ChainCatcher news, according to official news from Towns Protocol, the Web3 social protocol Towns Protocol has completed a $10 million Series B funding round, led by a16zcrypto, with participation from Coinbase Ventures and Benchmark.Earlier news, Towns Protocol developer Here Not There Labs completed a $25.5 million funding round in February 2023, led by a16z.

ChainCatcher news, according to the official news from Towns Protocol, the decentralized communication protocol Towns has announced the completion of a $10 million Series B funding round, led by a16z crypto, with new investment from Coinbase Ventures, and continued participation from Benchmark. Towns is committed to building on-chain communication infrastructure to promote the development of Web3 social and collaboration tools. The project team stated, "The future of communication will move on-chain."

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, Ambient has completed a $7.2 million seed round financing, with participation from a16z's crypto accelerator program, Delphi Digital, and Amber Group.Ambient aims to combine artificial intelligence technology to provide fast, inexpensive, and open smart services. The project employs a proof-of-work mechanism similar to Bitcoin and operates in a manner akin to the Solana network.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, venture capital fund a16z Crypto has appointed its General Counsel Miles Jennings as Head of Policy. Founding General Partner Chris Dixon announced the appointment on Tuesday, noting that the fund's former Head of Policy Brian Quintenz will be leaving to accept Senate confirmation as the next Chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).According to Jennings' LinkedIn profile, he has served as the fund's General Counsel for over three years and was previously a partner at Latham & Watkins law firm. Jennings will take over Quintenz's position, focusing on legislative discussions with the hope of signing stablecoin and market structure legislation into law by the end of this year.

ChainCatcher news, according to official sources, the privacy blockchain project Seismic has announced the completion of a $7 million seed round financing, led by a16z Crypto, with participation from Polychain, 1kx, NGC, and dao5. Specific valuation information has not been disclosed, and the new funds will be used to build a private smart contract platform.According to the Web3 asset data platform RootData, Seismic is an interactive shielding protocol aimed at helping users collaborate in gaming, communication, and social networks. The Seismic protocol serves as a set of sequencers that can be inserted into any chain.

ChainCatcher news, a16z Crypto managing partner and well-known investor Chris Dixon posted on the X platform that Brian Quintenz has been with a16z Crypto for over three years, initially serving as a senior advisor and later as head of policy. His expertise is invaluable to the cryptocurrency industry, and he will be an excellent chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).ChainCatcher previously reported that Brian Quintenz expressed on social media that he is very honored to be nominated by Trump as the next chairman of the U.S. CFTC.

ChainCatcher news, according to FOX Business reporter Eleanor Terrett, two insiders have revealed that Trump has selected a list of candidates for the permanent head of the CFTC, with a16z crypto policy director and former CFTC commissioner Brian Quintenz at the top of the list. The White House has not immediately responded to a request for comment.

ChainCatcher news, open-source economic infrastructure Merit Systems has completed a $10 million seed round financing, led by a16z crypto and Blockchain Capital, with participation from Solana co-founder Toly, Not Boring Capital founder Packy McCormick, Farcaster co-founder Dan Romero, and Framework Ventures co-founder Vance Spencer. The funds raised will be used to accelerate the development of the open-source economy.Merit aims to address the "attribution problem" in software development. Merit is building a protocol to appropriately attribute and reward contributors based on the value they create.

ChainCatcher news, as CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam is about to step down, market observers believe that, given that elected President Trump has consistently supported individuals in the cryptocurrency sector for regulatory positions, he may appoint another candidate who supports cryptocurrency.Meanwhile, reports indicate that CFTC Republican commissioners Summer Mersinger and Caroline Pham are potential candidates for the acting chair position.Another candidate is Brian Quintenz, who previously served as a CFTC commissioner and advocated for innovative approaches during his tenure, including tokenized commodities and decentralized finance, making him a strong contender for the position. Quintenz is currently the policy director at a16z crypto, the digital assets division of a16z.Previous news reported that CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam will resign on January 20, the day of President Trump's inauguration.Behnam expressed concerns that regulation of crypto assets, including Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, remains insufficient, stating: "There is still a significant portion of the crypto asset space that is unregulated within the U.S. regulatory framework. Given the adoption we see from some traditional financial institutions and the huge demand from retail and institutional investors for these products, it is crucial to fill this gap. The CFTC remains well-positioned to become the spot regulator for crypto commodity assets."

ChainCatcher news, a16z crypto managing partner Chris Dixon posted on X: "Artificial intelligence needs blockchain-supported computing, and I am optimistic about the integration of these technologies.Artificial intelligence will end the internet as we know it. Its advancement is inevitable and will primarily bring benefits. However, AI has already disrupted the economic contracts of the internet, with large tech companies most likely to benefit from it. AI-driven deep fakes and bots are also diminishing people's trust in the online world. To address these challenges without slowing down AI innovation, blockchain can:Enforce ownership for users and creatorsVerify identities to isolate bots and impersonatorsEnsure authenticity to prevent tamperingCrypto can carry the torch of an open internet and help maintain its creativity, openness, and diversity."

ChainCatcher news, the decentralized data infrastructure CESS announced its participation in the Blockchain Association 2024 Policy Summit, which will be held from December 16 to 17 at the InterContinental Hotel in Washington, D.C.This year's summit features numerous renowned speakers, including Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN), and former Chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission J. Christopher Giancarlo, as well as industry elites from other fields.It is reported that the event is supported by well-known sponsors including a16z Crypto, Ripple, Filecoin Foundation, Kraken, and Coinbase, demonstrating the active participation of leading blockchain organizations.According to reports, the summit is hosted by the Blockchain Association (BA) and invites many BA members to participate. The mission of BA is to promote the adoption of blockchain technology and facilitate collaboration among policymakers, regulators, and industry leaders to shape a secure, open, and inclusive digital economy.

ChainCatcher news, according to official sources, the decentralized AI agent project Scrypted has announced the completion of a $1.5 million Pre-Seed funding round, led by Palm Tree Crew Crypto, with participation from a16z crypto CSX. The new funds will be used to drive its potential in gaming, social platforms, and finance, and to build tools supporting decentralized vertical industries for autonomous AI agents.At the core of Scrypted is the Inori network, which aims to make AI agents fully autonomous virtual beings (AVB). Thanks to funding from the AWS Activate program, Inori has begun developing a centralized service and resource coordination layer for AI agents, built on Amazon Web Services.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, Forta is a Web3 security company supported by a16z crypto, Coinbase Ventures, and other investors, which has now launched a new product called Firewall to help detect and prevent smart contract vulnerabilities.It is reported that this firewall uses a machine learning and artificial intelligence model named FORTRESS, which analyzes and detects high-risk transactions by examining transaction logs. The business model of the Forta firewall is to charge a fixed monthly fee, although Beal declined to disclose the specific amount. Initial clients include Euler, Plume, and Balmy.

ChainCatcher message, led by AI agent Eliza, co-founder of DAO ai16z Shaw posted on X seeking to contact a16z, to which a16z Crypto CTO Eddy Lazzarin replied: "Check your DM."According to RootData, ai16z has increased by 37.59% in the past 24 hours, with a current market cap of $470 million.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, with Trump's victory and the continued rise of the crypto market, venture capital firm a16z Crypto pointed out in a new post aimed at crypto founders: "The good news is that there is now a path for constructive engagement with regulators and legislators that can bring regulatory clarity, and you should all feel empowered to explore all the groundbreaking products and services supported by blockchain, including tokens." The article expresses optimistic expectations for a relaxation of regulation and governance in the cryptocurrency industry under the new government, although most current speculation about the details of this regime is merely "noise."The post specifically notes that token issuance is an activity that founders can feel more confident about: "For many of you, the fear of overregulation has led to a delay in using tokens to allocate project control and build community; now you should feel more confident about using tokens as legitimate, compliant tools for your projects."While the article is generally optimistic, the author also points out that some actions may still violate regulatory guidelines: "While we may have greater flexibility to experiment, we must not forget that the fundamental regulatory principles applicable to blockchain systems remain unchanged," and suggests that founders "continue to focus on eliminating centralization aspects or reliance on trust in their projects, as these areas will continue to face regulatory scrutiny."

ChainCatcher news, according to a report from The Block, a research report released by a16z crypto on Wednesday pointed out that the number of active cryptocurrency addresses and usage rates reached an all-time high this year. The report estimates that as of September, there are approximately 617 million cryptocurrency holders worldwide, with 60 million monthly active users.In 2024, the number of monthly active cryptocurrency addresses is expected to rise to over 220 million, with Base leading the Ethereum EVM chain, having 22 million addresses, while Solana dominates the non-EVM chain with over 100 million addresses. This year also saw the highest number of mobile wallet users, with the United States accounting for 12% of global users.