ChainCatcher news, Web3 infrastructure Startale Group announced the establishment of a new investment department, Startale Ventures, which will primarily invest in the Sony L2 network Soneium and Astar ecosystem projects.In addition to providing funding, it will also offer comprehensive support including marketing, business development, and strategic planning, and will be able to leverage cloud infrastructure such as RPC nodes and account abstraction provided by Startale Cloud Services to enhance Web3 development efficiency.

ChainCatcher news, the Central Bank of Russia has introduced regulations to manage foreign exchange operations involving digital rights. According to Russian law, digital rights include electronic records such as cryptocurrencies, tokenized securities, and digital tokens. These rights represent claims or obligations related to assets or services. The new decree will take effect on January 11 and outlines the obligations of residents engaged in such transactions, aiming to clarify and strengthen the oversight of digital assets used for trade and payment purposes.A key requirement outlined in the regulation is that foreign trade contracts involving digital rights settlements must be registered with authorized banks. The document states: "Foreign trade contracts, including those settled using digital rights, must be registered with authorized banks. The registration thresholds for these contracts remain unchanged: import contracts exceeding 3 million rubles and export contracts exceeding 10 million rubles."In addition to registration, the Central Bank of Russia also explained: "The regulation specifies the documents and information that residents must provide to banks, including transaction data related to the transfer or receipt of digital rights as a means of payment under foreign trade contracts, as well as data related to other foreign exchange operations involving digital rights."By defining these requirements, the Central Bank of Russia aims to integrate digital rights into the broader financial system while reducing the risks associated with their use.

ChainCatcher news, Real Vision CEO Raoul Pal predicts that the crypto market is entering the "Banana Singularity" phase. He divides the current market into three stages: the breakout in November 2024, the current consolidation period, and the upcoming altcoin season.Pal stated that as Bitcoin's dominance (currently at 58%) declines, the market will experience a comprehensive bullish trend, with core winners creating higher peaks. He also noted that the current market trend is similar to the 2016/2017 cycle, and the consolidation period is expected to end soon.

ChainCatcher news, Jaret Seiberg of TD Cowen Washington Research Group stated that the resignation of Federal Reserve Vice Chair Barr "is not as much of a victory for big banks as it appears on the surface."Seiberg noted in a report on Monday: "The Democrats will retain their majority on the Federal Reserve Board until early 2026, and given the need to confirm new regulatory officials, it is hard to see significant progress on regulatory easing this year."Barr has called for regulation of stablecoins over the past year and stated that stablecoins "borrow the trust of central banks." "The Federal Reserve is very eager to ensure that any issuance of stablecoins operates within an appropriate federal prudential regulatory framework so that they do not threaten financial stability or the integrity of the payment system," Barr said at a conference in Washington, D.C. in October 2023.For years, lawmakers have been working on legislation to regulate stablecoins, but the crux of the issue lies in how to allocate regulatory authority between state and federal levels. (The Block)In news from yesterday, Federal Reserve's Barr announced that he will resign from the position of Vice Chair for Supervision on February 28, 2025. The Federal Reserve's statement indicated that Barr will continue to serve as a governor of the Federal Reserve but does not intend to engage in significant rulemaking until a successor to the vice chair position is determined. Barr stated in the announcement that the "controversy" surrounding his position could distract the Federal Reserve's focus.

ChainCatcher news, according to Beincrypto, Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr announced today that he will resign from this position. Barr will no longer serve as the third in command of the Federal Reserve Board, but he intends to remain at the Federal Reserve until further notice. It is widely believed in the industry that Barr is one of the key factors behind U.S. banks' failure to engage in cryptocurrency and related services.According to a recent press release, his resignation will take effect on February 28 or after his successor is confirmed. However, even if a new Vice Chair for Supervision is found quickly, Barr will continue to stay on the Federal Reserve Board. His term was supposed to naturally end in 2032. Nevertheless, this may be an important opportunity for cryptocurrency regulation. He stated, "It has been my honor to serve as Vice Chair for Supervision of the Federal Reserve Board. The controversy surrounding this position may distract us from our mission. In the current environment, I believe serving the American people from the Board would be more effective." In 2023, Barr led the crackdown on stablecoins and expressed a desire to "exclude cryptocurrencies from the banking sector."

ChainCatcher news, the Federal Reserve statement shows that Vice Chair Barr announced he will resign from his position as Vice Chair for Supervision on February 28, 2025.The Federal Reserve statement indicated that Barr will continue to serve as a member of the Board of Governors, but does not intend to participate in significant rulemaking until a successor to the Vice Chair position is determined.

ChainCatcher news, Binance founder Zhao Changpeng stated, "If you want to know why people mention the number 4 in tweets, it's because of a tweet from two years ago today. In hindsight, point 4 should be considered as point 0, and 2025 will be the year of 'send it' (go all out / take the plunge)."Previously, CZ stated on January 3, 2023, that 2023 will be about keeping things simple, with what to do and what not to do including: 1. Education; 2. Compliance; 3. Products and services; 4. Ignore FUD, fake news, attacks, etc.

ChainCatcher news, according to market news, Morgan Stanley's trading service E-Trade is exploring the provision of cryptocurrency trading.

ChainCatcher message, Azuki founder Zagabond posted on X platform: "Most Meme coins have a ceiling because they lack real substance. No vision, no product, and no real use case. That's why @animecoin will dominate."

ChainCatcher news, the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has introduced comprehensive regulations for cryptocurrency asset management, covering disclosure, public offerings, trading, and marketing activities. These regulations aim to enhance investor protection and promote transparency in the burgeoning digital asset market.According to the new guidelines, cryptocurrency asset issuers must submit disclosure documents to the SEC at least 30 days prior to any marketing activities or public sales. This document must detail the provider of the cryptocurrency asset, the issuer, key features, risks, and underlying technology, as well as clearly state potential risks, including value loss and limited transferability.Cryptocurrency assets classified as securities must obtain a registration statement approved by the SEC before public offering. Entities issuing or trading cryptocurrency assets must comply with anti-money laundering (AML) laws and SEC reporting requirements. It emphasizes that non-compliance may result in fines, suspension, or revocation of licenses. (Crowdfund Insider)

ChainCatcher message, former Goldman Sachs executive and founder of macro research firm Real Vision, Raoul Pal, stated on social media, "SOL looks like a nice breakout, and after a retest, it should continue to rise. Let's wait and see."

ChainCatcher news, according to OKX market data, the price of Bitcoin has officially surpassed the $100,000 mark, creating another milestone in the history of cryptocurrency. Subsequently, OKX CEO Star posted on the X platform, "This is the power of vision and technology. Thank you to global users for choosing and supporting OKX.I am also proud of the OKX team. Since the company's establishment in 2012, many team members have worked alongside me for 12 years. We will continue to move forward, providing users with better products, innovations, and services."

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg, Northern Data AG is expected to complete the sale of its cryptocurrency mining business, hoping to take advantage of the rising Bitcoin market to profit. Northern Data's Chief Financial Officer Elliot Jordan stated that the company has hired bankers to invite bidders to submit offers and is currently reviewing various proposals. Jordan told investors, "Clearly, now is the best time to sell this business." The main shareholder of Northern Data is the stablecoin issuer Tether, which is seeking to free up funds to expand its artificial intelligence services business.

ChainCatcher news, the privacy-first social protocol Rarimo has announced the completion of a $2.5 million Vision round funding, specifically for founders. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, Celestia co-founder Nick White, RiscZero co-founder Brian Retford, Gnosis co-founder Stefan George, Aleo co-founder Alex Pruden, Monad co-founder Keone Hon, Aztec co-founder Zac Williamson, Arnaud Schenk, Aztec co-founder and Zcash contributor Ariel Gabizon, Alpen Labs founder Liam Eagan, Polygon Zero co-founder Daniel Lubarov, and Distributed Labs co-founder Pavel Kravchenko are among the project founders participating in the investment.According to the Web3 asset data platform RootData, Rarimo is a protocol that enables the interoperability of assets, identities, and dApps across multiple chains, making it easier to operate across different chains, allowing users to perform actions such as transferring tokens, staking tokens, and providing cross-chain proof of ownership. The project is developed by Rarify Labs.

ChainCatcher message, former Goldman Sachs executive and founder of macro research firm Real Vision Raoul Pal posted on social media, "New Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent supports using a weak dollar and low oil prices to drive growth in the U.S. and global economy. That's all you need to know. It will boost financial conditions. Scott is good for your bag. I've known him for over a decade, and he understands this."

ChainCatcher news, this month American consumer confidence has changed little, overall, the stability of American consumer confidence this month masks the pattern of division between parties.Similar to the situation in November 2020, this month the expectations index for Republicans soared, while the expectations index for Democrats declined, reflecting the differing views of the two parties on how Trump's policies will affect the economy. In contrast, changes in the current situation among political factions this month are minimal, which aligns with the fact that the election results had almost no immediate impact on the current economic situation.Ultimately, there remains significant uncertainty regarding the future implementation of Trump's economic agenda, and consumers will continue to adjust their views in the coming months. The inflation expectation for the next year has slightly decreased from 2.7% last month to 2.6% this month. The current reading is the lowest since December 2020, falling within the range of 2.3%-3.0% seen in the two years prior to the pandemic. Long-term inflation expectations have risen from 3.0% last month to 3.2% this month.

ChainCatcher news, Blockstream announced the establishment of an asset management department aimed at bridging the gap between Bitcoin and mainstream finance. Hedge fund professional Sean Bill has been appointed as Chief Investment Officer to lead this initiative.