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DBS, the largest bank in Southeast Asia, said it tested trading of foreign exchange and government bonds using permissioned decentralized finance (DeFi) liquidity pools on a public blockchain as part of the city-state’s Project Guardian exploration of blockchain in finance.

The bank is in the center of developments shepherded by the Monetary Authority of Singapore to explore digital financial technologies emerging around blockchain.

Naver Z Corp. announced its partnership with INHOPE to protect youth from sexual abuse and exploitation on the virtual platform.

The issuer of the world’s second-largest stablecoin is joining a fleet of companies in the digital asset industry moving into Singapore. What’s the attraction?

Bitcoin and Ether were little changed in Wednesday morning trading in Asia along with most of the cryptocurrency top 10 by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins.

Deputy director of monetary and capital markets at the IMF, Dong He, said at Hong Kong Fintech Week on Tuesday that his message to the crypto industry is to embrace regulation.

Interconnectivity is on the way, even as various segments of the Web 3.0 ecosystem are largely disconnected from reality and one another, said Web 3.0 experts at Hong Kong Fintech Week on Tuesday.

Bank of Thailand’s Vachira Arromdee said on Tuesday the four central banks in the mBridge CBDC trials agreed to end use of foreign CBDCs domestically.

Bitcoin and Ether traded up in Tuesday afternoon trading in Asia, while memecoins Dogecoin and Shiba Inu were the biggest gainers among the top 10 coins by market capitalization excluding stablecoins.

India’s Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC), responsible for policy formulation and collection of indirect taxes like the goods and services tax (GST), has asked major cryptocurrency exchanges to provide details on the type of digital coins and tokens being traded and their valuation. 

Crypto exchange Coinbase has requested to file an amicus brief in support of Ripple to weigh in on the ongoing lawsuit between the SEC and Ripple.

JPMorgan Chase and Standard Chartered execs were in disagreement at Hong Kong Fintech Week over how significant Bitcoin and the wider crypto industry are.

The country looks to pass an initial bill that focuses on protecting digital asset investors and preventing unfair trade acts, ahead of wider legislation.

Cryptocurrency exchanges in Singapore are shifting focus to heavy-hitter investors, such as family offices and financial institutions, in line with the central bank’s warnings about the risks in retail crypto trading.

The billionaire founder of crypto exchange FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, criticized regulations in Hong Kong and elsewhere that limit access to crypto investment to wealthy investors.

Hong Kong will increase funding for startups, including fintech companies, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau said on Tuesday.

Many DAOs suffer from voter apathy and are hobbled by too much decentralization. What can help DAOs make better decisions?

Bitcoin and Ether prices fell in Tuesday morning trading time in Asia, while memecoin Dogecoin and Shiba Inu had the biggest gains among the top 10.

India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), will pilot the country’s first digital rupee in the wholesale segment (e₹-W) from Nov. 1 and has identified nine banks for participation in the trial. 

A hybrid middle ground between Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 is necessary before full Web 3.0 integration, argued Jehan Chu, co-founder and managing partner of blockchain venture capital firm Kenetic Capital, adding that “it’s not the fully decentralized future we were promised, but it’s the one we’re going to get first.”

Singapore-based Alta, a digital marketplace for alternative investments, has acquired private digital securities exchange Hg Exchange (HGX) for an undisclosed amount. 

Hong Kong reveals digital asset policies to distinguish itself from China, where cryptocurrency trading was banned in September last year.

Privacy protection is “top on our agenda,” but combating crime is equally important for the digital yuan, central bank governor Yi Gang said at the Hong Kong Fintech Week.

DBS Bank, the largest lender in Southeast Asia, has partnered the Singapore government’s Open Government Products (OGP) to pilot purpose-bound money-based vouchers (PBM) using tokenized Singapore dollars to facilitate live transactions with selected merchants. 

Bitcoin fell in evening trade in Asia along with almost all other top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins, with the sole gain seen in Polkadot’s uptick.

The Bitcoin white paper, published 14 years ago this day, launched an industry that is now subsidizing clean energy and turning waste into digital gold, writes Will Szamosszegi of Sazmining.

South Korea-based blockchain game developer Wemade is working on a fix for WEMIX after four major crypto exchanges in the country added the cryptocurrency to an “investment warning” list for inaccurately reporting circulation numbers.

The city is seeking to allow digital asset-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to be publicly listed and traded in the city.

The founder of crypto exchange FTX, which moved out of Hong Kong in 2021, said that the city could emerge as a Web3, blockchain and cryptocurrency hub.

A hearing is scheduled in Singapore on a lawsuit filed against Terraform Labs’ Do Kwon on behalf of investors who lost about US$57 million in the collapse of Terra-LUNA.

Trading volume on cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com has slumped about 90% in the 12 months since the company’s “fortune favors the brave” ad.

Bitcoin and Ether fell in Monday morning trading in Asia, along with most other top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins.

Visa International Service Association on Oct. 22 filed two trademark applications that hinted at plans of launching a crypto wallet.

It is the one-year anniversary of Facebook’s rebrand as Meta, a major step in the company’s foray into virtual reality and Web3. However, in actual reality, not everything has gone to plan for the platform’s new parent company.

Bitcoin dropped nearly 3% in afternoon trading in Asia. All other top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins, declined following a strong two-day rally by most tokens.

Binance has confirmed its participation in Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition as an equity investor.

The use of blockchain technology in finance will have an impact similar to that of YouTube on the media industry, said Lee Jun-haeng, CEO of South Korea-based blockchain company Streami.

New York-based technology consulting firm, Activate Consulting, has projected that 2023 will see “the end of NFTs hype cycle” with the token class expected to undergo major changes in how they are used and regarded.

Busan, S. Korea’s designated blockchain city, plans to make itself a global center for the technology. Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, plans to help.

When China banned cryptocurrency trading and mining in September 2021, it was feared that policy would make its way into Hong Kong. Seems that concern is getting a rethink.

Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the crypto exchange FTX, says he hopes FTX will soon join most other major exchanges in having launched a stablecoin.

When the Grim Reaper comes, will he take all your Bitcoins, too? Here’s how to ensure your crypto wealth will survive and live on for your heirs.

LooksRare is the latest NFT marketplace to make paying creator royalty fees optional as the industry struggles amid an ongoing slump in the NFT market.

Crypto exchange Huobi Global will delist its stablecoin HUSD on Friday, refund holders 1:1 with USDT.

Bitcoin’s recent price gains came to a halt in Friday morning trading in Asia though it remained above the US$20,000 support line.

India has witnessed an increase in drug smuggling using cryptocurrencies and the darknet, according to the country’s Home Minister Amit Shah. 

The National Bank of Kazakhstan [NKB] will be testing the integration of their central bank digital currency (CBDC) on the BNB Chain.

The United Kingdom High Court has shut down PGI Global UK Ltd. for allegedly running a crypto scam and has appointed the official receiver as the company’s liquidator. 

The Nasdaq-listed company expects to deplete its cash resources by the end of this year.

Hong Kong is mulling plans to legalize retail crypto trading to regain its status as a global digital asset hub.

Bitcoin extended its rally and rose nearly 2%, with top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins, mostly higher on the day, led by Dogecoin’s 18% gain as Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter neared completion.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao believes education is key to a wider, safer adoption of blockchain technology.

Bankman-Fried says the global crypto industry needs a “passporting” policy framework that lowers barriers for crypto businesses.

Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin has called crypto “the better bet” over gold, and that “gold has less adoption than crypto.”

The SEC is not taking a position on two motions, submitted by non-profit organization Investor Choice Advocates Network and crypto wallet provider SpendTheBits, which seek to weigh in on the lawsuit between the SEC and Ripple.

The future of the burgeoning Web3 sector will be gaming and non-fungible tokens, said Eric Anziani of global digital asset exchange Crypto.com.

Meta’s metaverse division Reality Labs lost US$3.7 billion in the third quarter of this year, bringing its accumulated losses in 2022 to US$9.4 billion.

Google agreed to improve its legal compliance process in a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice after failing to produce data on the now-defunct crypto exchange BTC-e in 2016.

Pixelated pictures and cartoonish drawings have typically dominated the world of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), but some exhibits at Hong Kong’s Xperience art fair show new means of applying the technology.

A stablecoin that is not stable is an ‘oxymoron,’ said Henry Chang, CEO of South Korea-based blockchain game developer Wemade.

Europe’s new MiCA framework for regulating crypto shows the good that can happen when government works with and not against the industry, writes Nick Saponaro of Divi Labs.

Bitcoin continued its price run higher in Thursday morning trading in Asia as it neared US$21,000. Ether and the rest of the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins, also rose. The total crypto market cap exceeded US$1 trillion for the first time since mid-September. Leading memecoin Dogecoin was the best performer, while the […]

Cash App users in the U.S. can now buy, send, and receive Bitcoin using the Lightning Network, directly within the app. 

Hong Kong-based crypto investment firm Q9 Capital has received a provisional virtual asset approval from Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA), the company said on Wednesday in a statement shared with Forkast.

Top blockchain and crypto news: Aptos launch falls short. Why FTX chief is calling for crypto regulations. Is Hong Kong paving way for a retail CBDC?

The pilot successfully executed real-value cross-border transactions involving four currencies and 20 commercial bank participants across four jurisdictions, the HKMA said.

The central bank is also considering options such as banning crypto firms from offering credit facilities, leverage or staking services to retail traders.

The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has reminded financial technology (fintech) firms to comply with financial laws and regulations, in the central bank’s new set of guidelines released earlier this month.

Bitcoin posted a three-week high in afternoon trading in the Asia time zone. Ether led gains across all top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, with a 12% surge. Cardano’s ADA and Solana’s token also registered double-digit gains.

Two Chinese intelligence officers allegedly paid a double agent to help steal files related to a federal investigation into a China-based global telecom firm, reported to be Huawei.

As a leading financial institution of South Korea, Shinhan is gearing up for business expansion into crypto — while a local ban remains on the books.

Meta is collaborating with a Taiwan LGBT advocacy group and a local cryptocurrency exchange to issue charity NFTs as part of the Taiwan Pride celebration.