Timmy Shen

While Asia nations such as Singapore and Thailand seem to be following the U.S. regulator in frowning upon certain products offered by crypto exchanges, the approach in Asia so far seems to be clarity instead of court battles, in contrast with North America

All top 10 cryptocurrencies rose, led by Solana, as another financial heavyweight applied to offer a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund and data showed the U.S. economy in good health. Stocks rose.

Bitcoin dropped but remained above US$30,000, with all other major cryptocurrencies falling, as investors reacted to news of MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin purchase and ARK Invest’s spot Bitcoin ETF plan.

Bitcoin rose along with other major cryptocurrencies. Fidelity reportedly plans a second spot Bitcoin ETF application in the U.S. following BlackRock’s move earlier this month. A strong day on Wall Street also offered support.

Bitcoin slipped in directionless trading while Ether retreated, but both held gains for the past seven days. Most other top 10 tokens lost ground, led by Solana, while Tron was in the green as markets entered the last trading week of June.

Bitcoin held ground above US$30,000 following a week of traditional financial institutions showing interest in financial instruments that include the token. The U.S. regulator approved the first leveraged Bitcoin Futures ETF on Friday.

New York-based asset manager WisdomTree has submitted a new application for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund in the U.S., less than a week after BlackRock filed its application for a similar spot Bitcoin ETF.

Paul Chan, Hong Kong’s financial secretary, said more than 150 Web3 companies had registered at the Cyberport business park.

The ETF, if approved, would be the first publicly traded crypto product of its kind in the U.S., but the SEC just sued crypto exchanges for alleged securities violations and has rejected similar ETF applications in the past.

A higher difficulty reading indicates it is more competitive to mine Bitcoin, reducing profit. The network’s hashrate also increased to a record high. 

Prices of XRP, which powers some of Ripple Labs’ payment services, reversed gains that followed the release of internal SEC documents related to the lawsuit against Ripple.

The operations of cryptocurrency trading platform Binance.US, “would quickly grind to a halt” if a court rules in favor of an SEC request last week to freeze the firm’s assets, the company said Monday in a court filing.

Local legislator suggests global cryptocurrency exchanges such as U.S.-based Coinbase set up operations in Hong Kong as the city’s new licensing regime for crypto retail trading took effect on June 1.

Binance.US, a cryptocurrency trading platform set up by Binance chief Changpeng Zhao to serve U.S. clients, said on Friday that it has suspended U.S. dollar deposits to protect customers amid intensifying regulatory pressure.

Bitcoin fails to break US$27,000 ceiling. Binance’s BNB gained 2%, even as latest SEC filing alleges customer funds were moved to private accounts, a charge Binance rejected.

The SEC lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase have sent alt coins tumbling. Binance’s BNB lost 15.7% over the past week.

Nearly all top 10 tokens rebounded as investors look beyond U.S. regulator’s lawsuits against two of the world’s most influential crypto exchanges.

The U.S. SEC has extended the list of cryptocurrencies it considers unregistered securities to cover US$115 billion worth of tokens following its Monday lawsuit against crypto exchange Binance, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

All top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies took a sharp fall Tuesday morning in Asia, after the SEC sued Binance over alleged securities violations.

Bitcoin, Ether traded little changed Monday morning in Asia, along with most other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies. However, both Solana and XRP rose.

Japan’s All Nippon Airways, or ANA Group, has launched a non-fungible token platform known as “ANA GranWhale NFT MarketPlace” to trade art and photograph collectibles through its metaverse subsidiary ANA NEO, the company tweeted on Thursday.

Bitcoin’s mining difficulty level rose 3.4% on Thursday to an all-time high, as the network’s hashrate also increased to a record high.

Tether, the issuer of the world’s most traded stablecoin, will invest in power generation and Bitcoin mining in Uruguay to tap the country’s renewable energy resources, the company said on Tuesday.

Dubai-headquartered Bybit said it will exit the Canadian crypto market and stop accepting new accounts from Wednesday, citing a “recent regulatory development.”

A proposed tax on electricity used by cryptocurrency miners in the U.S. has been scrapped in the deal to raise the country’s debt ceiling, according to Republican congressman Warren Davidson.

Beijing’s local government on Saturday released a white paper outlining plans and challenges for development of the city’s Web 3.0 industry.

Surge of interest in AI chipmaker Nvidia extends to crypto, Binance and Blur vie for top NFT lender spot, while uncertainty abounds over U.S. debt talks.

All top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies fell, as investors assess macro sentiment.

Top 10 non-stablecoin cryptos traded mixed, while investors continue to assess U.S. debt talks.

The top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ether, were up across the board as U.S. Fed rate talks and debt negotiation outcomes remain unpredictable.

Bitcoin fell below US$27,000 on Sunday, dipping further Monday morning in Asia as wider macro developments continue to weigh.

Ripple Labs has launched a new payment platform for a central bank digital currency in Hong Kong.

Rollout of the central bank digital currency in Hong Kong is a potential game-changer and a move that others may soon look to follow.

Bitcoin’s mining difficulty level rose 3.22% on Thursday, hitting an all-time high, as the network’s hashrate also increased to a record high.

A U.S. federal judge has denied a motion by the SEC to seal internal documents related to a speech given by the SEC’s former director on whether cryptocurrencies are securities.

As part of the ongoing legal dispute between the two, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said it would not be hurried into a response to Coinbase demands.

Regulatory hurdles have once again hit Binance in North America, with the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange announcing on Friday that it would cease operations in Canada due to tightened crypto rules.

Binance.US is reportedly exploring ways to cut founder Changpeng Zhao’s ownership stake in the company, The Information reported on Thursday, citing two sources familiar with the matter.

The issuer of the world’s most traded stablecoin raked in US$1.48 billion in net profit for the first quarter of this year, more than double the previous quarter, according to the company’s reserves report on Wednesday.

Daily transactions on the Litecoin blockchain hit all-time highs over the past two days amid the Bitcoin network’s congestion and higher transaction fees, Glassnode data showed.

The startup, originally incubated by the South China Morning Post, has closed a financing round led by Blue Pool Capital and Animoca Ventures.

Binance resumed withdrawals of Bitcoin around Monday noon in Hong Kong after temporarily halting the service twice within 12 hours due to what the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange said was a “large volume of pending transactions.”

Henan Cultural Tourism Investment Group, a state-owned investment enterprise in Central China’s Henan province, has set up a 150 million yuan private equity investment fund to finance metaverse ventures.

Binance says it works closely with law enforcement to freeze funds and the news agency’s report left out “critical facts.”

Andrew Webber of Digital Power Optimization says more renewable energy would get built “if it was more profitable” and that’s where Bitcoin mining can help.

Singapore-headquartered cryptocurrency miner Bitdeer Technologies is planning to expand its mining operations to Bhutan and raise up to US$500 million for a fund through a new partnership with the Himalayan kingdom’s state-owned investment company Druk Holding and Investments.

The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden is campaigning for a tax on cryptocurrency miners equal to 30% of the cost of the power they use, citing what it calls “negative spillovers” from the industry.

Sotheby’s, which accounts for 24% of global art auction sales, has launched an online secondary marketplace for its curated NFTs as the 279-year-old auction house for fine art expands its push into digital assets.

Coinbase said the Securities and Exchange Commission seems to be undermining its own role as the monitor of companies registering to sell shares to the public

New York-based investment bank H.C. Wainwright has initiated a “buy” rating on publicly traded Coinbase Global Inc., the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S., saying the company is poised to benefit from growth in the global digital asset economy as the so-called “crypto winter” of falling prices is over.

Meta Platforms Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said the social media giant is not moving away from its metaverse focus despite reporting repeated losses in the billions of dollars at its division dedicated to developing the virtual reality online world. 

Binance.US, a cryptocurrency exchange set up by Binance chief Changpeng Zhao to serve U.S. clients, has pulled out of a US$1.3 billion deal to buy bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital, the company said Tuesday, citing a lack of clear regulations in the country for the crypto industry.

Ethereum-linked digital asset investment products saw inflows of around US$17 million in the week ending April 21, up from US$300,000 in the previous week, appearing to show investor confidence following the blockchain’s milestone upgrade, Coinshares report shows.

Bitcoin’s mining difficulty level rose 1.72% on Thursday to a record high, while the network’s hashrate increased, showing miners are applying more computing power.

Shares of Singapore-based cryptocurrency miner Bitdeer have slid more than 35% since their Nasdaq debut on April 14, and were trading at US$6.41 at closing on Wednesday.

CoinShares data showed Ethereum-linked products saw little investment interest with inflows of around US$300,000 in the week ending April 14, accounting for a tiny portion of the total US$114 million weekly inflow into digital assets and despite the blockchain’s milestone upgrade last week.

The U.S. House Financial Services Committee is set to hold a hearing on April 19 to discuss a draft bill released over the weekend on regulating stablecoins, a class of digital currency designed to offer price stability by being pegged to another asset’s value.

As part of its February settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the U.S.-based Kraken crypto exchange has submitted the largest Ether withdrawal request since Wednesday’s upgrade to the Ethereum blockchain. The SEC ordered Kraken to shut down what it called unregistered staking programs.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said regulators need to come up with clear crypto regulations and should understand that the crypto industry is different from the traditional financial industry.

Ether holders withdrew more than US$102 million worth of Ether in the first six hours after the Shanghai upgrade opened the door to cash out the staked token, though analysts see the amount as within expectations.

China has fined Bitmain, one of the world’s biggest producers of cryptocurrency mining rigs, nearly US$3.6 million for alleged tax violations, according to the Beijing tax authorities.

Singapore-headquartered crypto mining firm Bitdeer Technologies is set to go public on Nasdaq on April 14 via a SPAC merger following multiple delays in closing the US$4 billion deal.

Binance.US, a unit cryptocurrency exchange Binance set up to serve U.S. customers, will delist the native token of the Tron blockchain, TRX, on April 18.

Adam Sullivan, whose most recent role was managing director of XMS Capital Partners, will will work on financial and strategic matters while assisting with the negotiation of a reorganization plan.

The upcoming upgrade to the Ethereum blockchain will allow users to withdraw millions of “staked” Ether, the native cryptocurrency, for potential sale. That would typically indicate a flood of selling pressure awaits the token, but not everyone is buying that.

Former executives of the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX failed to install appropriate financial controls in the company, complicating the asset recovery process, the restructuring team of the failed exchange said.

U.S.-based Bitcoin miner TeraWulf, which started operations in March last year, reported a 146% surge in revenue in the fourth quarter of last year compared to the previous quarter, citing expanded mining capacity. 

Hong Kong may issue virtual asset trading licenses to at least eight cryptocurrency-related firms by the end of this year as part of the city’s new crypto licensing regime, said Angelina Kwan, chief executive officer of financial services firm Stratford Finance and a former regulator of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission.

The Binance comments came in response to a Financial Times article that cited internal documents and said the company had close ties with China despite claims it had left the country in 2017 following a government crackdown.

Binance saw about US$627 million in net Ethereum-related withdrawals in the 24 hours through Tuesday morning, data from blockchain analytics platform Nansen showed.

Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange OKX said it will apply for virtual asset licenses to operate digital asset services in Hong Kong.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said the charges are “an unexpected and disappointing civil complaint” in response to the CFTC lawsuit filed on Monday against him and the world’s largest crypto exchange.