ChainCatcher news, pump.fun co-founder Alon Cohen posted on X: "I am disgusted by the events surrounding LIBRA that have unfolded over the past few days. The people behind this project have gained considerable personal benefits at the expense of many users, ecosystems, and even entire countries. I hope the responsible parties receive the punishment they deserve.I know the situation is still developing, so if you are aware of any misconduct by participants in the ecosystem, no matter how small, you should speak up. I also understand that some may be in difficult situations, so my DMs are open for me to offer assistance.Due to the damage caused by these events, many have expressed that this could be the 'end of Meme coins.' While I sympathize with those who wish to see the end of Meme coins because they are tired of such incidents occurring, the fact is that the demand for permissionless on-chain creation/speculation from users will not disappear."

According to ChainCatcher news, as reported by Hong Kong Radio, the Executive Director of the Intermediaries Division of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, Yip Chi-hang, is expected to announce the virtual asset development roadmap within this month. The roadmap will not only outline the development principles but will also mention the areas the SFC hopes to research in the short term and the aspects that platform participants wish to optimize.In addition, the focus of the virtual asset roadmap is not on the content itself, but rather on the SFC's courage to demonstrate principles to the market and the stance for the market to consider.

ChainCatcher news, according to East Net reports, Hong Kong-listed company Kingkey Financial International announced that its indirectly wholly-owned subsidiary Kingkey Securities plans to submit an application to the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission to seek approval to provide virtual asset trading services under a comprehensive account arrangement, as well as to introduce virtual asset consulting services.The company's board stated that the introduction of consulting services related to such assets will greatly expand the group's service scope. If the potential application is submitted and approved for the launch of virtual asset trading and consulting services aimed at retail clients, it is expected to broaden the customer base and diversify its service offerings.

ChainCatcher News: The website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission of China recently published an article pointing out that the integrity risks in the construction of financial information systems are becoming increasingly prominent, especially the issues of "difficult management, difficult supervision, and difficult accountability" caused by high professional and technical barriers.During the investigation of the corruption case of Yao Qian, the former director of the Science and Technology Supervision Department of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), the discipline inspection and supervision team stationed at the CSRC discovered that he used virtual currency for power-for-money transactions, which were highly concealed and difficult to gather evidence. Yao Qian accepted huge bribes through his position, providing assistance to others in the procurement of information systems, involving project contracting, fund allocation, and other aspects.In response to the issues exposed by the case, the discipline inspection and supervision team proposed supervision opinions to the CSRC Party Committee, urging the strengthening of integrity risk prevention and control in information system procurement, and reinforcing system construction and implementation. At the same time, it emphasized the need to strengthen the education, management, and supervision of professional and technical personnel, especially the "top leaders," to correct the erroneous thinking of some cadres who believe their integrity risks are low, and to enhance their political awareness and discipline consciousness.In November last year, Yao Qian was subjected to disciplinary review and supervisory investigation by the discipline inspection and supervision team stationed at the CSRC and the Shantou Municipal Supervisory Commission in Guangdong Province for serious violations of discipline and law. This case further highlights the importance of integrity risk prevention and control in the field of financial technology supervision.

ChainCatcher news, according to Hong Kong media East Net, the CEO of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, Ashley Alder, stated that since the implementation of the Virtual Asset Trading Platform (VATP) licensing system in June 2023, 9 licenses have been granted, and another 9 applications are pending approval. It is expected that new licenses will be issued within this month.Alder revealed that the Securities and Futures Commission will establish a formal advisory group for licensed VATPs and develop a roadmap for virtual asset development, planning to explore new areas such as custody services and over-the-counter (OTC) trading, while also considering the introduction of more products and services to enhance market competitiveness.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi reports, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) held its first virtual asset consultation group (the group) meeting today with licensed virtual asset trading platforms.The group is chaired by Dr. Yip Chi-hang, Executive Director of the SFC's Intermediaries Division, and includes all licensed virtual asset trading platforms, represented by their senior management.The group will provide valuable contributions to the SFC in formulating regulatory policies to further promote the development of a sustainable and resilient virtual asset ecosystem. By collaborating with members, the group will identify policy priorities to pave the way for market and regulatory development based on investor protection.

ChainCatcher news, according to Newsis, Kim Jae-yong, Vice Chairman of the Financial Services Commission of Korea, announced at the third virtual asset committee meeting that the establishment of real-name accounts for corporate entities will be promoted in three phases.The first phase (before the second quarter of 2025) will allow law enforcement agencies, non-profit corporations, and virtual asset exchanges to open accounts; the second phase (in the second half of 2025) will expand to approximately 3,500 professional investment corporations; the third phase will consider opening to ordinary corporate entities.The Financial Services Commission stated that the plan will be gradually advanced after improving anti-money laundering regulations and institutional development.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, Offchain Labs has launched the Arbitrum BoLD protocol on the mainnet to enable permissionless validation. After being approved by governance voting, BoLD is now in use on the Arbitrum chain, One, and Nova.The system replaces the previously whitelisted validators with a permissionless mechanism, allowing anyone interested in network security to participate.

According to ChainCatcher news, HashKey Capital has been approved by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) to provide virtual asset (VA) discretionary account management services for professional investors under its Type 9 license. This authorization allows HashKey Capital to manage a range of customizable investment products, including spot virtual asset investments and derivatives, and to formulate and execute strategies that align with the investment objectives of professional investors within the scope of pre-approved exchanges.

ChainCatcher news, according to Hong Kong media East Net, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission submitted a new financial budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year to the Legislative Council's Financial Affairs Committee, updating the deficit forecast for the current fiscal year (2024/25) to HKD 148 million, while the deficit for the fiscal year 2025/26 is expected to reach HKD 238 million. At the same time, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission proposed the addition of 15 new positions, of which 8 are aimed at strengthening personnel support for the virtual asset regulatory system, market surveillance, and enforcement investigations, and 7 are to enhance information technology and institutional support.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi citing the German Handelsblatt, the European Commission has completed its investigation into the social media platform X and will decide to impose a fine of several million euros on it.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, Kraken's Ethereum Layer-2 scaling solution Ink will enable a permissionless fraud proof mechanism this Thursday, marking an important technological advancement in its rapid development.Ink becomes the first superchain network to launch a multi-"challenger" mechanism after testing on the Optimism mainnet, initially operated by the automated protocol Gelato and Kraken running the challenger system. Fraud proofs are a crucial feature of Optimistic Rollups, allowing users to challenge the validity of transactions and correct erroneous states.The initial challenger fund for Ink is provided by Kraken with 49 ETH (approximately $156,000), and users can also participate in challenges by staking ETH, thereby promoting on-chain decentralization.

ChainCatcher news, according to the Economic Daily, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) of Taiwan plans to propose a draft law for virtual asset service providers (VASP) in June 2025, allowing banks to issue stablecoins for the first time.FSC Chairman Peng Chin-long stated that stablecoins will serve as a bridge between fiat currency and virtual currency, providing investors with a trading entry point. All stablecoins issued in Taiwan must be approved by the FSC, including requirements for issuance qualifications and reserves. This policy will be coordinated with the central bank to clarify the distinction from CBDC and assess the application of stablecoins in the real economy.

ChainCatcher news, according to a report by Zhitong Finance, the Executive Director of the Intermediaries Division of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, Ye Zhiheng, revealed that new licenses for virtual asset trading platforms will be approved soon, with good news expected in the first quarter of 2025. It is reported that the regulatory authority has completed on-site inspections of all applicants, and currently, there are 11 platforms on the application list.Ye Zhiheng emphasized that the regulatory authority will strictly adhere to the regulatory bottom lines concerning investor protection and cybersecurity. At the same time, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission plans to establish a licensed platform consultation group after the Lunar New Year, inviting executives from various licensed platforms to participate, ensuring that industry opinions are fully considered in the policy-making process.

ChainCatcher news, according to a press release from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), The Vanguard Group, Inc. will pay $106.41 million to settle allegations of misleading statements regarding the capital gains distribution and tax implications that affected retail investors holding Vanguard Investor Target Retirement Funds (Investor TRFs) in taxable accounts. The settlement amount will be distributed to the affected investors.

ChainCatcher message, Gary Gensler allegedly posted a farewell on the X platform, stating: It has been my honor to serve as the Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Public service is about giving back to our communities, whether they are neighborhoods, counties, or states; or, as part of this agency, I firmly believe that capital markets, competition, and common-sense rules benefit both investors and issuers. This is why the SEC and its staff play a critical role in overseeing the markets and ensuring compliance with common-sense rules of U.S. securities law:We have reduced costs and risks and enhanced the integrity of our two largest markets—the nearly $60 trillion stock market and the $28 trillion bond market;We have helped improve the transparency and integrity of corporate governance for public companies, including implementing new cooling-off periods and other conditions before insiders of companies that may possess significant non-public information trade their company’s securities;We have established rules requiring regulated broker-dealers and investment advisers to notify clients of data breaches that may put personal information at risk;We have laid the groundwork for important debates regarding the growing applications of artificial intelligence in the financial sector;We have updated the rules for the stock and bond markets, shortening the settlement cycle;We have returned over $2.7 billion to harmed investors.

ChainCatcher news, the AI 3.0 foundational project Autonomys, led by Pantera Capital, announced a strategic partnership with Multiple Network to jointly promote the development of decentralized AI (DeAI).Developers of Autonomys can leverage Multiple Network's bandwidth DePIN technology to ensure that on-chain AI agents have high-speed operation and privacy protection capabilities. At the same time, by combining Multiple Network's low-latency bandwidth with Autonomys' distributed storage network (DSN) and decentralized computing resources, large-scale, privacy-preserving AI training becomes more feasible. Multiple Network's privacy-protecting bandwidth DePIN also provides significant support for Autonomys' AI 3.0 ecosystem, becoming a core component for building and deploying Auto Agents.Zeus Chen, co-founder of Multiple Network, stated, "The collaboration with Autonomys brings a new dimension to decentralized AI. The combination of our technologies makes high-speed, secure Auto Agents and scalable AI training a reality, further strengthening the AI 3.0 ecosystem."Parth Birla, head of partnerships at Autonomys, said that this collaboration is a significant breakthrough in the field of decentralized AI and will accelerate the rapid development of the AI 3.0 ecosystem.

ChainCatcher news, according to the official website, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) announced today that all new applicants for virtual asset trading platform licenses can apply for licenses under the SFC's fast-track licensing procedure.The new licensing method requires virtual asset trading platform applicants to first establish internal policies, procedures, systems, and measures, and to conduct external assessments of the relevant measures. The SFC becomes a participant in the monitoring process, thereby overseeing the entire external assessment process.The SFC issued a circular today to provide guidance for new virtual asset trading platform operators. The SFC also published results of risk-related on-site inspections, further clarifying the regulatory standards that the SFC expects virtual asset trading platforms to meet when applying.

ChainCatcher news, the Brazilian Securities Commission (CVM) issued an order requiring Ukuchuma Financial Services LTD and IGM Forex LTD to cease soliciting clients in Brazil.CVM stated that investigations found these two companies did not have the operational license for the securities market and should immediately stop their operations. According to the CVM report, these companies are suspected of soliciting clients for securities trading, including cryptocurrency investments, to Brazilian residents through the XPROMarkets brand and website.