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Algorand price soars over 50% to new two-year high

Algorand (ALGO) — the native cryptocurrency of the Algorand blockchain — soared 50% from just under US$1.70 noon Asia time today to a new two-year high of US$2.66, according to CoinGecko data. But the surge was short-lived, with ALGO currently trading just under US$2 as of publishing time. Fast facts Algorand’s surge amidst the wider […]

DeFi fraud and thefts rose 600% in 2021 to reach $10.5B

Billions have been stolen through hacks from decentralized finance protocols, with Ethereum seeing the bulk of losses, according to a report by Elliptic.

ConsenSys raises US$200M as MetaMask surpasses 21M monthly active users

Ethereum blockchain software company ConsenSys today announced the completion of a US$200 million funding round, bringing the company’s valuation to US$3.2 billion as it seeks to spearhead the growth of Web 3.0. Fast facts ConsenSys’ announcement comes as the number of monthly active users of its MetaMask non-custodial wallet product exceeded 21 million — a 38-fold increase from […]

TV home shopping in South Korea moves to the metaverse

A ticket to the metaverse is highly coveted in South Korea, whether it’s by an individual, a public company or a city government.

Vitalik Buterin imagines a future of crypto cities

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?

How to avoid getting rug-pulled in crypto and DeFi

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.

Polygon launches Miden for Ethereum scaling

Ethereum Layer 2 solutions — protocols built on top of the Ethereum blockchain that handle transactions off the Ethereum mainnet — have been on the rise as developers work on improving Ethereum’s scalability as its number of users and applications continue to grow. Polygon, a Layer 2 Ethereum scaling platform, today announced the launch of […]

Metaverse ETFs in South Korea bring significant profits for investors

South Korean financial companies bring investors results a month after their metaverse exchange-traded funds were listed, with one fund gathering nearly $170M in net asset value.

Earnings for Axie Infinity players drop below Philippines minimum wage

After shooting to prominence earlier in the year and bringing huge profits to early adopters, earnings for players of blockchain-based game Axie Infinity have dropped below the minimum wage line for most players in the Philippines, according to a recent report by research firm Naavik. Fast facts Using data sourced from the official website of […]

Algorand Foundation, Blockchain Association Singapore partner to grow blockchain ecosystem

The Algorand Foundation, a Singapore-based blockchain organization supporting the development of the Algorand ecosystem, has partnered with the Blockchain Association Singapore to drive the development of blockchain technology in Singapore and the wider Southeast Asia region. Fast facts In a memorandum of understanding signed on Nov. 12, the ecosystem partnership will see the Algorand Foundation […]

Blockchain gaming firm Forte closes $725M Series B funding

In another sign of increasing adoption of blockchain technology in the gaming industry, Forte — a leading provider of blockchain solutions for game publishers — has secured US$725 million in a Series B fundraising round, the firm announced. Fast facts Led by Sea Capital and Kora Management, this follows from the US$185 million it raised […]

Hong Kong’s First Digital Trust to custody security tokens on IX Swap

First Digital Trust, a Hong Kong-regulated trust and custodian specializing in digital assets, has become the first official custodian of IX Swap, a security token and cryptocurrency exchange, according to a company announcement today. Fast facts IX Swap is a decentralized finance (DeFi) automated market maker and liquidity pool for security tokens and tokenized stocks. […]

Indonesia’s top Islamic council says crypto use is forbidden for Muslims: report

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

This Brazilian digital bank wants to change the world, one block at a time

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.

Solana Breakpoint 2021 celebrates price ATH, technology and projects to come on the emerging blockchain

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.

Discord dismisses ETH integration amid community backlash

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 […]

Ethereum’s Web 3.0 ecosystem expands, 3.4 million now into DeFi

Ethereum’s sprawling Web 3.0 ecosystem — which includes the majority of the decentralized finance (DeFi), stablecoins, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and blockchain gaming worlds — continues to expand and draw users, with 3.4 million Ethereum addresses interacting with DeFi protocols, according to ConsenSys’ Web 3 Q3 2021 report published this week. Led by Ethereum co-founder Joseph […]

Scams are bullish for crypto

After recent scams were uncovered involving Walmart and Kroger, and Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin, why did the stock prices fall while the crypto prices rallied?

Ripple to launch ‘game-changer’ liquidity hub amid XRP legal battles with SEC

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.

Beeple’s first physical artwork sells for $29M at auction

The digital artist who helped launch the non-fungible token craze earlier this year, Beeple, has sold his first physical artwork and accompanying NFT for US$28.9 million at a live Christie’s auction in New York on Tuesday night. Fast facts Beeple’s first physical work “Human One” is a seven-foot-tall box with LED screens on each side […]

Bitcoin and Beyond

Bitcoin & Beyond

The media’s role in driving growth in crypto

Panel looks at best practices in news coverage from Decrypt Media, CoinDesk, South China Morning Post.

Discord CEO hints at integration with Ethereum to mixed response

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 […]

Unlocking the power of Bitcoin through smart contracts

As Ethereum has become the preferred blockchain for smart contracts, what’s the future of the Bitcoin blockchain?

3 themes driving institutional adoption of digital assets

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?

Ethereum drives crypto comeback as US tax fears leave market unfazed

Top blockchain and crypto news: Ethereum rises and rivals follow. Taxing times for US investors. New life for reborn crypto miner.

Crypto funds see record $8.9B investment inflows so far this year

Signaling increased confidence in the future of digital assets, cryptocurrency investment products saw institutional investment inflows of US$174 million last week — the 12th consecutive week of inflows — bringing year-to-date inflows to a record US$8.9 billion, according to digital assets manager CoinShares. Fast facts Institutional investment into crypto products have surged this year with […]

What are the digital assets powering the DeFi revolution?

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.

Ethereum sets new all-time price high as crypto market cap nears $3 trillion

Ethereum reached a new all-time price high of US$4,766 earlier today, flying past its previous all-time high record of US$4,634 set five days ago, according to CoinGecko data. Fast facts The world’s second-largest cryptocurrency by market value has been on a record run since late last month. On Oct. 28, Ethereum’s price climbed to US$4,416 for the first time. The […]
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hashport launches to power cross-network digital asset transfers

hashport, a public utility that facilitates the movement of digital assets between distributed ledger technology networks without the need for a native network token, today announced that it will launch on Nov. 9, according to a media statement. At launch, hashport will connect the Hedera public distributed ledger to the Ethereum and Polygon networks. Fast […]

Solana Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners and FTX partner to invest $100M in Web3 gaming

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. […]

Canaan sues over patent infringement; PayTM considers crypto services

Canaan sues over patent infringement also, PayTM considers crypto services

Chinese companies rush to register metaverse-related trademarks

Chinese companies are in a craze for trademark registrations related to the metaverse, and Baidu and NetEase are the latest tech giants to register such trademarks. Fast facts According to the QiChacha, a website where you can search for information about Chinese company information, shows that NetEase has applied for three trademarks with the metaverse: […]

Goldman Sachs executive says tokenization redefines liquidity transaction

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 […]

Is 2021 the year of crypto’s coming of age?

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.

Fashion, art, games and community: What does a decentralized metaverse mean for you?

The idea of the metaverse has gone from the realm of science fiction to the latest business model of major companies from Facebook to Nike. What do metaverses powered by blockchain look like, and why is there so much interest in Decentraland?

What is the Solana ecosystem and how is it fueling SOL’s stratospheric rise?

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.

Aleph.im launches Serum Markets to provide DeFi trading data on Solana

Project Serum, a decentralized exchange on the Solana blockchain, has seen its total value locked (TVL) more than double over the past month to US$2.468 billion, according to data from a new Serum Markets Analytics dashboard launched today. Fast facts Solana — a high performance blockchain and alternative to Ethereum — has been gaining ground […]

e-CNY scam investigated; S Korea gets metaverse bug

e-CNY scam investigated meanwhile S Korea gets metaverse bug

South Korea’s Kakao, Com2uS, others race toward the metaverse

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.

Solana hits new ATH, briefly overtakes Tether as 4th-largest cryptocurrency

The price of Solana (SOL), the native cryptocurrency of the high-performance proof-of-stake Solana blockchain, hit a new all-time high US$245.69 this morning Asia time and briefly overtook Tether as the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market value, according to CoinGecko data. Fast facts Solana’s price surge comes ahead of the inaugural Breakpoint conference organized by the Solana Foundation, which will […]

Why archiving the internet is vital and how a decentralized web can help | Ep. 6

Why archiving the internet is vital for the future, how a decentralized web can help, and why looking at history is a good way to predict the future

How subscription-based social media could lead to DLT’s mass adoption

Pay-for-play on Web 3.0 will instigate seismic shifts from centralized social media to community-driven platforms, writes Solo Ceesay of Calaxy. How would it work?

Hong Kong Fintech Week’s live comeback talks digital renminbi and DeFi

One of Asia’s largest fintech events returns for its sixth year with a hybrid format of live and virtual sessions. Regulators, corporations and experts share what’s important now in crypto.

ETH and SOL hit all-time highs; CBA to offer crypto services

ETH and SOL hit all-time highs as well as CBA offers crypto services

Huobi to give away ticket to space as part of 8th-year celebration

Blockchain technology company Huobi Group is celebrating its 8th-year anniversary with a slew of events and giveaways — including a space trip “to the outer perimeters of Earth” — and a focus on expanding its global footprint, according to a company announcement. Fast facts Founded in 2013 in China, Huobi has made global expansion a priority […]

Stablecoin toss to US Congress as regulators circle

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

Ethereum, Solana, Polkadot climb to new all-time price highs in altcoin rally

Ethereum crosses the $4,600 mark for the first time and Solana overtakes Cardano as the fifth-largest cryptocurrency by market value.

Hong Kong’s CMCC seeks to raise $300 million crypto fund

CMCC Global, a venture capital firm based in Hong Kong, is targeting US$300 million worth of assets in its latest crypto fund, according to Bloomberg. Fast facts Since being launched in April, CMCC’s fourth digital asset fund has gathered assets close to an estimated value of US$90 million with a goal to reach the US$300 […]

Ant Group, JD.com, Tencent pledge to resist speculation of ‘digital collectibles’

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

Can Axie Infinity go the distance?

The darling of the play-to-earn gaming world had an explosive start but now struggles with deflation and lower player earnings. Is the play-to-earn model sustainable?

FATF updates regulatory guidance for crypto industry

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

Squid Game and BTS tokens emerge amid K-culture boom — and warnings to consumers

The wild popularity of South Korean Netflix TV series Squid Game and K-pop boy band BTS prompt parody tokens in the crypto space under circumstances that are being called into question.

Back to the future: Why Bitcoin is still a game-changer

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 changes its corporate name to Meta to build on metaverse vision

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 […]

Tales from the Crypt, 2021: 10 crypto horror stories

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.

South Korea crypto debate heats up; Bitcoin mining ETF starts trading

South Korea crypto debate heats up, also Bitcoin mining ETF starts trading

‌How‌ ‌can we better ‌protect‌ ‌digital‌ ‌assets‌ ‌and‌ ‌guard‌ ‌against‌ ‌hackers‌?

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

Blockchain game Alien Worlds Missions launches on Binance Smart Chain

Popular play-to-earn blockchain game Alien Worlds has launched its Alien Worlds Missions game on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC), according to a media statement. Fast facts Alien Worlds is a decentralized finance (DeFi), non-fungible token (NFT) metaverse where players compete using unique digital items (NFTs), earn Trilium (TLM), the in-game currency, and travel on Alien World Missions […]

DeFi platform Cream Finance suffers $130M exploit

This appears to be the third hack for the protocol this year — yet the biggest one so far.

A virtual K-pop girl group aims for the metaverse

South Korean mobile game developer Netmarble to create a virtual K-pop idol group under partnership with internet giant Kakao group using meta-human technologies.

Tesla’s trillion-dollar triumph — and its bond with Bitcoin

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.

What will Ethereum prices be as 2021 ends?

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.

Vitalik Buterin: Layer 2 is the future of Ethereum scaling

Ethereum’s creator explains why rollups can help scale Ethereum while preserving decentralization.

Philippines trials blockchain voting; Byron Bay to host crypto mining

Philippines trials blockchain voting meanwhile Byron Bay to host crypto mining

What are the risks of recreating reality in the metaverse?

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

Solana price hits new all-time high amid rising crypto market

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 […]

Australia looks to regulate crypto; Ethereum hits all-time high

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

Ethereum price touches new all-time high in altcoins rally

Ethereum prices surged to new heights ahead of next week’s Altair Beacon Chain upgrade but then pulled back. How do crypto experts make sense of it?

FTX raises $421 million, valuation jumps $7B in 3 months

Just three months after closing a record US$1 billion series B, the two-year-old cryptocurrency exchange is now valued at US$25 billion. Fast facts The US$420,690,000 Series B-1 funding round saw the participation of 69 investors, with prominent names the lineup, including Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, via its Teachers’ Innovation Platform, Singapore’s state-owned investment firm […]

Bitcoin hits all-time high; Lotte World opens in metaverse

Bitcoin hits all-time high, also Lotte World opens in metaverse

Bitcoin reaches new all-time price high, but in a very different market since last time

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?