ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, stablecoin startup Atticus is conducting a new round of financing, with a valuation expected to reach between $1.5 billion and $2 billion. This round of financing is led by Anduril co-founder and CEO Palmer Luckey, with existing investor Haun Ventures participating.Atticus was co-founded by Owen Rapaport, founder of compliance technology company Aer Compliance, and Jacob Hirschman, a former advisor at Circle. If the financing is completed, the company may become the first unicorn in the stablecoin sector in 2025. Currently, the monthly trading volume of stablecoins on the Ethereum chain has exceeded $1 trillion for four consecutive months.

According to ChainCatcher, as reported by CryptoSlate, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) crypto working group met last week with Nasdaq, Plume Network, and Etherealize, focusing on the regulatory framework for public chain security tokenization.The three parties proposed the establishment of a "regulatory sandbox" pilot: Nasdaq suggested creating a new trading venue called "ATS-Digital" to support the simultaneous listing of digital asset contracts and commodity tokens; Plume Network (based on Arbitrum) advocated for adapting decentralized finance terms to securities law; Etherealize called for the revision of transfer agent rules to recognize the legitimacy of blockchain as a shareholder registration system. Industry representatives demanded clear asset classification, the adoption of modular rules, and phased testing, but did not question the SEC's investor protection principles. The working group will evaluate the sandbox model, dedicated trading venues, and rule update proposals.Previously, SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda expressed support for the regulatory sandbox mechanism.

ChainCatcher news, according to Crowdfund Insider, African digital lending startup Carrot has announced the completion of a $4.2 million seed funding round, led by MaC Venture Capital, with participation from Partech Africa and Authentic Ventures.Carrot allows users to obtain credit by using stocks, fixed income products, cryptocurrencies, and other alternative investment products as collateral. The platform aims to address the limited traditional credit scoring infrastructure in the African market, providing reliable and affordable credit channels for individuals and small businesses.Since its launch, Carrot has disbursed over $2 million in credit, serving more than 10,000 users. This funding round will be used to expand the team, scale business operations, and accelerate product development, including investments in artificial intelligence to enhance its credit scoring, risk management, and fraud prevention systems.Carrot founder and CEO Bolu Aiki-Raji stated that the company plans to expand its services to other African countries by the end of 2025.

ChainCatcher news, according to a press release, venture capital firm A100x announced the launch of its second fund to support AI, digital assets, and blockchain startups, with a scale of $50 million.The first phase of the fund will start operating in mid-2024 and has already made 15 rounds of investments. A100x's current portfolio in the blockchain and artificial intelligence sectors includes: Web3 solution Blockdaemon, mining cloud service Coreweave, on-chain analytics platform Nansen, blockchain game developer Mythical Games, and tokenization company Securitize, among others.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cryptoslate, Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal recently revealed that scammers are using AI technology to forge videos of his likeness to defraud startups in the crypto industry.The scammers first hacked the Telegram account of Polygon Ventures head Shreyansh Singh, and then contacted startups within the ecosystem, luring victims into Zoom meetings under the pretense of investment discussions. During the meetings, the scammers used AI-generated images of Nailwal, Singh, and fictitious team members (without audio interaction) to deceive attendees into installing malicious software development kits.Nailwal stated that several entrepreneurs have reached out to him to verify the authenticity of the meetings. Nailwal advised community members not to install unfamiliar software during unsolicited interactions, and he emphasized the importance of operational protocols, urging crypto users to separate wallet signing activities from everyday device usage.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, 10T Holdings CEO Dan Tapiero stated at the Consensus conference that there is a widespread issue of overvaluation among current cryptocurrency startups, with many companies seeking funding at valuations 50-80 times their revenue, far exceeding reasonable limits. The firm has thus rejected over 200 projects, including well-known companies like the bankrupt FTX, BlockFi, and Celsius. Tapiero indicated that they prefer to invest in projects with valuations between $400 million and $500 million, with a valuation-to-revenue ratio not exceeding 10 times.Market data shows that despite concerns about valuation bubbles, the total amount of venture capital transactions in the cryptocurrency sector reached $6 billion in the first quarter of 2025, a more than 100% increase quarter-over-quarter. Pantera Capital CEO Dan Morehead shared his investment strategy at the conference, noting that 86% of their investment projects have achieved positive returns, with 22 becoming unicorn companies. Morehead suggested adopting a diversified strategy of equity and token combination investments to mitigate market volatility risks.Industry analysts pointed out that the current cryptocurrency financing market shows a clear trend of differentiation: on one hand, overvalued projects face difficulties in securing funding, while on the other hand, high-quality projects continue to attract capital. This pattern reflects investors' increasingly rational judgments regarding project quality and valuation.

ChainCatcher news, AI infrastructure Mira Network has been selected as one of CB Insights' 2025 Global Top 100 Emerging AI Startups. Mira offers blockchain-based AI problem-solving solutions, using decentralized technology to address key challenges faced by AI applications outside the Web3 ecosystem.CB Insights is the gold standard for technology market research, trusted by Fortune 500 companies and top investors worldwide.

ChainCatcher news, according to official sources, YZi Labs has officially launched a 10-week in-person global incubation program called EASY Residence, focusing on the fields of Web3, AI, and healthcare, aimed at clearing distractions for the top 1% of founders who have the courage to tackle challenges and providing a focused entrepreneurial environment.The program will kick off on June 2, 2025, in Silicon Valley, California, and will conclude on August 10, culminating in a Demo Day where 10-20 selected teams will showcase their product results to well-known industry venture capitalists for potential investment opportunities. During the program, teams will receive comprehensive support including accommodation and meals, and will have deep access to a network of world-class mentors, builders, and investors. The mentor lineup is impressive, featuring industry leaders such as Binance co-founder CZ and Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, who will provide long-term guidance and support to entrepreneurs.Applications are currently open and will close on May 21 at 23:59 (GMT-7).

ChainCatcher news, according to FinanceFeeds, the UK online trading company CMC Markets has increased its stake in the blockchain startup StrikeX Technologies from 33% to 51%, thereby gaining majority control over the company and its technology roadmap.CMC first acquired a 33% stake in StrikeX in 2023, describing it as a strategic investment in tokenized finance and self-custody technology. Now, with the majority stake, StrikeX officially becomes a subsidiary of the CMC Markets group, enabling it to launch products faster, obtain regulatory approvals, and achieve global expansion.

According to ChainCatcher news, the Hong Kong Commercial Daily reported that Meitu founder Cai Wensheng purchased the entire building in Tin Hau for approximately HKD 650 million. The transaction involves the property "PARK AURA," a commercial building located on Tin Hau Road. This property was completed in 2020, has 25 floors (from basement to 24th floor), with a floor area of about 2,041 square feet and a total floor area of approximately 53,000 square feet.Cai Wensheng stated on social media that he plans to transform the building into an AI-Web3 entrepreneurship center: the 1st and 2nd floors will feature an AI-themed café (similar to a garage café model), along with a space for AI technology lectures. Some floors will be designated as AI-Space shared office areas, available for free to Hong Kong entrepreneurs to apply for use. The remaining floors are planned to be studios in the fields of AI and Web3.

According to Chain Catcher news and reported by The Block, Re7 Capital has announced the establishment of a $10 million SocialFi dedicated fund, aimed at investing in about 30 early-stage projects. Although the current development in this field is slow, Re7 partner Luc de Leyritz stated that "the time is ripe," as infrastructure, talent, and user behavior have reached resonance.The fund will invest in the form of initial checks ranging from $100,000 to $300,000, focusing on supporting emerging SocialFi platforms in ecosystems such as Lens Chain and Farcaster. The first round of funding has completed 60% subscription.

ChainCatcher news, according to Fortune, stablecoin startup Zar announced the completion of a $7 million funding round, led by a16z, Dragonfly Capital, and VanEck Ventures.The project aims to launch a stablecoin ZAR pegged to the South African Rand, focusing on digital payments and cross-border transactions in the African market. ZAR plans to ensure compliance and stability by collaborating with local financial institutions and promote the widespread adoption of stablecoins in the African region.

ChainCatcher news, Web3 startup Terminal 3 announced the completion of an $8 million seed round financing, led jointly by Illuminate Financial and CMCC Titan Fund, with participation from Animoca Brands, Progression Fund, IDG Blockchain, Cherubic Ventures, 500 Global, Consensys Mesh, Hard Yaka, and BlackPine. The new funds will be used to build decentralized identity and credential data infrastructure, as well as to develop a brand new data privacy and security protocol to be released later this year.

ChainCatcher news, according to Fortune, the crypto startup Camp Network announced the completion of a $25 million Series A funding round, led jointly by venture capital firms 1kx and Blockchain Capital, with participation from OKX, Lattice, and Paper Ventures. Camp Network is building a blockchain platform to help content creators store and license their intellectual property, addressing the issue of AI models misusing copyrighted content.This round of financing is in the form of equity financing and includes a token warrant, which is a commitment to issue cryptocurrency at a future date. According to Nirav Murthy, co-founder and co-CEO of Camp Network, this round of financing could value the startup's token at up to $400 million.

ChainCatcher news, according to Fortune, decentralized AI startup Nous Research has completed a $50 million Series A funding round, led by Paradigm, which values Nous Research at $1 billion.Nous Research plans to launch a decentralized training system on the Solana blockchain, utilizing blockchain technology for distributed AI model training. The company previously raised approximately $20 million in seed funding from institutions such as Distributed Global, North Island Ventures, and Delphi Digital.Karan Malhotra, co-founder of Nous Research, stated that the company uses blockchain technology mainly for coordination and incentive mechanisms, allowing users to contribute idle computing power to participate in AI model training. The system will initially allow users with data center access to participate, and the company is currently considering whether to issue a native token as a reward.

ChainCatcher news, reported by Chainwire, the Web3 infrastructure startup Catalysis announced the completion of a $1.25 million Pre-Seed funding round, led by Hashed Emergent, with participation from Presto Labs, Spaceship DAO, Funfair Ventures, Cosmostation, and Crypto Times.It is reported that the funds will be used to develop the first "security abstraction layer" specifically designed for re-staking protocols, to unify the economic security of multiple re-staking protocols and simplify the process for developers and node operators to deploy shared security services. The platform has integrated with re-staking protocols such as EigenLayer, Symbiotic, and Kernel DAO, and plans to launch a public testnet in the second quarter of 2025.

ChainCatcher news, Questflow Labs has officially become a member of Google for Startups, receiving recognition and support from Google and Google Cloud, along with funding and resources.The collaboration between Questflow and Google will continue to focus on driving AI innovation, leveraging Google Gemini, Google Cloud AI toolkit, and the latest Agent2Agent protocol to further accelerate the implementation of AI solutions. In the future, Questflow plans to deeply integrate with the Google ecosystem, including Google Ads, Workspace, Cloud, Gemini AI, and Vertex AI, to achieve synergies and redefine the boundaries of AI capabilities.In addition, Questflow will also be committed to bridging AI × Web3 and Web2 × Web3, utilizing Google's powerful infrastructure to build an AI Agent economy for everyone. Supporting fiat, stablecoin, and cryptocurrency payments, ushering in a seamless intelligent new era.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, suitable market makers can act as boosters for crypto projects, helping them to launch on mainstream trading platforms, providing liquidity, and ensuring that tokens are tradable. In the field of market making, a popular yet often misunderstood model is called the "loan option model." In this model, the project lends tokens to market makers, who then use these tokens to provide liquidity, stabilize prices, and assist the project in launching on crypto trading platforms. However, in reality, this model has become a "death sentence" for many new projects.Behind the scenes, some market makers are profiting from this token loan structure, which is often packaged as "low risk, high return," but in reality can severely impact token prices, leaving nascent crypto teams in chaos and struggle. Ariel Givner, founder of Givner Law, stated, "The way it works is: market makers borrow tokens from the project at an agreed price, in exchange for their promise to help these tokens launch on major trading platforms. If they fail to fulfill this promise, they must repay the tokens at a higher price within a year."However, what often happens in reality is that market makers sell the borrowed tokens, triggering an initial price crash. After the token price has been driven down, they then buy back the tokens at a lower price, profiting from the difference.