Archives

Metaverse platform Spatial assembled a Series B funding round worth about US$25 million, with new investments from Maven Growth Partners, Pine Venture Partners, South Korea’s KB Investment, Korea Investment Partners, Mirae Asset and others. Fast facts With the Series B, Spatial gathered an accumulated investment amount of over US$49.6 million. Investors from past funds included […]

Top blockchain and crypto news: Can stablecoins bankroll democracy? Nike swooshes into the metaverse. Animoca and Bored Apes venture deeper into the gaming jungle.

Legendary Japanese manga artist Tezuka Osamu’s beloved “Astro Boy,” which was first published in 1952, has been made into NFT (non-fungible token) collectibles, one of which was listed on OpenSea for auction. Fast facts With the help of NFT solution startup double jump.tokyo, Tezuka Productions launched its first official NFT art project — “From the […]

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, today announced that it has set up a joint venture with the venture capital arm of Telkom Indonesia, the country’s largest telecommunication company, to develop a new digital asset exchange there. Fast facts Binance said in a statement that it has teamed up with MDI Ventures — a US$830 […]

The report says the country’s crypto industry could swell by up to 30 times its current size in the coming decade.

An internet authority in East China’s Zhejiang province has identified in July 4,699 IP addresses in the province that were involved with cryptocurrency mining, and among them 183 addresses were related to 78 state-owned entities, according to a Tuesday article published on the website of China’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), the country’s anti-corruption […]

The National Unity Government recognizes Tether as an official currency, defying the cryptocurrency ban imposed last year.

Brinc, a Hong Kong-headquartered venture capital focused on Web 3.0, today announced that it has secured US$30 million in a Series B round and an additional US$100 million for startup investments. The funding was led by Animoca Brands — a Hong Kong-based blockchain gaming, metaverse and non-fungible token (NFT) company — to further fuel Brinc’s investment in […]

Dogecoin rallied 31% when Elon Musk tweeted that Tesla will accept it for payment of “merch.”

Nike announced the acquisition of a company that designs fashion clothing for the metaverse, RTFKT Studios, once noted for selling 608 pairs of NFT shoes in just six minutes. Fast facts After announcing the acquisition, both Nike and RTFKT Studios tweeted videos, each containing the logos of Nike, Jordan, Converse and RTFKT. RTFKT Studios, founded […]

Crypto 1 will consider acquisition targets worldwide but steer clear of digital assets companies in China and Hong Kong. Are the lights dimming on a major crypto hub?

Metizens can already attend concerts, visit art galleries and earn money in a metaverse, writes Joe Caselin of Hex Trust. What’s coming next?

Blockchain gaming studio Vulcan Forged was hacked on Tuesday and 4.5 million PYR, the platform’s native token, was stolen, the company announced on Twitter. Fast facts Vulcan Forged also runs a decentralized exchange and a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace. The attacker gained the private keys to 96 wallets and proceeded to empty them, making off […]

The billion-dollar intersection of sports and crypto is a big win for all, writes Ben Armstrong, aka BitBoy Crypto. Here’s how to make sense of this seismic cultural shift.

South Korean video game developer WeMade revealed today it has invested in Kasa, a blockchain-based digital asset-backed securities (DABS) trading platform with a focus on prop-tech — where information technology is applied to real estate economics. Fast facts Kasa is a platform where users can invest in commercial buildings with small amounts of money, similar […]

Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), one of the most successful non-fungible token (NFT) collections, is joining hands with Animoca Brands — a Hong Kong-based blockchain gaming, metaverse and NFT company — to develop a play-to-earn game utilizing BAYC’s popular avatar NFTs, according to a company statement. Fast facts The new game, which will feature play-to-earn […]

Justin Kan, co-founder of livestreaming platform Twitch, announced he will be launching Fractal, a new marketplace for gaming non-fungible tokens (NFTs). While the OpenSea NFT marketplace may be the largest, Fractal is not competing directly — it is betting on a niche in gaming NFTs. Fast facts The announcement comes days after a Twitch plug-in […]

Macroeconomic factors and a spate of bad news override bullish outlook in crypto market as the year lurches toward its end.

Fast facts Blockchain-based payment platform Danal Fintech announced a new service plan that will allow BMW vehicles to be purchased with Paycoin (PCI) in its new partnership with Samchully Motors, the domestic dealer of the luxury automobile line. The recent announcement makes the first case in South Korea where an automobile can be paid in […]

One of the most influential cheerleaders for cryptocurrency is named Time’s 2021 Person of the Year for his work on electric cars and space rockets.

Crypto 1 Acquisition Corp., a U.S.-incorporated blank check company, has completed its initial public offering (IPO) with gross proceeds of US$230 million, according to a company statement released Friday. Fast facts The company’s units commenced trading on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker symbol “DAOOU” on Dec. 7. Acting as a special purpose acquisition […]

Non-fungible token minting platform PlayNFT wants to enable Twitch streamers to offer NFTs to their audience without needing to leave the Twitch platform. Fast facts Blockchain games studio Enigma Games is using Enjin’s Efinity blockchain on PlayNFT, the studio’s NFT minting platform, to build a plug-in that will allow Twitch’s 9.2 million streamers to use […]

Gamers and developers gather at the annual Digital Entertainment Leadership Forum to discuss how video games may evolve in the future.

Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, announced today that its Singapore entity Binance Asia Services has withdrawn its application to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for a license to operate a regulated crypto exchange in the country, according to a company statement. Fast facts The exchange had operated in Singapore under an exemption that […]

Confusion surrounded the Solana blockchain community over the weekend as a sudden drop in transaction speeds was initially believed to be a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack, resulting in a lengthy debate as to the cause of the delay. Fast facts Solana-based non-fungible token (NFT) platform Blockasset was one of the first to highlight […]

India prime minister Narendra Modi’s Twitter account was hacked on Sunday morning, with the attacker posting a false tweet about India officially adopting Bitcoin as legal tender. Fast facts The tweet also said the government has bought 500 Bitcoin which will be distributed among citizens. This was the second instance of Modi’s Twitter account getting […]

The energy authority in Southwest China’s Yunnan province said it has eliminated the illegal power supply from small and midsize hydropower stations to Bitcoin mining, as China continues to intensify its clampdown on crypto mining. Fast facts In a Friday post on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like microblogging platform, the Yunnan authority said as of the end […]

The price of the native token of the SafeMoon blockchain momentarily surged over 8% in price this morning Asia time, as the developer behind the token announced that it had successfully transitioned to the second iteration of the network. SafeMoon’s price retreated throughout the day, however, and was trading at US$0.0000016 at press time, 2% […]

It’s come full circle: Shiba Inu holders can now spend their SHIB at GameStop — the company that helped trigger the memecoin trend.

Chief business officer of the first SEC-registered digital security says crypto companies got caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

$30 million worth of SHIB stolen in BitMart hack sparks hunt for the dognapper, as ecosystem developments fail to return Shiba Inu coin to its former glory.

Gaming is increasingly defined by NFTs, play-to-earn and the metaverse, writes Charlie Baillie of Ampverse. Will Asia continue to lead the hottest gaming trends?

Blockchain gaming unicorn Animoca Brands announced yesterday a partnership with Aquis Farm — a major racehorse-breeding business owned by Hong Kong’s billionaire Fung family — to bring equestrian activities into the metaverse. The blockchain specialist will leverage Aquis Farm’s equestrian intellectual properties to develop blockchain games and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).  Fast facts “Aquis recognises the […]

Bitcoin’s hashrate has almost fully recovered just six months after China’s crypto ban sent miners fleeing to more hospitable shores. Fast facts Despite the recent price crash, the total Bitcoin hashrate stood at 180.5 million terahashes per second, almost approaching its all-time high of 180.67 million TH/s back in May, according to data from Blockchain.com. The hashrate took […]

India-based Layer 2 Ethereum scaling platform Polygon has acquired zero-knowledge technology developer Mir for US$400 million as part of Polygon’s continued focus on ZK tech. Fast facts Mir will help Polygon build its new project — Polygon Zero, a highly scalable, Ethereum compatible ZK rollup. A zero knowledge protocol is a cryptographic algorithm that allows […]

India’s proposed rules for digital assets would ban cryptocurrency for payments while the Securities and Exchange Board regulates exchanges. Will it become law?

Investment banks’ hunger for a new revenue stream is likely to drive up the popularity and registration of crypto derivatives products.

The transaction, using the Hedera Consensus Service network, bypasses intermediaries, lowering fees.

Chinese property giant Evergrande has defaulted on its debt to global investors, credit rating firm Fitch Ratings reported today. Fast facts Fitch has downgraded Evergrande to “Restricted Default” after its deadline to pay interest due on two dollar-denominated bonds passed on Monday. The actual payments were due a month ago and the grace period expired […]

Hong Kong-based venture capital (VC) firm Chiron Partners announced Wednesday the launch of a US$50 million fund to support the Terra blockchain ecosystem. Fast facts Chiron Partners will use the fund, namely the Chiron Terra Fund I (CTI), to invest in innovative projects built on the Terra ecosystem, such as decentralized finance (DeFi) applications and […]

A new survey published Wednesday by Visa shows that 18% of Hong Kong residents are active cryptocurrency investors, while 13% are passive investors, representing the second-highest engagement with crypto just after the U.S. Fast facts The survey collected 6,430 online responses from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Germany, Hong Kong, South Africa, the U.S., and the U.K. […]

Polygon envisions a world where value can be exchanged without borders. In this Forkast.News explainer, find out how Polygon works and why its MATIC token is defying crypto market gravity — again.

Singapore-based Brytehall is to co-host a new non-fungible token (NFT) art auction with bike manufacturer Specialized on Dec. 16, to sell an artwork of a bicycle named “enishi-E” created by Japanese artist Kosuke Masuda, both physically and digitally in an NFT. Fast facts Kosuke described the bike to be auctioned as an “alive” one, for […]

Animoca Brands — a Hong Kong-based blockchain gaming, metaverse and non-fungible token (NFT) company — said it held US$15.87 billion worth of digital assets at the end of November, reflecting robust growth in its metaverse business units. Fast facts Animoca Brands said in a statement released Wednesday that in the first three quarters of this […]

Binance is acquiring an 18% post-money stake in Hg Exchange (HGX) — a private securities exchange that has obtained a recognized market operator license by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) — through Binance Asia Services, the blockchain ecosystem and cryptocurrency provider behind Binance, according to a company statement released Wednesday. Fast facts Binance’s investment […]

Mu Changchun, director-general of the People’s Bank of China’s digital currency institute, said today the central bank is working with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) to test cross-border payment features for the e-CNY, China’s much anticipated central bank digital currency (CBDC). Fast facts Mu said at a webinar, jointly organized by the PBOC and […]

New OpenSea chief financial officer Brian Roberts has clarified that the company is not actively planning for an initial public offering, days after his comments riled the OpenSea NFT community. Fast facts In a tweet on Wednesday, Roberts wrote: “There was inaccurate reporting about @OpenSea’s plans. Let me set the record straight: there is a […]

South Korea’s National Tax Service (NTS) recently launched an intensive tax investigation into blockchain and crypto venture capital firm Hashed, while its CEO denies any involvement in slush fund raising or tax evasion, according to local media reports. Fast facts Hashed confirmed that it had cooperated with the 4th Bureau of Investigation from the Seoul […]

Stablecoins, US dollar primacy and energy consumption were among the topics in the questioning homing in on how to regulate the crypto industry.

Suzhou, a city located in Jiangsu province, will set up China’s first blockchain demonstration pilot zone, supported by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), according to a local media report. Fast facts MIIT agreed to Jiangsu Province’s request for support to set up a pilot zone for blockchain in Suzhou and said it […]

The Beijing Municipal Government announced the bidding results for the city’s blockchain and computing power platform. Tencent Cloud and government-tied enterprise Beijing Microchip Sensing Technology won the bid and will be paid US$37 million to build the system. Fast facts According to the bid’s quotations, Tencent Cloud will provide the cloud service for the blockchain […]

ENS allows for a readable username that is portable across dApps and blockchains. Why is it important for the Web 3.0 world? Forkast.News explains.

Four of Japan’s virtual currency firms established the Japan Metaverse Association (JMA) yesterday with aims to promote metaverse technology and improve the framework for implementing user protection measures. Fast facts The Japan Metaverse Association aims to help the country become a forerunner in the race toward the metaverse by collecting and sharing essential information from […]

OpenSea IPO plans in choppy waters. Crypto markets crumble. Bitcoin mining power struggles.

Gaming giant Ubisoft is launching Ubisoft Quartz, a new platform for players to obtain what it calls “Digits” — essentially non-fungible tokens (NFTs) playable in a mainstream game — according to a company statement. Fast facts The first such NFT will appear in beta with Tom Clancy’s “Ghost Recon Breakpoint” on Ubisoft Connect for Windows […]

As part of a broader attempt to address Australia’s payments industry, the government offers a roadmap to where crypto regulation can lead in 2022.

Iceland, which is suffering from a power shortage, is reducing electricity to some industrial clients and turning away new requests for power from cryptocurrency miners, reported Bloomberg, citing a statement from national power company Landsvirkjun. Fast facts The Nordic island nation is now reducing power supply for heavy consumers, including aluminum smelters, data centers and […]

Blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs has raised US$60 million in a Series B funding round led by investment firm Tiger Global, the company announced on Tuesday. Fast facts Also participating in the financing round were American Express’ Amex Ventures, Visa, B Capital Group, Citi Ventures, DRW Venture Capital, Blockchain Capital, Jump Capital, Marshall Wace, Block […]

Meta’s South Korea representative says the country has one of the best environments for the metaverse business to thrive in, at its first press conference in Korea after rebranding from Facebook. Fast facts At Meta Korea’s VR (virtual reality) art media showcase, Jung Ki-hyun, the country director, said South Korea is accommodating to the metaverse […]

Lee Jae-myung, the ruling Democratic Party’s candidate for the 2022 South Korean presidential election, says cryptocurrency is already an integral part of the lives of Korean citizens and the country needs to be a leader in virtual assets. Fast facts At an invitational lecture at Seoul National University’s finance and economics seminar, Lee said that […]

Crypto ETFs make it easy to invest in digital assets without the complexities, writes Kevin Tai of Linear Finance. Imagine what a crypto index can do.

South Korean game shares fell sharply, just a few weeks after announcements of new NFT metaverse ventures sent the shares up.

Nexo, a globally regulated crypto-collateralized credit provider, has announced a partnership with Fidelity Digital Assets, an execution and custody services provider, to establish a platform to provide institutional access to digital assets with custodial and lending services, according to a news release shared with Forkast.News. Fast facts The partnership will allow Nexo to establish an […]

‘Team Pacquiao GG’ may be coming soon to League of Legends and Axie Infinity. But whatever happened to the former pro boxer’s Pac token?

Singapore-based cryptocurrency trading platform Coinhako has received backing from the SBI-Sygnum-Azimut Digital Asset Opportunity fund, with the fundraising round being three-times oversubscribed, according to a statement released today. Fast facts The fund is a venture capital fund co-managed by Japan’s SBI Group, Switzerland’s Sygnum Bank — which claims to be the world’s first digital asset […]

With suitable regulation in place, DeFi could yet play an important role in the financial system, BIS suggests.

Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) is planning a legislative proposal for the upcoming year to restrict the issuance rights of stablecoins to banks and wire transfer companies, according to a Nikkei Asia report. Fast facts The FSA’s decision to limit the issuance is meant to lower risks for stablecoin users, as FSA-authorized banks and wire […]

Kotak Mahindra Bank, a leading private bank in India, has struck a partnership with crypto exchange WazirX, the Economic Times reported. Fast facts WazirX has opened an account with Kotak that can be used to pay and receive money from investors, according to the ET report. The account will be activated after the completion of […]

Brian Roberts, who recently resigned from ride-sharing firm Lyft, has become the first CFO of OpenSea and is charting a course for its initial public offering, according to a Bloomberg report. Fast facts Roberts, who previously worked at Microsoft and Walmart, is set to step down after a seven-year stint at Lyft. Roberts will, however, continue […]

Bilibili — one of China’s biggest video sites particularly known for its content dedicated for anime, comics and games fans — is testing its blockchain UPowerchain that could help the company build its metaverse business, as Chinese tech giants are sparing no efforts to enter the metaverse space. Fast facts Bilibili has confirmed with Forkast.News […]

One of the world’s largest asset managers sought SEC approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF in March and is still awaiting a response.

Tourism officials want to attract more crypto-wealthy travelers to Thailand’s shimmering shores. But will the crypto faithful come if Thailand still has a ban on SHIB and Dogecoin?