Jeanhee Kim

President Joe Biden on Wednesday urged the federal government to research and develop a digital dollar in an executive order describing broader directives for a coordinated and comprehensive U.S. approach to digital assets. See related article: CBDC tracker shows U.S. falling further behind Fast facts “My Administration places the highest urgency on research and development […]

Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Federov said on Thursday that Ukraine would cancel a crypto airdrop created to reward its donors that had been announced just one day before. Fast facts “After careful consideration we decided to cancel airdrop. Every day there are more and more people willing to help Ukraine to fight back the agression. […]

Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov on Tuesday thanked crypto companies by name for their financial support in their defense against the Russian invasion. Fast facts “I am grateful to @gavofyork, who made an impressive donation of $5M from @Polkadot $DOT. This will certainly contribute to the Ukrainian victory as well as support civil […]

The U.S. is asking crypto exchanges around the world to prevent Russia from skirting sanctions imposed after it invaded Ukraine last week, Bloomberg reported. See related article: Binance may join sanctions imposed on Russian targets Fast facts The Biden administration is concerned that cryptocurrencies can be used to evade heavily regulated traditional financial systems. The […]

President Biden’s executive order directing agencies to devise a comprehensive strategy to regulate cryptocurrencies and other digital assets and examine a digital dollar may be issued next week, according to Yahoo! Finance. Fast facts The order, expected weeks ago, was delayed by a disagreement between the White House and the Treasury over its scope, Bloomberg […]

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, dubbed Crypto Mom, dissented in Monday’s US$100M BlockFi settlement, saying the punishment does not fit the crime.

China does not expect significant impact on its monetary system if the digital dollar were introduced, said Mu Changchun, director-general of the People’s Bank of China Digital Currency Initiative on Wednesday. He spoke at a panel organized by the Atlantic Council think tank to support the release of the International Monetary Fund’s report on central […]

A U.S. taxpayer fighting the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) over whether newly created tokens are taxable income announced Thursday that he has rejected the government’s offer of a refund in order to force the government to clarify its policy. Fast facts On Thursday, Joshua Jarrett shared on Twitter that the IRS had offered him a […]

The two most popular NFT-related crimes, money laundering and wash trading, resulted in illicit profits of US$10 million in 2021, according to a report released Wednesday by blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis. Fast facts While the US$10 million of global NFT criminal activity is relatively small, Chainalysis reported a spike in the use of illicit funds […]

Fresh off a US$32 billion valuation, crypto derivatives exchange FTX Trading said Wednesday it will acquire its Japanese competitor Liquid Group and all its subsidiaries. Fast facts The deal is expected to close in March, according to a Liquid release. “Following FTX’s acquisition of Liquid, Quoine will gradually integrate FTX’s products and services into its […]

Lawyer for 63,000 XRP investors invites non-US investors to demand a congressional investigation of the SEC for impropriety.

The owner and operator of cryptocurrency exchange FTX.COM announced Monday it closed US$400 million in a Series C fundraise that now values the company at US$32 billion. Fast facts Investors participating in this round included Temasek, SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Tiger Global, among others. The company said all of the investors have participated in […]

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is scrutinizing the cryptocurrency companies Celsius Network, Gemini Trust and Voyager Digital about their practice of paying interest on crypto token deposits, Bloomberg.com reported on Thursday. Fast facts The SEC has begun an enforcement review focused on whether these tokens are unregistered securities, the report states, citing unnamed sources […]

San Francisco-based Ripple Labs announced Tuesday that on the heels of a strong year it bought back the shares it sold in a 2019 fundraise and is now valued at US$15 billion. Fast facts The blockchain payments platform developer is in the middle of a 13-months-long lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission […]

The global cryptocurrency market rose along with smaller gains in the broader equity and bond markets in the aftermath of a Federal Reserve Open Market Committee statement Wednesday afternoon that it would leave interest rates untouched at near zero but expects to raise them soon. As the market digested the latest report, prices began trending […]

A federal judge on Monday has given the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) until Feb. 17 to fight her earlier order to turn over to the defendant Ripple Labs certain sensitive government documents in the agency’s lawsuit alleging the XRP token is an unregistered security. Fast facts Ripple and XRP investors initially believed they […]

Though the world’s most powerful central bank does not stake a position, its discussion paper is a big step toward supporting a future US digital currency.

The fast-growing crypto exchange Crypto.com discloses large amounts of Bitcoin and Ether were stolen from 483 customers.

Russia needs new laws for a comprehensive ban on crypto and crypto-related activities within its borders, the Bank of Russia stated in a report published Thursday.  Fast facts The recommendation is the latest in a global cryptocurrency crackdown from China and other Asian nations to the United States, as governments fear instability and loss of […]

Hong Kong-based Animoca Brands announced a US$358,888,888 capital raise Tuesday that values the blockchain gaming and open metaverse company at US$5 billion. Fast facts The round was led by New York-based Liberty City Ventures, with more than 18 other investors around the world, including Kingsway Capital, Sequoia China, Smile Group, Soros Fund Management and Winklevoss […]

The U.S. Federal Reserve is deferring to Congress to decide whether to introduce a central bank digital currency (CBDC), Lael Brainard told the Senate banking committee Thursday at her Fed vice chair nomination hearing. Fast facts Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis asked whether the vice chair nominee believed that the digital dollar should be available to […]

An investor is suing Kim Kardashian; boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr.; Hall of Fame basketball player Paul Pierce, and the cofounders of Ethereum Max for allegedly colluding to promote the cryptocurrency last spring in a pump-and-dump scheme, according to papers filed on Jan 7. Fast facts The investor, Ryan Huegerich, brought the federal suit in the […]

Attorneys for Ripple Labs Inc. filed a response with a federal judge Monday asserting the U.S.  Securities and Exchange Commission is misapplying a recent ruling in another case in an attempt to deprive Ripple of an affirmative defense in the ongoing lawsuit, SEC v. Ripple Labs Inc.  Fast facts In Monday’s letter, Ripple argued the […]

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will reiterate his pledge to prevent entrenched inflation, in testimony released before his Senate nomination hearing on Tuesday.  Fast facts “We will use our tools to support the economy and a strong labor market and to prevent higher inflation from becoming entrenched,” he said in a statement prepared for delivery. […]

Since China’s crypto bans, Kazakhstan has become a popular destination of energy-intensive crypto mining companies.

Hackers scam 7,000 Solana, or US$1.3 million, from would-be buyers of a new NFT collection of the Monkey Kingdom project.

Of the Big Four central banks, including those of the EU, UK and Japan, only the Federal Reserve has not progressed beyond research mode in central bank digital currencies.

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

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.

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

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

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

A jury cleared Craig Wright of all but one charge in a civil trial brought by the estate of his alleged former business partner, David Kleiman.

In written responses to questions from Sen. Pat Toomey, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen releases non-custodial service providers from strict reporting rules.

Conversation between current and former SEC chairs at annual digital asset compliance summit focused on regulating crypto.

Fed chairman Jerome Powell signaled that tighter monetary policy may be coming, which sent Bitcoin price’s down slightly.

Initial operations are available to invited institutional investors including Hong Kong crypto finance service provider, Amber Group.

Twitter’s stock rose 10% on the news, and his other company, Square, also opened up 4%.

Hex Trust and Animoca Brands team up to tackle a key problem in gamefi.

Blockchain gaming company Animoca reacts to a US$1.1 million scam on a Discord server for its upcoming new game release.

Three U.S. agencies released a joint statement outlining a plan to fast-track crypto-asset regulation in 2022.

BloXmove will use the Ontology blockchain to allow people to have one decentralized, secure identifier to share across multiple transportation apps.

American lifestyle guru Martha Stewart auctions a storytelling NFT recounting her first, disastrous Thanksgiving dinner.

Following news of a strategic alliance with Big Four accounting firm Deloitte, AVAX rose above US$106, up 90% for the month.

As global markets continue to watch the Evergrande debt crisis nervously, Chinese bank branch agrees to U.S. risk management measures.

The creator of the Mirror protocol and its CEO Do Kwon have little recourse but to comply with the SEC subpoena to produce documents and testify.

The SEC rejected a Bitcoin spot ETF, citing the possibility of fraud, which briefly sent BTC prices down.

Mayor Francis Suarez may be on his way to eliminating taxes by paying residents a crypto dividend

Within minutes of reports showing U.S. consumer prices rising and weekly wages falling, Bitcoin surged on inflation fears.

Before the crypto-enthusiastic mayor-elect has been sworn in, a grassroots effort announces it will launch a Bitcoin-backed token to support the city.

The bell has rung on the friendly, post-Election Day competition between leaders of two major American cities for who will be the crypto-friendliest mayor of all.

NYC Mayor-elect Eric Adams said he wanted to ‘look at what’s preventing the growth of Bitcoins and cryptocurrency in our city.’

The outcome of a Miami civil trial may uncover who Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto really was, and who owns his rumored US$66 billion in Bitcoin.

On the morning after the successful debut of the first U.S.-approved Bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund, Bitcoin’s price surpassed $65,000, reaching an all-time high. Fast facts On Wednesday, Bitcoin reached a high of US$67,276.79, according to Coingecko. Bitcoin’s previous peak was US$64,804.72 on April 14, 2021. The first U.S. Bitcoin-futures exchange-traded fund, ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF, […]

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) on Monday released a white paper proposing potential technical architecture and design for the infrastructure of a digital Hong Kong dollar. The paper is one of the deliverables described in Project e-HKD, a feasibility study the HKMA announced in June 2021. Fast facts Hong Kong began its exploration of […]

In an interview by the Washington Post on Tuesday, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler questioned the future of cryptocurrency, saying, “I don’t think there’s a long-term viability for five- or six thousand private forms of money. History tells us otherwise.” He added that “in the meantime, it’s worthwhile to have an investor […]

In the last installment of a 3-part series on blockchain in Asia, Forkast.News examines: Everyone knows money has value. But does it also have ‘values’?

How China’s deployment of the digital yuan intertwines economics with geopolitics and concrete with virtual infrastructure, from Cambodia to the Caribbean.

Long before most governments, the Asian superpower saw the potential in Bitcoin’s technology to spawn the next internet and a new form of money.