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In the first of a two-part report on this year’s cryptocurrency gathering in Singapore, defiance outshone defeatism despite industry’s struggles.

Who will regulate the regulators is a time-honored question and one Bitcoin enthusiasts raise when talking about the benefits of the token’s fixed supply versus the tendency of central banks to switch the money spigots off and on.

Chinese authorities can track e-CNY wallet transaction history, if warranted, thanks to its ‘managed anonymity’ design.

The coastal city was a prominent manufacturer of footwear, fabric and other light industries during the 1970s and 80s, and then grew into one of the world’s biggest container ports. Now it’s trying to reinvent itself in the digital world of blockchain.

Binance generated controversy when it told customers it would convert their holdings in three stablecoins to its own stablecoin. Some analysts say the concerns are overblown, others disagree.

Yi He, who manages the multibillion-dollar portfolio at Binance Labs, is looking to invest in Web 3.0 projects from infrastructure, application and data to analytics and security.

A member of the prosecuting team tells Forkast additional charges are likely to be leveled against Terraform Labs Chief Executive Officer Do Kwon following this week’s issuance of an arrest warrant for violating the country’s Capital Markets Act.

Prosecutors investigating the man behind the US$37 billion wipeout of the Terra-LUNA cryptocurrency project are raising the stakes to get him back to South Korea.

When is a cryptocurrency a security and when is it not? Financial regulators around the world are raising that question. The answer that comes out of the U.S. may set the tone, but South Korea is also ahead in tackling it.

Crypto exchanges in India say the number of female investors isn’t huge, but it is growing even as prices slide and new taxes eat into revenue.

The Merge is a milestone in slashing electricity use on the Ethereum blockchain, but there are plenty more upgrades in the pipeline.

The Merge is the most anticipated event in the crypto industry in years, but could the multibillion dollar non-fungible token industry become an unexpected casualty?

The most critical upgrade in Ethereum’s history is just around the corner, so what will it mean for prices of cryptocurrency?

White House says carbon footprint of crypto industry does not align with goals to decarbonize the economy.

China’s Blockchain-based Service Network wears two hats in building blockchains: one for business in China and one for everywhere else, but it doesn’t see a role for crypto in either.

With over 100 countries experimenting with the technology behind Central Bank Digital Currencies, the World Economic Forum of Davos fame lays out its views on the potential benefits and drawbacks of CBDCs.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange said the move was designed to “enhance liquidity and capital-efficiency for users.” 

In facing a government hostile to cryptocurrency trading, Indian exchanges are trying to attract new business with suites of different investment products.

The NFT hype from earlier in the year is dying off as the market continues its downward path into the final third of the year. Fire sale coming for apes and cats?

South Korea last week said crypto token airdrops are subject to a gift tax of as much as 50% under existing laws, but what is the likelihood this rule can be applied to digital holdings?

Are you a good runner? Or eater? Or sleeper? Chances are whatever you’re good at, there’s a Web3 project out there to reward you in crypto. But do the tokenomics stack up?

Despite the Indian government’s hostility towards cryptocurrencies, the CoinDCX exchange says more traditional financial products will shift to DeFi platforms.

The city-state hosted a seminar with a title that it hopes sums up its crypto approach: “Yes to digital asset innovation, No to cryptocurrency speculation.”

Panelists speaking at Forkast’s recently live-streamed event “Crypto Rising: The future of crypto regulation: APAC and Beyond,” co-hosted by Crypto Council for Innovation (CCI), said there need to be international cooperation among regulators from around the world to make any oversight of the crypto industry effective.

Ethereum has by far the most developers from DeFi projects to NFTs so how are they expected to respond to a plan by Etheruem miners to fork the network, a move miners argue is needed to stay in business.

Financial instruments sold and traded on a public blockchain could be the next big thing, so Forkast caught up with OSL to hear about what’s planned.

The Treasury Department says its plan for how to regulate cryptocurrencies is unlike anything else in the world, but the country’s crypto industry isn’t sure that’s a good thing.

Not every NFT collection is facing the same issue, but due to the collection’s outsized influence it could have a significant impact on the rest of the Ethereum NFT ecosystem.

Report by Chainalysis says both use cases fell in dollar terms in first half of year and while legitimate usage by value far exceeds criminal, illicit activities fell by a much narrower margin.The report attempts to explain why.

In a Q&A, the former cryptocurrency miner explains his methods for trying to pull together a band of Ethereum mining brethren in order to keep their rigs running. The idea started at a party at his house.

Cross currents: BlackRock Inc, the world’s biggest money manager, is talking about Bitcoin opportunities amid a market slump. Singapore’s Coinhako looks to have similar ideas.

Nasdaq-listed Eqonex’s decision to shutter its low-fee crypto exchange business to focus on asset management and custodial services may prompt similar moves in the highly commoditized industry.

Australia’s retirement fund industry, the world’s fifth largest at US$2.3 trillion, is one future target for investment funds offering cryptocurrencies.

Something of a sea change? Financial institutions that once turned up their noses at cryptocurrencies are now figuring out ways to get access for their clients.

Follow the money? Korea Blockchain Week concludes this weekend in Seoul and one of the overarching themes is enthusiasm for blockchain-based gaming as the key to opening up a Web3 world to a broader audience.

After high-profile cyberattacks on decentralized apps, the blockchain industry is in a hurry to ramp up security. Sam Sangmin Seo, head of Klaytn, tells Forkast that minimizing human error may be the key.

What’s a crypto trader to do when the government freezes exchange assets, sparking a war of words between supposedly ‘merged’ exchanges?

How does a centralized internet browser plan for a decentralized future? Reinvention, and finding a receptive audience. First stop, Southeast Asia.

The U.S. bill to bring cryptocurrencies under the oversight of the Commodities Futures and Trading Commission is likely to hasten legislation of such digital assets around the world.

Lawmakers are pulling together regulations for trading in digital assets. If all goes to plan, the so-called Digital Asset Basic Act will be in shape by the first half of 2023.

India’s government doesn’t like cryptocurrencies and has made that clear in statements and with heavy taxes on the asset class, but what does that say about blockchain adoption?

Beijing’s drive to stamp out crypto mining and the slump in crypto prices are headwinds that Canaan says it knows how to deal with, adding that the crypto winter may be shorter than expected.

Market analysts are mixed on outlook for non-fungible tokens, as some see mostly gloom, others point to glimmers of optimism.

A lack of certainty over future regulation and a long lockdown in Shanghai are pushing some Chinese Web3 companies to set up shop in Singapore.

A new report by Chainalysis shows that sanctioned actors, especially in North Korea and Russia, are sending record sums to crypto mixers.

Aiming to uncover the next “BTS in finance,” Chairman Kim Joo-hyun of the Korean Financial Services Commission (FSC) is calling for “bold reforms” in financial regulations, including in crypto assets.

New Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Felipe Medalla is no fan of crypto, but in an exclusive interview with Forkast, he said there’s no plan to outlaw the digital asset.

Residential rehabilitation centers around the world are starting to see a new kind of patient with an old problem: gambling addiction focused on crypto trading.

The price is bouncing back for the world’s favorite cryptocurrency and one Bitcoin expert tells Forkast now’s a good time to shift focus from price volatility to use cases.

Hoping to strike crypto riches, Joel Stein follows the footsteps of a master degen investor. Here are the secrets revealed to him.

The country’s major game developers continue to focus on overseas markets as there are no signs of a thaw in the government’s stance on games that include elements of blockchain and play-to-earn.

A focus on economic sustainability, or play-and-earn, is driving the P2E industry to rein in incentives and instead attract and engage gamers in the hope that they will end up spending on in-game assets.

Fresh claims that emerged over the weekend about the status of Circle’s USDC reserves cast doubts on the ability of the so-called stablecoin to maintain its peg. In a deep dive, Forkast examined the allegations and reached out to the company for its version of events.

The failure of a crypto market player may have spillover effects on traditional finance such as short-term funding markets, says the Basel-based international body.

In an exclusive interview with Forkast Editor-in-Chief Angie Lau, Circle Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Fox-Geen said reserves backing the so-called USDC stablecoin are ring-fenced from any potential fallout from the contagion engulfing crypto markets.

Will fashion shows move from Paris and Tokyo catwalks to potential audiences of millions in the metaverse? China’s Xiaohongshu social media site is testing the idea.

The crypto winter is killing off companies that took on big risks when markets were booming. So is this the shakeout all financial markets go through?

Crypto industry sales are slumping, but it’s not just hedge funds and lenders that have been hit hard by the crypto winter. The NFT industry has also begun to feel the chill.

The crash of Terra-LUNA threw the entire crypto space into a dark funk, and raised questions about the safety and role of stablecoins. CFTC Commissioner Caroline D. Pham offers a regulators’ viewpoint at a Forkast+ exclusive event.

India’s government can’t seem to decide on following China with an outright ban on crypto trading. So is it bent instead on suffocating traders and exchanges with taxes?

South Korea’s behemoth music industry is trying to sidestep its reliance on human performers by debuting virtual stars in the metaverse. But severing ties with fallible K-pop idols is easier said than done.

While critics say the bubble has burst on crypto, Wall Street is moving in to take advantage of what could be some fire-sale asset prices.

Whither Singapore in the cryptocurrency world? The Monetary Authority of Singapore has some views on that and as with most markets, there are winners and losers.

Deeper structural flaws in crypto make it unsuitable as the basis of a monetary system that serves society, the Bank for International Settlements said in its annual report.

One door closes and another opens, which seems to be what’s happening in Singapore as the crypto price slump restructures the trading environment.

In a decentralized society envisaged under crypto, everybody is reportedly equal. But as the market strains under considerable stress, it’s showing some are more equal than others.

LGBT event organizers see the metaverse as technology of the emerging Web3.0 world that opens doors and opportunities for marginalized communities.

A perceived failure to address increasing fraud in the NFT industry prompts calls for regulation and the adoption of a more centralized approach to weed out bad actors.

Enticed by promises of crypto rewards, Joel Stein hits the streets of Los Angeles with a beautiful NFT sneaker. What does he earn — and learn?

Prosecutors said they also wish to interview Terraform Labs Chief Executive Officer Kwon Do Hyung as part of an investigation into the multibillion dollar collapse of the company.

High taxes amid a bear market are tempering the enthusiasm for NFTs among Indians. But industry participants expect the country’s unique cultural and demographic characteristics to provide a long-term fillip to the industry.

After a short-lived recovery, Bitcoin, Ether and other cryptocurrencies are trading lower on fears of a contagion risk from a possible financial implosion at Three Arrows Capital.