Timmy Shen

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.

China banks in Hong Kong are offering services to crypto businesses, Bloomberg reported on Monday, as more digital asset firms operate in the city.

Bitcoin’s mining difficulty level rose 7.56% on Friday, hitting an all-time high along with the network’s hashrate, showing miners are applying more computing power.

Angelina Kwan, who helped shape early Hong Kong automated trading services and internet trading regulation, told Forkast the upcoming virtual asset licensing regime is almost identical to that for traditional financial institutions.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has warned Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S., it may face legal charges related to staking services and digital asset listings.

South Korean singer G-Dragon has launched an NFT collection on OpenSea in collaboration with Fandom Studio.

Crypto in Taiwan remains largely unregulated, but lawmakers have requested the cabinet to appoint a regulator by May 16 to oversee all things crypto.

New York Community Bancorp will assume all deposits and certain loan portfolios of the failed Signature Bank, the FDIC said on Sunday.

Guo Wengui, an exiled Chinese billionaire, was arrested in New York on Wednesday for allegedly orchestrating a more than US$1 billion fraud conspiracy that included cryptocurrency, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). See related article: U.S. banking regulators warn against cryptocurrency fraud, contagion risks Fast facts […]

The decision to shut down Signature Bank at the weekend was not related to cryptocurrencies, the New York regulator told Reuters on Tuesday.

Circle said its $3.3 billion of USDC cash reserves at the collapsed Silicon Valley Bank will be available Monday after regulators stepped in to backstop deposits.

The Forkast SOL NFT Composite dropped 6.13% over the past week while sales increased. Industry expert suspects casino-like behavior of traders moving funds to new projects.

Canaan’s shares on Nasdaq closed 3.83% lower at US$2.51 on Wednesday after the cryptocurrency mining rig maker reported an 82% year-on-year drop in revenue on Tuesday for the fourth quarter of last year, citing “lackluster market demand” for mining machines as the price of Bitcoin fell.

The Forkast 500 NFT Index dipped 1.25% to 4,235.97 in the 24 hours through 10:00 a.m. in Hong Kong on Thursday.

Stablecoins could have a place in the U.S. financial services sector if appropriate regulation is put in place, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on Tuesday at a hearing before Congress.

Ethereum validators are benefiting from the increasingly heated competition between the two largest NFT marketplaces that is driving up gas fees, but the windfall may not last much longer.