Danny Park

CoinTrade said it has partnered with crypto custody platform Fireblocks to provide institutional clients with improved security for digital assets.

Bitcoin rose on Wednesday, moving above US$28,000. Ether, Matic and most other top 10 non-stablecoin tokens gained.

Alchemy Pay is eyeing expansion in South Korea following its US$10 million funding from blockchain investment firm DWF Labs.

Taking bribes in exchange for listing cryptocurrencies has been common practice among South Korean exchanges, one expert told Forkast.

Seattle-based crypto exchange Bittrex, Inc. will wind down its U.S. operations from April 30, citing continued regulatory uncertainty in the region.

A South Korean court dismissed for the second time a request by prosecutors for an arrest warrant for Terraform Labs co-founder Daniel Shin.

The U.S. may have gained an edge in a race with South Korea to extradite Terra chief Kwon Do-hyung from Montenegro on charges of fraud.

Kwon Do-hyung will be held in Montenegro for a month on charges of using forged travel documents, South Korea’s Yonhap News reported.

The Group of Seven industrial countries will discuss tougher rules on cryptocurrencies to improve transparency, protect investors.

Hong Kong’s new crypto licensing regime isn’t the only bullish sign for the city’s digital asset industry, says Signum Digital, the first company to win a preliminary license to handle securitized tokens in the city.

South Korea’s police said they confirmed the identity of a man arrested in Montenegro, Europe, as the Terraform Labs co-founder Kwon Do-hyung, who is wanted on charges of fraud related to the collapse of the stablecoin and cryptocurrency project he led.

A former employee of the Coinone exchange was arrested Tuesday on charges of accepting bribes in exchange for listing certain cryptocurrencies.

Terraform Labs co-founder Shin Hyun-seung, also known as Daniel Shin, was again called in for questioning by South Korea’s prosecutors on Monday.

Paris-based Kaiko will move its Asian headquarters to Hong Kong as it sees growing crypto-related opportunities in the city.

South Korean prosecutors are investigating Lee Sang-jun, the CEO of Bithumb’s holding company, for alleged bribery in listing certain tokens on the platform.

Salesforce has partnered with Polygon Labs to help its clients develop non-fungible token (NFT) based loyalty programs on the Polygon blockchain.

Signum Digital said it’s the first company to win preliminary approval in Hong Kong to operate a platform to trade security tokens.

The court ruling in a lawsuit brought by the SEC against Ripple will have minimal impact on the company’s business, APAC policy director Rahul Advani said.

South Korean prosecutors said they will expand cooperation with overseas legal agencies to facilitate the arrest and extradition of Do Kwon.

Digital asset platform Anchorage Digital will lay off 75 employees as it restructures to meet regulation challenges.

Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, will wind down its non-fungible token operations on both social media services.

Former employees of Do Kwon’s Terraform Labs are being questioned by the FBI and U.S. prosecutors in New York.

Circle said the USDC reserve deposits held at the failed Silicon Valley Bank will be recovered when banks open on Monday.

U.S. regulators closed New York-based Signature Bank, one of the biggest lenders in the crypto industry, due to risks of a systemic failure.

The U.S. has proposed an excise tax on cryptocurrency miners equal to 30 percent of the cost of the electricity they use.

The Forkast 500 NFT Index fell to a near two-month low in Asia trading on Friday morning, with sales slumping on the Ethereum and Solana blockchains, the two biggest for non-fungible tokens. Polygon, the third biggest, saw a sales surge.

South Korea is investing 27.7 billion Korean won (US$21 million) into local services looking to utilize the metaverse, the ministry of science announced Wednesday, following Tuesday’s news that it would establish a US$30 million metaverse fund to help startups expand their businesses. See related article: Japanese tech, finance firms sign pact to build metaverse economic […]

Silvergate Capital said Wednesday it will cease operations and liquidate its bank unit.

The Forkast NFT 500 Index slipped 0.68% to 4,276.12 in the 24 hours through 4:45 p.m. in Hong Kong on Wednesday.

The Forkast NFT 500 Index inched up 0.07% to 4,278.68 in the 24 hours through 9 a.m. in Hong Kong on Wednesday.

Bitcoin and Ether gained in Tuesday afternoon trade in Asia, along with most other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies. Polygon’s Matic token led gains followed by XRP and Dogecoin.

The Korea Customs Service has identified US$4.3 billion worth of illegal foreign currency transactions last year involving cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin and Ether traded mostly flat in a downtrend move for most of the top 10 cryptocurrencies in Tuesday morning in Asia. The new Forkast NFT 500 index slipped.

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, reportedly didn’t disclose the extent of its ties and control over Binance.US, WSJ reported.

Bybit suspended U.S. dollar deposits and withdrawals via wire and bank transfers due to “service outages from a partner.”

USDC issuer Circle said Friday that it is withdrawing from “certain services that involve” California-based cryptocurrency bank Silvergate.

South Korea will expand the existing law on voice phishing to include crypto related phone scams.

Coinbase, the world’s second largest cryptocurrency exchange, said Monday it is suspending trade in the Binance USD (BUSD) as of March 13.

Yuzo Kano, co-founder of Japan’s largest cryptocurrency exchange bitFlyer Inc., said he plans to return as CEO, sell shares to public.

Lotte Group plans to expand its non-fungible token (NFT) business onto the global market through a partnership with the Polygon blockchain.

Bitcoin was down and Ether was up on Friday morning in Asia, while most top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization fell.

Hong Kong is allocating HK$50 million (US$6.37 million) to develop its Web3 sector, the Financial Secretary Paul Chan announced Wednesday.

ANKR surged by more than 60% after the blockchain infrastructure startup announced a partnership on Tuesday with Microsoft.

Multi-billion dollar bankruptcies, fraud allegations, scandal, and plunging cryptocurrency prices in 2022 all characterized why investors came to distrust centralized exchanges. Yet, some commentators expect platforms to become ever more centralized … and regulated.

Cryptocurrency exchange Huobi Global is seeking to relocate its Asia headquarters from Singapore to Hong Kong.

South Korean blockchain game developer Wemade’s WEMIX token surged after it was relisted on local crypto exchange Coinone on Thursday.

The U.S. SEC charged Singapore-based Terraform Labs and its chief Kwon Do-hyung for defrauding investors.

Bitcoin and Ether fell Friday morning in Asia, curtailing a strong run up in the week, after the U.S. January PPI rose much faster than expected.

Square Enix announced Wednesday that it will launch its first Web3 game Symbiogenesis on the Polygon blockchain.

S.Korean regulators are planning to review crypto staking services on local exchanges following recent regulatory enforcements from the SEC.

CEO Brian Armstrong said that the company will defend its staking services in court against claims that they need to be classified as securities.

The U.S. SEC may sue the Paxos Trust Company for allegedly violating investor protection laws in its issue of the Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin.

Prosecutors flew to Serbia earlier this month as part of an investigation into Terraform Labs chief Do Kwon, who faces fraud accusations related to the US$40 billion collapse of his Terra-Luna cryptocurrency project in May last year.

Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, will suspend all deposits and withdrawals of U.S. dollars at its international exchanges from Feb. 8.

South Korea published guidelines on Monday for defining what specific cryptocurrencies would fall under regulations applicable to financial securities.

NFTs and DAOs can help support Japan’s national strategy dubbed ‘Cool Japan’ to attract investment and expand the economy.

Bitcoin and Ether traded mostly little changed Friday morning after a strong run up in the week, with other top 10 cryptocurrencies prices mixed.

Seattle-based cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex is laying off 83 employees, according to the U.S. Employment Security Department’s layoff alert.

A South Korean court approved the prosecutor’s request to issue an arrest warrant for Kang Jong-hyun for alleged embezzlement.

South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service has recommended a unified system for mandatory disclosure from issuers of cryptocurrencies.

The South Korean Ministry of Justice (MOJ) announced Thursday that it will adopt a cryptocurrency tracking system within the first half of 2023.

Prosecutors raided the Bithumb crypto exchange on Thursday on allegations of price manipulation and fraudulent transactions in local tokens,

Bitcoin and Ether gave up some of their January gains in Friday morning trading in Asia, though both are still higher for the week.

Cryptocurrencies post the Terra-Luna, FTX failures were a debated topic at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos in the week through Jan. 20, with some authorities calling for a doubling down on regulations. Others had a more nuanced view.

Bitcoin and Ether rebounded in Thursday morning trading in Asia amid broad gains in the top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies.

Japan plans to introduce regulations by June this year that will allow domestic investors to trade certain stablecoins from overseas.

FTX is exploring options to revive its bankrupt international cryptocurrency exchange, FTX.com, CEO John Ray told the Wall Street Journal.

Cardano co-founder Charles Hoskinson said he is considering acquiring CoinDesk, the media arm of the struggling Digital Currency Group.

Crypto brokerage firm Genesis Global Capital filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Thursday in the Southern District of New York.

Bitcoin and Ether rebounded Friday morning in Asia along with all of the top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies. Cardano and Ripple led the gains.

Busan, South Korea’s second-largest city, announced Thursday that it will launch a digital commodities exchange in the second half of this year.

Crypto brokerage firm Genesis Global Capital is preparing to file for bankruptcy as early as this week, Bloomberg reported.