ChainCatcher news, according to Decrypt, 24-year-old Catherine Colivas kidnapped a member of the Saudi royal family with the help of three accomplices and threatened to cut off his fingers to force him to pay $40,000 in Bitcoin. Despite the perpetrator's guilty plea, she was not imprisoned.Catherine Colivas faces a maximum sentence of 25 years at a hearing in Victoria, Australia. She pleaded guilty to charges of kidnapping, extortion, reckless injury, theft, and firearm offenses. However, she only received a community correction order—equivalent to community service in Australia.Colivas matched with the Saudi royal family member on a dating app and went out for drinks and dinner. Then, the royal family member escorted Colivas home. As the royal family member walked Colivas to the door, he was ambushed by three men, including Colivas's boyfriend.The victim was subsequently bound with cables, unable to leave, and was intimidated. As he was a cryptocurrency trader, the victim provided Bitcoin and had to call a friend to complete the $40,000 transfer. Afterwards, his keys were stolen, and the criminals also raided his home. Court documents show they stole clothing, a PlayStation 5, and several iPhones.The victim was later released and immediately went to the police to report the incident, and then spent the night in the hospital due to injuries to his head and wrist.

ChainCatcher news reports that, according to Protos, the price of Bitcoin has previously surpassed $93,000, setting a new historical high. Market news indicates that Gulf oil-producing countries such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, or Qatar may be purchasing Bitcoin at the sovereign level. Relevant sovereign funds may disclose related information during the Abu Dhabi Bitcoin Summit from December 9 to 10.As Bitcoin's total market capitalization has surpassed that of the world's largest oil company, Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia, as the largest oil producer in the Gulf region, is receiving significant attention. As the holder of the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, the investment trends of Gulf oil-producing countries will have a substantial impact on the global crypto asset market.At the same time, as the host of the upcoming Bitcoin conference, the UAE is also considered likely to participate. Additionally, there have been ongoing market rumors that Qatar may also engage in sovereign investments.

ChainCatcher news, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), headquartered in Switzerland, announced on Wednesday that the Saudi Arabian central bank has joined the mBridge project, a cross-border experiment using central bank digital currencies (CBDC) for international trade.The mBridge project was launched in 2021 as a collaborative initiative between the BIS Innovation Hub and the central banks of China, Hong Kong, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), aimed at testing the feasibility of using CBDC for instant cross-border trade and other payments on the project's blockchain, the mBridge Ledger.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, Outlier Ventures has partnered with the Saudi Arabian National Technology Development Program to launch a web3 accelerator program in Riyadh.The program aims to support Web3 startups in Saudi Arabia, with expertise and investment opportunities provided by Outlier Ventures. This move aligns with Saudi Vision 2030, accelerating the development of technologies and infrastructure related to cryptocurrency, Web3, and the metaverse.In October last year, the strategic investment department of Saudi Arabia's NEOM mega project proposed to invest $50 million in Animoca Brands to promote the development of Web3 infrastructure in the NEOM region.

ChainCatcher news, according to the South China Morning Post, Animoca Brands has signed a memorandum of understanding with KACST (King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology), a major scientific research center in Saudi Arabia.Yat Siu, co-founder and chairman of Animoca Brands, stated that the signing of the MOU aims to enter the underlying layer of Web3 development in Saudi Arabia and explore opportunities to participate in the early development stage.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Culture has launched the metaverse Cultural Universe to celebrate National Day.It is reported that this metaverse is built on Oracle's Hyperledger Fabric 2.5 blockchain technology and developed by droppGroup's Generative Media Intelligence (GMI) AI system droppPhygital.

ChainCatcher news, before the 2023 Saudi Arabia Club World Cup, FIFA will launch a new set of NFT collectibles on Algorand and Polygon, totaling 1,000 pieces. Among them, the first batch of 100 digital collectibles will be sold on FIFA+ Collect via the Algorand network on December 15, 2023, including the rarest collectibles with a chance to win tickets to the FIFA World Cup 26™ final; the second batch of 900 digital collectibles will be sold on OpenSea on the Polygon network, which are related to physical items from the 2023 Saudi Arabia FIFA Club World Cup™, including two pieces that offer 2 VIP experiences: two invitations for the FIFA Best Football Awards™ VIP experience and a VIP tour of the FIFA Football Museum in Zurich.

ChainCatcher news, according to the official blog, Animoca Brands has announced that it has signed a strategic cooperation memorandum with the "Neom" new city construction project led by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to promote regional Web3 initiatives in line with Saudi Vision 2030.In addition to the strategic partnership, the company has also signed a letter of intent for convertible note financing with the NEOM Investment Fund. The NEOM Investment Fund intends to invest $50 million in Animoca Brands, of which $25 million will be issued as convertible notes with a conversion cap of AUD 4.50 per share, and the remaining $25 million will be used to purchase company shares in the secondary market.

ChainCatcher news, NEOM Tech & Digital, a technology subsidiary of the "Neom" city construction project led by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, announced the establishment of the NEOM Investment Fund (NIF) to support the construction and development of 14 priority areas in NEOM. NIF will invest in technology startups globally through mergers and acquisitions and venture capital, focusing on pioneering growth companies and next-generation industries. NIF will also establish joint ventures and partnerships with large multinational companies, institutional investors, and innovators within NEOM. As part of its establishment, NIF announced a new round of investments in companies such as Pony.ai, Regent, Boom Technology, BlueNalu, and Animoca Brands.In addition, Open Campus posted on social media stating, "Middle East Web3 education will collaborate with the NEOM Investment Fund for a major event," with specific details yet to be announced.

ChainCatcher news, Saudi Arabia's first NFT marketplace Nuqtah has announced the completion of its seed funding round, led by Animoca Brands, with participation from Polygon and local investors, although the specific amount raised has not been disclosed. The company will use the new funds to expand its operations in product development, marketing, talent recruitment, and other business areas over the next 12 months.Nuqtah is the first NFT marketplace to be licensed by the Saudi Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and the Ministry of Investment, aiming to help individuals and businesses easily create, deploy, and monetize NFTs without navigating complex blockchain infrastructure, while empowering NFT creators, businesses, and users to unlock the Web3 market and provide new opportunities for the region. (Source link)

According to ChainCatcher news, data from Token Unlocks shows that The Sandbox will unlock 372,570,278 SAND on February 13, accounting for 12.419% of its total supply.Earlier, ChainCatcher reported that The Sandbox co-founder and COO Sebastien Borget stated that The Sandbox has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Saudi Arabian Digital Government Authority (DGA) to collaborate on the "metaverse" or VR, with specific details yet to be disclosed. (source link)

ChainCatcher news, The Sandbox co-founder and COO Sebastien Borget tweeted that at the LEAP technology conference, The Sandbox signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Saudi Arabian Digital Government Authority (DGA) to collaborate on developing metaverse projects. The Sandbox will provide advice and support for metaverse construction in Saudi Arabia. (Source link)

ChainCatcher news, the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) announced that it is currently continuing to experiment with Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) while consulting with relevant international institutions, local government entities, and the public.It is reported that the Saudi Central Bank is collaborating with local banks and fintech companies to develop a wholesale CBDC use case focused on the domestic market. The Saudi Central Bank stated that although no decision has yet been made regarding the introduction of CBDC in Saudi Arabia, it will continue to focus on exploring the advantages and potential risks of implementing CBDC. (source link)

ChainCatcher news, one of Saudi Arabia's largest asset management companies, SNB Capital, has announced the launch of its first Global Megatrends Fund, which will provide investment opportunities for retail and institutional investors, focusing on future trend industries with high growth potential, including Web3, electric vehicles, and renewable energy. (Source link)

According to ChainCatcher news, as reported by CoinDesk, after Saudi Arabia's surprising 2:1 victory over the championship favorite Argentina in the group stage of the Qatar World Cup, the Saudi-themed NFT series "Saudi People" saw a surge in sales by 387%, while the Argentine fan token ARG dropped 24.82% in the past 24 hours, currently priced at $5.28.It is reported that fan tokens experienced significant corrections before the World Cup began, with other fan tokens including Portugal (POR) and Brazil (BFT) also seeing declines on Monday, underperforming compared to Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). (CoinDesk)

Chain Catcher News: Joseph Bradley, CEO of NEOM Tech & Digital, a technology subsidiary of the new future city (NEOM) project led by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, stated that it has invested $1 billion in metaverse and artificial intelligence applications in 2022, including the metaverse platform XVRS. At the same time, the company will be renamed Tonomus, as NEOM is committed to integrating artificial intelligence technology into the construction of its flagship project, The Line. Subscribing to NEOM's metaverse platform will help people around the world conduct virtual visits before making actual investments in the city, and in the future, the platform will also be used to enhance the resident experience.Previously, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced plans to invest $500 billion in the flagship economic zone project, the new future city (NEOM), which will accommodate 9 million people. (Source link)