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Bitcoin dropped but remained above US$30,000, with all other major cryptocurrencies falling, as investors reacted to news of MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin purchase and ARK Invest’s spot Bitcoin ETF plan.

Shanghai on Wednesday released a three-year plan to build its culture and tourism metaverse.

Five countries in South and Southeast Asia now rank in the global top 10 for cryptocurrency adoption, embracing DeFi and defying government attempts to discourage crypto use. Is this a harbinger of larger trends to come?

Despite its potential, Web3 gaming has had mixed reviews from gamers and developers, writes Freddie Ng. Here are the challenges and opportunities.

The Shanghai Clearing House started digital yuan clearing and settlement services for trading in commodities on Monday.

Bitcoin traded above US$30,000 to hold onto the strong gains made this week on the back of growing institutional interest in the token as an emerging asset.

Top blockchain and crypto news: Wall Street backs new crypto exchange. NFT traders remain cautious. Alibaba’s incoming chairman is a crypto fan.

The Asia-Pacific arm of San Francisco-based technology firm Ripple Labs saidThursday it received in-principle approval to start offering digital payment services in Singapore.

The relationship between Hong Kong and crypto will likely only grow stronger over time, as it’s based on mutual respect as well as need, writes Lily King.

In the Land of the Rising Sun, where the culture and ethos already align with the principles of blockchain games, the dawn of a new era of in gaming has arrived, writes Daiki Moriyama of Oasys.

As the US grapples with crypto regulation, Hong Kong and Dubai are emerging as leaders in the global digital economy, writes Ben Caselin of MaskEX.

Paul Chan, Hong Kong’s financial secretary, said more than 150 Web3 companies had registered at the Cyberport business park.

Amid growing regulatory scrutiny in the U.S., crypto firms eye Hong kong for its strategic location and friendly regulations, yet Singapore and Dubai remain strong competitors, says FinTech Association of Hong Kong’s Neil Tan.

Bitcoin dipped on Monday morning in Asia after reclaiming US$26,000 support over the weekend. Ether also fell back but held above US$1,700.

An account of a holiday from hell draws parallel to the dark world of cybercrime and how anyone can fall victim to sophisticated crypto thefts.

Tokyo-based information technology company Fujitsu will launch a new platform on June 30 to connect different economies using blockchain.

The final story in a three-part series on Asia metaverse developments looks at China’s national strategy, which has seen dozens of cities and provinces release spending plans and training schemes to adopt this digital world in real-world industries. China’s initiatives, however, face challenges from regulation and global competition.

To date, none of the 30-plus crypto bills in Congress have become law, so judges are stepping up to fill the void. What does this mean for crypto in America?

After a slow start, Japan’s development of a domestic metaverse is gaining pace. This second account in a three-part series asks: can the nation compete with rivals China and South Korea in building a 3D virtual world that – according to the promises – would open up new realms of economic prosperity and even potentially ease nagging social problems?

The SEC’s one-two punch of Coinbase and Binance couldn’t have come at a better time for Hong Kong and Singapore, as US crypto firms look to shift to friendlier shores, writes Hamilton Keats of Krayon Digital.

South Korea, China, Japan — East Asia’s three industrial powerhouses are taking their economic rivalry to the virtual world. Each is developing a domestic metaverse in a race to become the region’s industry leader. This first account in a three-part series takes a look at what’s happening in South Korea.

Bitcoin Ordinals are also called NFTs, but intellectual property laws may not treat them the same as Ethereum- and Solana-minted NFTs, writes Cameron Pick.

Jiangning, a district in China’s Nanjing city, released a metaverse plan on Saturday that includes training thousands of professionals for the industry.

Local legislator suggests global cryptocurrency exchanges such as U.S.-based Coinbase set up operations in Hong Kong as the city’s new licensing regime for crypto retail trading took effect on June 1.

Sebastien Borget of The Sandbox and Yehudah Petscher of Forkast Labs discuss the promise of the metaverse, the role of NFTs and the potential impact of Apple’s Vision Pro.

Welcome to Forkast IQ, presented by Forkast’s Megha Chaddah, where we look beyond the headlines to get you insights that power smarter decisions.

From US crackdowns on Binance and Coinbase to new business-friendlier frameworks in Hong Kong and Europe, seismic shifts in crypto regulations are under way.

Pudgy Penguins CEO Luca Netz says he aims to revolutionize the NFT marketplace, shifting focus from creating virtual assets out of “thin air” to generating real-world revenue via licensing.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler allegedly offered to serve as an advisor to Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, in 2019, according to a CNBC report on Wednesday that cited documents filed by the regulator. 

Small cryptos often rise and fall with BTC and ETH — the market’s two biggest players. The concentration risk is profound, and here’s why you should care.

MUFG, Japan’s leading bank, is pioneering the crypto industry by supporting stablecoin issuance on the Progmat Coin platform, offering an alternative route for entry and exit in the volatile cryptocurrency market.

Ledger’s attempt to simplify self-custody and key recovery triggered a community revolt. Was this inevitable or could Ledger have sidestepped this fiasco?

JPMorgan has reportedly launched a pilot project with top private lenders in India for interbank dollar transaction settlements through its blockchain platform, Onyx. 

FATF’s travel rule is looming over the crypto industry as an existential threat, writes Jack Jia of Unlimit. Here’s why it’s especially worrying to DeFi and self-custody wallet users.

Japan’s All Nippon Airways, or ANA Group, has launched a non-fungible token platform known as “ANA GranWhale NFT MarketPlace” to trade art and photograph collectibles through its metaverse subsidiary ANA NEO, the company tweeted on Thursday.

DeFi has the potential to revolutionize finance, but hacks, poor user experience, and a lack of a regulations make many wary, writes Arthur Firstov of Mercuryo.

Top blockchain and crypto news: Miners dodge tax bullet. Blur, Binance heat up NFT lending. Chinese cities’ plans reveal nationwide Web3 ambition.

Decentralized autonomous organizations are the future of business, writes Lomesh Dutta. The key is designing them to avoid management and voting pitfalls.

Virtual assets will receive the same regulatory clarity in Hong Kong as their real-world counterparts, says former Hong Kong SFC regulator Angelina Kwan.

Tether, the issuer of the world’s most traded stablecoin, will invest in power generation and Bitcoin mining in Uruguay to tap the country’s renewable energy resources, the company said on Tuesday.

Bitcoin fell in Tuesday morning trading in Asia. Ether and most other top 10 non-stablecoin tokens also logged losses, while XRP gained.

Bitcoin couldn’t maintain its Monday morning gains as the world’s largest cryptocurrency dropped below US$28,000 in the afternoon.

Beijing’s local government on Saturday released a white paper outlining plans and challenges for development of the city’s Web 3.0 industry.

Unpacking the NFT disparity at Veecon & BTC Miami 2023: established ETH vs emerging BTC. CryptoSlam seeks to bridge the gap.

Banco Central do Brasil, the central bank of Brazil, has selected 14 institutions to participate in the pilot run of the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) named Real Digital.

China’s Zhengzhou city issued a set of policy proposals Wednesday to support metaverse companies, including a 10 billion yuan (US$1.42 billion) metaverse fund.

The stock price boost for tech giant Nvidia on the back of an AI chip boom has sent AI-related cryptocurrencies on a surge.

Opinions about Web3 gaming remain divided, but it’s undeniable that NFTs and GameFi offer players big opportunities, writes Ramona Ciocea of Protokol.

Top blockchain and crypto news: Asia’s crypto hub race. Is US debt ceiling fight a boon or a bane for crypto? China’s red carpet for metaverse investment.

Hong Kong is the most crypto-ready jurisdiction in the world, based on the number of blockchain startups per 100,000 people and the number of crypto ATMs proportional to the population, according to a new study by forex education platform Forex Suggest. 

OCBC Bank will offer tokenized equity-linked structured notes to accredited investors, in a partnership with private market exchange ADDX.

Bitcoin dropped 2.33% to US$26,671. Ether lost 2.15% but traded above US$1,800.

China’s Nanjing City launched a state-backed organization on Monday to promote and enhance metaverse studies throughout the nation.

Only 4.2% of South Korean citizens have said that they regularly use metaverse services, a recent survey results show.

For crypto to grow for the long term, the industry must show greater respect for global standards that combat crime, writes Slava Demchuk of AMLBot.

While U.S. regulators continue debating over whether cryptocurrencies are securities or commodities, the digital assets industry is being pleasantly welcomed by several Asian cities. And the competition is really hotting up now.

Bitcoin gained 1.71% and Ether climbed 2.35%. Polygon gained the most in 24 hours followed by Tron.

For every PayPal or Google, countless other startups from the bubble days of yore took investor money down the toilet, writes Naveen Agnihotri. What makes this AI boom any different?

As U.S. regulators file lawsuits against cryptocurrency platforms, prompting some digital asset companies to seek more favorable jurisdictions, a fleet of cities in Asia are putting out the welcome mat, seeking to attract the jobs and investment that Web3 technologies promise. Right now, Hong Kong seems to be grabbing the limelight, but it has competition.

Circle Vice President of Global Policy Corey Then says he is optimistic that U.S. regulatory developments can eventually benefit local players despite ongoing scrutiny.

Bitcoin traded below the US$27,000 mark for most of the week, as investor sentiment was weighed down by the prospect of the U.S. government’s potential default. Investors will be closely monitoring the ongoing debt ceiling negotiations.

Electric vehicles remain rare in developing countries because of high costs and ‘range anxiety,’ writes George Cox of eTukTuk. Here’s how blockchain technology can remove those barriers.

Top blockchain and crypto news: Fighting words over USDT erupt on Twitter. Litecoin surges amid memecoin fever. Chinese city bids for blockchain business.

Cryptocurrencies rebounded on Thursday but wallet service provider Ledger’s latest update raised new security concerns.

Smart Communications, one of the Philippines’ largest telcos, is entering the Web3 space through a partnership with Web3 community enabler in Southeast Asia, BlockchainSpace.

Conflux Network and China Telecom on Tuesday unveiled their first blockchain-based SIM card, which will be piloted in Hong Kong.

San Francisco-based Ripple Labs, a technology and financial services firm built around the XRP cryptocurrency, said it will acquire Metaco, a Swiss-based tokenization and digital asset custody provider, for US$250 million. 

In a new report, U.K. lawmakers suggest treating Bitcoin and Ether like gambling due to significant consumer financial risks.

Bitcoin prices dropped below US$27,000 on Wednesday afternoon in Asia, while XRP gained the most after positive news for Ripple Labs on its lawsuit against U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Web3’s terrible user experience, scams and lack of diversity could be solved if its leaders take a cue from environmentalists and ‘act locally,’ writes Tim Williamson of NieuxCo.

Bitcoin prices fell on Wednesday morning in Asia but remained above the US$27,000 line. Ether gained but still posted a weekly drop. XRP led gainers among other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies.

Crypto users need not fear the increasing KYC/AML requirements around the world and loss of privacy, writes Kurt Hemecker of the Mina Foundation. Here’s why.