Forkast.News is now Forkast Labs

Crypto mining rig maker Canaan sues two Chinese tech companies over patent infringement

Canaan is seeking $14 million in alleged losses from Shenzhen HighSharp Electronic Technology and Sichuan Yinbimei Technology.

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?

Miami and NYC leaders vie for crypto-mayor title

The bell has rung on the friendly, post-Election Day competition between leaders of two major American cities for who will be the crypto-friendliest mayor of all.

The Bitcoin-energy connection intensifies

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

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.

South Korea presidential candidate mulls a virtual assets government unit

Lee Jae-myung, the ruling Democratic Party’s candidate for the upcoming presidential election in South Korea, may include in his election pledges setting up a government sector dedicated to supervising the virtual asset industry. Fast facts It is reported that Lee is considering including a plan in his presidential campaign to set up a unit similar […]

How DeFi regulation can propel the next economic revolution

DeFi is here to stay, but regulations are still lacking. Jason Blick of EQIBank explores the challenges and how authorities can move forward.

e-CNY scam investigated; S Korea gets metaverse bug

e-CNY scam investigated meanwhile S Korea gets metaverse bug

K-pop sensation BTS gets ready to sell NFTs, as label looks to cash in on loyal A.R.M.Y fanbase

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

Federal Reserve to taper bond purchases, prompting concerns over BTC impact

As the U.S. economy shows signs of recovery from the pandemic-related recession, the Federal Reserve has announced it will begin tapering the US$120 billion a month it spends on bond purchases, hoping to address concerns of rising inflation. This has caused unease in the crypto industry as Bitcoin adoption over the past 18 months has […]

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

China’s central bank governor calls for personal data protection at Hong Kong FinTech Week

Yi Gang reiterates the PBOC’s stance to protect data, while failing to address privacy concerns over digital yuan.

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?

Dogecoin, Shiba Inu are becoming crypto alpha dogs in India

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 […]

Wrapped XRP coming to Ethereum in December

Wrapped XRP (wXRP) will be supported on the Ethereum blockchain from December, according to an Oct. 31 announcement by Wrapped.com, a cross-chain wrapped assets provider. Fast facts Wrapped XRP will be backed 1:1 with XRP — the native cryptocurrency of the XRP Ledger (XRPL) — and held in custody with Hong Kong-based licensed digital asset […]

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.

Commonwealth Bank first in Australia to offer crypto trading

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 […]

Tarantino auctions seven uncut ‘Pulp Fiction’ scenes as NFTs

Director Quentin Tarantino announced he will auction seven uncut scenes from Pulp Fiction as non-fungible tokens.

Thailand’s oldest bank acquires majority stake in crypto exchange Bitkub

Thailand’s oldest bank, Siam Commercial Bank, has acquired a majority stake in the country’s largest crypto exchange Bitkub. Fast facts Siam Commercial Bank Securities, a subsidiary of SCB, has purchased 51% stake in Bitkub for approximately US$535.6 million, according to an announcement on Tuesday. The transaction is expected to be completed by the first quarter […]

BXH suffers US$130 million exploit; Squid game token meets deadly end

BXH suffers US$130 million exploit, also Squid game token meets deadly end

Biden administration report on stablecoins calls for laws to mitigate risks

The highly awaited report outlines recommendations for stablecoin regulation and asks regulatory bodies to combat risks until Congress introduces new laws.

Back up Hong Kong: How blockchain has quietly become history’s hard drive

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.

The Sandbox NFT metaverse platform raises $93M in Series B led by SoftBank

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.

BXH says its exploit, now estimated at $139M, came from admin key leakage

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

Bitcoin mining difficulty recovers to May level

Bitcoin miners saw another mining difficulty adjustment on Monday, with an increase of 7.85%, recovering to the level recorded in May, according to data from BTC.com. Fast facts The mining difficulty level is now at 21.66 trillion at block height 707,616, reflecting the most difficult level since a previous adjustment on May 13, the data show. The latest […]

Institutional inflows into crypto year-to-date 30% higher than 2020 total

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 […]

Scams now plague the NFT space. What can be done to stop them?

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?

DOT hits new all-time high with Polkadot parachain auctions imminent

DOT, the native cryptocurrency of the Polkadot blockchain network, crossed the US$50 mark for the first time on Nov. 1 and reached a new all-time high (ATH) of US$50.87, surpassing its previous peak of US$48.73 in May, according to CoinGecko data. DOT, currently the 8th-largest cryptocurrency by market value, was trading at US$48.69 as of […]

Tech giants vow to resist NFT hype; Squid token under scrutiny

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

Another DeFi platform, BXH, suffers $130M exploit

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

Shanghai plans to further popularize the digital yuan in the next five years

Shanghai outlined its plan to expand digital yuan pilot programs into the city’s five-year plan, in a recently released policy statement, “Shanghai’s Five-Year Plan of Comprehensive Promotion of Urban Digital Transformation.” Fast facts The plan said the city will expand pilot program for online and offline payments, transportation and government services. Shanghai is among the […]

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.

Why blockchain is the operating system of the digital age

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

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?

China’s prefecture-level city Ganzhou cracks down on crypto activities

More local governments in China are taking actions to crack down on cryptocurrency mining and trading, with Ganzhou, a prefecture-level city in the eastern province of Jiangxi, having deployed checks and inspections on local businesses. Fast facts The economic development zone in Ganzhou announced that it is working with the central bank’s local branch, the […]

Defiant Facebook, now renamed Meta, goes all in on metaverse strategy as scrutiny tightens

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; Dog fight hits crypto market

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

China’s state-backed blockchain network plans to launch NFT infrastructure

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 […]

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.

China’s national standard for blockchain could be released next year: report

China’s first national standard for blockchain could be released next year and a draft is now in the process of being submitted for approval, an official said earlier this week at an event in the western province of Sichuan, according to a report from local media Chuanguan, run by state-owned Sichuan Daily. Fast facts Li […]

13 years after Bitcoin’s whitepaper, what would Satoshi say?

Bitcoin is growing up in ways not imagined in Satoshi Nakamoto’s 2008 writings that gave birth to it. How will Bitcoin’s future unfold?

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.

Unraveling the mystery behind why Bitcoin prices are all over the place

Even the most reliable media can report wildly different crypto numbers. Forkast.News dives into DeFi math and crypto exchange economics to find out who’s right.

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

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

CFTC wants to be the primary crypto regulator

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is ready to be the “primary cop on the beat” for digital assets, CFTC acting chair Rostin Behnam said at his confirmation hearing on Wednesday. Fast facts As of Tuesday, “the total size of the digital asset market was US$2.7 trillion and among that $2.7 trillion, nearly 60% were commodities. […]

‌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.

European Central Bank appoints 30 members to digital euro market advisory group

The European Central Bank (ECB) has appointed 30 senior business professionals from a range of financial institutions and related organizations to its market advisory group for the digital euro project, according to a media statement. Fast facts The appointment of industry members to the advisory group follows the ECB’s launch of its digital euro project […]

DBS Bank first in Southeast Asia to join Hedera Governing Council

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 […]

Sotheby’s first metaverse auction sees 1,500 bids, sets NFT records

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 […]

Altair upgrade goes live; Hybe and Dunamu consider NFT venture

Altair upgrade goes live, also Hybe and Dunamu consider NFT venture.

India’s long-awaited crypto regulation coming in February, finance ministry officials say

Recent developments indicate the government is looking to regulate the sector instead of quashing it, and industry experts remain optimistic. 

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.

Ripple launches first RippleNet ODL with Pyypl in the Middle East

San Francisco-based blockchain payments company Ripple has partnered with Pyypl, a blockchain-based financial services technology company in the Middle East and Africa, to use XRP for cross-border payments in the Middle East, according to a company statement. Fast facts The partnership with Pyypl marks RippleNet’s first-ever On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) deployment in the Middle East and […]

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.

Binance NFT launches initial game offerings

Binance NFT, the non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace of Binance, has launched Initial Game Offerings (IGOs) for customers to invest in gaming NFTs projects at an early stage, according to a Binance blog post. Fast facts The IGOs will feature NFT collections from top-tier gaming projects that are available exclusively on the Binance NFT marketplace, Binance […]

Tether to test anti-money laundering product

Tether Operations, the company behind Tether (USDT) — the largest stablecoin by market capitalization — today announced that it will be trialing Notabene’s crypto travel rule compliance product for cross-border stablecoin transfers. Fast facts USDT has a market capitalization of over US$70 billion and over US$64 billion in 24-hour trading volume, according to CoinGecko data. […]

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

Kazakhstan proposes to limit power consumption for new crypto miners as power deficit bites

Local miners told Forkast.News that existing legal miners won’t be much affected, though they’re still subject to power rationing.

DBS, JPMorgan, Temasek-funded Partior goes live for cross-border transactions

The Singapore government-incubated blockchain platform promises to dramatically speed up transactions and lower the cost of international trade.

Alipay and Tencent now call NFTs ‘digital collectibles’ amid state media criticism

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

The Philippines looks to blockchain voting for its diaspora

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

Australian crypto industry watches as sole trader charges two top banks with ‘debanking’

While the government signals it is ready to promote the industry, the country’s banks remain unimpressed. ANZ has already settled its de-banking case with Allan Flynn, but as the tribunal with Westpac concluded over the weekend, what should we expect from the outcome?

Mastercard partners with Bakkt to offer crypto payments

Payments giant Mastercard and cryptocurrencies firm Bakkt Holdings Inc. announced on Monday they have partnered to facilitate cryptocurrency debit and credit card payments. The partnership will make it easier for merchants, banks and fintechs in the U.S. to offer a broad set of cryptocurrency services and ​​enable consumers to buy and sell digital assets through […]

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 […]

Bitcoin propels crypto institutional inflows to record $1.5B

Crypto investment products saw record inflows last week of US$1.47 billion, with Bitcoin accounting for 99% of the inflows, according to digital assets fund manager CoinShares. Total crypto assets under management also reached a new peak of US$79.2 billion. Fast facts Bitcoin investment products saw record inflows of US$1.45 billion last week. “The record inflows […]

Proshares files for exemption; Shiba Inu hits all-time high

Proshares files for exemption meanwhile Shiba Inu hits all-time high