ChainCatcher news, according to Bitcoin.com News, the Cayman Islands has updated its cryptocurrency regulatory framework and established new licensing regulations that will take effect on April 1, 2025.According to the 2025 Virtual Assets (Service Providers) (Amendment) Regulations, all entities providing virtual asset custody and trading platform services are required to obtain a license issued by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA). Existing virtual asset service providers (VASPs) must submit their license applications within 90 days after the effective date.As part of the application process, crypto asset custodians must disclose the types and amounts of virtual assets they intend to hold for clients, while trading platform operators need to provide details about expected revenue and the location of their physical hardware.

ChainCatcher news, CeDeFi infrastructure BounceBit tweeted that it has obtained a license from the Approved Manager (AIM) in the British Virgin Islands. BounceBit will be able to manage investment funds and provide professional investment services under the 2012 Securities and Investment Business (Approved Managers) Regulations.

ChainCatcher news, according to Fortune magazine, stablecoin crypto startup Coala Pay has completed a $3.5 million seed round financing, led by Castle Island Ventures, with participation from Lattice Fund, Factor Capital, and the founders of the crypto charity platform The Giving Block. The company will use the funds from this round of financing to expand its team and hire employees with experience working for the United Nations and the U.S. government.The company is dedicated to connecting humanitarian aid organizations with potential donors. Coala Pay helps vet donors and local aid organizations, requiring both parties to provide detailed documentation to prove their legitimacy. Once both parties are whitelisted, they can access each other's documents as needed. Coala Pay does not sign physical contracts but creates smart contracts for stablecoin transactions and generates a token to store information and track the use of funds.

ChainCatcher news, Santa Agent donated 10 million KRW to the Korean Red Cross from its self-managed treasury earnings to support the families affected by the Jeju Air accident. This donation demonstrates Santa's technological strength and embodies its core philosophy of Agent for Good.The intelligent fund management capability of Santa Agent makes the allocation of public welfare resources more efficient and transparent. In the future, Santa plans to further expand its functions, including taking over the Virtuals ecological fund, intelligently analyzing project values within the ecosystem, assessing developer contributions, and supporting more meaningful community projects through earnings. This will not only promote sustainable community development but also drive public welfare innovation in the Web3 ecosystem.Santa Agent's goal is to maximize the value of fund resources through intelligent management, creating a technology-driven future for public welfare, from disaster relief to long-term public support.

ChainCatcher news, according to Coinpedia, Jeju Island in South Korea has announced that it will launch a tourism card project based on NFT technology in 2025 to attract millennial and Generation Z tourists. The project will integrate with the local blockchain stablecoin Tamna Jeon, providing tourists with multiple benefits such as travel subsidies, membership rights, and discounts on attractions.Jeju Governor Oh Young-hun stated that the region is gradually advancing its digital transformation, with Web3 as the core technology, and plans to apply NFTs in various areas of government services. Although South Korea has strict regulations on ICOs and NFTs, Jeju Island, as a subtropical region with a special legal framework, has been continuously exploring crypto technology-driven growth since 2018. The NFT tourism card project will pilot in the second half of 2025, initially targeting domestic tourists, with travel subsidies issued in local currency.Previous news reported that Jeju Island plans to establish a digital payment system, intending to use cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin for payments.

ChainCatcher message, the Neiro team stated on platform X that a multi-signature wallet allocated 40,000 USDT for the legal establishment of a DAO foundation entity in the Cayman Islands, with more information to be released soon.

ChainCatcher news, according to data from RootData, the Nifty Island token (ISLAND) has increased by 60.06% in the last 24 hours, currently priced at $0.181.According to the Web3 asset data platform RootData, Nifty Island is an open social gaming world where players can create, trade, and showcase 3D NFTs on their islands.

ChainCatcher news, Castle Island Ventures founding partner recently stated in an interview that he does not expect to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve, as shaking global market confidence by implying risks to the dollar would not benefit anyone.

ChainCatcher news, The Block co-founder Mike Dudas revealed on social media that OpenSea has registered a foundation in the Cayman Islands.

ChainCatcher news, according to the Daily Economic News, the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province of South Korea has announced its "Jeju Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation Roadmap," aiming to transform the island into a cashless international city through digital innovation.The plan includes establishing a convenient digital payment system that can be compatible with payment methods from neighboring countries such as China and Japan. In addition, Jeju Island also plans to introduce a system that will convert virtual assets like Bitcoin into Jeju regional currency for local transactions.

ChainCatcher message, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin expressed his views on the development model of chain abstraction startups. In response to community users' concerns that "chain abstraction startups are creating new technological islands, posing challenges to interoperability," Vitalik stated: "We need to relearn the idea of undertaking important collective projects, rather than defaulting to 'startups' as the mode. Startups are not the right form to solve all problems."

ChainCatcher message, AP reports that Vice President Harris is expected to win Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts, while Trump is expected to win Oklahoma, Florida, and Tennessee.

ChainCatcher news, Nic Carter, co-founder of Castle Island Ventures, stated on his social platform that the hype around meme coins is largely a reaction to the oppressive regulation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. If the SEC regulates rationally, the demand for trading meme coins in the market will decrease.Nic Carter also mentioned that, just like in the past decade, the fundamental desire to trade meme tokens has always been present.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Edge Malaysia, Malaysia's fifth licensed digital asset exchange Hata Digital Sdn Bhd has successfully raised $4.2 million (18.07 million MYR) in seed funding, which is planned to be used for expanding new products and growing its user base in the Asia region.This round of financing was led by American venture capital firms Castle Island Ventures and Cadenza Venture, with participation from global cryptocurrency exchange Bybit, Singapore investment firm AP Capital, American venture capital firm Plug and Play Tech Center, and crypto accelerator Alliance.xyz.Hata CEO David Low stated that support from internationally renowned institutional investors will help the company build a stronger digital asset trading platform in Malaysia and Asia, enhancing user confidence. Castle Island founding partner Nic Carter believes that Southeast Asia is a core market for global cryptocurrency adoption, and Hata has a strong competitive advantage with its differentiated products and compliance strategies.

ChainCatcher News: U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, announced on September 26 that Eugene William Austin Jr. (also known as "Hugh Austin") was found guilty on three counts for his involvement in a conspiracy of telecommunications fraud, money laundering, and interstate transportation of stolen property. Austin and his son, Brandon Austin, deceived numerous victims across the United States, resulting in millions of dollars in losses.Austin's criminal activities included impersonating a high-value cryptocurrency sales broker, promising high returns on short-term cryptocurrency investments, and seeking high-net-worth investors for startups. They used the proceeds from the scams for personal expenses, such as luxury hotels, restaurants, and shopping. One case involved a $5 million cryptocurrency scam. Austin is scheduled to be sentenced on February 20, 2025, and faces a maximum of 45 years in prison. His son Brandon had previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 4 years in prison.

ChainCatcher news, Castle Island Ventures partner Nic Carter stated that the intervention of U.S. regulators forced Silvergate Bank to voluntarily liquidate, otherwise the bank could have survived. Carter pointed out that the Biden administration had previously required Silvergate to limit cryptocurrency deposits to 15%, or face severe consequences. This move is seen as "Kill Switch 2.0," which aims to undermine banks that support cryptocurrency through covert rules, weakening the industry's development.Carter also noted that Silvergate's decision to voluntarily liquidate instead of entering the FDIC receivership process is "questionable," a situation that has occurred only a few times in the past 30 years.Carter believes that Silvergate's collapse is more due to regulatory pressure than a liquidity crisis.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bitcoin.com, Agustin Villa, a resident of Rhode Island, USA, pleaded guilty to his alleged involvement in cryptocurrency money laundering related to international drug trafficking, with an amount involved of 25 million dollars. Agustin Villa acted as a messenger for a drug crime organization and delivered over 75,000 dollars in cash to a cooperating witness on May 26, 2022.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, the Bitcoin re-staking platform SatLayer, built on Babylon, announced the completion of an $8 million Pre-Seed funding round, led by Hack VC and Castle Island Ventures, with participation from Franklin Templeton, OKX Ventures, Mirana Ventures, Amber Group, Big Brain Holdings, CMS Holdings, and others.As the first Bitcoin re-staking platform built on Babylon, SatLayer allows users to re-stake their Bitcoin and Bitcoin liquid staking tokens minted based on Solv Protocol, Lombard, Bedrock, pStake, and PumpBTC, to protect Bitcoin validation services (BVSs). SatLayer co-founder Luke Xie stated that there are no formal plans yet for a native token that may be launched in the future.