ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, a report on crypto crime by Chainalysis for 2025 indicates that ransomware payments are expected to decrease by 35% year-on-year in 2024, dropping from $1.25 billion in 2023 to $813 million.The report shows that in the first half of the year, ransomware amounts exceeded those of the same period in 2023, with the Dark Angels organization demanding as much as $75 million in a single ransom. However, ransomware payments saw a significant decline in the second half of the year, leading to an overall decrease for the year.

ChainCatcher news, according to DL News, in January 2025, investment institutions including Sequoia Capital, Paradigm, and Andreessen Horowitz have invested nearly $1.2 billion in 79 projects in the cryptocurrency and blockchain sector, a 63% increase compared to January 2024.PitchBook analysts predict that venture capital firms will invest about $18 billion in the crypto industry this year, up from the average of $9.9 billion in 2023 and 2024. Analysts believe that Trump's support for cryptocurrency is a key driving factor.

ChainCatcher news, as of January, the venture capital funding received in the crypto space has reached $1.14 billion, representing a potential 100% increase compared to January 2024 ($653.3 million).For cryptocurrencies and small projects, the metrics for small to medium financing are more important, as they indicate the level of confidence and enthusiasm for startups. The current level of funding has returned to "normal" levels, with funding rounds ranging from $1.5 million, and multiple projects raising between $10 million and $25 million.According to statistics, the funding amount in the crypto space for 2024 is estimated to be between $11.5 billion and $13.6 billion. Optimistic forecasts suggest that venture capital funding in the coming year could reach as high as $18 billion.

ChainCatcher news, the latest report released by Tiger Research points out that despite South Korea's leading global position in cryptocurrency trading volume, the development of the country's Web3 industry is hindered by unclear regulations and a lack of specific guidance, resulting in accelerated outflow of capital, talent, and enterprises. The report mentions that in 2024, the transfer of South Korean crypto assets to overseas exchanges and DeFi platforms is expected to increase by 2.3 times year-on-year, primarily influenced by service interruptions at local exchanges and the attraction of external investment opportunities. Additionally, South Korean Web3 companies such as Nexpace, Klaytn, and Wemix have relocated their headquarters to regulatory-friendly countries like the UAE.The report also highlights that the outflow of talent has exacerbated the decline in the technological competitiveness of South Korea's Web3 ecosystem, while countries like the United States and the UAE have attracted high-end technical talent through clear policies. If South Korea wants to maintain its competitiveness in the global Web3 industry transformation by 2025, it urgently needs to promote regulatory reforms, allow corporate accounts to engage in crypto trading, and formulate policies related to stablecoins and DeFi to build a sustainable innovation ecosystem.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi reports, the U.S. December seasonally adjusted CPI annual rate rose to 2.9%, marking a rebound for the third consecutive month, reaching a new high since July 2024, in line with market expectations, with the previous value at 2.7%.

ChainCatcher News: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the December CPI year-on-year data tonight at 21:30 (UTC+8). The market expectation is 2.9%, a slight increase from the previous value of 2.7%.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi reports, the U.S. December PPI year-on-year recorded at 3.3%, setting a new high since February 2023. The U.S. December PPI month-on-month recorded at 0.2%, the lowest since September 2024.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bitcoin.com, the globally renowned banking group Santander has highlighted the significant growth of El Salvador's tourism industry in a report, which is closely related to the country's acceptance of Bitcoin.The report details the process of El Salvador adopting BTC as legal tender in 2021 and how it has transformed the country into a unique destination for travelers, especially cryptocurrency enthusiasts.According to Salvadoran authorities, the country welcomed 3.9 million tourists in 2024, a 22% increase from the previous year. The influx of tourists is primarily driven by American visitors, many of whom are attracted by the novelty of experiencing Bitcoin transactions in their daily lives.Santander's analysis links this growth to improvements in safety, noting that the number of homicides in the country has dropped to just 114 in 2024, a significant decrease from the peak of 6,656 in 2015. The combination of declining crime rates and curiosity about Bitcoin has helped El Salvador stand out in the global tourism market.

ChainCatcher news, Bitwise Research Director Ryan Rasmussen stated that over the past year, the number of Bitcoins held by enterprises increased from 262,635 in the fourth quarter of 2023 to 590,649 in the fourth quarter of 2024, a growth of 63%.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, NFTs ended the year with strong momentum, surpassing the sales record for digital collectibles in 2023 by more than $100 million. On December 31, the NFT data tracking platform CryptoSlam showed that blockchain-based digital collectible sales reached $8.83 billion in 2024. This record is over $100 million higher than the NFT sales in 2023, which were approximately $8.7 billion. This marks a year-on-year growth of 1.1% in NFT sales.Ethereum remains the highest-selling blockchain in NFT history, reaching $44.9 billion. Solana follows closely with sales of $6.1 billion, while total sales of Bitcoin-based NFTs amount to $4.9 billion.In December, NFT sales were $877 million, making it the fifth-best performing month of 2024. The sales growth in December was attributed to an increase in Ethereum series NFT sales, with monthly NFT sales on that blockchain reaching $482 million. Bitcoin-based NFT sales were $172 million, while Solana-based NFTs had sales of $100 million in December.Despite the increase in NFT sales, this year's figures are still far below the sales from 2021 to 2022. In 2021, NFTs ended the year with sales of $15.7 billion, which is 43.9% higher than the record in 2024. In 2022, NFT sales were $23.7 billion, which is 62.8% higher than this year's record.

ChainCatcher news, according to Lookonchain monitoring, in the past month, the TRON Network's revenue was $329 million, a month-on-month increase of 39.74%. In 2024, the total revenue of the Tron Network reached $2.12 billion, a year-on-year growth of 115.73%.

ChainCatcher news, OKX CEO Star published an end-of-year letter titled "To another year of building," stating that 2024 welcomes millions of new users and the launch of approximately 200 new features, along with over 800 upgrades for centralized exchanges, wallets, and decentralized services.OKX app downloads increased by 122% year-on-year, DEX daily trading volume grew 20 times, and the global OKX wallet grew by 991% (as of December 5). Seven onshore operations were launched in Brazil, Singapore, the UAE, Turkey, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Australia, adding over 300 compliance team members.

ChainCatcher news, according to the budget document released by the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Kyrgyzstan on December 25, this year the cryptocurrency mining tax contributed over 46.6 million Kyrgyz soms to the country's economy, approximately 535,000 USD.However, this is a decrease of more than 50% compared to the cryptocurrency mining tax collected in 2023, which was 93.7 million soms, worth slightly over 1 million USD.The cryptocurrency mining tax rate in Kyrgyzstan is 10% of the electricity costs used by the country's cryptocurrency miners, including value-added tax and sales tax. Due to the country's abundant untapped renewable energy, it is considered very suitable for conducting cryptocurrency mining operations.

ChainCatcher news, PancakeSwap stated in a report summarizing the year-on-year performance of DEX platforms that its global trading volume reached $31.06 billion in 2024.The protocol achieved this milestone across nine blockchains, representing a year-on-year growth of 179%. PancakeSwap's total trading volume in 2023 was $11.13 billion. According to PancakeSwap, the significant growth in its 12-month trading volume was primarily driven by L2 networks Arbitrum and Base.Meanwhile, PancakeSwap set a record for the highest single-day trading volume of $3.47 billion on December 16, 2024.Finally, PancakeSwap burned 455.5 million CAKE in 2024, with a net burn of 5.3 million CAKE, permanently removing 1.37% of the total CAKE supply.

ChainCatcher news, Coinbase disclosed that law enforcement requests have decreased by 18% year-over-year. In its transparency report, Coinbase revealed that over the past year, the company received 10,707 requests from law enforcement and government agencies worldwide, a decrease of 18% compared to the previous reporting period.The United States submitted the most law enforcement and government requests for the third consecutive year. Outside the U.S., Coinbase also saw a significant decline in law enforcement requests in key markets. Requests from Germany, the UK, and Spain decreased by 33%, 45%, and 35%, respectively.In contrast, the number of requests from Singapore saw a substantial increase, with a growth rate of 221%, rising from 34 in 2023 to 109 this year. This indicates that regulatory activity in the region is on the rise.

ChainCatcher news, Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan published a new issue of "Secretary's Essay," in which he pointed out that the number of licensed asset management companies in Hong Kong increased by 24% year-on-year last quarter, and the number of open-ended fund companies also surged by over 132% year-on-year.According to the latest data, the number of startups in Hong Kong has reached a new high, with the proportion of startups founded by non-local entrepreneurs rising to 28%.In addition, Paul Chan also announced that the public consultation for the new fiscal year's "Budget" officially begins today.

ChainCatcher news, CoinShares' latest research report shows that the average cash mining cost of publicly listed mining companies for Bitcoin in the third quarter rose to $55,950, an increase of 13% from $49,500 in the second quarter. When accounting for non-cash costs such as depreciation and stock-based compensation, the average mining cost will reach $106,000.The report points out that the rise in mining costs is mainly influenced by three factors: the AI boom has diverted expansion funds from mining companies; some mining companies are focusing on a holding strategy (HODL) rather than expanding their operations; and the summer electricity costs in Texas have impacted mining production.In terms of specific mining company performance, Marathon has become the mining company with the lowest cash costs, mainly benefiting from increased Bitcoin production and tax incentives; TeraWulf saw a significant decrease in debt expenses by 92%, reducing costs by 20%, ranking third; Riot, despite improving operational efficiency, has dropped to seventh place.Looking ahead to 2025, the report predicts that AI business may bring new opportunities for mining companies like TeraWulf and Cipher; machine costs may increase with the rise in Bitcoin prices; and some mining companies may face financial pressure, suggesting a focus on risks.

ChainCatcher news, the CEO of the online brokerage eToro for cryptocurrency and stock trading, Yoni Assia, stated on Tuesday that the cryptocurrency trading volume on the eToro platform surged over 500% in November compared to the same period in 2023, reflecting the bullish sentiment among retail investors. Assia mentioned in an interview during Abu Dhabi Finance Week: "Whenever we see historical highs, we notice a significant increase in customer engagement."In September of this year, the company reached a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for $1.5 million. Assia stated that this settlement does not hinder the company from relisting assets in the U.S. again—especially if the incoming Trump administration relaxes cryptocurrency enforcement, which is widely anticipated.

ChainCatcher news, Messari released an analysis of the Aptos financial ecosystem, with the following key points:In November, Aptos TVL exceeded $1 billion for the first time, a year-on-year increase of 19 times;BlackRock expanded its BUIDL to Aptos and four other chains in November;In October, the largest stablecoin by market capitalization, USDT, launched its native token contract on Aptos. Similarly, the second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization, USDC, also launched its native token contract on Aptos in November;Other innovative financial platforms are building on Aptos. For example, the real estate tokenization market Propbase sold out its first batch of products in July, while the Echo Protocol, which brings Bitcoin liquidity to Aptos, launched in August;Daily DEX trading volume on Aptos grew 2,700% (28 times) from last year's $750,000 to $21.5 million.

ChainCatcher news reports that financial documents show Telegram's revenue reached $525 million in the first half of this year, a 190% increase compared to the same period in 2023. Of this, $225 million came from a one-time Toncoin advertising transaction. Telegram's digital asset value significantly increased in the first half of 2024, rising from nearly $400 million at the end of last year to $1.3 billion.According to the documents, nearly half of the revenue ($225 million) came from a one-time transaction with an unnamed institution. Under the terms of the deal, Telegram "was compensated" in exchange for allowing the cryptocurrency Toncoin to be the exclusive payment method for small businesses to purchase ads on the app.The documents indicate that this exclusive agreement was terminated on October 1. Telegram achieved a net profit of $335 million in the first half of this year. Compared to the full-year revenue of $342 million and a loss of $173 million in 2023, these figures suggest that Telegram was on track for its first annual profit before Durov's detention.