ChainCatcher news, according to Decrypt, on Tuesday, Sony Electronics Singapore stated in a press release that it has enabled USDC payments through the payment service of the cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com, marking the company's first direct cryptocurrency transaction locally. This feature allows customers to check out using the USDC stablecoin, which is pegged to the US dollar.Currently, this feature is limited to the Sony online store and can only be used through Crypto.com's payment system. Although only one cryptocurrency is supported at the moment, Sony has indicated plans to add support for other cryptocurrencies in the future.

ChainCatcher news, according to CrowFund Insider, Singapore-based digital asset infrastructure provider BetterX has completed a Pre-A round financing of 2.3 million SGD (approximately 1.7 million USD). This round of financing will be used to support its business expansion in Asia, the Middle East, and the United States.New investors include Grand Prix Capital, Aument Capital, and notable angel investors such as Sabrina Tachdjian from HBAR Foundation and Riaz Mehta from Crypto Knights. Existing investors Aura Group and Tibra co-founder Kinsey Cotton continue to participate in the funding.BetterX provides institutional-grade infrastructure for tokenization, trading, and digital asset portfolio management for financial institutions. The company has achieved profitability in the Australian market, and its platform supports the issuance and management of tokenized financial products, digital asset trading infrastructure, and custody solutions.The company stated that the new funding will be used to accelerate growth strategies in key markets, establish strategic partnerships, and enhance its technology stack to meet the growing regulatory requirements and customer demands.

ChainCatcher message, known as the "Fed's megaphone," Wall Street Journal reporter Nick Timiraos commented on the Federal Reserve's economic forecasts, stating that officials have lowered their GDP predictions while raising their forecasts for inflation and unemployment rates. However, almost everyone sees the downside risks to the economy. Moreover, nearly everyone believes that there are upside risks to their predictions for unemployment and inflation.

ChainCatcher news, according to Wall Street Journal reporter and "Fed whisperer" Nick Timiraos, Federal Reserve officials will consider adjusting their $6.8 trillion asset reduction policy. For the past three years, the Fed has been reducing its holdings of U.S. Treasury and mortgage-backed securities accumulated during previous stimulus programs, including measures to stabilize the market during the pandemic in 2020.Currently, the Fed may choose to pause or slow down this tapering process. This move aims to avoid a repeat of the situation in 2019, when balance sheet reduction led to stress in the overnight funding market, forcing the Fed to pivot and expand its holdings.Roberto Perli, the executive in charge of overseeing the balance sheet at the New York Fed, stated this month that pausing the tapering would be a "tactical decision" that "would not change the ultimate goal." RBC Capital Markets interest rate strategist Blake Gwinn pointed out that pausing the tapering makes sense because "the debt ceiling will distort these signals."Currently, the Fed allows up to $25 billion in Treasuries and $35 billion in mortgage-backed securities to mature each month without reinvestment. As holdings decrease, bank reserves also decline. However, the debt ceiling issue could interfere with this process, as the Fed is also the government's banker.Analysts expect that the Fed may pause the tapering for several months until the debt ceiling is raised and the Treasury rebuilds its cash balance before resuming. Gwinn stated that if the economy worsens, this "pause" could also turn into a "stop," prompting officials to terminate this form of policy tightening.

ChainCatcher news, Coinbase has announced the launch of Verified Pools, an on-chain trading and swap method that allows users to connect their Prime Onchain wallet, Coinbase wallet, or other third-party wallets with Coinbase verification credentials for trading, addressing the transparency issues of traditional liquidity pools.It is reported that Verified Pools are currently open to users in the United States, Singapore, the Netherlands, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, and other locations.

ChainCatcher News, the Asian subsidiary of the American cryptocurrency trading company Cumberland, Cumberland SG, has received in-principle approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license.Once the MPI license is fully granted, it will allow Cumberland to provide regulated digital payment token services in the region. Cumberland stated, "The in-principle approval is a strong signal of confidence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, but it does not constitute a license at this stage."The in-principle approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore indicates that a license can be issued as long as certain conditions are met and no adverse developments occur. If necessary, the Monetary Authority of Singapore reserves the right to revoke the approval. Companies operating under the MPI framework must comply with strict requirements, including capital adequacy and anti-money laundering compliance.

ChainCatcher message, the rapid rise in Bitcoin prices last November created a supply gap in the range of $70,000 to $80,000. According to Glassnode data, currently about 20% of the Bitcoin supply is in a state of loss.If Bitcoin currently retraces and falls below $80,000, it may accelerate the decline. Glassnode's UTXO Realized Price Distribution (URPD) chart shows the so-called "supply gap." This indicator tracks the price point at which existing Bitcoin UTXOs last moved. Each bar represents the amount of Bitcoin that was last traded within a specific price range. The data is entity-adjusted, meaning an average purchase price is assigned to each entity, and their entire balance is categorized accordingly.In simple terms, the number of traders who bought Bitcoin in the $70,000 to $80,000 range may be far lower than in other price ranges. Therefore, if the price falls below $80,000, there may be few holders willing to buy the dip at their purchase cost, resulting in almost no support above the historical high of $73,000 set in March 2024.

ChainCatcher news, according to official sources, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the State Securities Commission of Vietnam (SSC) have announced enhanced cooperation in the regulation of capital markets and the regulatory framework for digital assets to support the development of Vietnam's regulatory framework for digital assets.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg, the Singapore Exchange will list open-ended Bitcoin futures contracts.

ChainCatcher news, according to the Singapore Business Times, a 20-year-old Singaporean, Malone Lam, has been arrested for allegedly participating in one of the largest cryptocurrency thefts in U.S. history. He reportedly spent up to $500,000 (approximately 665,000 SGD) in a nightclub in one night and was seen gifting Hermes Birkin bags to models and influencers at a lavish party. The U.S. Department of Justice stated that Lam was arrested in September 2024 along with his 21-year-old American accomplice, Jeandiel Serrano, and they are charged with "conspiring to steal and launder over $230 million (approximately 306 million SGD) in cryptocurrency." At current prices, the stolen 4,100 bitcoins are worth over $450 million.As of October last year, approximately $70 million has been recovered or frozen at various exchanges. Court documents reveal that "even considering the millions spent by Serrano and accomplices on cars and jewelry, over $100 million remains unaccounted for." If convicted of stealing over 4,100 bitcoins, Lam faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the amount he profited from the fraud. Lam's trial date is set for October 6.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg, Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong stated that deepfake videos are spreading online, which are being used to promote cryptocurrency, money-making schemes, and permanent residency application services.Wong posted on Facebook and X platforms that he has seen some of these online videos and urged the public to remain vigilant, not to respond to such scams, or share personal information.

ChainCatcher news, according to the Straits Times, Singapore's Minister of State for Home Affairs Sun Xuelin stated that last year, cryptocurrency scams accounted for a quarter of the total losses from fraud. In the highest-value scam case last year, the victim clicked on a fake meeting link, downloaded and ran malicious code on their computer, resulting in a loss of approximately 125 million Singapore dollars.Sun Xuelin mentioned that, in addition to malware, scammers also design fake websites, send phishing links, or use "pump and dump" tactics to inflate the prices of memecoins before causing them to plummet. "Our advice to the public is to stay away from cryptocurrencies. The risk of being 'burned' is very high, and if you become a victim of a scam, the chance of recovering even a cent is very slim."

ChainCatcher news, according to an official disclosure from Matrixport, its subsidiary Fly Wing has obtained a payment service license issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), allowing it to provide digital payment token services in Singapore.The company stated that Singapore, as a major financial center in Asia, this license will help Matrixport further expand its business layout in the Asia-Pacific region, while providing customers with more compliant and secure digital asset services.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, the Switzerland-based crypto market maker Portofino Technologies announced plans to open new offices in New York and Singapore. The company is regulated by the UK, Switzerland, and the British Virgin Islands, and was founded in 2021 by two former Castle Securities executives, Leonard Lancia and Alex Casimo.

ChainCatcher news, according to NetEase Qingliu Studio, Wang Shuiming, a native of Anxi, Fujian, who was arrested in connection with Singapore's largest money laundering case, has been captured in Montenegro and will be extradited back to China. Wang Shuiming's partner, Su Weiyi, has been confirmed as the mastermind behind the Hong Kong cryptocurrency platform scam AAX, and was arrested by Hong Kong police in July 2024.In November 2022, Atom Asset Exchange suddenly became unable to process withdrawals and subsequently collapsed, with Su Weiyi absconding with 16.74 million Hong Kong dollars (approximately 15.675 million RMB). In July 2024, Su Weiyi was arrested by Hong Kong police. It is worth mentioning that Su Weiyi co-owns other companies with other partners, who are linked to the convicted former Filipino mayor Alice Guo (Guo Huaping).On August 15, 2023, over 400 Singaporean police launched a raid, successfully cracking down on the largest money laundering case in Singapore's history, involving an amount of 3 billion Singapore dollars (approximately 16 billion RMB). The Singapore police arrested 10 suspects on the spot. These suspects, aged between 31 and 44, are all originally from Fujian and are referred to by outsiders as the "Fujian Gang." They held passports from multiple countries and used forged documents, shell companies, and cryptocurrencies to "clean" the proceeds from illegal gambling and fraud in Southeast Asia, investing in high-end assets in Singapore and overseas.According to the investigation results of the Singapore police, Wang Shuiming also possesses substantial assets outside of Singapore. Domestically, Wang Shuiming's company has an investment amount of up to 32 million RMB; he owns a factory worth several million RMB; he has two apartments in Xiamen worth a total of 20 million RMB; and there is a bank account in Hong Kong under Wang Shuiming with a deposit of 2 million Hong Kong dollars and cryptocurrencies valued at 110,000 USD.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, after U.S. President Trump announced a cryptocurrency strategic reserve, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) recorded the largest Bitcoin futures gap in history.According to data from TradingView, this news added over $300 billion in trading volume to the spot market and resulted in a $10,000 gap in CME Bitcoin futures. This record gap surpassed the previous record of just over $4,000 in August 2024, which was noted by Asymmetric founder Joe McCann on March 2.Analyst Rekt Capital pointed out: "Bitcoin has filled the CME gap that formed between $92,800 and $94,000 during last week's spot market crash." He added that Bitcoin successfully filled two CME gaps within a week, but in the process created a brand new massive gap ranging from $84,650 to $94,000.

ChainCatcher news, according to the Straits Times, Singapore's Metro Departmental Store has announced a partnership with cryptocurrency payment company dtcpay to accept customer payments using stablecoins, becoming the first department store in Singapore to offer this payment method.Metro will accept payments in Tether USDT, USD Coin (USDC), and World USD (WUSD), and plans to add the First Digital USD (FDUSD) payment option soon.

ChainCatcher message, regarding the community's concern about "how to resolve the $50 million stolen funds gap," Infini founder Christian responded in a post on platform X: "Currently, we are conducting a compliant USD OTC of $20 million, which should be credited over the weekend. Along with the existing $5 million already in the custody wallet, this is sufficient to meet all withdrawal demands and more. The remaining funds, about $20 million, are deposits from family, elders, and friends, and we have already communicated about this; it will be resolved directly off-chain."