Search results: APE

In a city where memories disappear every day, people are turning to blockchain to preserve news archives — so the first drafts of history will survive.

Sebastien Borget, COO and co-founder of The Sandbox tells Forkast.News how NFTs and an open and decentralized metaverse is transforming the way we live, work and play.

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?

Cryptocurrency investment products saw inflows of US$288 million last week, with total inflows year-to-date at a record of US$8.7 billion — 30% higher than the total for 2020, according to digital asset manager CoinShares. Fast facts Bitcoin continued to lead with institutional inflows of US$269 million last week, albeit at a significantly lower level compared […]

China’s tech cut ties to NFTs as Squid Game token leaves users questioning its legitimacy.

Ant Group and Tencent recently rebranded NFT projects as digital collectibles amid China state media criticism.

Blockchain has achieved platform status, writes Don Tapscott of Blockchain Research Institute. Get ready for the ‘trivergence’ that will shake up the world.

A department director of the Shanghai Environment Energy Exchange (SEEE) said that blockchain will play an important role in the Chinese carbon cap-and-trade system for confirming, trading, and circulating carbon emission data. The statement comes at a time when China is intensively issuing top-down documents on reducing carbon emission heading into the 26th United Nations […]

Facebook, now called Meta, is casting off one of the world’s most famous names to retool itself into a metaverse company. Will its $10 billion bet pay off?

Warning issued over K-pop crypto meanwhile Dog fight hits crypto market

Red Date Technology, the company China tapped to manage its Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN), said today it plans to fully launch an infrastructure for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) by the end of January 2022. Fast facts Red Date revealed on Friday an NFT infrastructure plan — BSN-Distributed Digital Certificate (DDC) — at its BSN Open Permissioned […]

The global AML watchdog provides clarifications on how crypto is to be regulated — and why DeFi could see more scrutiny.

Bitcoin is awakening humanity to its own sovereign capacities, says Ben Caselin of AAX. Here’s why the world’s first cryptocurrency is still at the cutting edge of finance and culture.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the social media giant is rebranding its corporate name to Meta as it focuses on building out its metaverse vision of an embodied internet with immersive spaces and experiences where people can digitally connect. Fast facts “The metaverse is the next chapter for the internet and it’s the next chapter […]

Behind this year’s giddy markets, evil and tragedies abound. Just in time for Halloween, Forkast.News shakes out the skeletons in crypto’s closet.

‌‌As‌ ‌Asia‌ ‌warms‌ ‌to‌ ‌crypto,‌ ‌cyber attacks‌ ‌are‌ ‌growing‌ ‌in‌ ‌sophistication,‌ ‌writes‌ ‌Shahnawaz‌ ‌Backer‌ ‌of‌ ‌F5.‌ ‌What can be done to thwart bad actors?

Singapore’s DBS Bank — Southeast Asia’s largest lender — has joined the Hedera Governing Council, a diverse group of companies that governs and supports the Hedera network, an enterprise-grade public ledger of transactions, according to a media statement. Fast facts DBS — the first and only bank in Southeast Asia to join the Governing Council […]

The success of the first U.S. Bitcoin futures ETF presents a challenge to investors when futures trade too far ahead of actual prices.

Sotheby’s ended its Natively Digital 1.2 auction event with 1,500 bids on Tuesday, with a total turnover of US$18.6 million after nine days of live bidding. Three non-fungible tokens (NFTs) reached record bids, including #8817 Ape by Bored Ape Yacht Club, Rare Pepe PEPENOPOULOS, and Self Portrait #1 by Dmitri Cherniak, according to a press […]

Top blockchain and crypto news: Is Tesla’s turbocharge a boost for Bitcoin? Mastercard’s Bakkt with a new crypto deal. Chinese NFTs on knife-edge.

As Ethereum surges to a new all-time high, 50 fintech experts surveyed by Finder offer predictions on ETH’s year-end and longer-term price outlook.

New virtual worlds are full of opportunities, writes Sandra Helou of Zilliqa. But what if real-world problems get magnified in the metaverse?

Tech giants banish non-fungible token references as Beijing looks down new virtual asset market.

The nation’s elections commission wants to upgrade its voting technology to improve voter turnout and public trust. Does blockchain check the boxes?

As the crypto market lit up with green across the board this morning, the price of Solana (SOL) jumped 6% in a few hours overnight to reach a new all-time high of US$218.73, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Solana’s price has since lost some of this ground, however, and was trading at US$208.57 at press […]

Hong Kong-based blockchain technology company digiXnode Technology Ltd. today officially launched an exclusive service portal — for users in Hong Kong and Macau — that grants access to the Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN), China’s public-private nationwide infrastructure project to spur mass adoption of blockchain technology. Fast facts By subscribing to the service from digiXnode’s website […]

The Australian government sees blockchain’s enormous benefits and is now actively developing the technology, writes Chami Akmeemana. What can other countries learn from this?

New technologies like blockchain and AI are transforming financial services, writes Myles Bertrand of Mambu. But APAC banks are lagging behind.

Australia’s Senate report into fintech regulations includes 12 recommendations for a clear digital assets framework.

In another sign of increased adoption of the world’s leading cryptocurrency, Walmart has installed 200 Bitcoin ATMs in stores across the U.S. in a partnership between Coinstar and Coinme, according to reporting from Reuters. Fast facts The pilot program involves Coinstar, best known for its machines that allow customers to exchange U.S. coins for paper […]

Despite its legal troubles in the U.S., San Francisco-based blockchain payments company Ripple has been pushing ahead to bring faster and cheaper cross-border payments using XRP in Asia and the Middle East. Fast facts Ripple and Tranglo, a Malaysia-based cross-border payments provider, today announced that Tranglo has launched its first live On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) service […]

Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com is giving away free non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to those who sign up for its annual technology conference JD Discovery, in a move to jump on the NFT bandwagon following its rivals Alibaba and Tencent. Fast facts JD.com’s tech arm JD Technology said yesterday in a social media post it is giving […]

When the world’s largest cryptocurrency last reached a price high, China had yet to crack down on crypto mining, and there was no U.S. Bitcoin futures ETF. What do changing market conditions mean for the growth of Bitcoin and the crypto industry?

DeFi is a real-world experiment testing out a new model for finance, writes Alex Grebnev of Oxygen. What is the future of banking without Wall Street?

In a special Q&A, CEO Louis Liu describes the hoops FOMO Pay jumped through to win Singapore’s first crypto license and calls its regulator a ‘collaborator.’

In a sign that non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are hitting home, media personality and businesswoman Martha Stewart, perhaps the biggest influencer on modern American home life and middle-class domestic strivings, just launched online store FRESH Mint that will sell Halloween-themed NFTs featuring pumpkin crafts and costumed images of America’s domestic goddess herself.  Fast facts The NFT collection is launched in partnership […]

More industry players are exiting the Chinese mainland market amid tougher crackdown.

A group of U.S. lawmakers called on Facebook to halt its cryptocurrency and digital wallet project Novi hours after its pilot launch began on Tuesday, amid the company’s ongoing trust crisis. Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Tina Smith (D-MN) said the tech giant “cannot be trusted […]

Singapore-based Atlas Mining today announced that it is expanding its cryptocurrency mining operations in the United States in a multi-year hosting service agreement with Compute North, a U.S.-based cryptocurrency mining infrastructure provider. Fast facts The deal will see Compute North providing over 100 megawatts colocation capacity — enough to power a small city — for […]

Chinese find ways around crypto ban meanwhile ANZ settles debanking case

Some are registering companies overseas, via — you guessed it — Taobao vendors.

Singapore-based crypto trading platform Coinhako has launched “Coinhako Privé,” a digital assets platform for high net worth individuals (HNWIs) and institutions, according to a company announcement today. Fast facts The Coinhako Privé platform will provide members with institutional grade digital asset services and white glove services, such as a dedicated relationship manager, personalized support from […]

Estonia revoked more than 70% of all crypto licenses last year. Its recently appointed anti-money-laundering chief wants to nullify the rest.

Authorities encourage new ways to apply blockchain across various industries, although there’s no room for crypto

Two of the largest PC video game stores, Steam and Epic Games, have adopted different approaches to blockchain and non-fungible token (NFT)-based games — Steam has shunned them while Epic is open to it. Fast facts As NFT games like Axie Infinity are soaring in popularity, Valve, which operates Steam, has added games “built on […]

South Korean presidential hopefuls lean towards delaying crypto tax to impress younger voters.

As luxury brands eye the virtual realm, Zilliqa co-founder Max Kantelia looks forward to a convergence of desirable objects and digital opportunities.

The soft rollout of the electronic Chinese yuan (e-CNY) continues across China in advance of its expected formal launch in time for the Beijing Winter Olympics in February. In the latest sign, Beijing Capital International Airport has become the first airport in the country to support payment by the central bank digital currency (CBDC), which […]

Sotheby’s, the 277-year-old auction house, is launching its own immersive digital experience to offer prospective buyers a new way of engaging with the latest art-world craze — non-fungible token (NFT) artworks — according to a press release shared with Forkast.News. Fast facts Sotheby’s is creating a metaverse to allow users to explore and learn about […]

The Chinese government-aligned newspaper Guangming Daily published an opinion article to criticize non-fungible token (NFT) hype, which is “definitely not good for the healthy development of NFT.” Fast facts The article cited Gartner, a global technology research company, and its report Hype cycle for emerging technology, indicating that NFTs are at a high point of hype. The […]

In this special Q&A, industry leaders tell Forkast.News why global stablecoin regulations can help catalyze crypto adoption.

An NFT art exhibition demonstrates how digital tokens can be used to promote United Nations sustainability goals.

Top blockchain and crypto news: Big money heads for Bitcoin. How fishy are Squid Game NFTs? China mothballs mining.

As non-crypto players like Twitter and PayPal take up digital assets, Coinbase, Binance and others look for ways to expand offerings.

Working with Chinese blockchain Conflux, McDonald’s China has launched its first NFT to commemorate its 31st anniversary in the Chinese mainland market and the official opening of its new headquarters in Shanghai. The NFT, “Big Mac Cube,” is a three-dimensional digital token inspired by McDonald’s branding and the shape of its new headquarters building.  Fast […]

The Postal Savings Bank of China has become one of the appointed research and development institutions for the electronic Chinese yuan (e-CNY), allowing the bank to hold a first-mover advantage in the competition for position in China’s electronic payments market, its owner, the state-owned China Post Group, said in an article. Fast facts The bank […]

As international regulators seek to implement oversight, crypto industry players say it is a positive sign that regulators are now considering including stablecoins in banking regulations.

According to a Shenzhen state-owned newspaper, Shenzhen now has nearly 120,000 e-CNY pilot program application scenarios, ranking first in the country. Fast facts In October last year, Hong Kong’s neighboring city, Shenzhen, became the first e-CNY pilot city, which rolled out the first batch of 50,000 e-CNY red packets with a total value of 10 […]

Tether fires back while Easy Crypto closes Series A funding round

As blockchain nodes multiply around the world, the need for interconnectivity has never been greater. John DeVadoss of InterWork Alliance explains why.

Tether is facing another round of scrutiny as the world’s number one stablecoin responds to a damning Bloomberg report published yesterday that claimed — among other things — that Tether is not fully backed as the company claims and is using its reserves to make crypto-backed loans. Fast facts In the article, reporter Zeke Faux […]

  Jerome Powell’s remarks on Sept. 30 following his testimony about the financial hardships of the pandemic caught the attention of crypto enthusiasts. Taking questions from the House Committee on Financial Services, Chairman Powell said the Federal Reserve would not seek a ban on crypto but reiterated that stablecoins should be regulated.  Bitcoin jumped by […]

The NFT boom is transforming the art world, writes Laura Ballman and Michael Greenwald. Collectors would be wise to learn all they can about this new technology.

Indian crypto exchange CoinSwitch Kuber has become the country’s second crypto unicorn after raising US$260 million in a Series C funding round, the startup announced. Fast facts The latest funding round drew in marquee investors — it was led by Coinbase Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). Existing investors Sequoia, Paradigm, Ribbit and Tiger Global also participated […]

Officials are concerned that many investors may not be aware crypto trading is taxed in a similar way to share trading.

The importance of digital privacy, freedom of expression and civil liberties and how Web 3 can protect them.

Top blockchain and crypto news: US leads charge in ramping up cybersecurity. Crypto fans crow as Facebook flops. China bears down on metaverses.

This is the second time the world’s largest cryptocurrency has hit the mark in recent months. Does that mean this price point is here to stay?

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) today published a joint report proposing that international standards for payment, clearing and settlement systems should be applied to “systemically important stablecoin arrangements.” Fast facts The BIS, CPMI and IOSCO report comes amid the […]

Korea crypto tax pause called for meanwhile Tiktok jumps into NFTs

Hong Kong, a hotbed for crypto startups and exchanges, is at a crossroads, writes Jeremy Ng of Gemini. Here’s how the industry can better secure its future.

In a special Q&A, a Canadian law advisor who works with Chinese clients breaks down the ban’s potential legal boundaries and concerns held by overseas Chinese.