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Virtual assets will receive the same regulatory clarity in Hong Kong as their real-world counterparts, says former Hong Kong SFC regulator Angelina Kwan.

China’s possible entry into NFTs, Russia’s crypto payments, and new token standards fuel market optimism.

Unpacking the NFT disparity at Veecon & BTC Miami 2023: established ETH vs emerging BTC. CryptoSlam seeks to bridge the gap.

Top blockchain and crypto news: Asia’s crypto hub race. Is US debt ceiling fight a boon or a bane for crypto? China’s red carpet for metaverse investment.

Just how decentralized are today’s DAOs? When compared to the world’s largest transnational corporations, not so much, says Pat Rawson, co-founder of Web3 innovation network Curve Labs.

VeeCon 2023 NFT conference inspires and strengthens the market with community focus and innovation. Gary Vaynerchuk’s keynote resonates with fans worldwide.

While U.S. regulators continue debating over whether cryptocurrencies are securities or commodities, the digital assets industry is being pleasantly welcomed by several Asian cities. And the competition is really hotting up now.

As U.S. regulators file lawsuits against cryptocurrency platforms, prompting some digital asset companies to seek more favorable jurisdictions, a fleet of cities in Asia are putting out the welcome mat, seeking to attract the jobs and investment that Web3 technologies promise. Right now, Hong Kong seems to be grabbing the limelight, but it has competition.

Circle Vice President of Global Policy Corey Then says he is optimistic that U.S. regulatory developments can eventually benefit local players despite ongoing scrutiny.

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.

Internet sleuths unearth the first financial transaction on Bitcoin, showcasing the potential of NFTs.

Bank of Korea, the central bank, seems uncomfortable with the Financial Services Commission, the country’s regulator, having the mandate over the cryptocurrency industry. The bank is pushing for more say, arguing crypto can influence the stability of the overall financial market and that involves the central bank.

While the community might be small, there’s a growing buzz around Web3 in Japan, with overseas companies now taking note. For clues on how to make it big in the land of the rising sun, follow the lead of the nation’s largest firms, says Sebastien Guillemot, co-founder of Paima Studios.

NFTs were ready for takeoff this week and Elon Musk’s tweet blasted it off.

Japan was an early believer in blockchain and cryptocurrencies until exchange hacks brought a crackdown. But that was then. Now the government has become a crypto cheerleader.

Bitcoin network faces heightened congestion with over 5 million inscriptions, exacerbating block space demand as BRC-20 tokens achieve a market cap milestone of $1 billion, contributing to increased activity on the network.

NFTs are changing in-game item ownership and value, yet the gaming industry remains skeptical. With microtransactions set to exceed $76 billion this year, it’s time for gamers to understand the benefits of NFT technology.

In the final installment of a three-part interview series, Geoff Kendrick, head of crypto research at Standard Chartered Bank, outlines the lender’s approach to crypto and why he thinks exploration of blockchain use cases is just beginning.

In the second installment of a three-part interview series, Geoff Kendrick, head of crypto research and EM FX West at Standard Chartered Bank, talks altcoins, stablecoins and the legitimization of crypto risk through central bank digital assets.

CryptoSlam introduces new wash trade metrics to help traders and professionals uncover the truth behind NFT sales volumes across major blockchains.

Against a backdrop of increasing turmoil in traditional banking, Bitcoin is on a four-month winning run that could, tailwinds permitting, soon turn into a surge.

Nearly 60% of April NFT sales on Ethereum have been flagged as wash trades, with Blur marketplace’s token farming incentivizing the activity, CryptoSlam data shows.

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.

NFT prices and trading volume are dropping but this could be an indicator of a maturing market.

Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange Bitget expects more clarity on Hong Kong’s licensing regime from June as the city pushes ahead with plans to attract blockchain and cryptocurrency entrepreneurs.

NFT IP allows traders to multiply their brands and grow. The Nakamigos collection has leveraged this advantage of the technology.

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

The culture of collecting unique digital assets may be here to stay, but data suggests that NFT prices may continue to fall.

Japan’s welcome mat for Web3 is shifting the tone from “buzzword” to opportunity, but success will hinge on the authorities adopting a global, flexible view toward this new technology, says Yudai Suzuki, co-founder of Fracton Ventures.

Mempool congestion issues subsided after the Bitcoin network surpassed 1 million Ordinals inscriptions.

South Korea’s Do Kwon went from a poster boy of digital finance as a co-founder of the US$40 billion Singapore-based Terraform Labs to a fugitive on Interpol’s wanted list, all in a matter of several rollercoaster years. He’s now in a Montenegro jail where he may face more time in detention as the U.S. and South Korea demand his extradition to face a long list of charges, including securities fraud – allegations he has repeatedly denied. The following is a timeline of how we got here.

Former President Donald Trump’s NFT collection’s floor price may be dropping, but media coverage may extend his profits from the digital trading cards.

The global culture of decentralized autonomous organizations arrived in Japan last week for DAO Tokyo, the first event of its kind in Asia according to the organizers, drawing over 350 founders and contributors from all corners of the world for discussions on all things DAO.

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.

Forkast Labs’ NFT indexes reveal Polygon’s US$3 million incentive to move y00ts over to its blockchain may have cost its users.

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.

NYDFS superintendent Harris called the idea of Operation Choke Point 2.0 “ludicrous,” but industry participants largely disagree. Was the shutdown of the three largest crypto-friendly institutions a coordinated effort to unbank crypto?

The NFT industry is gathering at New York for NFT.NYC, but the overloading frequency of events could be causing “event fatigue.”

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.

OpenSea has reignited the marketplace battle by introducing its own pro tool. What’s in it for NFT traders?

Dubai-based Fasset says Indonesia digital asset adoption is still in early stages, but the country’s young population is taking to crypto faster, encouraging exchanges to move in despite infrastructure constraints.

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.

Hong Kong’s new crypto licensing regime isn’t the only bullish sign for the city’s digital asset industry, says Signum Digital, the first company to win a preliminary license to handle securitized tokens in the city.

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.

India’s crime fighting agencies have been investigating crypto exchanges and individuals on money laundering charges and have now put the onus on exchanges to report suspicious transactions.

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.

Savvy traders are quick to extract liquidity to reinvest into the “slot machines” of the NFT casino, according to CryptoSlam’s NFT strategist.

NFT sales and market capitalization show rising investor activities, but recycled liquidity and wash trading may tell a different story, Forkast Labs co-CEO says.

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.

Look for blockchain, self-reliance in technology discussions in China’s biggest political meetings of the year as China’s President Xi Jinping’s aims to build a digital economy.

DBS bank’s digital exchange, which serves institutional clients, said macroeconomic conditions last year were not suitable for security token offerings (STO), but it will explore opportunities for such listings in 2023 and plans to add more crypto tokens.

Officials at Bitcoin mining companies say the rebound in prices so far this year for the world’s biggest cryptocurrency has thrown a lifeline to the industry after some miners sought protection from creditors last year amid the slump in the token’s price.

NFT data aggregator Cryptoslam has flagged more than half a billion dollars worth of NFT wash trades related to Blur since the marketplace’s Valentines airdrops started

Hong Kong’s proposed crypto licensing regime received Huobi Global’s pledge to return to the city, and more companies may follow, industry experts told Forkast.

Multi-billion dollar bankruptcies, fraud allegations, scandal, and plunging cryptocurrency prices in 2022 all characterized why investors came to distrust centralized exchanges. Yet, some commentators expect platforms to become ever more centralized … and regulated.

The digital asset space is ripe for regulation, and tokenized real estate is no exception. But views differ when it comes to finding a framework that fits.

The current payment system relied on by truck drivers runs through third parties and adds costs to supply chains and consumers. Could blockchain tech provide an alternative, and would truckers trust it?

Last year was memorable in the emerging world of digital assets for the sheer number of corporate failures. The industry itself has been asking for clearer legal guidelines to help development. Is that what’s happening now?

Hester Peirce said using enforcement action to dictate law in an emerging industry is the act of a “lazy” regulator, after the SEC fined the U.S.-based Kraken crypto exchange for failing to register staking programs.

Blockchain developers want a piece of the multi-billion dollar cloud computing pie. Do current heavyweights in the industry – Amazon, Google and Microsoft – have cause for concern?

Prosecutors flew to Serbia earlier this month as part of an investigation into Terraform Labs chief Do Kwon, who faces fraud accusations related to the US$40 billion collapse of his Terra-Luna cryptocurrency project in May last year.

Nearly three out of four institutional traders surveyed “have no plans to trade crypto,” while most see Artificial Intelligence as the next big disrupter.

The move marks a shift in tone from December when recipients of FTX donations were requested to “voluntarily” return the funds.

Cryptocurrency exchanges in India had lobbied the government to reduce taxes introduced last year, arguing the levies were backfiring by driving local investment offshore.

Bitcoin has long been the world’s largest cryptocurrency blockchain, but non-fungible tokens or NFTs were always the domain of Ethereum. A new protocol could change that, and some in the Bitcoin community are not too pleased.

Cryptocurrencies post the Terra-Luna, FTX failures were a debated topic at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos in the week through Jan. 20, with some authorities calling for a doubling down on regulations. Others had a more nuanced view.

India announces its full year budget on Feb. 1, the last before general elections in 2024, and the cryptocurrency and digital asset industry is lobbying the government for changes in tax rules, among others.

Hong Kong’s new digital asset-friendly policies could set the city up as the home for secondary NFT marketplaces from China as trading of ‘digital collectibles’ remains a gray area on the mainland.

The central bank rolled out a “red packet” feature for its digital currency, the e-CNY, for the Lunar New Year holiday but it will require help from the tech giants it has bashed to popularize the digital yuan.

South Korea’s attempts to extradite the founder of the collapsed Terra-Luna stablecoin will remain hamstrung while the courts in Seoul dispute the charges against him.

Indian cryptocurrency exchanges faced a flurry of taxes on trading last year that saw volumes across most platforms drop as much as 90%, slashing income from trading fees. What’s a crypto exchange to do? Maybe sell mutual funds?

Slump in prices of some non-fungible tokens and other digital assets allows U.S. holders to take advantage of a loophole to reduce capital gains taxes.