NEO

The developer of the cryptic shooting game "Shrapnel," Neon Machine, has been exposed to be in financial crisis

ChainCatcher news, according to Blockworks, the developer of the crypto shooting game "Shrapnel," Neon Machine, is facing serious financial difficulties. So far, the company has spent nearly $86.9 million in operating funds, with projected revenue of $21.7 million for 2024, but high operating costs of about $33 million have prevented it from becoming profitable, resulting in a net loss of $11.4 million.Sources say that Neon Machine's monthly cash burn is as high as $2 million to $3.5 million, and it is currently in a state of cash depletion, with significant unpaid debts, owing millions of dollars to external suppliers. The company’s new round of financing, originally scheduled for early 2025, has also failed to materialize. Previously, the company completed a $20 million Series A funding round in October 2023, led by Polychain Capital.Moreover, the company's workforce has sharply decreased from nearly a hundred at its peak to just over a dozen, with very few people actually involved in the development of "Shrapnel." To extend its cash flow, the company has implemented at least three rounds of layoffs and has asked high-salaried employees to voluntarily take a pay cut of about 20%. The Seattle headquarters was also closed at the end of March.Despite this, the company still claims to be "in the strongest position ever" and plans to launch "Shrapnel" globally by the end of 2025. However, several insiders close to Neon Machine are skeptical about whether the game can be launched smoothly, stating that the project is not yet complete and funds have been exhausted.In addition, according to People's Daily - Jinbao News, Lingjing People's Game Laboratory held talks with the creative team of "Shrapnel" (tentative Chinese name: 弹片), reaching a preliminary cooperation intention on issues such as the minting and distribution of game digital assets in the Chinese market, compliance circulation, and market operation.

4E: Trump ignites recession panic, U.S. stocks and crypto markets plummet simultaneously

ChainCatcher news, Trump's remarks over the weekend about the U.S. economy facing a "transformation period" weakened investors' confidence in a policy shift amid the backdrop of a market crash, exacerbating economic concerns.According to 4E monitoring, on Monday, all three major U.S. stock indices plummeted, with the S&P 500 index falling 2.7%, marking a new closing low since September last year; the Dow Jones dropped 2.08%, erasing gains since the U.S. elections in November; the Nasdaq fell 4%, recording the largest daily drop since September 2022. Major tech stocks all declined, with Tesla closing down over 15%, the largest drop since September 2020, and its stock price halved from its historical high. The combined market value of the seven major tech companies evaporated by over $830 billion on Monday, setting a record for the highest single-day market value loss.The "Black Monday" in U.S. stocks crashed the cryptocurrency market, with Bitcoin hitting a low of $76,600, the lowest in nearly four months, essentially returning to the level when Trump won the election last year. At the time of writing, it has slightly rebounded to $79,125, with a 24-hour decline of about 3.5%. Mainstream altcoins, including ETH and SOL, were also severely affected, with Ethereum dropping below $1,800, marking the lowest since October 2023.In the foreign exchange market, risk aversion pushed the dollar index up slightly, while the oil market faced pressure, with international oil prices falling by 1.5%. Affected by profit-taking and a weakening stock market, spot gold dropped by 0.7%.In the past two months, the uncertainty surrounding Trump's tariff policy has intensified market fears of a U.S. economic recession. An increasing number of viewpoints suggest that to achieve long-term goals of tariffs and reducing government size, Trump may tolerate short-term economic and market difficulties. Currently, the Federal Reserve has entered a quiet period ahead of the March 19 FOMC meeting, and the market cannot gain new policy guidance from officials' statements.

Roam will start trading on eight exchanges simultaneously on March 6, with airdrop and reward activities launching at the same time

ChainCatcher news, Roam ($ROAM) will launch ROAM/USDT trading on March 6, 2025, at 10:00 (UTC) on eight exchanges: Bybit, KuCoin, MEXC, Bitget, Backpack, Gate.io, Hotcoin, and LBank. The specific arrangements for each exchange are as follows:Bybit: Deposits open from February 28 at 10:00 (UTC) (Solana network). New users can participate in a share of the $ROAM prize pool of 3.5 million (March 4-18), and there will be a trading event from March 6-18 to win a prize pool of 500,000 $ROAM.KuCoin: Deposits are open (SOL-SPL network). The collective auction will start on March 6 from 09:00 to 10:00 UTC, and various spot trading bots will be supported after trading goes live.MEXC: Deposits are open, with a pre-deposit prize pool of 10,000 $ROAM (maximum 100 $ROAM per person). Instant exchange will open on March 7 at 10:00 (UTC).Bitget: Deposits are open, and new users can enjoy a CandyBomb airdrop of 1,675,000 $ROAM (March 6-13).Backpack: Pre-deposits are open, but the event announcement has not yet been released.Gate.io: HODLer Airdrop provides 200,000 $ROAM (March 4-6, requires ≥ 1 GT), and deposits will share a pool of 20,000 $ROAM (March 3-10).Hotcoin: Deposits & trading will share a prize pool of 50,000 $ROAM (March 6-13).LBank: Pre-deposits are open, but the event announcement has not yet been released.In addition, Roam officially launched multiple airdrop activities: 100,000 ROAM community creation rewards; miner/network builder airdrops; and a 7-day continuous check-in reward (up to 1400 Points).
2025-03-04
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