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Why has Ripple Labs been in the U.S. SEC’s crosshairs and what’s the difference between Ripple and XRP?

India’s lack of regulatory clarity on crypto and Web 3.0 is a driving force of critical human capital flight, according to a new report by Nasscom.

Bitcoin traded at US$19,045.18 at 4 p.m. in Hong Kong, while Ether fell 0.48% to US$1,286.01, according to data from CoinMarketCap. 

The international police organization Interpol has launched its own metaverse to assist law enforcement in protecting communities in virtual realms. The development comes after wanted Terraform Labs cofounder Do Kwon quietly slipped from Singapore to Dubai and possibly elsewhere. See related article: India police launch blockchain-based complaint portal on Polygon  Fast facts Interpol claims theirs […]

Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. will launch Lord of The Rings non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on Eluvio, as part of the entertainment giant’s Web 3.0 movie experience coined “Movieverse.”

After Solana’s Magic Eden marketplace said it was bowing to pressure and making payment of royalties “optional” to NFT creators, industry insiders tell Forkast the policy is wrongheaded and damaging.

South Korean police raided local software company Hancom and home of chairman Kim Sang-cheol on Thursday amid speculation that Kim created a slush fund using crypto token Arowana, according to local media reports.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has handed over internal documents to Ripple Labs Inc. containing comments by former SEC Corporation Finance Division director William Hinman on cryptocurrencies, Ripple’s general counsel Stuart Alderoty said on his verified Twitter handle on Friday.

Bluesky, the decentralized social media protocol founded by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, announced on Friday morning Hong Kong time that 30,000 people had signed up on its preview app waitlist 48 hours after it was announced.

Bitcoin fell, but traded back above the US$19,000 support level in Friday morning trading in Asia. Ether lost ground along with most other top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins, but leading memecoin Dogecoin rose and Tron also edged higher. See related article: Twitter user prevents 200 billion BitBTC bridge exploit, highlighting major vulnerability […]

Sachin Tendulkar, Indian cricket legend and former captain of the national cricket team, has partnered with cricket non-fungible token (NFT) platform Rario to launch exclusive digital collectibles. See related article: 55,000 Meta Cricket League NFTs sell out in nine minutes Fast facts Rario has existing partnerships with cricket icons, like Zaheer Khan, Kevin Pietersen, Jonty […]

South Africa’s financial markets regulator has declared crypto assets as a financial product, setting the legal grounds to bring cryptocurrencies under regulatory purview. See related article: Nigeria to become 1st African country to launch a central bank digital currency Fast facts Crypto is not issued by a central bank but can be traded, transferred and […]

JP Morgan Chase has hired former Celsius executive Aaron Lovine as executive director of digital assets regulatory policy, the latest move in the bank’s oscillating regard for the crypto industry.  See related article: JPMorgan Chase executive says crypto usage for payments decreasing   Fast facts A JPMorgan spokesperson confirmed the appointment after Lovine, who headed policy […]

A Twitter user highlighted a vulnerability in BitBTC’s Optimism bridge and averted what could have been the latest in a string of bridge exploits this month.

South Korea is mulling the uploading of headshots of sex offenders rendered on the three-dimensional metaverse, to help the public identify offenders, said Minister of Gender Equality and Family Kim Hyun-sook on Tuesday in a local radio interview. See related article: S.Korea’s science ministry announces ethical principles for the metaverse Fast facts Kim mentioned the […]

The crypto market continued its sluggish performance during Thursday evening trading in Asia, with Bitcoin and Ether lower and XRP’s 0.63% rise marking the biggest gain among the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins. See related article: Japan eases token vetting process to expand crypto offerings: report Fast facts Bitcoin fell 0.35% in […]

Fidelity Digital Assets will allow clients to trade Ether from Oct. 28, according to a company email shared by Fidelity’s customers via Twitter. See related article: Fidelity considers Bitcoin trading on brokerage platform: WSJ Fast facts Institutional investors will be able to buy, sell and trade ETH, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap. “With the […]

In a Q&A with Forkast, First Digital Trust Chief Executive Officer Vincent Chok shared his views on Hong Kong getting back into crypto, regulations, and how the crypto pie in Asia is big enough for rivals Singapore and Hong Kong.

Japan’s Virtual and Crypto assets Exchange Association (JVCEA), the self-regulatory body that oversees local crypto exchanges, will allow platforms to list cryptocurrencies without an existing lengthy screening process, according to Bloomberg. See related article: Japan pushes for tougher crypto AML regulations amid N. Korean cyberattacks Fast facts The easing is expected to take place as […]

Hong Kong-based digital asset management firm JKL Group will set up a US$50 million fund to buy more mining machines to further expand its mining facilities, despite the current crypto winter.

Kwon Do-hyung, the cofounder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Terraform Labs Pte. Ltd., also known as Do Kwon, left Singapore last month and landed in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, South Korean prosecutors confirmed with Forkast.

The crypto sector operates mainly in English, but more than 6 billion people — many of whom crypto would benefit the most — use other languages, writes Wei Zhou of Coins.ph.

Bitcoin and Ether both fell in Thursday morning trading in Asia and with the exception of stablecoins, all other top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization lost ground.

Top blockchain and crypto news: Mark Zuckerberg’s empty metaverse. South Korea to roll out blockchain IDs. Macau bets on digital money.

Bitcoin also received additional entries to the annual list, now a record holder for the “oldest cryptocurrency,” the “most valuable cryptocurrency” and the “first blockchain.”

Bitcoin fell in Wednesday afternoon trading in Asia along with the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins, with XRP holders suffering the steepest losses at 3.93%.

Kwon has been issued with an Interpol “red notice” requesting his extradition on charges brought by South Korea related to the implosion of the Terra Luna cryptocurrency project he founded

The perpetrator of the US$9.1 million Moola Market exploit returned close to the entirety of the loot in exchange for an undisclosed ransom on Wednesday, according to the project’s social media update.   See related article: ‘Hacktober’ continues with US$1 mln taken from BitKeep token swap service Fast facts Decentralized finance (DeFi) project Moola Markets announced […]

The blockchain network was built by former members of the Meta stablecoin project, with well-known investors and considerable buzz as the new ‘Solana killer.’

German crypto bank Nuri (formerly known as Bitwala) has asked customers to withdraw their funds by Dec. 18 so that the “business can be terminated and liquidated.”

This isn’t the first time the bloc has examined cracking down on Bitcoin mining, and it comes amid a growing push from regulators to examine the industry’s carbon footprint.

An unidentified hacker stole over US$1 million in Binance Coin (BNB) tokens from decentralized multi-chain wallet BitKeep’s token swap service on Monday, according to a Tuesday statement by the company. See related article: Crypto hackers on track for bonanza year as theft surges, Chainalysis says Fast facts “Our development team managed to contain the emergency […]

The IRS updated its annual income tax instructions in a Monday draft that does away with the taxable category “virtual currency” and replaces it with the term “digital assets,” which explicitly includes NFTs.

Bitcoin and Ether both fell in Wednesday morning trading in Asia amid news the European Union is considering a bill to restrict the mining of energy-intensive cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin. Most of the rest of the cryptocurrency top 10 by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins, also declined, with the exception of Polygon. See related article: Bitcoin, […]

The first XRP Ledger (XRPL) Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible sidechain has gone live on the parallel test network, XRPL Devnet, Ripple developers announced on Monday.

Markets: Bitcoin price rises amid sweeping gains across top 10 crypto, Polygon increases 7%

“No finders keepers’ law”: Coinbase considers legal action against some 1,000 users in east Europe’s Georgia who took advantage of a pricing glitch on the platform.

Hong Kong seems set to put out a new welcome mat for the blockchain and crypto industries, but will it work after concern about regulatory restrictions convinced many cryptocurrency operators to leave?

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission of the U.S. are investigating whether bankrupt crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) misled investors about its balance sheet and failed to register with the two agencies, according to a Bloomberg report which cites two people familiar with the matter. See related article: […]

The Japanese government approved amendments to existing financial regulations to prevent money laundering utilizing cryptocurrencies and increase penalties on those involved, according to local media reports. See related article: North Korea’s Lazarus Group attacks Japanese crypto firms, police say Fast facts The Cabinet, Japan’s executive body, approved the revisions to laws associated with the country’s […]

Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd., a Tokyo-based video game company, announced a recruitment effort for 13 new positions to integrate its game titles with Web3 and metaverse technologies. See related article: NFTs may be the next killer app for video games, but some traditional players object Fast facts The game developer is planning to launch […]

What are the different kinds of NFT wash trading, and what are the red flags that a prospective investor should look for? Anndy Lian explains.

Bitcoin and Ether rose as all top 10 tokens by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins, gained in Tuesday morning trading in Asia. Polygon led the list. Solana followed on news a leading non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace will suspend transaction fees. See related article: Gold commodities market could enter the blockchain, according to new industry initiative Fast […]

Global payments company Mastercard intends to enable financial institutions to offer crypto services to customers with its new Crypto Source program. See related article: Binance partners Mastercard to launch card in Argentina for bill payment, everyday purchases Fast facts The program will allow financial institutions to tap into Mastercard’s partners to buy, hold and sell […]

A partnership between the World Gold Council (WGC) and Swiss-based DLT infrastructure and application provider aXedras Group could make gold trading more accessible and streamlined, though insiders are skeptical, according to a Bloomberg report Sunday.  See related article: Diamond Standard raises US$30 mln to ramp up tokenized asset distribution Fast facts The WGC’s initiative “Gold247” […]

As India prepares to begin its one-year presidency of the Group of 20 (G20) beginning Dec. 1, it will look to work toward a global, tech-driven regulatory framework for cryptocurrency, India’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. See related article: India’s finance minister calls on G20 to share information on crypto Fast facts “During our engagements, […]

Bitcoin inched up slightly Monday, with the majority of the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization remaining stable, the only considerable price change coming from XRP’s 3% drop.  See related article: South Korea seeks software to track US$7.2B in illegal crypto Fast facts Bitcoin rose 0.83% in the past 24 hours to trade at US$19,296 […]

The market may be in the doldrums, but there’s no better time to clean house and build for the future, writes Clayton Roche of UMA. Here are 5 areas of opportunity.

The platform said the move was in line with growing market trends, but some are concerned about what it means for the industry.

Meta Platforms Inc.’s internal documents show the company’s metaverse platform Horizon Worlds is underperforming in terms of attracting and maintaining users, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Saturday. See related article: Meta’s attempts at building a metaverse will ‘misfire’: Vitalik Buterin Fast facts Meta’s initial goal was to gather 500,000 monthly active users (MAU) on […]

The city of Macau, a special administrative region of China and home to a thriving casino industry, is seeking to grant digital currency status as legal tender, the Executive Council of Macau announced on Friday. See related article: Macao needs China’s heft in tech to introduce CBDC, official says  Fast facts See related article: Macao […]

North Korea-backed hacker group Lazarus has been sending phishing emails to Japanese crypto exchange employees to infect their computers with malware, causing some companies to have their systems hacked and cryptocurrencies stolen, Japan’s National Police Agency announced last week. See related article: DPRK hackers sneak US$52 mln in crypto into S.Korean exchanges: Chainalysis Fast facts […]

Bitcoin and Ether were trading higher along with top 10 tokens by market capitalization excluding stablecoins in Monday morning trading in Asia, as the world’s largest cryptocurrency remained above US$19,000. XRP was the only token on that list to fall. See related article: Ethereum supply would have grown by 350,000 tokens under PoW Fast facts […]

A recent token launch on Ethereum pushed the network into a deflationary state and the blockchain’s shift to PoS may lower supply even further.

Bitcoin rose in Friday evening trading in Asia to jump past its US$19,000 support line, with Ether and all other top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization gaining, led by XRP.  See related article: Ethereum price undervalued since The Merge: report  Fast facts Bitcoin gained 3.33% in the past 24 hours to trade at US$19,647 at […]

Decentralized finance sites are the preferred choice of hackers as crypto heists look to be on course to hit a record high this year.

South Korea’s Supreme Prosecutors’ Office is looking to hunt down illegal crypto funds by purchasing a software program that tracks down crypto transactions and sources, a local media outlet reported Friday. See related article: DPRK hackers sneak US$52 mln in crypto into S.Korean exchanges: Chainalysis Fast facts The tracking program is expected to be used […]

China’s judicial blockchain platform has stored more than 2.6 billion pieces of evidence, a Supreme People’s Court spokesman said at a press conference on Thursday, according to a report by the local media Legal Daily. See related article: China has seen blockchain’s future and it doesn’t include cryptocurrencies  Fast facts See related article: How blockchain […]

Tether, issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin, said in a blog post it has cut its commercial paper holdings to zero and replaced them with U.S. Treasury bills. See related article: Are stablecoins like Tether ready for regulatory scrutiny?  Fast facts See related article: SEC fines former Tether auditor over accounting malpractice 

Bitcoin advocates have once again launched their annual campaign to have Satoshi Nakamoto — the pseudonymous creator/s of Bitcoin — named as the recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. See related article: What’s next for Binance after $100 million BNB hack? Fast facts On Oct. 10, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded […]

Bitcoin traded back above US$19,000 in Friday morning trading in Asia, rebounding with U.S. equities from a sharp drop that followed a September inflation reading in the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) report on Thursday that was higher than expected. BNB and memecoin Shiba Inu were two other tokens among the top 10 by market […]

Bitcoin dropped 3% after the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the consumer price index (CPI), a key inflation indicator, rose 0.4% in September from August.  See related article: Fed’s inflation fight batters crypto market as pressure mounts Fast facts The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization traded at US$18,432 at 10:30 p.m. Hong […]

Nearly half of 55 fintech and crypto experts believe Ethereum has been underpriced since the network became a proof-of-stake blockchain through “The Merge” upgrade last month, according to a recent report from financial service firm Finder. See related article: Why YOU should back Ethereum’s Fork Fast facts While 46% of the surveyed panelists said Ether […]

The Indian police unit in Firozabad city in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh has launched an online complaint portal powered by Ethereum scaler Polygon. See related article: Blockchain in India got off on wrong foot, says former finance chief  Fast facts The pilot portal, policecomplaintonblockchain.in, leverages blockchain technology’s immutability, which means complaints cannot be […]

Bitcoin dipped but just held the US$19,000 support line in Thursday evening trading in Asia. Excluding stablecoins, all other cryptocurrencies on the top 10 list by market capitalization fell. Cardano led the declines. See related articles: Judge grants amicus requests to support Ripple in lawsuit with SEC Fast facts Bitcoin fell 0.52% in the past […]

Crypto.com said on Wednesday that the exchange will invest €150 million (US$145.5 million) in France to set up a European headquarters in Paris and expand operations in the region. See related article: Crypto.com enters South Korea market with two local startup acquisitions Fast facts The Singapore-based exchange said it will focus on compliance, business development […]

One company says it’s bringing solutions for confused investors in digital assets in India who grapple with hours of tax calculations.

Tianjin is the latest Chinese city to announce higher differential electricity rates in an effort to further discourage energy-intensive cryptocurrency mining, which the country banned in September 2021 but continues to exist in some pockets. See related article: Beijing banned crypto mining, so China miners went underground  Fast facts See related article: China takes aim […]

‘Risky or illicit’ transactions represent the highest rate of any region measured by the blockchain analytics firm.

Coin Center, a non-profit think tank on cryptocurrencies and public policy, announced Wednesday it was filing a lawsuit against the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC), alleging the agency overreached its authority when it sanctioned cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash in August. See related article: What is the future for cryptocurrency mixers after […]

China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) has reached 100 billion yuan (US$13.9 billion) in transactions as of Aug. 31, 2022, the People’s Bank of China said via a verified WeChat account. See related article: Digital yuan tops US$12B transactions in 2022 so far  Fast facts See related article: China to speed up, expand digital yuan […]

Binance Global Inc., the operator of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, says it successfully completed a hard fork of its BNB Smart Chain (BSC) network around 5 p.m. Hong Kong on Wednesday. See related article: Binance to hard fork BNB Smart Chain amid heated debate around decentralization Fast facts A hard fork is a split […]