged the community to ask questions about individuals related to the foundation's past decisions and its relationship with Intersect. In light of this, Hoskinson criticized the foundation for remaining in Switzerland instead of moving to regions like Abu Dhabi or Wyoming, which support more inclusive governance models. According to Hoskinson, this move would enable the community to collaborate with the foundation to establish a new structure that promotes transparency and member participation.The Cardano Foundation was established in 2016 and operates under Swiss law, which does not allow for community-based board elections. Meanwhile, as Hoskinson made his latest remarks, the organization continues to face criticism over governance issues, internal conflicts, and the marginalization of major donors.

ChainCatcher news, when asked at an event in Dallas whether he would consider becoming the first Federal Reserve Chair to remain on the board after his term as Chair ends in over 70 years, Federal Reserve Chair Powell simply stated that he is committed to completing his term as Chair.Powell said, "I must serve to the end; this is the most important thing during my term. This is what I have decided and what I am considering." Powell's term as a board member will expire in January 2028. The last former Chair to continue serving after their term as Federal Reserve Chair ended was Marriner Eccles, who stepped down as Chair in January 1948 but did not leave the board until July 1951.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi reports, at an event in Dallas, when asked whether he would consider being the first Federal Reserve Chair to remain on the Board of Governors after the end of his term in over 70 years, Federal Reserve Chair Powell simply stated that he is committed to completing his term.Powell said, "I must serve to the end; this is the most important thing during my term. This is what I have decided and what I am considering." Powell's term as a Board member will expire in January 2028. The last chair to continue serving after the end of their term as Federal Reserve Chair was Marriner Eccles, who stepped down as Chair in January 1948 but did not leave the Board until July 1951.

ChainCatcher message, Federal Reserve Chairman Powell: According to the law, the president is not allowed to fire or demote a Federal Reserve Board member.

ChainCatcher news reports that a representative has confirmed that Kraken, the world's sixth-largest cryptocurrency exchange, has undergone a round of layoffs. As the news broke, board member Arjun Sethi was appointed as co-CEO to accelerate the company's growth alongside current CEO David Ripley.In a blog post announcing Sethi's appointment on Wednesday, the co-CEO wrote: "We are also launching transformations that fundamentally change how we innovate, build, and launch products for our customers. As we achieve net revenue of over $1 billion as a global remote organization, we have fallen into the trap of building organizational hierarchies."The article states that the company has become top-heavy, with corporate structures and decision-making leaning towards management, thus "we are making organizational discipline decisions to address this issue and eliminate hierarchies; we need to be leaner and faster."New York Times tech reporter Mike Isaac earlier posted on X that two internal sources disclosed that Kraken is laying off 15%. A representative from Kraken declined to comment on this figure.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi reports, ECB Executive Board member Fabio Panetta stated that while central banks have long provided central bank money for wholesale transactions, we do not yet have a digital form of cash. As the use and acceptance of cash decline, this issue is becoming increasingly prominent. Therefore, the European Commission has proposed a legislative initiative to ensure the acceptance of cash, and the ECB is also committed to maintaining the widespread availability and accessibility of euro cash.Nevertheless, the trend of reducing the use of banknotes in everyday transactions may continue, reflecting the digitalization of economic activities and the patterns of many developed economies. We must act swiftly to address the risks posed by Europe’s current inability to ensure the integration and autonomy of its retail payment systems. This is a key motivation behind the digital euro project: to bring central bank money into the digital age, providing digital currency equivalent to banknotes and strengthening our monetary sovereignty.

ChainCatcher news, according to Chainwire, former Ethereum Foundation board member Yessin Schiegg has joined the Camino Network Foundation.It is reported that the Camino Network Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the L1 Camino Network, which has appointed Yessin Schiegg as a member of its board. Yessin was initially a director at BlackRock, one of the world's largest asset management companies, before joining the Ethereum Foundation. He will bring a wealth of experience to Camino, including his collaboration with Vitalik Buterin on Ethereum.

ChainCatcher news reports that the digital payment company WSPN (Worldwide Stablecoin Payment Network) has announced the appointment of former Visa President John Partridge to its board of directors, aiming to expand into the U.S. market and drive Web3 payment innovations, creating a Visa for the Web3 era. WSPN is known for its stablecoin product Worldwide USD ("WUSD") and is committed to building a Stablecoin 2.0 payment network to provide global users with a secure and efficient digital transaction experience.Mr. Partridge has over 20 years of extensive experience in the fintech sector, having served as President of Visa from 2009 to 2013. He led Visa's historic $19 billion IPO and drove its global business growth, significantly increasing the transaction processing volume of the Visa network and leading the implementation of the V.me project, which solidified Visa's leadership position in the digital payment space.In addition, Mr. Partridge currently serves as the Chairman of global fintech company Velo Payments. His addition will help WSPN promote the application of the WUSD stablecoin across various ecosystems and scenarios worldwide.

ChainCatcher message, former Bank of Japan board member Makoto Sakurai stated that given the recent market turmoil after the interest rate hike, and the low likelihood of a rapid recovery in the Japanese economy, the Bank of Japan will not be able to raise interest rates again this year, and it is still uncertain whether they can raise rates once before March next year. It is a good thing that the Bank of Japan wants to raise the interest rate to a normal 0.25%, but this requires a lot of effort, so "they should wait for a while" to determine whether to further raise rates.

ChainCatcher news, according to Reuters, the American cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase announced the addition of three new board members, including OpenAI executive Chris Lehane, former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Paul Clement, and Aon CFO Christa Davies. The addition of new members will increase the board size from 7 to 10 members. These new members will help Coinbase make strides in U.S. crypto policy and enhance its global financial and operational capabilities. Coinbase stated that the three new members have different political ideologies to ensure that the success of the cryptocurrency industry requires bipartisan cooperation.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, OpenAI has appointed former NSA/CSS head Paul Nakasone as a board member.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg, OpenAI has appointed retired U.S. Army General Paul Nakasone to its board. Nakasone previously served as the director of the National Security Agency (NSA) and the leader of U.S. Cyber Command. He will also join OpenAI's newly established Safety and Security Committee, which focuses on key security decisions for OpenAI.

ChainCatcher news, according to Decrypt, just days after OpenAI announced the establishment of a new safety committee, former board members Helen Toner and Tasha McCauley publicly accused CEO Sam Altman of prioritizing profits over responsible AI development, concealing key progress from the board, and fostering a toxic environment within the company.However, current board members Bret Taylor and Larry Summers strongly defended Altman today, refuting these accusations and insisting on Altman's commitment to safety and governance.They wrote, "We do not accept the claims made by Ms. Toner and Ms. McCauley regarding the events at OpenAI, and we regret that Ms. Toner continues to revisit issues that have been thoroughly investigated instead of moving forward."The two former board members stated that Altman's "long-standing pattern of behavior" has prevented the company’s board from adequately overseeing "key decisions and internal safety protocols." However, Altman's current colleagues pointed out that an independent review commissioned by the company concluded: "The review's findings refute the notion that any AI safety issues warrant replacing Altman. In fact, the investigation found that previous board decisions were not made out of concern for product safety or security, development speed, OpenAI's financial status, or its statements to investors, customers, or business partners."Regarding the allegations of Altman fostering a toxic company culture, Taylor and Summers also refuted these claims, stating that Altman is highly respected by employees and expressing that Altman is committed to working with the government to mitigate the risks of AI development.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg, Elon Musk is intensifying his legal battle with OpenAI, demanding former board member Helen Toner to provide documents and communications regarding her departure from the OpenAI board and the decision to remove and reinstate CEO Sam Altman. Helen Toner is required to submit the relevant information by May 21.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg, Binance has appointed its first board members, including three independent directors and four internal executives. Gabriel Abed, who previously served as the Ambassador of Barbados to the UAE, has been appointed as the chairman of the board. The other members include CEO Richard Teng and three other company executives Heina Chen, Jinkai He, and Lilai Wang.It is reported that the other two external members are Arnaud Ventura, managing partner of investment firm Gojo & Co, and Xin Wang, CEO of Bayview Acquisition Corp. According to the Abu Dhabi Global Market website, these appointments took effect on March 7.

ChainCatcher news, PayPal announced that the company's board of directors intends to appoint the outgoing global chairman and CEO of Ernst & Young, Carmine Di Sibio, as an independent director of the board, effective July 1, 2024.Di Sibio previously announced that he would retire from Ernst & Young in June 2024. According to Ernst & Young's policies and practices, he can only join the board of a publicly traded company after his retirement.

ChainCatcher news, Federal Reserve (Fed) Governor Christopher Waller recently stated that despite the rise of China and the growth of cryptocurrencies posing a threat to the dollar's status as the world's reserve currency, this status may still persist. Waller pointed out that the widespread use of stablecoins pegged to the dollar in digital currency transactions indicates that cryptocurrency assets are, in fact, traded in dollars. He noted that so far, the impact of the cryptocurrency industry on the dollar seems to be actually beneficial.