ChainCatcher news, according to Forbes, security company ESET has just released its latest threat report, which examines the threat landscape trends from June to November 2024. The number of password theft attacks targeting cryptocurrency wallets has increased, with the most significant rise occurring among macOS users.The report states: "According to ESET's telemetry data for the second half of 2024, the number of password-stealing software across multiple platforms (especially Windows, macOS, and Android) has increased," but compared to the first half of the year, the detection of password-stealing software targeting cryptocurrency wallets on macOS has more than doubled. Meanwhile, the number of password-stealing software on the Windows platform grew by 56%, while financial threats on the Android platform, including password-stealing malware, increased by 20%.ESET's analysis shows that the number of password-stealing software targeting the macOS platform (especially those related to cryptocurrency wallet credentials) surged by 127%. Security researchers noted: "Although these threats cannot be simply classified as password-stealing software just because they have broader functionalities, they do reveal a significant upward trend in password theft activities on the macOS platform." From a geographical perspective, ESET's analysis indicates that attacks on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies targeting macOS are mostly aimed at the United States, followed by Italy, China, Spain, and Japan.

ChainCatcher news, according to Decrypt, 24-year-old Catherine Colivas kidnapped a member of the Saudi royal family with the help of three accomplices and threatened to cut off his fingers to force him to pay $40,000 in Bitcoin. Despite the perpetrator's guilty plea, she was not imprisoned.Catherine Colivas faces a maximum sentence of 25 years at a hearing in Victoria, Australia. She pleaded guilty to charges of kidnapping, extortion, reckless injury, theft, and firearm offenses. However, she only received a community correction order—equivalent to community service in Australia.Colivas matched with the Saudi royal family member on a dating app and went out for drinks and dinner. Then, the royal family member escorted Colivas home. As the royal family member walked Colivas to the door, he was ambushed by three men, including Colivas's boyfriend.The victim was subsequently bound with cables, unable to leave, and was intimidated. As he was a cryptocurrency trader, the victim provided Bitcoin and had to call a friend to complete the $40,000 transfer. Afterwards, his keys were stolen, and the criminals also raided his home. Court documents show they stole clothing, a PlayStation 5, and several iPhones.The victim was later released and immediately went to the police to report the incident, and then spent the night in the hospital due to injuries to his head and wrist.

ChainCatcher news, according to Blockworks, the DePIN project DAWN has completed a $2.5 million financing round, with participation from VanEck Ventures and VanEck's Digital Assets Alpha Fund.Andrena CEO Neil Chatterjee stated that with the rollout of 5G and Starlink, society will shift from wired internet access to fully wireless access, and DAWN is designed to leverage "the transformation of our lives."

ChainCatcher news, Eric Semler, the founder of the US-listed company Semler Scientific, announced on social media that he has increased his holdings by 211 BTC for $21.5 million. As of December 15, 2024, he holds 2,084 bitcoins, with a total acquisition cost of approximately $168.6 million, at an average price of $80,916.

ChainCatcher message, Vana posted on platform X that it has completed the airdrop of testnet community rewards. Users can check the airdrop by adding the Vana network to their wallet.

ChainCatcher news, according to reports from Huigangtong, Hong Kong listed company Jingji Financial International (01468) announced the establishment of an Investment Committee, effective from December 15, 2024. The establishment of the Investment Committee aims to improve operational efficiency and strengthen investment decision-making and risk management processes, especially considering the group's strategic focus on cryptocurrencies and related technologies.The Investment Committee will be responsible for reviewing appropriate transactions, investment strategies, and the management of virtual assets (crypto assets), and will provide recommendations to the Board of Directors. In addition, the Investment Committee will evaluate, approve, and propose various investment opportunities presented by the group's management team. Furthermore, the Board of Directors may regularly appoint professional investment and/or financial advisors with relevant expertise to assist the Investment Committee in effectively fulfilling its responsibilities.

ChainCatcher news, RISC Zero officially announced the launch of zkVM version 1.2, introducing a brand new "Application-defined Precompiles" feature. This innovation changes the traditional architecture of precompile modules, allowing precompile functionality to be deployed alongside applications without relying on fixed implementations within zkVM, enhancing performance and flexibility.The zkVM 1.2 version enables developers to immediately integrate precompile functionality into applications without system updates or additional coordination work, resulting in a faster and more efficient development experience.It is reported that Automata has integrated RISC Zero's RSA precompile functionality, reducing its program runtime from 39 million to 198,000, achieving approximately a 198-fold cost reduction.

ChainCatcher news, according to the Financial Times, since August of this year, employees and early investors of the UK fintech startup Revolut have sold nearly $1 billion in stock, following the company's UK banking license receiving support from major financial institutions, which has led to a valuation of $45 billion.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever stated at the NeurIPS 2024 conference in Vancouver that the era of AI pre-training is coming to an end, and the era of AI superintelligence is approaching. He compared data to fossil fuels, pointing out that the growth of internet data has peaked, while the growth rate of computing power has surpassed the total amount of available training data.Sutskever predicts that the next phase of AI development will be dominated by three main directions: autonomous AI agents, synthetic data, and computational reasoning.

ChainCatcher news, Hong Kong listed company Jingji Financial International announced the exploration of new business and investment opportunities to generate positive returns. An investment committee will be established effective December 15 to invest in cryptocurrencies. This committee will be responsible for reviewing appropriate transactions, investment strategies involving virtual assets (crypto assets), and the management of such assets, and will provide recommendations to the board of directors.Jingji Financial International stated that incorporating cryptocurrency investments into the group's asset allocation and green energy-oriented investment strategy in green energy and artificial intelligence will enhance the overall financial condition of the group.

ChainCatcher news, Jingji Financial International (01468) announced that the company's board of directors has established an investment committee, effective from December 15, 2024. The establishment of the investment committee aims to improve operational efficiency and strengthen investment decision-making and risk management processes, especially considering the group's strategic focus on cryptocurrencies and related technologies.The investment committee will be responsible for reviewing appropriate transactions and investment strategies involving virtual assets (crypto assets) and managing such assets, providing recommendations to the board of directors. In addition, the investment committee will evaluate, approve, and make recommendations on various investment opportunities proposed by the group's management team.Jingji Financial International stated that incorporating cryptocurrency investments into the group's asset allocation and green energy-oriented investment strategy focused on green energy and artificial intelligence will enhance the group's overall financial position.

ChainCatcher news, according to the Daily Economic News, the chairman of the Korea Exchange (KRX), Jeong Eun-bo, stated that South Korea should quickly incorporate cryptocurrencies into the financial system to overcome regulatory barriers and maintain international competitiveness. He pointed out that since Donald Trump was elected President of the United States, the daily trading volume of the South Korean crypto market has exceeded 20 trillion won (approximately 14 billion USD) compared to the domestic stock market.At the recent World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) summit, Jeong Eun-bo emphasized that ignoring the virtual currency market would affect the profitability of exchanges. He also criticized the current attitude of viewing virtual currencies as speculative assets, warning that this could lead to South Korea falling behind in international competition. Despite the rapid growth of the crypto market in South Korea, there are currently no crypto companies listed on the KRX, and businesses are unable to purchase cryptocurrencies on their balance sheets, while regulators have not yet approved the launch of a Bitcoin spot ETF. He urged South Korea to seize the opportunity to institutionalize the cryptocurrency market to create new value and enhance international competitiveness.

ChainCatcher news, on-chain data analyst @ai_9684xtpa posted on social media that although COW is not on the asset list of Trump's crypto project World Liberty, the recent on-chain purchases of tokens have all used Cowswap, which may have caused the price of COW to rise by nearly 93% in the past seven days.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Bitcoin Historian, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), which is responsible for establishing Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) for publicly traded companies in the United States, allows companies to report BTC at fair value on their balance sheets.Once this rule is passed, companies can represent unrealized gains through the Mark to Market (MTM) method, showing potential speculative gains in quarterly and annual financial reports.

ChainCatcher news, summarized by Galaxy's Vice President of Research Christine Kim, highlighted that the 147th Ethereum Core Developer Consensus (ACDC) meeting focused on the advancement plan for Pectra Devnet 5. The Mekong network (based on the Pectra Devnet 4 specifications) is running stably, with no new issues reported.Developers suggested removing the GAS limit for validator modification blocks to avoid consensus failures and decided to remove EIP 7742, simplifying the Pectra upgrade process by increasing the Blob count through modifications to the genesis configuration. The team plans to complete the deployment of Pectra Devnet 5 by the end of the year and continue optimizing related EIPs and specifications.

ChainCatcher news, financial technology giant Revolut's CEO Nikolay Storonsky has denied the idea of the company going public on the London Stock Exchange, calling it "irrational" compared to the U.S. market.Nikolay Storonsky criticized the UK's 0.5% stamp duty on stock trading and emphasized that limited liquidity is a major drawback for the company considering an IPO in London. Nikolay Storonsky stated, "The liquidity in the UK is poor, so it is much worse compared to the U.S., and also, due to the stamp duty, the costs are much higher. This is just unreasonable."He pointed out that unless the UK can provide a more competitive environment, the U.S. market remains a reasonable choice for Revolut's potential listing.