Search results: MAS

For the second weekend in a row, markets were hit with a massive shock due to external factors. Market watchers weigh in on price movements and what to expect.

Distinguished names in South Korean industry have invested in Hashed Venture Fund II to promote the Web3 ecosystem.

A new normal forced by the pandemic is bringing out a wave of creators and influencers for a decentralized economy, writes Alex Shkor of DEIP. Here’s what to expect in the year to come.

LUNA is now the 12th largest crypto, and Terra’s platform has been called ‘Alipay on the blockchain.’ What are Terra’s investment risks? Forkast.News explains.

Will crypto exchange Binance withdraw its license application in Singapore and look elsewhere in its search for a new global home?

The impresario behind superstars BTOB and (G)I-DLE tells Forkast.News there’s ‘no upper limit’ to how much Cube will invest in NFTs and a metaverse for concerts.

As the market recovers from a weekend sell-off, Terra and Shiba Inu tokens shine bright while Ethereum eyes new price heights. What’s behind their rally?

Initial operations are available to invited institutional investors including Hong Kong crypto finance service provider, Amber Group.

The metaverse is a convergence of the physical and digital worlds, writes Gloria Wu of Ontology. How can the metaverse escape Web 2.0’s failings?

Fund manager Fintonia has launched two new Bitcoin funds — Fintonia Bitcoin Physical Fund and Fintonia Secured Yield Fund — for institutional investors. Fast facts The physical fund buys and holds actual Bitcoin, rather than investing in a Bitcoin-linked derivative product. The fund’s Bitcoin will be stored with a licensed and insured custodian, according to […]

Korea crypto tax debated meanwhile, Crypto.com is on a tear

Arbitrum is leading the way in Ethereum scaling, according to a new report by Nansen, a blockchain analytics platform. What are the challenges that lie ahead?

Regal, a subsidiary of Cineworld Group, has partnered with digital payments network Flexa to allow customers to pay for movie tickets, popcorn and more with cryptocurrencies in its theaters. Fast facts The firm will accept cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Dogecoin, stablecoins such as Dai, USD Coin and Gemini Dollar, as well as digital […]

The Pacific island nation of Palau has partnered with San Francisco-based blockchain payments company Ripple on a U.S. dollar-backed digital currency for the country — the world’s first government-based national stablecoin — using the XRP Ledger, according to a Ripple announcement. Fast facts Ripple will provide Palau with technical, business, design and policy support for […]

Three U.S. agencies released a joint statement outlining a plan to fast-track crypto-asset regulation in 2022.

Algorand ‘re-imagines’ blockchain by trying to solve key weaknesses of Bitcoin. Learn about this wannabe Ethereum killer in this Forkast.News explainer.

The US Infrastructure Act has provisions that should make crypto advocates shudder, writes Alex Shipp of Offshift. Who will stand up for crypto’s core values?

How blockchain technology can usher in the next stage of the internet and social media, through decentralized hosting and integration with cryptocurrency.

Bank of Korea’s (BOK) deputy governor Bae Joon-suk says its central bank digital currency (CBDC) development is “not one step behind that of any other country.” However, South Korea still has no plan to adopt a state-backed digital currency. Fast facts Bae spoke at Bank of Korea’s online conference on payment and settlement systems yesterday, […]

Bitcoin continued its downtrend today to reach a low of $55,861, its lowest price this month. The world’s first cryptocurrency has dropped by 18.6% since reaching a fresh all-time high of over US$69,000 last week. Bitcoin’s price low comes amid struggles in the overall crypto market, which has lost over US$400 billion from its total […]

Joining the slew of cryptocurrency exchanges that have completed investment rounds in recent months, New York-based cryptocurrency exchange Gemini this week announced the close of a US$400 million funding round led by Morgan Creek Digital, bringing the company’s valuation to US$7.1 billion. Fast facts Investors in the funding round — which was Gemini’s first-ever outside […]

Singapore-based cryptocurrency trading platform Coinhako has received in-principle approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore for a digital payment token (DPT) service license — making it the first local native cryptocurrency exchange to announce that it is close to being granted the much-coveted license. Fast facts Coinhako is now working through the conditions of its […]

How to sift through millions of NFTs before buying? NFT marketplace Mintable is hoping to attract more users with these new organizing and ranking features.

Central banks around the world are exploring digital currencies, writes Aymeric Salley of StraitsX. Here’s why Southeast Asia may be especially ripe for them.

China’s mining exodus has flowed to the cowboy state that embraces crypto, but it might have to take into consideration the surging power loads.

Top blockchain and crypto news: Spot ETFs stymied as SEC stands firm. Is Bitcoin’s Taproot upgrade worth the wait? China’s crypto mining goes underground.

In a speech, Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin notes the rise in cities experimenting with crypto, DAO and NFTs. What are the possibilities of blockchain cities?

The projects topped 300 rivals in their potential to improve the future digital Singapore dollar in payment services and financial inclusion. Who were the other winners?

Scams like the Squid Game Token rug pull are every investor’s nightmare. How to avoid hoaxes and not feel like a fool? Forkast.News explains.

Circle invests in JYPC meanwhile Baby Shark NFTs announced

While Ethereum leads the market in smart contracts, Bitcoin’s Taproot upgrade could help the world’s oldest blockchain emerge as a future contender. Here’s why.

As crypto projects are relocating from China to friendlier shores, it represents ‘huge opportunity’ for Taiwan.

As central bank digital currencies begin picking up steam around the world, the Central Bank of Nigeria announced on Friday the digital wallet for its own digital currency, the eNaira, has been downloaded 488,000 times in 160 countries — in just 19 days after its launch. Fast facts According to local news reports, after President […]

Russia to legalize crypto mining; Korean candidate goes all out crypto

The religious body’s decision comes after the country saw crypto transaction growth earlier this year.

Covid laid bare the gaps in people’s access to banking services. Moeda Seeds is looking not just to fill the gaps but to change the banking paradigm.

Rounding out an impressive year for the world’s No. 5 blockchain, Solana held its first global offline conference in Lisbon this week. Here’s a look at some of the key moments.

Only two days after hinting via Twitter that leading social media platform Discord may support Ethereum, company co-founder and CEO Jason Citron has clarified the platform “has no current plans” to integrate the two. Fast facts Tweeting in response to the original post, Citron thanked community members for their perspectives and reiterated the firm is […]

In a 48-second, computer-generated 3D animation, ROK uses a decentralized format to offer an ironic take on China’s internet giants crowding to host the shopping holiday.

The greatest number does not mean the greatest significance, analytics firm PatSnap says.

Trying to move beyond XRP, Ripple hopes its customers will join RippleNet with a wallet that supports fiat and other cryptos like Bitcoin and Ether.

Circle, the digital payment company that operates the USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin, this week announced it is setting up a regional hub in Singapore and looking to partner with local businesses for its stablecoin Lighthouse Project. Fast facts U.S.-based Circle says its move into Singapore is part of its global expansion plans and the company […]

Bitcoin & Beyond

Co-founder and CEO of popular social media platform Discord, Jason Citron, has hinted at integration with Ethereum via wallets such as MetaMask by tweeting a screenshot of Discord connecting to the world’s number two blockchain along with the caption “probably nothing.” Fast facts It came in response to another tweet by writer Packy McCormick, which […]

While El Salvador carved out its place in history as the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, there are others that may follow for an array of reasons.

Cryptocurrency exchange Huobi Global will stop serving Singapore-based customers from March 31, 2022 to comply with Singapore laws, according to a company announcement on Nov. 9. Fast facts “To comply with the laws of Singapore, we will have to include Singapore as a restricted jurisdiction. Regrettably, this means Huobi Global can no longer offer services […]

Crypto is ‘a behavioral economics experiment,’ says Real Vision co-founder Raoul Pal. ‘Your incentive system is not a like button on Facebook, it’s money.’

Trust, data privacy and job elimination are some of the challenges that society will face as blockchain ushers in Web3.0, according to Don Tapscott.

What makes 2021’s roaring crypto market different from 2017’s are the banks and VCs piling in, writes Calvin Shen of Hex Trust. What’s behind their crypto adoption?

The highly competitive cryptocurrency exchange industry appears to be consolidating, according to blockchain analytics provider Chainalysis as part of its Competitive Landscape Report that will be released next week. Fast facts The number of active cryptocurrency exchanges peaked at 845 in August 2020 and stood at 672 as at August 2021, Chainalysis reported. The exchanges […]

Crypto market cap breaks US$3 trillion, also APAC crypto cards to launch

Speaking at the Singapore FinTech Festival, Ethereum’s creator discusses DeFi adoption and why he expects Ethereum’s ‘killer ecosystem’ to grow over the next few years.

Speaking at the Singapore FinTech Festival, Singapore central bank chief Ravi Menon announces the launch of Project Orchid, a digital dollar project.

The Central American nation is the first to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender. As many countries face similar issues of large unbanked population and high remittance fees, will others follow suit?

China’s capital city, Beijing, is  inviting public tenders on a project to build a blockchain platform and computing center for government affairs with a total bidding price of 242 million yuan (approximately US$37.8 million). Fast facts The bidding project, “Beijing Municipal Experimental Blockchain Platform,” is for storing residents’ and city facility’s information and dealing with […]

Digital assets are disrupting financial services in ways not seen since the Middle Ages, writes Alex Tapscott of Ninepoint Partners. Here is the taxonomy for the future of finance.

The familiarity of centralized systems may feel comforting, but decentralized technologies like blockchain are the wave of the future, writes Corey Petty of Status.

Solana Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners and cryptocurrency exchange FTX today announced that they are partnering to invest US$100 million on gaming studios and projects building on the Solana blockchain. Fast facts “Gaming has a massive opportunity to bring the next billion users to Web3,” said Amy Wu, partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, in a statement. […]

The traditional financial industry is getting its feet wet in tokenization of assets, and there’s an influx of interest in the private asset space, as Mathew McDermott, managing director of Goldman Sachs, said today at a Hong Kong Fintech Week panel moderated by Angie Lau, editor-in-chief and founder of Forkast.News. Fast facts McDermott said Goldman […]

Blockdata co-founder Jonathan Knegtel thinks so. Almost a teenager, Bitcoin is reaching a level of maturity that’s defying the predictions of its critics.

India digital payments giant Paytm will consider launching crypto-related services if it becomes a regulated asset class in the country, Paytm CFO Madhur Deora told Bloomberg TV on Thursday. Fast facts “Bitcoin is still in a regulatory gray area, if not a regulatory ban in India,” Deora said. “If it [Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies] was […]

DBS Bank — Southeast Asia’s largest lender — intends to scale its crypto exchange as it invests in blockchain and wants to be nimble to adapt to how DeFi evolves.

Equities and Bitcoin have a clearly demonstrated bond, but now oil is strengthening its relationship to crypto, too

Solana prices keep cresting to new heights, making SOL a top-five cryptocurrency by size. What makes Solana and its ecosystem stand out? Forkast.News explains.

BTS’ label dreams bigger than just dominating the K-pop world — they want to digitize the IP even more.

Information Technology (IT) firms in South Korea set up shop in the realm of the metaverse, with their first step being non-fungible token (NFT) platforms.

Top blockchain and crypto news: Stablecoins at regulatory crossroads. Squid Game crypto players suffer shocking fate. Are metaverses China’s new national insecurity?

Dogecoin and Shiba Inu are gaining massive traction and ranking among the top five traded cryptocurrencies on Indian exchanges. Fast facts Dogecoin contributed 13.76% to the overall trading volume of CoinSwitch Kuber, which claims to be the largest Indian crypto exchange with over 10 million customers, over the last six months, according to a report […]

Amid debate in Australia surrounding the banking sector’s relationship with cryptocurrency, the country’s largest bank, Commonwealth Bank, will soon be allowing customers to buy, sell and hold crypto assets directly through its app — making it the first bank in the country to do so. Fast facts Partnering with leading global crypto exchange and custodian […]

The hacked DeFi platform called China’s cyber police first thing as most users appear to be in China.

The big-money world of NFTs is also attracting hackers, thieves and con artists. How do you know if that Ape NFT or digital Banksy is fake?

This follows an attack on Cream Finance that also resulted in a $130M hack.