Forkast.News is now Forkast Labs

Articles by

Yihui Xie

Yihui Xie is part of the Forkast.News editorial team.

Author's profile on Twitter @yihui_X Author's profile on LinkedIn Yihui Xie

August 2021

Celsius Network grows 1,900% this year, US$20B AUM

In another sign of decentralized finance’s continued growth, Celsius Network has just announced it now has more than US$20 billion in assets under management – making it one of the largest DeFi platforms in the world. Fast facts These figures came from Celsius’ most recent quarterly internal audit, according to a company press release, which […]
and

July 2021

India admits it has no good data on crypto exchanges, despite years of debate over regulations

Speaking to Parliament, India’s finance minister reveals that the government does not know how many crypto exchanges India has nor the number of crypto users.

Here are Japan’s crypto investing bottlenecks, according to new report

Japan’s crypto-asset business association published a report yesterday that highlights issues in crypto investing for the country’s institutional investors.  Fast facts This report is an update of the latest use cases and projects from the “Discussion Paper Interim Report on Cryptocurrency Use Cases” published on May 7, 2021, and is a supplementary material to the […]

Bank of Thailand promotes blockchain in new guidelines

Thailand’s central bank yesterday published guidelines to regulate and promote the use of blockchain technology in the financial sector.  Fast facts Released by Siritida Panomwon Na Ayudhya, assistant governor of the payment systems policy and financial technology group at the Bank of Thailand, the guidelines provides principles for blockchain technology adoption by financial services providers.  […]

Big Indian banks take stakes in trade finance blockchain firm

Fifteen of India’s largest banks have invested in a fintech firm that aims to use blockchain to speed up domestic letters of credit, a first in domestic trade finance, regulatory filings to the National Stock Exchange of India show. Fast facts Named the Indian Banks’ Blockchain Infrastructure Co., the firm uses blockchain technology to verify […]

Philippine Digital Asset Exchange user numbers skyrocket

The Philippine Digital Asset Exchange, a cryptocurrency trading platform licensed by the central bank of the Philippines, now has more than 450,000 users, a 22.5-times increase from 2019, the bourse has told local media.  Fast facts PDAX Chief Executive Nichel Gaba said many Filipinos were crypto-curious, which explained why the number of traders on the […]

Facebook digital currency wallet Novi looks to add staff in Philippines

Facebook’s Novi, a digital wallet designed for its digital currency, Diem, is in hiring mode in the Philippines. Fast facts Facebook’s careers page currently shows five openings in the country for positions dedicated to Novi, including help operations investigator, onboarding coordinator and learning business partner. It has only one other opening in the entire Asia-Pacific […]

Binance expands in Singapore amid global crackdown

Binance, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, appears to be expanding its Singapore office. At the time of publishing, Linkedin showed that it had 261 job vacancies in Singapore — where its CEO, Changpeng Zhao, allegedly lives — among 964 vacancies globally.  Fast facts The talent Binance is seeking ranges from futures growth […]

Singapore crypto take-up reaches 43% of adults

Cryptocurrencies are gaining traction in Singapore, especially among younger investors. A survey of 1,000 Singaporeans carried out by Toluna, a consumer insights provider, has shown that 43% of Singaporeans own crypto and that 74% of them have increased their wealth by using it as an investment.  Fast facts The survey is said to have been […]

India central bank plans digital Rupee rollout

India plans to implement the country’s digital currency in phases, Reserve Bank of India’s deputy governor Shri T Rabi Sankar said at a webinar organized by the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, New Delhi.  Fast facts “CBDC (central bank digital currency) will be in the arsenal of most if not all central banks in the […]

Indonesian regulators play catch-up as crypto investment soars

Indonesia has seen red-hot growth in the crypto asset market, but the country’s regulators are just beginning to get to grips with burgeoning industry and formulate policy responses.

NFT buzz continues as OpenSea raises US$100M

OpenSea, the world’s second-biggest non-fungible token marketplace by trading volume, has raised US$100 million in a series B funding round led by venture capital firm A16z, the company has announced.  Fast facts The new funding raises the company’s value to US$1.5 billion, making it a unicorn — a start-up with a valuation of more than […]

Cryptocurrency payments appear to stall in Singapore

Retailers reluctant to accept currency they are said not to trust even as large finance sector players offer crypto products and beef up their holdings.

Grayscale launches new DeFi fund to woo investors seeking token-free exposure

Cryptocurrency investment manager Grayscale has started a fund focused on decentralized finance tokens and based on CoinDesk’s new DeFi-specific index, the company has said in an announcement.  Fast facts The fund offers investors a selection of leading DeFi protocols through a market capitalization-weighted portfolio designed to track the index. It allows investors to allocate funds […]

Bitcoin’s promise of financial freedom still beckons, academic says

In a special Q&A, Yale-NUS College professor Andrew Bailey says the world’s oldest cryptocurrency has untapped potential to promote liberty, equality and justice around the world.

Bitcoin price Google searches at lowest point for 2021. Is BTC still an inflation hedge?

The price of gold is rising with inflation. Then why is ‘digital gold’ Bitcoin’s price stagnant — and public interest in BTC falling to a new low?
and

Binance unauthorized in Italy, regulator warns

Italy has become the latest jurisdiction to clamp down on Binance amid regulatory pressure around the world centered on the biggest crypto exchange by trading volume. Fast facts Binance Group companies are “are not authorized to provide investment services and activities” in Italy, not even through the exchange’s website, “whose sections called ‘derivatives’ and ‘Stock […]

Indian court seeks standardized disclaimers on crypto ads

The Delhi High Court has sent a notice to government agencies and crypto exchanges to seek guidelines on crypto-related advertising on national television. Fast facts The division bench of Justice D.N. Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh sought responses from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the Securities and Exchange Board of India and crypto exchanges […]

Science school’s toilets turn dumps into digital currencies

Science institute building given bio-fuel boost as users poo to accrue.
and

Thai faithful pay up for religious trinket NFTs

Non-fungible tokens have gained traction across Asia, but in Thailand, the phenomenon has taken on a distinctive local twist: amulets featuring a revered abbot of a Buddhist monastery that believers say ward off evil spirits. Fast facts Crypto Amulets is a company that develops NFT amulets on the Ethereum blockchain. Founded in March, it offers […]

Japanese crypto scam leads to arrests after investors fleeced of US$54M

Police in Aichi Prefecture in central Japan have arrested four men on suspicion of crypto investment fraud, according to a report by Kyodo News.  Fast facts According to a person familiar with the matter, it was suspected that a total of at least 6 billion yen (US$54 million) was collected from more than 20,000 people […]

Crypto exchange Gemini plans expansion in Asia and Australia

U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange Gemini is planning to expand its Asia-Pacific operations to cash in on the region’s growth, the bourse’s Asia-Pacific Managing Director, Jeremy Ng, wrote in a blog post this week. Fast facts The new expansion is to capture the growth of its Singapore office after it was first established last year, he wrote.  […]

Japanese digital currency plans expected to take shape next year, lawmaker says

Japan’s plan to launch a digital yen is likely to come into sharper focus in late 2022, a lawmaker overseeing the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s digital currency strategy has told Reuters.  Fast facts The Bank of Japan launched the first phase of a central bank digital currency experiment in April. It hopes to move to […]

Philippine bourse eyes role as crypto exchange

The Philippine Stock Exchange wants to be the country’s platform for trading crypto assets when regulators issue rules to govern the sector, according to a report by CNN Philippines.  Fast facts Stock exchange President and CEO Ramon Monzon said the bourse’s management had first discussed the idea of setting up a domestic crypto exchange two […]

June 2021

Gold loses shine for India’s crypto-curious young investors

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.
and

Mexican finance minister reiterates crypto ban after bank unveils Bitcoin plan

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
and

Chinese crypto mining rig maker Bitmain suspends sales as prices drop

Chinese mining rig maker Bitmain has stopped selling in-stock cryptocurrency mining equipment amid a plunge in the prices following a shutdown of major mining pools in China.

Chinese central bank orders lenders to cut cryptos’ financial lifelines

The People’s Bank of China has told the country’s big banks and other finance sector heavyweights to cut off financing sources for cryptocurrency transactions.

Miami woos crypto miners fleeing China

The city’s mayor says it welcomes an exodus of miners from China amid a generalized clampdown on the industry.

New Singapore telco to offer contract-free, blockchain-backed services

Gorilla Mobile, Singapore’s newest mobile virtual network operator, is set to roll out blockchain technology to offer contract-free services.

Blockchain-powered air quality sensor test launches in Hong Kong

France-based PlanetWatch, which records air quality data on Algorand’s blockchain, has launched its first test sensor in Hong Kong.

Algorithm-generated NFT artwork sells at Sotheby’s for US$11.8M

Auction house Sotheby’s has sold a non-fungible token of a digital artwork known as “CryptoPunk, Alien #7523” for US$11.8 million.

Taiwan boy band star Van Ness Wu praises NFTs, prepares for charity selfie sale

California-born singer looks to rekindle relationship with his fans as he pledges to donate the proceeds from his NFT sale to a Taiwan-based NGO.

May 2021

Digital yuan is not a surveillance tool, says Chinese ex-central bank director

Former People’s Bank of China Director Yao Qian says that the country’s digital yuan is not a surveillance tool for the government.

Asia-Pacific fintech investment more than doubles in first quarter

Fintech companies in Asia-Pacific pulled in US$2.35 billion in investment during the first three months of 2021, more than the total amount raised in the first half of the previous year.