Terra’s governance vote closed on Wednesday evening Asia time with 65.50% of governance voters in favor of Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon’s proposal to create a new blockchain. See related article: Terra raises aUST initial token float to 30% in revival plan amendment Fast facts Kwon’s “Terra Ecosystem Revival Plan 2” ditches the algorithmic stablecoin […]

The Lu Xun High School in China’s Hainan province has provided students with a new campus smart card device with digital yuan payment functionalities, further expanding use of the e-currency at education institutions, China’s largest state-owned broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) reported Tuesday. See related article: Covid-19, postponed Asian Games to push digital yuan into […]

Nasdaq-listed Coinbase Global, Inc. became the first cryptocurrency company to make it to the Fortune 500 list of the biggest U.S. corporations on Monday.  See related article: Coinbase blames India’s central bank for exit Fast facts Coinbase’s 2021 revenue of US$7.8 billion brought the company to the 437th rank in Fortune’s annual list. The top […]

The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) of South Korea will perform an on-site inspection of Terraform Labs and financial services linked to TerraUSD (UST) or LUNA. See related article: Are we heading for a post-Terra crypto winter? Fast facts The FSS said at an emergency National Assembly meeting on Tuesday that the audit aims to prevent […]

Chinese authorities have fined a hydropower plant in Central China’s Hubei province 43,493 yuan (US$6,528) for “illegally supplying electricity to virtual currency mining operations,” as the country continues to crack down on cryptocurrency operations. See related article: Beijing banned crypto mining, so China miners went underground Fast facts In addition to the fine, the authorities […]

Brave announced on Wednesday it has added support for the Solana blockchain to expand Web 3.0 access for the browser’s 15.5 million daily users. See related article: What decentralization can offer Web 3.0 and social media | Part 1 Fast facts The Brave Wallet can now be used to buy, sell and hold Solana-based cryptocurrencies. […]

China’s state-backed infrastructure Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN) announced on Tuesday that it is preparing the launch of BSN Spartan on Aug. 31, a new international network for non-cryptocurrency public chains. See related article: Resist the temptation on NFTs, Chinese state-backed developer says Fast facts “We’re not against public chains, but we’re against crypto,” BSN developer […]

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Shaktikanta Das said in a local media interview that the central bank has rightly been cautioning against cryptocurrencies, following the collapse of Terra’s UST and LUNA.  See related article: RBI calls for crypto ban in India, again Fast facts Das told CNBC TV18 on Monday that if crypto had […]

Hang Seng Index Company launched the China Metaverse Index on Monday to track the performance of 30 metaverse-related listed businesses in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Shenzhen.  See related article: Asian Games set for digital yuan, metaverse pilots, tech firm claims Fast facts Hang Seng Index Company is a subsidiary of major Hong Kong bank Hang […]

A deputy warden of Russia’s oldest prison has allegedly mined cryptocurrency in the facility and is under investigation on suspicion of stealing electricity to do so, Bitcoin.com reported on Monday. See related article: To stay relevant, crypto regulations need to evolve, decentralize: Crypto Rising Fast facts The deputy manager of Butyrskaya prison in central Moscow […]

Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Cyber Crimes Investigations Unit revealed on Monday that it has received a report alleging a Terraform Labs employee was involved in embezzling corporate funds, according to local media reports. See related article: Terra’s S.Korean office closure ‘purely coincidental’: Do Kwon Fast facts The police are currently investigating the validity of the […]

Defense contractor Lockheed Martin and the Filecoin Foundation have partnered to demonstrate the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) in space, the pair announced on Monday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. See related article: Filecoin explained: Decentralizing cloud storage for Web 3.0 Fast facts Filecoin is the economic incentive layer of the distributed storage […]

The Twitter account of non-fungible token (NFT) artist Mike Winkelmann, widely known as Beeple, was briefly hacked on Sunday and used to promote a phishing scam to drain over US$72,000 from Ether wallets of victims.   See related article: Twitter hacker takes over verified accounts to promote fake Azuki NFT drop Fast facts The hacker shared […]

Terraform Labs CEO and cofounder Do Kwon claimed on Saturday that the closure of two offices in South Korea was “purely coincidental,” and not a response to the national tax authorities’ investigation. See related article: LKB, 5 clients file lawsuit against Terra, Do Kwon to ‘Grim Reaper’ Fast facts Terraform Labs closed its two offices […]

Tether, the operator of the world’s largest stablecoin USDT, has seen US$10 billion of its market capitalization shaved off since TerraUSD’s (UST) collapse.  See related article: Nearly half of Tether reserves are now in US Treasury bills Fast facts USDT’s market capitalization was at US$73.35 billion at the time of publishing, following an all-time high […]

European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde said cryptocurrencies are “worth nothing” on a Dutch television program aired Sunday, calling for greater regulation over what she described as “highly speculative assets.” See related article: EU to introduce bill next year to plan a digital euro Fast facts “My very humble assessment is that [cryptocurrency] is […]

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has paused the launch of crypto trading on its app amid heightened volatility in the crypto market, The Guardian reported.    See related article: Commonwealth Bank first in Australia to offer crypto trading Fast facts Australia’s largest bank announced its plans to allow customers to trade up to 10 cryptocurrencies, […]

Crypto exchange FTX.US has introduced FTX Stocks for select U.S. customers to allow stock trading and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) through its app. See related article: FTX reaches US$32B valuation after closing $400M series C Fast facts FTX.US will provide commission-free stock market trading where orders will be routed to Nasdaq through its clearing firm Embed, […]

Terra has increased its initial token float — tokens that are tradable upon issuance — from 15% to 30% for pre-attack Anchor Protocol UST stakers (aUST) and post-attack LUNA and UST holders, in the latest update to the plan to revive its reeling ecosystem. See related article: No hard fork, governance vote in Kwon’s updated […]

Commercial paper backing Tether (USDT), the world’s largest stablecoin, has decreased by 17% from US$24.2 billion in Q4 2021 to US$20.1 billion in Q1 2022, according to Tether’s latest attestation report.  See related article: Tether slashes commercial paper, shows more reserves than liabilities Fast facts Commercial paper in Tether reserves has been reduced by an […]

Sony Music Entertainment has set up a new Greater China venture for its American label RCA Records to explore opportunities in streaming, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and the metaverse. See related article: John Legend’s OurSong raises US$7.5 mln to fuel music NFTs Fast facts The new label, dubbed “RCA Records Greater China,” will make key hires […]

China southwestern municipality Chongqing recorded 288 million yuan (US$43 million) in total digital yuan trading volume across 1.576 million transactions as of May 15, the People’s Bank of China’s local branch reported at a Thursday press conference.  See related article: China southeastern city tops US$3mln digital yuan transactions in pilot month Fast facts Chongqing is […]

Five South Korean Terra (LUNA) investors with an accumulated loss of around 1.4 billion Korean won (US$1.1 million) represented by local law firm LKB & Partners have filed a complaint against Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon and co-founder Shin Hyun-seung for two charges including fraud, according to local media reports. See related article: Knock, knock […]

Finance ministers from the Group of Seven (G-7) urged the Financial Stability Board (FSB) to accelerate crypto regulations following the downfall of the Terra blockchain and its terraUSD (UST) algorithmic stablecoin, Reuters reported. See related article: LUNA pumps and dumps repeatedly in weekend’s roller coaster run Fast facts The inter-governmental political forum — consisting of […]

Chinese crypto mining rig maker Canaan booked robust revenue growth in Q1 2022 despite logistical issues and supply chains disruptions from the pandemic, the company said on Thursday. See related article: SEC places Chinese crypto mining rig maker Canaan on pre-delisting list Fast facts Canaan recorded 1.36 billion yuan (US$214 million) in revenue in the […]

Blockchain-based payments network Ripple announced its plans to invest US$100 million in climate-focused fintechs and carbon removal technology for the modernization of carbon markets, the company said in a press release.  See related article: How blockchain is solving the climate crisis Fast facts The funding will also continue to support new functionality and developer tools […]

The development will help institutional clients trade at scale, with better pricing and lower risk, within a regulated market environment, Bullish said. Fast facts An internal study of publicly available Coinbase and Binance data over a two-month period ending on May 8 showed Bullish offering deeper liquidity than peers, the cryptocurrency exchange operator said. The […]

Terraform Labs backer Pantera Capital gradually withdrew nearly 80% of its Terra LUNA holdings over the past year, saving itself from significant damages from the de-pegging of TerraUSD (UST) and the network’s collapse last week, The Block reported. See related article: LUNA, UST investors in S.Korea want to seize Do Kwon’s properties: report Fast facts […]

South Korean investors that have been financially damaged by the TerraUSD (UST) and LUNA fiasco are reportedly seeking legal action and applying for property seizure from Terraform Labs CEO Kwon Do-hyung. See related article: S.Korean lawmaker proposes summoning Do Kwon to the National Assembly  Fast facts Local law firm LKB & Partners has made a […]

Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle, which issues the second-largest stablecoin USDC, claims to have foreseen Terra and algorithmic stablecoin UST’s collapse six months ago because it was “a house of cards.” See related article: Terra shuts down indefinitely after coming back online; LUNA, UST still on life support Fast facts “There were two things that […]

A vote pertaining to Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon’s “updated and final” Terra revival plan was posted at 7:17 p.m. Wednesday Hong Kong time, with the majority favoring the proposal, while a preliminary vote was rejected in a landslide. See related article: No hard fork, governance vote in Kwon’s updated Terra revival proposal Fast facts […]

Mike Novogratz, founder and CEO of crypto investment firm Galaxy Digital, broke his weeklong silence on the TerraUSD turmoil, claiming “the global macro backdrop has been brutal for all risk assets this year” and that the UST is “a big idea that failed.” See related article: Blood moon: Terra’s LUNA rescue plan panned by industry, […]

The Indian government may impose a reverse charge goods and services tax (GST) on cryptocurrency investors using foreign exchanges, according to a local media report.  See related article: India GST Council weighs 28% tax on crypto transactions Fast facts The reverse charge would levy a goods and services tax on the investor instead of the […]

Binance is looking to win a cryptocurrency license in Germany after becoming a regulated digital asset service provider in fellow G7 nation France, CEO Changpeng Zhao said.  See related story: Binance wants to play ball with regulators Fast facts Zhao said at an event in Germany on Wednesday that the cryptocurrency exchange is expanding its […]

Bitcoin’s increasing correlation with risk assets meant it got caught up in the overnight market selloff in the U.S. Investors dumped shares of Target and Walmart after the American retailers cautioned about possibly taking a margin hit from not being able to pass on price increases to customers. See related article: Has Bitcoin become a […]

Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon posted an update to his proposal to revive Terra and LUNA at 4:55 p.m. Hong Kong time, which omitted the notice of putting the plan up for a governance vote. See related article: Do Kwon proposes Terra fork to ditch UST and ‘LUNA Classic’ Fast facts Kwon’s updated “Terra Ecosystem […]

Pakistani crypto exchange RAIN has urged the country’s finance ministry to regulate and impose a 15% tax on cryptocurrencies, local media reported. See related article: Pakistan takes a fresh look at cryptocurrency Fast facts RAIN told regulators that Pakistan can earn roughly US$90 million in taxes through a capital gains tax on cryptocurrency assets, according […]

Online image gallery Getty Images announced it will launch a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace and debut digital collectibles on the Ethereum Virtual Machine-based Palm sidechain. See related article: Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post to make NFTs to preserve history Fast facts Getty Images has tapped digital collectibles specialist Candy Digital to mint some stock […]

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has suggested that no prominent public figures, including celebrities and sports personalities, should endorse crypto products, according to local media reports.   See related article: India’s crypto ads to get ‘highly risky’ banners starting April Fast facts Trading cryptocurrencies is not illegal in India, but the activity is […]

The Sandbox metaverse has partnered with Studio Dragon, a Korean drama production company behind titles Crash Landing on You, Sweet Home and Kingdom: Ashin of the North, to build a K-drama metaverse. See related article: South Korea wants to be the physical home of the metaverse Fast facts The Sandbox said on Tuesday the pair […]

Solana-based non-fungible token (NFT) collection Okay Bears copycat “Not Okay Bears” has been delisted from marketplace OpenSea after recording millions of dollars in sales. See related article: Okay Bears NFTs record sellout helps Solana net US$2B in sales Fast facts Not Okay Bears are mirror images of the 10,000 versions of the original, and have […]

South Korea’s ruling party lawmaker Yun Chang-hyun said Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon should be called in for a parliamentary hearing on the collapse of the company’s stablecoin and cryptocurrency. See related article: News of LUNA’s demise greatly exaggerated Fast facts Yun at Tuesday’s National Assembly session said investors had been damaged by the debacle […]

Klaytn, South Korean internet giant Kakao’s public blockchain, will build an open-permissioned blockchain for China’s state-backed Blockchain-based Service Network’s (BSN) infrastructure for the Middle Kingdom’s domestic use. See related article: Resist the temptation on NFTs, Chinese state-backed developer says Fast facts Klaytn said on Tuesday it will take part in establishing the Chongqing Chain, a […]

Jinhua, a city in China’s southeastern province Zhejiang, has announced that it has totaled at least 23,929,100 yuan (US$3.5 million) in digital yuan transactions in its debut month, with 556,600 digital yuan wallets opened for individuals, and 34,700 for business and institutions.   See related article: Covid-19, postponed Asian Games to push digital yuan into the […]

TerraUSD (UST) and LUNA’s crash is causing tension among South Korean play-to-earn (P2E) projects and their tokens, such as C2X, a blockchain gaming project on the Terra mainnet developed by Com2uS. See related article: Do Kwon proposes Terra fork to ditch UST and ‘LUNA Classic’ Fast facts Local gaming giant Com2uS’s P2E cryptocurrency C2X saw […]

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) warned the country’s cryptocurrency investors to appropriately report any capital gains or losses from digital assets — including non-fungible tokens (NFTs) — in an announcement on Sunday ahead of the upcoming tax season, starting July 1. See related article: Australian Tax Office warns: taxpayers on the hook for crypto tax […]

Parts of the Indian economy can lead to “dollarization” due to cryptocurrencies, which would be against the national interest, top officials of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) told a parliamentary panel, according to local media. See related article: India’s financial stability at risk from cryptos: IMF Fast facts Local media quoted unnamed officials in […]

Celsius Mining, a Bitcoin mining unit of cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network, is planning to go public, as the company doubles down on its mining business. See related article: SEC scrutinizing crypto lending by Celsius, Gemini, Voyager: reports Fast facts Celsius Mining said on Monday that it filed a Form S-1 draft registration with the U.S. […]

Terraform Labs co-founder and CEO Do Kwon proposed a hard fork of the Terra blockchain in the “Terra Ecosystem Revival Plan 2,” which will abandon the algorithmic stablecoin UST. See related article: UST loses dollar peg as Terra market cap slumps Fast facts Under the proposal, the network will be forked with the original chain […]

The Luna Foundation Guard (LFG) Monday said it is looking to use assets remaining with it to compensate UST users, prioritizing the smallest holders first. See related article: News of LUNA’s demise greatly exaggerated Fast facts The Singapore-based foundation was left with 313 Bitcoin compared with 80,393 Bitcoin on May 7, LFG said on its […]

Chinese state-backed publication Economic Daily cited LUNA and UST’s crash to state cryptocurrencies “once again, proved its own risks and that it is a bubble” amid the Federal Reserve’s rate hike. See related article: Chinese runners offer substitute running to earn StepN’s GMT for commission Fast facts The commentary piece praised Beijing’s crypto ban as […]

The European Central Bank (ECB) said a central bank digital currency (CBDC) with a focus on anonymity is preferable to traditional electronic payments like bank deposits, but it “may become supplanted by payment tokens” issued by large tech firms. See related article: EU to introduce bill next year to plan a digital euro Fast facts […]

South Korean financial regulators have reportedly begun an emergency assessment of digital assets, geared toward accelerating the establishment of the “Digital Asset Basic Act” — the country’s upcoming regulation on cryptocurrencies. See related article: LUNA pumps and dumps repeatedly in weekend’s roller coaster run Fast facts The LUNA debacle will likely speed up the enactment […]

The price of LUNA, the native token of Terra, is now as volatile as low-cap meme currencies, and is currently at 23,716.5% from its all-time low set on Friday, according to CoinGecko data. See related article: UST loses dollar peg as Terra market cap slumps Fast facts The Terra network suffered a major meltdown last […]

Over 170 advertisements in Chinese tech titan Alibaba’s second-hand marketplace are offering running services to earn cryptocurrency GMT for StepN users in exchange for fiat commissions.  See related article: China’s diktat against NFT flipping spawns an ingenious industry Fast facts StepN is a blockchain-based decentralized application that allows users to earn GMT cryptocurrency rewards by […]

Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has bought a 7.6% stake in Robinhood for US$648 million, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. See related article: Terra shuts down indefinitely after coming back online; LUNA, UST still on life support Fast facts Bankman-Fried bought the stake through a firm called […]

The South Korean National Assembly Research Service (NARS) asserted a 20% tax on cryptocurrency gains set for 2023 must maintain a 2.5 million won (US$1,942.20) threshold, contradicting new president Yoon Suk-yeol’s initiative to raise the limit to 50 million won, according to a report released on Thursday. See related article: S.Korea finance minister nominee wants […]

The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange will delist a number of trading pairs linked to TerraUSD (UST), an algorithmic stablecoin that has been in a freefall since earlier this week. See related article: Tether stabilizes after burning 3 billion tokens amid redemptions Fast facts Binance Friday said it will remove and cease the trading of several […]

The world’s largest stablecoin destroyed a total of 3 billion USDT tokens in an account known as Tether Treasury through two separate burns on Thursday, according to data from blockchain tracker Whale Alert. See related article: Terra shuts down indefinitely after coming back online; LUNA, UST still on life support Fast facts “Burn burn burn,” […]

Terra officially halted block production at 09:58 am HKT on Friday, block height 7607789, after restarting the network from an overnight shutdown to prevent possible governance attacks. Terra said validators are working on a plan to restart the network but did not release any further details. See related article: Terra plunges back to earth as […]

Bitcoin’s price has dipped to its lowest point since December 2020 amidst bearish cryptocurrency market sentiments to trade at US$28,652, according to CoinMarketCap data at press time. See related article: Terra LUNA’s sacrifice pushes UST to US$0.84 Fast facts The crypto bear run extended on Thursday, as China’s inflation rose by 1.5% in April from […]

Hong Kong police announced on Tuesday the arrest of a 24-year-old who is suspected of stealing HK$1.5 million (US$191,076) in cryptocurrencies in a physical cash-to-crypto transaction.  See related article: Hong Kong sees high engagement with crypto, Visa research shows Fast facts The police labeled the rare on-site cryptocurrency theft as a serious crime punishable by […]

South Korea’s new administration under President Yoon Suk-yeol announced it plans to establish a new regulatory framework for crypto institutionalization to go into effect by 2024 after proposing legislation in 2023. See related article: A crypto bull wins the presidency: What it means for South Korea Fast facts Yoon’s administration intends to develop a bill […]

TerraUSD (UST) climbed to a high of US$0.84 on Thursday after Terra proposed a network upgrade to increase the blockchain’s native token LUNA, in hopes to save its algorithmic stablecoin’s peg to the greenback.   See related article: Run on UST cuts the ground from under Terra’s feet Fast facts The UST is minted by locking […]

China’s state-backed computer industry association set up a dedicated committee for metaverse development on Wednesday amid the country’s growing expansion into the virtual-reality world, local media reported. See related article: ‘Metaverse’ enters government radar at China’s Two Sessions Fast facts In an online seminar organized Wednesday by the industry lobby, Tan Jianrong, a professor of […]

Australia’s first three cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETF) launched on the Cboe exchange on Thursday, bringing Bitcoin and Ethereum products to the stock market. See related article: Launch of three crypto ETFs in Australia delayed Fast facts One of the funds, the Cosmos Purpose Bitcoin Access ETF (CBTC) from Cosmos Asset Management, tracks the Purpose Bitcoin […]

The series B round, led by Jump Crypto, helped push the cryptocurrency exchange’s valuation to US$10 billion, KuCoin said.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong admitted in Tuesday’s earnings call that the exchange disabled the unified payments interface (UPI) in India because of the central bank’s “informal pressure.” See related article: Coinbase snafu sets the cat among the crypto pigeons in India Fast facts Armstrong’s comments come a month after Coinbase suspended its India services three […]

Coinbase shares are down some 80% from their 52-week high of US$368.90 a share on Nov. 9 through Monday, closing at US$72.99. The stock dropped 19.5% overnight after the U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange reported a Q1 net loss of US$430 million as trading volume declined 44%. See related article: Coinbase NFT marketplace is now open to […]

Singapore-based private market exchange ADDX has partnered with Temasek subsidiary Fullerton Fund Management to list Fullerton’s private equity fund of funds (FOF) on its digital platform, ADDX said in a statement.  See related article: Digital securities exchange ADDX join Investcorp to offer tokenized US real estate fund Fast facts The Fullerton Optimized Alpha Fund is […]

Bitcoin mining difficulty hit another all-time-high on Wednesday, recording a 4.9% increase from the previous adjustment last month. See related article: SEC places Chinese crypto mining rig maker Canaan on pre-delisting list Fast facts The mining difficulty reading is now at 31.25 trillion at a block height of 735,840, according to BTC.com data.  The previous […]

The CEO of business analytics software firm MicroStrategy took to Twitter to reassure investors as an outsized bet on Bitcoin faltered. See related article: Has Bitcoin become a victim of its own success? Fast facts If the price of Bitcoin falls below US$3,562, the company could post some other collateral, Saylor claimed. MicroStrategy has a […]