ChainCatcher news, focusing on digital assets, institutional prime broker LTP announced that its Hong Kong subsidiary LiquidityTech Limited (LTP HK) has obtained licenses 1, 2, 4, 5, and 9 issued by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong. With these licenses, LTP HK can provide regulated financial services covering trading, consulting, and asset management to institutional clients, including proprietary trading firms, hedge funds, asset management institutions, and corporate investors.The SFC licenses obtained by LTP HK are for Type 1 securities trading, Type 2 futures contract trading, Type 4 advising on securities, Type 5 advising on futures contracts, and Type 9 asset management.

ChainCatcher news, the Ethereum Foundation has announced a grant of $200,000 to support the Pectra upgrade ecosystem, with the application deadline set for February 23. Proposals submitted to the Pectra Proactive Grant Round should align with one or more of the following focus areas:Core Protocol Support: Develop tools and libraries that directly support protocol-level changes introduced in Pectra, and create infrastructure to ensure seamless integration of Pectra-related updates into the core protocol.Tools and Infrastructure: Updates to essential tools for builders, stakeholders, and end-users, and the creation of new tools to support EIPs directly related to Pectra.Testing and Security: Enhancements to testing frameworks and infrastructure, and tools to improve network security before and after the Pectra upgrade.Adoption and Impact Analysis: Projects that track and analyze the adoption of changes introduced by Pectra, and tools or frameworks to measure the impact of Pectra-related EIPs on the Ethereum ecosystem and protocol.

ChainCatcher News, the U.S. Department of Efficiency (DOGE) posted on X stating that today, the Department of Education has terminated 29 DEI training grants totaling $101 million.One of the grants aimed to train teachers "to help students understand/explore the complex history involved in oppression and to help students identify areas of privilege and power on both personal and collective bases."

ChainCatcher news, according to Alexey Pertsev, the Dutch court has approved the suspension of his pre-trial detention, and he will be released on February 7 at 10:00, but will be subject to electronic monitoring.

ChainCatcher news, the blockchain analytics platform bitsCrunch has launched a $5 million ecosystem grant program to support Web3 developers with funding, API credits, and token-based assistance.A total funding pool of $5 million is divided into different categories to meet various needs within the community. $3 million of the investment pool is held in partnership with recognized industry partners, while $1.5 million is reserved for API credits, allowing participants direct access to bitsCrunch's data infrastructure.

ChainCatcher news, the game blockchain Ronin tweeted that it has launched a $10 million ecosystem grant fund to support developers and teams on Ronin. The grant amounts range from $20,000 to $300,000.

ChainCatcher news, ai16z co-founder Shaw posted on the X platform that the idea of DePIN AI Agent is indeed very interesting. Although DePIN AI Agent is still in its early stages, its vast development potential can be imagined.In addition, Shaw revealed that projects built using Eliza on the IoTeX chain can contact for priority integration. ai16z is currently setting up some grants to encourage the development of DePIN AI Agent.Yesterday, the world's first DePIN AI Agent BINOAI, supported by Eliza OS and the IoTeX network, launched the $SENTAI token. The 24-hour trading volume of $SENTAI reached $63 million, ranking third on the Solana chain.At the same time, on-chain data showed that an address marked as Shaw spent 996 SOL to buy back 8.5 million $SENTAI.

ChainCatcher news, ai16z co-founder Shaw posted on the X platform stating that he finds the idea of DePIN agents quite interesting. Although it is still in the early stages, one can imagine how it will develop. In addition, Shaw revealed that projects currently building on Polygon using Eliza can reach out for connections. Some grants are being established, but he hopes to first understand who is already engaged in development.

ChainCatcher news, IOTA launches the 2nd season of the Grants program, offering $10 million in funding to developers, with applications now open. This grant program aims to support developers in creating open-source DApps, tools, and utilities to drive innovation in the IOTA ecosystem.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, Arbitrum's developer Offchain Labs announced at the CES 2025 conference that the Arbitrum Foundation has granted the largest developer subsidy in history to South Korea's Lotte Group. Lotte Group is a multi-billion dollar South Korean conglomerate known for its shopping malls, media companies, and entertainment asset portfolio. A representative from the company declined to disclose the specific amount of the grant "at this stage." According to Offchain Labs, this subsidy solidifies Arbitrum's position as the primary blockchain infrastructure provider for Lotte's metaverse gaming platform, Caliverse.

ChainCatcher news, according to Ledger Insights, Germany's DekaBank has obtained a cryptocurrency custody license from the country's regulatory authority BaFin and the European Central Bank (ECB). Commerzbank was the first German bank to receive a license last year, while other major banks, including DZ Bank, have yet to obtain one.BaFin has issued an additional 11 cryptocurrency custody licenses, primarily targeting cryptocurrency companies. One of these is the digital asset custody subsidiary of Hauck Aufhäuser Lampe Privatbank.The difference between DekaBank and Commerzbank in relation to cryptocurrency companies is that the former is licensed under the Banking Act (KWG). This is the second new license DekaBank has obtained this year. In July, the company received a license as a crypto securities registrar for issuing digital securities based on DLT in Germany. These crypto securities can be issued without the need for a central securities depository (CSD).

ChainCatcher message, according to the official announcement, the Eigen Foundation has granted 1 million EIGEN tokens to AltLayer. AltLayer stated that the tokens will be directly used to give back to the community, with the first batch of 500,000 EIGEN tokens starting to be distributed to reALT holders and stakers this week.The remaining 500,000 EIGEN tokens will be distributed when the V2 reward mechanism of Eigen Layer goes live on its mainnet in 2025.

ChainCatcher news, Hong Kong virtual asset exchange EX.IO (Thousand Whales Technology (BVI) Limited) has obtained approval from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) to operate a virtual asset trading platform under Type 1 (Securities Trading), Type 7 (Providing Automated Trading Services) licenses, and in accordance with the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance (AMLO).

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, the Bitcoin Lightning Network payment platform ZBD (formerly Zebedee) announced that it has received approval from the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) and will be granted a license when the MiCA regulation officially comes into effect on December 30.This license will allow ZBD to provide cryptocurrency custody and trading services throughout the European Union. ZBD submitted its application in April this year and is one of the first companies to be approved.Currently, countries like the Netherlands are prepared for the implementation of MiCA, while other EU member states are still advancing related legislative work. The list of approved companies will be published on the AFM's official website after MiCA comes into effect.

ChainCatcher news, L1 blockchain XION announced a grant program called "Anti-Grant-Grant Program" in collaboration with Thrive Protocol, with a scale of up to $12.6 million. This program aims to change the donation and grant model in the traditional blockchain industry. Unlike traditional funding models, it is reported that this program adopts accountability to deter projects that receive funding but fail to achieve their construction goals.

ChainCatcher news, according to News.bitcoin, the South African financial regulator------Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has issued a total of 248 crypto asset service provider (CASP) licenses from 420 applications received. According to local reports, 56 applications are still under review, while 9 applications have been rejected, and 106 entities withdrew their applications after the FSCA expressed concerns about their business models.

ChainCatcher news, according to a report by the Hong Kong Economic Journal, the Executive Director of the Hong Kong International New Economy Research Institute, Fu Rao, published an analysis stating that U.S. President-elect Trump plans to reshape the regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies, granting the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) greater regulatory power. This change aims to cover the $3 trillion digital asset market while weakening the jurisdiction of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This move is seen as a significant policy turning point in the cryptocurrency sector and could have far-reaching effects on the global crypto market.U.S. cryptocurrency regulation has long faced issues of unclear responsibilities. Under the existing framework, the SEC and CFTC enforce regulations on the crypto industry through separate enforcement actions. However, due to a lack of clear legal basis, there has been ongoing controversy over the scope of authority between the two agencies. In contrast, the CFTC is known for its more lenient approach to cryptocurrency regulation and is viewed as a more friendly regulator by the industry.The CFTC primarily regulates the derivatives market, including futures and options trading, while its authority over the spot market is limited. The Trump administration intends to expand the CFTC's responsibilities, allowing it to comprehensively regulate the spot market for digital commodities, including Bitcoin and Ethereum. This move not only helps enhance market transparency but also provides a clearer legal framework for the development of the digital asset industry.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, the Oasis Foundation has committed to invest $5 million so that the real-world asset startup Midas can launch its yield-bearing tokenized treasury fund on Oasis's Sapphire network.This collaboration will expand the privacy options for mTBILL, which is the first compliant tokenized treasury fund aimed at non-qualified investors.