ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi reports, former chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, Xiao Gang, stated on December 22 at the "AI + Finance" summit of the National Wealth Development Research Cooperation Platform that artificial intelligence is a "double-edged sword." On one hand, it leads a new round of technological and industrial revolutions, profoundly changing social production and life, as well as fundamentally altering the landscape and models of the financial industry. On the other hand, it also brings various risks and challenges.From the perspective of intelligent finance, Xiao Gang believes that artificial intelligence greatly enhances the ability of financial institutions to identify, warn, and control risks, but it does not disperse or eliminate financial risks. Therefore, the essence of intelligent finance is still finance, and it must adhere to the basic laws of finance. To strengthen the governance of financial AI algorithms and models, Xiao Gang suggests establishing a governance framework for algorithm models, where laws and regulations form the top level, and this framework also includes objectives, organization, tasks, and ecology.

ChainCatcher news, according to Ledger Insights, the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) opened the Digital Securities Sandbox (DSS) for applications at the end of September, relaxing certain rules for DLT market infrastructure. The two entities that have been announced to receive preliminary approval are (expected) Central Securities Depository (CSD) Montis (owned by Archax) and ClearToken, which plans to operate as a central clearinghouse for crypto and tokenized assets. ClearToken has received support from companies such as Nomura Securities' Laser Digital and Standard Chartered's Zodia Custody.Similar to the EU's DLT pilot regime, the DSS program aims to relax the requirement that exchanges and central securities depositories must always be separate (which can sometimes be impractical for DLT).

ChainCatcher news, Luxembourg has passed the "Blockchain Law 4," aimed at making the adoption of DLT for securities easier. This is the country's fourth blockchain law.According to the current DLT securities law, Luxembourg adopts a two-tier concept, including a central account manager, similar to a Central Securities Depository (CSD), but less cumbersome. The second tier involves account managers, i.e., custodians.EU credit institutions or investment firms or Central Securities Depositories (CSD) can act as control agents. There is no need to obtain a license in Luxembourg, but the regulatory authority (CSSF) must be notified several months in advance.

ChainCatcher news, the team behind the memecoin HAWK related to Haliey Welch or "Hawk Tuah Girl" has been sued by investors for allegedly violating securities laws.The lawsuit filed in a New York federal court claims that HAWK's actions resemble unregistered securities, attracting first-time cryptocurrency investors who subsequently suffered "huge losses" after the token's decline. Twelve plaintiffs who invested in HAWK collectively incurred financial losses of $151,000 and are suing for a jury trial.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission has updated its crypto regulations, adding requirements for virtual asset service providers (VASP) and social media influencers regarding crypto-related marketing promotions.In the revised digital asset rules, the regulator stated that VASPs promoting their crypto products in collaboration with third-party service providers must "obtain prior approval from the commission." The rules also require VASPs to ensure that third-party providers comply with the marketing rules set by the SEC. These rules apply to any VASP providing services to residents of the country and are set to take effect on June 30, 2025.

ChainCatcher news, CITIC Securities stated that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by 25bps at the December 2024 meeting, which aligns with market expectations. The latest dot plot indicates that the target interest rate for next year is centered at 3.9%, higher than the 3.4% shown in the September 2024 meeting, while also raising the inflation and economic growth forecasts for next year and lowering the unemployment rate forecast.Powell's remarks did not provide clear guidance on the "magnitude and timing" of future rate cuts, but he expressed strong confidence in economic growth. From the SEP and Powell's statements, it is evident that the Federal Reserve has significant concerns about inflation next year. This meeting was much more hawkish than the market generally expected, but it aligns with our view that the Federal Reserve will cut rates twice in 2025. We maintain this view and expect that the Federal Reserve will likely pause rate cuts at the next meeting to observe, or may need to wait until the March meeting to provide clearer guidance. Volatility in the U.S. stock market is expected to increase. (Jin Shi)

ChainCatcher news, Grayscale has announced that its Grayscale Bittensor Trust is now open to accredited investors, allowing investment in TAO in the form of securities.

ChainCatcher news, MicroStrategy co-founder and chairman Michael Saylor stated that once the current fundraising plan is exhausted, the company will shift from a leveraged Bitcoin proxy plan to a more focused approach on fixed-income securities to raise funds for purchasing cryptocurrencies.When asked how he expects to fund future cryptocurrency purchases, Saylor expressed this preference during an interview. So far, MicroStrategy has utilized a combination of new stock and convertible bond sales to fund purchases, the latter of which has provided returns to shareholders as its stock price has risen to levels that can be converted into shares.Saylor said, "We have $7.2 billion in convertible bonds, but $4 billion of that is essentially equity, trading through exercise prices and call prices, with a delta of about 100%, looking like equity. We want to go back and build smarter leverage to benefit our common stock shareholders."He indicated that the company uses regulated exchanges like Coinbase to purchase Bitcoin. MicroStrategy's stock price has risen about 500% this year, far exceeding Bitcoin's approximately 150% increase.Hedge funds have been looking for its fixed-income securities to implement convertible arbitrage strategies, buying bonds and shorting stocks, essentially betting on the volatility of the underlying stock. This demand has driven MicroStrategy to issue $6.2 billion in convertible bonds this year.

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 the official announcement, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission has announced the issuance of licenses to four virtual asset trading platforms under the fast-track licensing procedure, including Cloud Account Greater Bay Area Technology (Hong Kong), DFX Labs, Hong Kong Digital Asset Trading Group, and Thousand Whales Technology.These platforms must complete rectifications and pass independent third-party vulnerability assessments and penetration tests before they can operate within a restricted scope. The Securities and Futures Commission will supervise the second phase of the assessment through a tripartite agreement, and business restrictions will be lifted upon completion of the assessment. The Commission plans to release more licensing procedure guidelines in early 2025 to promote the development of Hong Kong's virtual asset ecosystem.

ChainCatcher news, according to an announcement from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, Cool River Venture HK Limited, founded by ByteDance co-founder Zhang Yiming, has been granted a Type 9 license (asset management license) to conduct asset management business in Hong Kong.Additionally, according to the official website of the Companies Registry of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government, Cool River Venture HK Limited was registered on May 22, 2023.Reports indicate that Cool River Venture is a private limited company, with Zhang Yiming as the sole director and Galaxy LLC as the sole shareholder, registered in the Cayman Islands.

ChainCatcher news, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has sued cryptocurrency company Binance Australia, accusing it of failing to effectively protect consumer rights.ASIC stated that Binance Australia had offered cryptocurrency derivative products to 505 Australian retail investors, but these investors were incorrectly classified as wholesale clients.

ChainCatcher news, according to axios, the crypto securities platform Prometheum has completed a $20 million financing round, with funds coming from a group of undisclosed individuals and institutions, bringing Prometheum's total fundraising to approximately $64.3 million. Prometheum has two subsidiaries. One is an alternative trading system expected to launch in the first quarter of 2025. The other is a custodian currently serving institutional investors, focusing on a few well-known crypto assets. This funding will be used to add more crypto assets and launch upcoming security tokens.According to the Web3 asset data platform RootData, Prometheum is a blockchain-focused company dedicated to building an end-to-end ecosystem for the trading, custody, and settlement of digital asset securities.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) released its final guidance on Tuesday to assist member states in implementing the upcoming regulations. ESMA published the final report on reverse solicitation, systems, the potential classification of cryptocurrencies as financial instruments, and technical standards for preventing market abuse.The EU's dedicated regulation for the cryptocurrency industry, the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, is set to come into effect on December 30 across 27 member states. However, some countries have yet to develop legislation to implement MiCA. The Bank of Portugal stated on Monday that, as the legislation has not yet been passed, it is currently unclear which national authority will be responsible for these rules. Industry associations noted that part of the delay in national authorities is due to the short time gap between ESMA's release of the final technical standards in October and the implementation date.ESMA Chair Verena Ross stated, "Looking ahead, as the transition period progresses, we will continue to provide guidance and work with all national competent authorities (NCAs) to ensure the smooth implementation of MiCA and support a level playing field through regulatory convergence actions."

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi reports, Nomura Securities' global foreign exchange strategy team stated in a research report that the US dollar may strengthen in 2025. The team indicated that the main themes entering next year include the Federal Reserve potentially having difficulty cutting interest rates due to persistently high core inflation in the United States, as well as the tariff policies of President-elect Trump.The team added that currencies that may perform poorly in the first half of 2025 could include the South Korean won, Thai baht, Singapore dollar, Swiss franc, and Swedish krona, while the Indonesian rupiah, Japanese yen, and Norwegian krone may see slightly better performance.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jin Shi reports, market news says: The Korea Securities Futures Exchange has established a committee to manage market volatility.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi reports, Tianfeng Securities released a research report indicating that the market has strong expectations for interest rate cuts. At the beginning of the week, after the release of the U.S. non-farm employment data for November, the market's expectation for a 25 basis point rate cut by the Federal Reserve in December rose to 86%, further increasing the expectations for rate cuts within the year.Subsequently, the U.S. CPI data for November met market expectations, bringing the market's anticipation for a rate cut by the Federal Reserve in December close to 100%. At the same time, the market also increased its bets on a rate cut by the Federal Reserve in January next year.

ChainCatcher news, according to Shanghai Securities Journal, Huabao Overseas Technology Stock Securities Investment Fund (QDII-LOF) has announced the suspension of subscription and regular investment business, and the date for resuming the subscription and regular investment business of this fund will be announced separately.Previously, according to community user feedback, the homepage of Alipay users in mainland China displayed advertisements for cryptocurrency fund products, which has been verified as the Huabao Overseas Technology C (QDII-FOF-LOF) fund. This fund invests in ETFs under ARK Invest through QDII, indirectly holding Coinbase stocks and the Ark Bitcoin Spot ETF, with a daily purchase limit of 1,000 RMB per person.

ChainCatcher news, according to Decrypt, Rhys Bollen, the head of digital assets at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), made controversial remarks during a liaison meeting on December 12, comparing Bitcoin to cigarettes used as currency in prisons. This statement stems from ASIC's recent release of a regulatory consultation document on non-cash payment instruments (NCP), which may bring cryptocurrencies under regulatory oversight.Industry insiders are concerned that applying financial regulation to tools like non-custodial wallets could stifle innovation and lead to an exodus of businesses. Michaela Juric, the project manager of AUDD, warned that this regulatory approach could force tools like MetaMask to apply for an Australian Financial Services License (AFSL).

ChainCatcher news, CITIC Securities pointed out that in November 2024, the number of new non-farm jobs in the United States slightly exceeded expectations, with healthcare services, leisure and hospitality, and government sectors being the main contributors, while retail was the main drag. After the impact of hurricanes and strike events dissipated, the non-farm employment data for November rebounded as expected. The unemployment rate has risen slightly, indicating a moderate weakening in the U.S. job market, but wage growth remains robust and there has been no significant layoffs by companies, keeping the overall job market healthy.After the release of the non-farm data, the market raised its expectations for the Federal Reserve's interest rate cuts. We believe that the market's expectations for a "soft landing" of the U.S. economy will last at least until next year before Trump's inauguration, and we maintain our previous judgment that the Federal Reserve will cut rates by 25bps at the December meeting. (Jin Shi)