ChainCatcher News, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced that 38-year-old Denver resident Jonathan Arvay has been convicted of conspiring to operate an illegal gambling network.His gambling operation spanned multiple gaming halls across Colorado, using electronic games and a fake cryptocurrency called Obsidian Digital Asset Coin (ODAC) to disguise the operation of redeeming points for cash. The sole function of this cryptocurrency was to exchange cash at "cryptocurrency ATMs" located next to or inside the casinos, revealing money laundering and fraud activities.

ChainCatcher news, the Web3 cashback platform VIP3 participated in the ETHDenver 2024 hackathon. In this largest and longest-running hackathon in the world, the VIP3 project Referfi achieved a TOP 6 ranking in the "DeFi, NFTs & Gaming" track and received the "Best Use Award" presented by the top institution Graph.Referfi is inspired by the Cashback module of vip3.io, aiming to launch a protocol that grants DeFi the same referral system as CEX, allowing more users promoting DeFi to earn commission incentives, thereby making the DeFi ecosystem more prosperous. The real-time cashback feature launched by the VIP3 platform this January is also based on the same concept: after users mint the VIP3 Pass and complete transactions on partnered DeFi platforms, they can receive real-time cashback on transaction fees. This model significantly reduces users' on-chain transaction costs and helps platforms like DEX / cross-chain bridges achieve substantial user growth. Currently, VIP3 has integrated with over 10 leading platforms, including Uniswap, DODO, iZUMi, WOOFi, Orbiter, Meson, Utmost, etc., all of which offer real-time cashback.

ChainCatcher news, the Top 15 projects list for the 2024 ETHDenver Hackathon has been announced, covering five major tracks, namely:Infrastructure and Scalability: Verifido, Pat.io, Storylus;DeFi, NFT & Games: Egg Wars, Bubble Wars, Michi Protocol;DAO & Community: A Bank For DAOS, Sekai, Tribuni;Impact & Public Goods: Befit, EBF Network of Trust Impact, Unbound Science;Identity, Privacy & Security: ODIN, OOPS!, HoneyPause.

ChainCatcher news, according to official sources, the on-chain game developer Blade Games successfully held its first offline playtest event during ETH Denver.During the event, the Blade team showcased the base-building and tower defense game Dune Factory based on zkwasm, while also explaining the technology stack and development principles surrounding zkwasm.The Blade team stated that they will launch a web-based testing event in the first quarter and will disclose more related information in the near future.

The "GrowthCon ETHDenver" Web3 summit, co-hosted by SocialScan, Sending Labs, and Polygon, will take place on February 28 at The Source Hotel in Denver, USA. The theme of this summit is "How AI and Social Media Drive the Adoption of Cryptocurrency."At the event, well-known industry projects and investment funds such as ZetaChain, Chainlink, Manta Network, Linea, Artela, Ultiverse, Sandbox, Caldera, OKX, Celestia, Lingfeng Capital, SNZ Capital, and Nomad Capital will gather to engage in in-depth keynote speeches and panel discussions on core topics such as artificial intelligence, Web3 social, data interoperability, infrastructure development, and modular blockchain.It is reported that the Hemera protocol, developed by the SocialScan team over two years, will also be launched for the first time at this summit, utilizing AI large models to provide new experiences and momentum for the large-scale promotion and application of Web3. Stay tuned.

ChainCatcher news, OKX Wallet will collaborate with OKX Ventures, Solana, and Polyhedra to host the "OKX Web3 Night" themed event during ETHDenver. This event will officially take place on March 1st in Denver, USA, gathering industry leaders, investors, and top entrepreneurs from the blockchain, Web3, and Ethereum fields to discuss the evolution and future prospects of the Web3 ecosystem.It is reported that the specific list of partners and guests for this event includes founders and investors from top projects such as Uniswap, Animoca Ventures, Babylon, Gitcoin, CertiK, Pantera, Scroll, Puffer Finance, zkLink, Owlto Finance, Mask Network, EVG, NAVI, Flow Traders, iZUMi, Polygon Ventures, Particle Network, Figment Capital, and more.

According to ChainCatcher news, the OKX Wallet will collaborate with Babylon, BOB, and Polygon to jointly host the "Bitcoin Renaissance" themed event during ETH Denver, which will officially kick off on February 29.At that time, top industry leaders will be invited to attend the event, including David Tse, co-founder of Babylon & member of the National Academy of Engineering, Robin Linus, founder of BitVM, Muneeb Ali, co-founder of Stacks, Sandeep Naliwal, founder of Polygon, Sunny Aggarwal, founder of Osmosis, Ryan Selkis, co-founder of Messari, and Jeff Ren, partner at OKX Ventures, along with Nic Carter, head of Castle Island Ventures. They will engage in in-depth discussions on core topics such as the evolution of the Bitcoin ecosystem and the synergies between Bitcoin and PoS chains, sharing exclusive insights.During the event, Jeff Ren will also provide an outlook on the collaboration between OKX Wallet and the Bitcoin ecosystem. Currently, registration for the event is in full swing.