ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi reports, U.S. Bank Chief Economist Stephen Juneau released a latest report warning that investors ignoring inflation data may face liquidation risks in 2025. The latest data shows that the November CPI rose by 2.7% year-on-year and increased by 0.3% month-on-month, up 0.1 percentage points from October; the November PPI rose by 0.4% month-on-month, significantly exceeding the market expectation of 0.2%.Federal funds futures indicate a 98% probability that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by 25 basis points next week, but BlackRock Global Fixed Income CIO Rick Rieder, EY Chief Economist Greg Daco, and Nationwide Economist Oren Klachkin all expect that, influenced by potential new policies from Trump, the Federal Reserve may pause the rate-cutting process in early 2025.The market needs to be wary of three major risks: higher tariff policies, deficit financing tax cut plans, and tightened immigration policies, as these factors may keep the core PCE inflation rate elevated over the next two years. Daco particularly pointed out that although the possibility of a rate cut next week is close to a "coin toss probability," the subsequent pace of rate cuts will clearly slow down, and policymakers will remain highly vigilant regarding new government policies.

ChainCatcher news, decentralized finance and digital asset company DeFi Technologies announced that it will acquire a minority stake in Swiss asset management company Neuronomics AG, with the specific acquisition amount not disclosed. According to the terms of the letter of intent, DeFi Technologies will increase its stake in Neuronomics by subscribing to 10% of the issued and outstanding securities of Neuronomics. This acquisition aims to enhance DeFi Technologies' asset management and trading capabilities, diversify revenue sources, and complement the company's specialized arbitrage trading platform DeFi Alpha.It is reported that Neuronomics specializes in quantitative trading strategies driven by artificial intelligence, computational neuroscience, and quantitative finance, and holds an asset management license issued by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).

ChainCatcher news, according to the Financial Times citing informed sources, BlackRock is in preliminary discussions with Millennium Management about a strategic partnership that could allow the world's largest asset management company to acquire a stake in this highly profitable hedge fund management firm.Although any stake may be small, this potential collaboration reflects BlackRock's pursuit of expanding into the alternative investment space, while also showing that Millennium's 76-year-old founder, Izzy Englander, is continuing to grow and diversify his business.Informed sources indicate that negotiations are still in the early stages and may not result in an agreement. If BlackRock does indeed acquire a stake in Millennium, it would mark the first time in 35 years that Englander has accepted external investment into Millennium's management company.

ChainCatcher news, according to Fortune, the blockchain content verification platform OpenOrigins has completed a $4.5 million seed round of financing, led by Galaxy Interactive. The blockchain technology developed by the company can verify the authenticity of digital content such as photos and videos in real time, and it has already partnered with ITN, a leading media production company in the UK.The company plans to use the new funding to expand its commercial team and extend its business to the Indian and U.S. markets. At the same time, OpenOrigins will launch a marketplace platform to help news organizations authorize AI training on their verification data.OpenOrigins founder and Cambridge University PhD Manny Ahmed stated that the company's uniqueness lies in its ability to verify real-time content as well as certify historical content. This technology records content verification information on the Hyperledger blockchain, providing content authenticity assurance across multiple fields, including news media, insurance companies, and online dating platforms.

ChainCatcher news, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse continues to strongly oppose the U.S. SEC, particularly its ongoing legal actions against XRP and the appeals related to the Ripple case.The crypto derivatives platform Bitnomial recently filed a lawsuit against the SEC regarding the regulatory authority over XRP futures, to which Garlinghouse responded on X: "For a rebellious agency that many believe cannot further degrade, they have once again broken the bottom line. The SEC now believes it can place itself above the law, ignoring the court's ruling that XRP is not a security."

ChainCatcher news, sources say that the divergence among European Central Bank policymakers regarding the economic growth outlook is increasing, which may impact the interest rate cut debate in the coming months. Some are concerned about a recession, while others focus on persistent inflationary pressures. As the Eurozone economy enters a more unstable state, future policy decisions may become more complex. The crux of the debate lies in how weak economic growth and the potential for recession will affect inflation—this is the ultimate concern of the central bank, which aims to reduce the inflation rate to 2% by the end of 2025.Dovish policymakers remain in the minority, believing that the economy is weaker than expected, and the risk of recession is rising, as companies that previously hoarded labor begin to cut job vacancies, leading to a weak labor market. Once employment numbers decline, disposable income will also decrease, quickly eroding consumption and leading to a self-reinforcing economic recession. (Jin Shi)

ChainCatcher news, according to NFT Plazas, the NFT marketplace KnownOrigin, acquired by eBay in June 2022, has announced that it will shut down its on-chain marketplace and minting features. In February of this year, eBay laid off 30% of KnownOrigin's staff, raising concerns about the platform's future. The recent announcement has confirmed these concerns, with the company stating that it has decided to cease operations due to changes in the NFT market.The company acknowledged that the industry landscape is changing, with secondary markets like OpenSea and MagicEden gaining significant prominence. Although the marketplace will close, KnownOrigin has assured users that existing NFTs will retain full functionality and tradability. KnownOrigin stated, "All KnownOrigin NFTs are minted on the Ethereum blockchain. This means ownership is provable, and these tokens can be publicly traded on secondary markets (such as OpenSea and MagicEden)."

ChainCatcher news, carbon-neutral blockchain application Nori announced the completion of a new funding round of $6.25 million, with current investors M13, Toyota Ventures, Placeholder, Cargill, and others leading the round. The new funds will be used to expand the business. It was also announced that Trudeau has been appointed as the new CEO, while Paul Gambill, who served as CEO and co-founder of Nori for the past five years, will remain on the board and take on a new role as Chief Product Officer.According to the crypto data platform Rootdata, Nori has built an end-to-end carbon removal marketplace based on blockchain, dedicated to removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to address climate change. Nori completed a $7 million Series A funding round last March, and to date, Nori's total funding amount has reached $17.25 million. (Source link)

ChainCatcher news, e-commerce giant eBay's NFT marketplace KnownOrigin tweeted that it will launch a new creator contract feature on February 24, allowing creators to share revenue and royalties as co-creators. At that time, all approved creators on KnownOrigin will be able to deploy and mint on their own contracts through their portal.ChainCatcher previously reported that in June 2022, eBay announced the completion of its acquisition of the NFT trading platform KnownOrigin, with specific amounts and terms not disclosed. (Source link)

ChainCatcher news, according to menafn, Singapore's GameFi ecosystem company Digital Entertainment Asset Pte. Ltd. (DEA) has signed a Web3 cooperation memorandum of understanding with Rakuten Group. Rakuten Group's venture capital division, Rakuten Capital, is making a minority equity investment in DEA through the subscription of share acquisition rights.According to Rakuten Capital President Hiroshi Takasawa, this investment will enable DEA to launch multiple Web3 business initiatives, while leveraging DEA's experience in promoting GameFi, token economics, and metaverse business to contribute to business growth. (source link)

According to ChainCatcher news and reported by CoinDesk, the cryptocurrency lending platform Nexo has acquired a minority stake in Summit National Bank, which is regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).Nexo stated that this transaction will expand its operations in the United States, allowing the company to offer bank accounts, loans, and credit card services to retail and institutional clients. Customers of Summit National Bank will also be able to access Nexo's crypto services. (source link)