Search results: banking

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) today added Binance.com — the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading value — to its Investor Alert List, according to local media reports. Fast facts MAS’ Investor Alert List flags entities that are unregulated, but may have given the public the impression that they are licensed by MAS. In […]

The founder of the now-defunct crypto exchange BitConnect is being sued for a US$2 billion “textbook Ponzi scheme” by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, according to a Reuters report. Fast facts The SEC alleges BitConnect’s founder Satish Kumbhani, an Indian citizen, lied about the exchange’s ability to earn 40% returns on investments of BitConnect’s […]

Zipmex, a Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange, has completed a US$41 million Series B funding round as it innovates toward a “full 360 digital banking offering,” the company said during a media briefing today. Fast facts Investors in Zipmex’s Series B funding round indicate increasing institutional buy-in to the digital assets industry. The investors include Krungsri Finnovate, […]

Facebook’s Novi is ready to launch. Here’s why the Diem crypto wallet might find an especially warm welcome in places like the Philippines and Malaysia.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) today announced 15 finalists for its “Global CBDC Challenge” — a competition to develop retail Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) solutions to improve payment services and promote financial inclusion. Fast facts According to MAS, the Global CBDC Challenge attracted over 300 submissions from more than 50 countries, with over […]

Decentralized finance (DeFi) is attracting a lot of attention from traditional banks and venture capital, but many institutions remain firmly on the sidelines. Forkast.News explores why.

What is DeFi, why it’s poised to enable financial inclusion, and how the showdown between decentralized finance and regulators is taking shape.

Much of traditional finance still believes DeFi is too risky and not worth the bother, writes Ilia Maksimenka of PlasmaFinance. Are these perceptions accurate?

Circle, issuer of the world’s second-largest stablecoin USDC, has announced plans to be 100% backed by cash and short-term U.S. Treasuries by September. The company’s most recent attestation showed USDC’s US$22.2 billion supply was backed by only 61% “cash and cash equivalents.” Fast facts Circle had indicated earlier in the month that it wishes to […]

XREX’s fundraise reflects Taiwan’s ambition to be part of fintech and blockchain innovation in spite of the island’s strict banking regulations.

The Brooker Group, a publicly listed financial consultancy and capital management company in Bangkok, this week reported that it held US$23.86 million of digital assets, according to its financial results for the first six months of 2021. Fast facts The Brooker Group also reported an impairment loss of US$12 million in the first half of […]

If cabinet approves crypto bill by November, it could be introduced as early as parliament’s winter session.

While Delhi goes back and forth over a crypto ban, crypto’s huge growth potential in the world’s second most populous country is captivating American venture capital.

London hard fork is live and Ethereum users are hoping high gas fees will be a thing of the past. Will ETH improvements phase out layer-2 scaling protocols? Polygon’s co-founder thinks not.

Gold and cryptocurrency have more in common than not, and savvy investors would do well to hold both, writes Sylvia Carrasco of Goldex.

Crypto exchanges, or VASPs, are coming under increasing regulation. Complying with the Financial Action Task Force’s travel rule will be one of them.

In a much-anticipated reply, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler has written to Sen. Elizabeth Warren saying “crypto investors are not adequately protected.” Fast facts “In my view, the legislative priority should center on crypto trading, lending, and [decentralized finance] platforms. Regulators would benefit from additional plenary authority to write rules for and […]

Amid a period of increasing regulatory interest in stablecoins, Circle, the digital payment company that issues USDC, the world’s second-largest stablecoin , has announced plans to become a full-reserve national digital currency bank in the U.S. Fast facts In a company blog post, CEO and co-founder Jeremy Allaire said the company was prepared to operate […]

As more crypto companies go public, some are returning to a decentralized business model. ShapeShift CEO Erik Voorhees explains the ethos and reasons why.

As court grants CEO request to obtain info from Binance to bolster defense in SEC lawsuit, Ripple seeks to expand use cases for XRP Ledger.

Will Google greenlighting US crypto ads, Ethereum’s London upgrade and clearer regulations pave the way for another Ether price rally?

Hong Kong-based Aspen Digital, a digital asset management platform for institutional investors, announced on Wednesday that it has secured US$8.8 million in pre-A funding to develop a one-stop shop for asset managers to invest in digital assets and manage their clients’ portfolios. Fast facts The funding round was led by RIT Capital Partners, the London-based […]

Cryptocurrency miners are front-running Ethereum transactions to make profits called MEV that critics decry as unfair. What can be done about it?

The cryptocurrency trading industry has been labeled a “Wild West,” riddled with fraud and investor risk, by U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler, according to a Reuters report. Fast facts Calling on Congress at the Aspen Security Forum to give the SEC more power to regulate the industry, Gensler said many of the […]

Binance’s woes continue to mount as global banking giant HSBC is now blocking its customers in the United Kingdom from making credit card payments to Binance, according to Yahoo News. Binance is the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. Fast facts HSBC’s move follows similar actions taken by NatWest — a Scotland-based bank with 12.5 million customers […]

The next half decade will see mass adoption of decentralized technology, writes Max Kordek of Lisk. Here are the leading uses.

China maintains crypto market pressure. On the other hand, J-Pop stars offer NFT advice.

A provision in an infrastructure bill being debated by the U.S. Senate has prompted concerns in the crypto industry as it boosts Internal Revenue Service reporting requirements for investors and brokers. Fast facts According to the New York Times, the provision is an effort to help fund a US$ 1 trillion bipartisan bill and could […]

Celsius Network CEO says crypto lenders are using Wall Street’s ‘safest’ business tactic to provide high interest rates to customers. What are the risks?

Tokenization is creating new ways to invest. 3 crypto firms are partnering to also offer crypto retirement portfolios and inheritance planning.

Binance CEO CZ confirms that a new executive may lead the organization. Meanwhile, Bitmain spins off one of the world’s largest mining pool Antpool.

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 […]

Capital increase takes company’s valuation to US$2 billion as it looks to grow customer base, partnerships.

For the third consecutive week, digital asset investment products last week saw outflows — this time, to the tune of US$28 million, according to CoinShares, Europe’s largest digital assets fund manager. Bitcoin saw the majority of outflows, but multi-asset investment products remained positive with inflows of US$3.1 million. Fast facts Bitcoin investment products saw US$24 […]

Valkyrie is among a growing number of asset managers at the SEC’s door, seeking approval to offer a Bitcoin ETF. Will a Bitcoin ETF ever get the green light in the United States?

US Securities and Exchange Commission staffers say their appointed leaders’ views do not reflect the agency’s stance on Ripple and XRP.

Despite growing global interest, CBDCs are not all at the same stage of development. Amit Ghosh of R3 explains how countries in Asia are paving the way.

As Bitcoin’s carbon footprint continues to make ESG investors uneasy, a new clean-energy crypto mining ETF aims to allay their environmental concerns.

Turkey’s deputy finance minister says a draft bill to create a cryptocurrency regulatory framework will be submitted to parliament in October, according to a report by CNN Türk. Fast facts The bill will define different types of virtual currencies and principles for their issuance and distribution. The country’s Capital Markets Commission will supervise companies handling […]

While the West has first mover advantage in traditional banking, Asia — not wedded to ol infrastructure — now has an edge in the crypto era, says Michael Shaulov of Fireblocks.

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?

India seeks crypto advice meanwhile K-drama joins NFT bandwagon

The Reserve Bank of Australia is researching the implementation of a central bank digital currency — despite not seeing a need for it.

Australians will soon be able to use Visa cards to spend their Bitcoin holdings for the first time as the global payment giant is partnering with local fintech app CryptoSpend, the Australian Financial Review reports. Fast facts CryptoSpend allows payments to be made in several cryptocurrencies to any account in the Australian banking system, crediting […]

Top blockchain and crypto news: Crypto markets await Bitcoin fund release. USDC issuer opts for the back door. In China, NFT copyrights and wrongs.

ICICI bank, one of India’s largest lenders, has warned its customers against using its international remittance services for transferring any form of cryptocurrency, the Bharat Express reports. Fast facts The Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India recently made an amendment to an international remittance form compelling customers to declare: “The above remittance is NOT […]

Singapore state-owned investment firm Temasek has announced record returns of S$381 billion (US$283 billion) for the financial year ending March 2021, up 24.5% from the year before. Fast facts According to its latest annual review, Temasek is “increasingly shaping” its portfolio in line with four trends: digitization, sustainable living, future of consumption, and longer lifespans. […]

As issuer Circle prepares to list and China sounds the alarm over speculation, the mood among regulators is mixed, despite stablecoins’ clear appeal to investors.

A Shanghai procuratorate has held a seminar gathering judges, police, procurators and scholars to discuss how crimes related to cryptocurrency fit into China’s current legal framework. Fast facts The procuratorate said in a post on Monday that there had been confusion as to how to categorize cryptocurrencies. Some consider them data, while others regard them […]

Soaring BTC and altcoin prices earlier this year drew in new investors, who now worry about the current slump. Will crypto prices rise again, or are modest valuations here to stay?

The United Arab Emirates plans to implement a central bank digital currency as early as 2023 Gulf News reports, as outlined in a road map for the Gulf State’s economic future. Fast facts This 2023-2026 roadmap includes seven objectives — including the CBDC rollout — with the aim of making the UAE one of the […]

Crypto industry gets the ‘overleveraged’ label and authorities are cracking down on derivatives providers. Alexander Höptner of 100x believes the pushback foreshadows the industry’s next big thing — derivatives.

Market dominance suggests that investors are flocking towards Bitcoin as Covid delta variant concerns hit markets. In Thailand, authorities remind the industry of their stance on cryptocurrency payments.

In a new report, BIS says countries must work together and design CBDCs with interoperability in mind. Hong Kong and Singapore lead mCBDC efforts.

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren has written to Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler enquiring about the SEC’s authority to regulate cryptocurrencies and asking what future congressional regulatory action is needed, according to a Reuters report. Fast facts Requesting a reply by July 28, Warren, who heads the Senate Banking Committee’s Subcommittee on Economic Policy, […]

Is William Hinman a former ‘high-ranking’ SEC official exempt from disclosing his prior communications on XRP, or must he provide testimony to Ripple?

The Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Banque de France today announced the successful completion of a wholesale cross-border payment and settlement experiment using multiple central bank digital currencies (m-CBDCs). Fast facts The experiment between the two central banks, supported by J.P. Morgan’s Onyx, simulated cross-border transactions and cross-currency transactions involving a Singapore dollar CBDC […]

In the first of a special two-part report, Lucas Schweiger of Blockdata explores what the future of capital markets could look like with blockchain-based infrastructure.

Being a ‘crypto native’ involves much more than using Bitcoin and DeFi, writes Alvin Lee of DeGate DAO. It’s sharing core values like freedom and inclusion.

Crypto exchanges WazirX and Binance look to implement stronger compliance measures. Forkast News speaks with FTX founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried about crypto regulatory measures in Asia. Chinese district rewards residents with e-Yuan for counting footsteps. We’ll have more on these stories and other news shaping the cryptocurrency and blockchain world in this episode of […]

El Salvador recently became the first country to recognize Bitcoin as legal tender, and it seems unlikely to be the last. Samson Mow, chief strategy officer of Bitcoin technology company Blockstream, looks forward to a future in which Bitcoin edges out fiat currency.

What does a fully functioning network with DeFi applications look like, and why is it important to assess? Garrette Furo of Cosmos explains.

Hex Trust, a Hong Kong-based digital asset custodian, today announced that it has secured investment from Cyberport, a technology incubator project backed by the Hong Kong government.

In the last installment of a 3-part series on blockchain in Asia, Forkast.News examines: Everyone knows money has value. But does it also have ‘values’?

How value is created Our methodology for calculating the value of this market includes tokenized commodity, energy, currency (i.e., stablecoins), gold and real estate projects. Calculations include publicly listed projects found via Blockexplorers. It excludes cryptocurrency, as it’s a native digital asset, as well as DeFi projects because of their extreme volatility. All tokenized assets […]

Interview with Trent Barnes, Principal at Zerocap Tokenization brings new models for raising capital, as well as institutional-grade opportunities Forkast.News: How does a digital asset become “institutional-grade”? What sort of criteria are institutional-level traders looking for? TB: The criteria would include clear guidelines and regulatory frameworks as to how digital assets are treated, deepening pools […]

Through tomorrow, a Senate committee is taking public comments on how best to make Australia into a global crypto leader and fintech hub.

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

Interview with Thor Chan, CEO of AAX Forkast.News: The value of digital assets has exploded during the last year, and we are now at levels well above previous forecasts. What are you seeing in the market right now? Thor Chan: We think that the global crypto market is growing. More money is flowing in, and […]

How China’s deployment of the digital yuan intertwines economics with geopolitics and concrete with virtual infrastructure, from Cambodia to the Caribbean.

Long before most governments, the Asian superpower saw the potential in Bitcoin’s technology to spawn the next internet and a new form of money.

Bitcoin was recovered by the FBI from the Colonial Pipeline ransomware cyber criminals DarkSide, sparking privacy concerns around cryptocurrencies.