ChainCatcher news, Hong Kong listed company New Fire Technology has released the latest announcement stating that it has signed an asset management service framework agreement with its actual controller Li Lin, to provide asset management services for its affiliated funds, including ABCDE Fund, New World Fund, New Era Fund, and MS Fund, with management fees ranging from 1% to 2%.The announcement disclosed that as of June 30 this year, the total assets under management of ABCDE amounted to 40 million USD, with Li Lin holding 31.25% of the equity. The total assets under management of New World Fund were 20 million USD, with Li Lin holding 50.00% of the equity. The total assets under management of MS Fund were 18.1 million USD, with Li Lin holding 96.13% of the equity.According to RootData, the ABCDE has a cumulative number of investment portfolios of 32, including 12 leading projects, such as Bitlayer, bitSmiley, Surf Protocol, UTXO Stack, etc.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, Pi Squared, a company that utilizes zero-knowledge technology to achieve verifiable computation, announced that it has raised $12.5 million in a seed round led by Polychain Capital. Other participants in this round include ABCDE, Bloccelerate, Generative Ventures, Robot Ventures, and Samsung Next, as well as angel investors including Justin Drake from the Ethereum Foundation and Sreeram Kanaan, founder of EigenLayer.It is reported that Pi Squared is led by Grigore Rosu, a computer science professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The company plans to use the new funding to expand its products. Pi Squared's first product is the "Universal Settlement Layer," which can settle blockchain transactions in any programming language. Rosu stated that the company is also developing "Universal Zero-Knowledge Circuits," which will enable "trustless remote computation, AI, and interoperable smart contracts for any blockchain or dApp" through zero-knowledge technology. The project is expected to enter the testnet phase by the end of 2024.Additionally, the Web3 asset data platform RootData shows that Pi Squared uses zero-knowledge proof (ZK) technology to verify the correctness of any program's execution without relying on specific programming languages (PL) or virtual machines (VM). Based on the K framework and matching logic, it provides a universal and efficient verification method aimed at achieving seamless interoperability between blockchains, languages, and applications.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, the modular BTC Layer2 one-click chain launching platform UTXO Stack has completed its seed round financing, led by ABCDE and SNZ Capital, with strategic investment from the CKB Eco Fund, and follow-on investments from OKX Ventures, Waterdrip Capital, Matrixport, y2z Ventures, DRK Lab, and Bitcoin Magazine's parent company BTC Inc's venture capital arm UTXO Management.It is reported that UTXO Stack will focus on expanding the Bitcoin ecosystem, helping project developers to launch BTC Layer2 based on UTXO architecture with one click, and natively integrating RGB++ protocol capabilities, allowing seamless interoperability between BTC and Stack parallel Layer2 without the need for cross-chain bridges, and enabling the staking of BTC, CKB, and BTC L1 assets to ensure Layer2 security.UTXO Stack founder & RGB++ protocol author Cipher stated: "If RGB++ solves the issues faced by the original RGB protocol in technical implementation by providing Turing-complete smart contract capabilities for BTC L1 assets through isomorphic binding technology, then UTXO Stack will provide a scalable, stakeable UTXO Layer2 solution for BTC Dapps, achieving seamless interoperability across all chains."CKB Eco Fund Partner Baiyu said: "As more and more UTXO assets based on the RGB++ protocol and other foundational layer protocols are issued on Bitcoin, the implementation of UTXO Stack will bring unprecedented development to the BTC ecosystem. The combination of UTXO Stack and RGB++ will give it unparalleled advantages over other Bitcoin Layer 2 solutions."

ChainCatcher news, Bitcoin Layer 2 project Bitlayer announced the completion of a $5 million seed round financing. This round was co-led by Framework Ventures and ABCDE Capital, with participation from institutions including StarkWare, OKX Ventures, Alliance DAO, UTXO Management, Asymmetric Capital, Kenetic Capital, Pivot Global, Web3Port, Mindfulness Capital, C6E Capital, PAKA, Comma3 Capital, and Kronos Ventures, as well as notable Bitcoin OG & KOL Dan Held, Messari CEO Ryan Selkis, and co-founder Dan McArdle among other well-known Web3 entrepreneurs.It is reported that Bitlayer aims to become the computing layer for Bitcoin and is the first Bitcoin-secure equivalent Layer 2 based on the BitVM paradigm. Bitlayer plans to launch the first version of its mainnet on April 5 and introduce the ecosystem incentive program Ready Player One.

ChainCatcher news, ICC Camp has reached a strategic cooperation with ABCDE. ABCDE will provide ecological support for ICC Camp by integrating the resource advantages of both parties to jointly build a strong global Web3 gaming ecosystem, helping outstanding startup teams in the Web3 gaming field thrive in the future.ICC Camp will soon announce the list of participants and course schedule for the first entrepreneurship camp, and will gradually launch offline courses and study tour programs in March. For more inquiries, please follow the official ICC platform.

ChainCatcher news, Bitcoin Singapore 2024 will take place on March 9, with a one-day conference focused on exploring the latest developments in the Bitcoin ecosystem and community. The conference will gather multiple Bitcoin ecosystem experts and senior participants, covering topics such as technological advancements in the Bitcoin ecosystem, new product ideas, and different cultural characteristics, providing a comprehensive discussion on the Bitcoin ecosystem.Bitcoin Singapore 2024 is co-hosted by Nervos CKB and ABCDE, with strategic support from the LNP/BP Association and Bitlight Labs. Several prominent guests, including Nervos Foundation Executive Director Matt Quinn, LNP/BP Association board member Arnaud, BitVM contributor Super Testnet, BTCStudy contributor Zeng Mi, and Lightning Labs engineer Yong, will discuss the Bitcoin ecosystem from various perspectives, including RGB, BitVM, the Lightning Network, and UTXO.

ChainCatcher news, in the "2023 Web3 Industry Development Research Report and Annual List" published by the cryptocurrency asset data platform RootDada, ABCDE Capital has been shortlisted as one of the Top 100 investment institutions in 2023.In 2023, ABCDE Capital's publicly disclosed investment projects exceeded 18, among which representative projects include PolyHedra, Particle Network, GRVT, Matr1x, Babylon, etc.

ChainCatcher news, OKX Ventures, in collaboration with ABCDE, hosted the second season of the Bitcoin Ecosystem Demo Day, covering BTC Layer 2 networks, Layer 2 service solutions, Bitcoin staking, Launchpad, DA, and other Bitcoin infrastructure construction projects.It is reported that with the continuous growth of Bitcoin users and Bitcoin blockchain data, there is still significant room for innovation in the Bitcoin ecosystem. OKX Ventures is committed to building the BTC ecosystem and has invested in projects such as B^2 Network, Bitmap Tech, Babylon, bitSmiley, alexGo, and Portal Defi. OKX Ventures will allocate 10 million USD to continuously invest in and support emerging entrepreneurs in the BTC ecosystem, accelerate the advancement of blockchain technology, and provide services and resources to help partners grow together.

ChainCatcher news, Bitcoin ecosystem DeFi solution bitSmiley announced the completion of a funding round led by ABCDE and OKX Venture. It is reported that BitSmiley is the MakerDAO + Compound of the Bitcoin ecosystem, providing a comprehensive solution for Bitcoin DeFi, filling the current gap in the Bitcoin ecosystem for "stablecoin" + "lending" infrastructure. In addition to providing a BTC over-collateralized stablecoin in the bitRC20 format compatible with BRC20, BitSmiley also offers peer-to-peer lending based on BRC20.

ChainCatcher news, ABCDE Capital announced that it has invested in the Bitcoin ecosystem staking infrastructure Babylon, with the specific amount not disclosed yet.ChainCatcher previously reported in July that the project Babylon, which aims to bring Bitcoin security to PoS networks and DApps, plans to launch a Bitcoin staking protocol and release the first public version of its Bitcoin staking protocol LitePaper on the Babylon forum. The protocol allows Bitcoin holders to enhance the security of PoS chains and DApps through staking Bitcoin and earn rewards, while PoS chains and DApps can choose to integrate an economically secure mechanism supported by Bitcoin. This protocol does not require cross-chain, anchoring, or any third-party custody, and can be seamlessly deployed on the existing Bitcoin network.