profound

According to Bloomberg, AI marketing startup Profound has completed a $180 million Series D funding round, with a post-money valuation of $1.8 billion. This round was led by Sequoia Capital and Kleiner Perkins.Profound was founded in 2024, has raised over $335 million in total funding, and is headquartered in New York. It primarily helps brands adapt to the trend of users initiating searches through AI chatbots like OpenAI ChatGPT and Google Gemini instead of traditional search engines. Its software can track the frequency of brand mentions, the contexts in which they appear, and the ways they are described across various AI models.

According to The Block, Consensys CEO and Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin stated at Consensus 2026 that projects like Strategy, SharpLink, and BitMine, which are part of the Ethereum Digital Asset Treasury (DAT), are positive examples of building "long-term permanent capital" for the Ethereum ecosystem without leverage, and warned that weak assets and copycat DATs could harm the ecosystem.Lubin mentioned that Consensys and he himself have contributed 30,000 ETH to the DeFi United initiative to promote multi-party collaboration in recovering funds after the Kelp DAO vulnerability incident. He also pointed out that Ethereum has embedded a path to quantum safety in its scaling roadmap, while Bitcoin will face more complex property issues in migrating quantum-vulnerable addresses.

Cathie Wood posted on the X platform that, according to ARKInvest's research, the most profound application of AI will be in healthcare. Deregulation is accelerating this transformation in the healthcare sector. The science of assessing drug efficacy has made significant progress, with R&D projects collecting evidence from multiple dimensions such as mechanisms of action, biomarker effects, and intermediate endpoints. This verifiable evidence, ranging from mechanistic data to real-world evidence, can replace the second pivotal trial.Historically, there has been considerable regulatory flexibility in the fields of rare diseases and oncology. It is expected that the change from two trials to one will have the greatest impact in common disease areas such as cardiovascular and respiratory conditions, with each project potentially saving up to $350 million in costs and shortening the R&D cycle by several years.

ChainCatcher message, an article published in the China Economic Times titled "The Challenges and Impacts of Cryptocurrency on Global Financial Governance," points out that the challenges and impacts of cryptocurrency on global financial governance are far more than just technical or speculative issues; they are related to sovereign credit, the future form of the monetary system, and profound changes in global governance models.We should promote the establishment of an inclusive, coordinated, and executable global digital currency governance mechanism: first, we can start from the "intersection of interests" to avoid excessive ideologicalization; second, we should attempt to build a more flexible governance structure to form an international cooperation model of "baseline governance"; third, we can gradually accumulate mutual trust through informal dialogue mechanisms, academic exchanges, and cooperation among think tanks to reduce the difficulty of cooperation.

ChainCatcher news, former Vice President of the Bank of China Wang Yongli published an article titled "The Accelerated Development of Dollar Stablecoins Brings Profound Warnings," in which he pointed out that the United States is legislating to protect and support the mining and trading of crypto assets, even making it a national strategic reserve. It supports the legal operation of dollar stablecoins and actively seizes the high ground in the fields of crypto assets and stablecoins, enhancing the demand for U.S. Treasury bonds and the international influence of the dollar, which has significant and far-reaching strategic implications. China needs to fully recognize and actively respond to this.Fortunately, Hong Kong is actively promoting the development of Web 3.0 along with crypto assets and Hong Kong dollar stablecoins. Companies from the mainland are also actively participating. The regulatory framework for stablecoins in Hong Kong is leading the world and can provide valuable references for the mainland. It requires high attention and in-depth research from the financial sector, academia, as well as judicial and regulatory departments in the mainland. Consideration could be given to launching an offshore RMB stablecoin in Hong Kong, initially used for overseas crypto asset trading payment and settlement, exploring the development of RMB stablecoins and even digital RMB.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, the cryptocurrency research firm CoinShares stated in a blog post on January 10 that establishing a reserve bank in the United States would accelerate the adoption of Bitcoin, even faster than the launch of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in 2024.In 2024, U.S. lawmakers proposed the "Bitcoin Act," which would instruct the U.S. Treasury to purchase 1 million BTC over five years to establish a "strategic Bitcoin reserve." The elected president, Donald Trump, approved the plan, but it has not yet passed into law.CoinShares stated, "We believe that the enactment of the U.S. Bitcoin Act will have a more profound long-term impact on Bitcoin than the launch of ETFs."CoinShares noted that "multiple interactions with institutional clients" indicate that the "credibility" of Bitcoin as an asset class remains the primary obstacle to institutional adoption of BTC.

ChainCatcher news, Bitcoin-listed mining company MARA stated that controlling key resources such as Bitcoin's block space and hash rate (the pillars of the network) could have profound implications for America's financial sovereignty and its ability to maintain global influence in the digital age. It called on the U.S. government to take decisive action to address the challenges posed by Bitcoin and seize opportunities, while implementing the following strategic measures:Create a U.S. Bitcoin Strategic Reserve. The U.S. should acquire Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset. By holding Bitcoin, similar to the U.S. being a major holder of gold, America will ensure its transactional capability when confidence in the dollar weakens globally;Invest in domestic Bitcoin mining. The U.S. should prioritize expanding its domestic Bitcoin mining operations to increase its share of global hash power. By controlling a larger portion of global hash power, the U.S. can ensure secure access to block space and protect its economic sovereignty;Develop mining technology to promote self-sufficiency. Encourage domestic production of mining hardware (ASIC chips) to reduce reliance on foreign suppliers. This will ensure that the U.S. does not depend on critical infrastructure from hostile nations, thereby enhancing technological self-sufficiency and strengthening national security;Implement supportive policy regulations. Establish clear and comprehensive regulations to provide legal clarity for Bitcoin miners and investors. Offering incentives, such as tax breaks for incorporating renewable energy into mining operations, will further stimulate industry growth, technological advancement, and job creation;Lead global Bitcoin standards. The U.S. should take a leadership role in establishing global standards for decentralized networks. By collaborating with allies and ensuring that Bitcoin remains a neutral, open, and secure platform, the U.S. can promote stability in global financial transactions and prevent the centralization of hash power by hostile nations;Protect national security through hash power control. As competition in Bitcoin mining intensifies, controlling a significant amount of domestic hash power will protect the U.S. from foreign interference. Ensuring a strong share of global hash power can prevent hostile nations from censoring or delaying U.S. transactions, which could have serious economic repercussions.

ChainCatcher news, according to a report by The Paper, at the Internet Entrepreneurs Forum during the 2022 World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit, Sohu founder Zhang Chaoyang discussed the metaverse, stating that in the Web 1.0 era, the generation and distribution of internet content was one to many. By the time of Web 2.0, content was generated and consumed by many individuals, emphasizing interaction. Once users establish interactive relationships, it becomes decentralized, and we are now moving towards Web 3.0, culminating in the so-called metaverse.Zhang Chaoyang reminded young people that many concepts can be seductive, and entrepreneurs should adopt a skeptical attitude and view them calmly. Some new concepts may be overhyped, but when viewed over a 10-year scale, the trends are indeed undergoing profound transformation. (The Paper)