Lachlan Keller

A ransomware attack on U.S. software company Kaseya has likely affected between 800 and 1,500 businesses around the world, the company said in a statement on Monday, as the group claiming responsibility for the attacks demands US$70 million in Bitcoin to release user’s data. Fast facts Cybercrime group REvil, which is linked to Russia, claimed […]

Ethereum’s long-awaited London hard fork — which earlier was expected to go live this month — is now going to launch on August 4 between 13:00 UTC and 17:00 UTC with block 12,965,000, Ethereum developer Tim Beiko said in a recent blog post. Fast facts Following the successful release of its three testnets, Ropsten, Goerli and […]

The supply of BTC held on exchanges has hit its lowest point since January, suggesting the worst of the coin’s selloff is over, according to data from crypto analytics firm Santiment. Fast facts Santiment tweeted yesterday: “The 6-month low is a promising sign, as it generally will indicate there is a decreased risk of more […]

Global resort group Pavilions Hotels & Resorts will allow its customers to use crypto to book stays as of tomorrow, its managing director for Asia has told Forkast.News. Fast facts Scot Toon said Pavilions had partnered with British payment service Coindirect to allow guests paying in more than 40 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, to […]

British lender Barclays is preventing its customers from making payments to Binance following a regulatory crackdown on the crypto exchange by the country’s Financial Conduct Authority last month, the Financial Times reports. Fast facts The bank said the move would not impact customers’ ability to withdraw funds from Binance, and that it would continue to […]

In the wake of crackdowns on crypto mining in China, investment firm IBC Group has announced it plans to shut all BTC and Ethereum mining operations in the country and relocate elsewhere.

Marathon Digital Holdings mined 265.6 Bitcoins last month, a 17% increase over the previous month, according to a company press release. Fast facts That mining increased the company’s holdings to 5,784 bitcoins with an estimated market value of US$206.1 million. The total includes a bulk purchase of 4,182 bitcoins the company bought in January for […]

Vietnamese Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính has asked the country’s central bank to pilot a cryptocurrency program from 2021 to 2023, English-language newspaper Việt Nam News reports. Fast facts The plan was signed off in Prime Minister’s Decision No. 942/QĐ-TTg on the country’s broad development strategy of moving towards digital government. It also encompassed artificial […]

Elon Musk has once again sent a coin’s price skyward with a simple tweet; this time more than doubling the price of the memecoin Baby Doge by inserting its name into the lyrics of popular children’s song, “Baby Shark”. Fast facts Replacing the title of the song with the name of the coin, the tweet […]

Japanese conglomerate SoftBank’s Latin America fund has plowed US$200 million into Brazilian crypto exchange Mercardo Bitcoin, according to a Reuters report. Fast facts The investment is SoftBank’s largest in Latin America to date, and brings the valuation of Mercardo’s parent company, 2TM Group, to US$2.1 billion, making it the eighth-most valuable fintech firm in the […]

Deposit account bears closer comparison to distressed debt fund than to mainstream bank account, expert says.

Trading platform Robinhood has been fined some US$70 million in a case involving system outages and allegedly misleading information.

Institutional demand for cryptocurrency appears to be slowing, according to a report by analytics company Glassnode.

Bithumb — South Korea’s second-largest crypto exchange — has rubbished claims that it is charging token issuers fees to list their coins on its platform.

Through tomorrow, a Senate committee is taking public comments on how best to make Australia into a global crypto leader and fintech hub.

Crypto investment in India has grown from about US$200 million to nearly US$40 billion in the past year, driven in large measure by demand among young investors.

Mexico’s finance minister reiterated his country’s ban on cryptocurrencies on Monday, saying they are not legal tender and are not to be treated as currencies within the country

Bitcoin’s hashrate fell to 58.7971 exa hashes per second on Sunday — the lowest point since August 2019.

Lawmaker Carlos Rejala tamped down speculation that Paraguay might follow El Savador’s footsteps in making Bitcoin legal tender.

Elon Musk set off a new SHIB price rally after tweeting that he would name his Shiba Inu—the dog breed that the joke meme coin is named after—’Floki.’

Crypto exchange Gemini has bought US$4 million in carbon credits to offset the environmental impact of its Bitcoin holdings

Accountancy giant KPMG is partnering with Australian property group Mirvac to create a blockchain platform to track the provenance of buildings.

QR Capital’s Bitcoin exchange-traded fund — the first Bitcoin ETF in Latin America — has been listed on Brazil’s stock exchange.

Auction house Lloyds Auctions Australia has begun accepting cryptocurrency for all purchases on its marketplace.

Crypto exchange Binance is launching a non-fungible token marketplace, auctioning NFTs of artworks by Andy Warhol and Salvador Dali.

John McAfee has died by suicide in a prison cell in Barcelona after a Spanish court authorized his extradition to the US where he faced tax evasion charges.

Indian cryptocurrency investors could face a 2% levy on transactions made through foreign-owned crypto exchanges operating in the country.

Two nominees to the U.S. Treasury Department have promised, if they are confirmed in their posts, to implement new regulations relating to cryptocurrency.

Crypto-related crime in the US increased an average of over 300% per year from 2017 to 2020with a total of 82,135 cases last year alone.

Sotheby’s has announced it will be accepting cryptocurrency as payment in an upcoming auction for a 101.38-carat diamond with flawless clarity.

Iran’s interior ministry has suspended the Iran Blockchain Association over alleged breaches of government regulations.

Following El Salvador’s move to become the first country in the world to recognize Bitcoin as legal tender, a Paraguayan congressman has announced plans to do the same in the South American nation next month.

The number of Australian women investing in cryptocurrency has grown this year from 7% in January to 11% in June.

Global securities index MSCI plans to launch a cryptocurrency index, according to CEO Henry Fernandez.

Australian investors adversely impacted by repeated system failures on Binance are considering taking a class action lawsuit to recoup their losses.

The National Republican Congressional Committee in the US will begin accepting donations in cryptocurrency.

Former executives from online travel platforms have partnered with Binance-backed Travala.com to launch an Airbnb-like decentralized home-sharing platform.

The El Salvadorean Department of Labor and Social Welfare has had to clarify it is not within its purview to determine whether salaries can be paid in Bitcoin.

The Indian government and leading industry stakeholders are reviewing elements of legislation that proposed a ban on cryptocurrencies.

Coinbase will add Shiba Inu, Chiliz and Keep Network to its professional trading platform with full trading beginning at 9am PT if liquidity conditions are met.

Input Output Hong Kong has announced on Twitter that it has launched AlonzoBlue2.0 to the Cardano testnet.

Africa has emerged as the region with the highest growth in P2P Bitcoin trading volume over the past six months.

Bitcoin transactions in El Salvador during May increased by more than four times compared to a year ago, yet fiat remittances still represent the vast majority of transactions in the country.

Despite regulatory uncertainty over cryptocurrency trading in India, some of the world’s largest crypto exchanges are looking to enter the market.

Australian serviced office firm Business Hub will accept cryptocurrency as payment for rent on serviced office space and other business services as of July 1.

Ninety-three percent of millennial current or former cryptocurrency holders in the U.S. would consider using their digital coins for everyday purchases, according to a recent survey.

Staking service provider Moonstake has partnered with UzNEX to provide blockchain consulting services in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

A bill restricting the granting of crypto mining permits on environmental ground has passed the New York State Senate.

A Miami property has set a record for the highest price paid in cryptocurrency in a real estate transaction — US$22.5 million.

Bitcoin investors in China saw greater returns in 2020 than almost any other nation — second only to the US.

Australian crypto exchange Bitunivex.com has announced plans to offset its carbon footprint by investing in green crypto initiatives.

Crypto exchanges in India have partnered with the Internet and Mobile Association of India to form a self-regulatory body.

Millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin paid to ransomware hackers who shut down the main fuel pipeline on the U.S. East Coast last month has been recovered.

Nearly 40% of Australians born between the early 1980s and mid-1990s would rather invest in cryptocurrencies than real estate, according to a nesurvey.

Canaan, one of the largest crypto mining rig makers in the world, is opening its first-ever service center outside China—in Kazakhstan.

Users of cybersecurity product NortonLifeLock will soon be able to mine Ethereum on their home computers through a new feature named Norton Crypto.

Crypto mining equipment manufacturer Goldshell has announced that it will launch a new line of mining rigs designed specifically for home use in Asian markets.

Australia’s first capital growth fund to offer institutional exposure to BTC has announced its received inquiries from some of the country’s largest companies.

Global crypto exchange Luno is in talks with conglomerate Lippo Group to launch operations in Indonesia in order to enter the Southeast Asian market.

Regulators Hainan province have issued a warning against illegal fundraising schemes using crypto or blockchain..

Many of Britain’s crypto firms are failing to meet required anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws, says the country’s watchdog.

Google has announced plans to lift a ban on advertising cryptocurrency wallets and exchanges that has been in place for almost three years. A ban on advertising initial coin offerings will remain, however. Fast Facts: An advertising policy update on the company’s main webpage states that advertisers of crypto wallets and exchanges targeting the US […]

Standard Chartered and BC Group to launch digital asset trading platform for corporate and institutional clients in Europe and the UK.

Chinese Bitcoin mining hardware maker Canaan says overseas sales accounted for almost four-fifths of its revenue during the first quarter of 2021.

Green crypto mining operations should be spared China’s recent crackdown on the sector, according to the CEO of Canaan Inc.

WazirX launched the country’s first NFT marketplace on Tuesday, featuring artists from India and other South Asian nations.

Illegal gambling in Asia is on the rise, facilitated in part by sites accepting bets in cryptocurrency.

Dogecoin has gained an additional measure of credibility, with crypto exchange Coinbase announcing that it will add DOGE to its professional trading platform.

ATO will contact 400,000 Australian crypto holders over concerns that they may not be fully aware of their crypto tax obligations. Tax cheats beware!

China-based trading apps Futu and Tiger Brokers have announced plans to move into crypto to compete outside China with apps such as Robinhood and eToro.

Bitcoin dropped by 37.5% in May after hitting a low of US$34,195 yesterday, the second-largest drop on record after it fell 40% in September 2011.

Following the launch of Cardano’s first testnet for its smart contract platform, Alonzo, ADA’s price rebounded by 15% on Monday morning to reach US$1.65.