U.S. House of Representatives forms new cryptocurrency subcommittee
The U.S. House of Representatives has created a new congressional subcommittee focused on digital assets, as one of its first moves under the control of the Republican Party.
Crypto lender Hodlnaut’s creditors reject restructuring plan, prefer liquidation: report
Creditors of Singapore-based crypto lending and borrowing platform Hodlnaut have rejected a proposed restructuring plan and wish to liquidate the company.
Asset Segregation
FTX’s collapse has led to many thinking about how to safeguard their digital assets.
Alameda liquidators get liquidated while consolidating funds on DeFi lending platform Aave
Alameda Research liquidators were liquidated for US$72,000 from an on-chain position on decentralized finance (DeFi) lending platform Aave while trying to consolidate funds
Coinbase to cut jobs, shut down most of its cryptocurrency operations in Japan
Coinbase, the world’s second largest cryptocurrency exchange by trade volume, is cutting jobs and closing down most of its operations in Japan.
Bitcoin price rebounds as U.S. inflation cools
Bitcoin rebounded above US$18,000 on Friday as the U.S. consumer price index, rose 6.5% in December, matching expectations and continuing a downtrend from previous months.
El Salvador establishes legal framework for all cryptocurrencies
El Salvador has passed landmark legislation that establishes a legal framework for all cryptocurrencies to build on the country’s “first-mover advantage.”
Shanghai Two Sessions: metaverse development requires stronger supervision
Shanghai Two Sessions’ delegate urges stronger supervision in the metaverse industry, as metaverse fever continues.
Binance obtains approval in Sweden to fuel Europe expansion
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has received regulatory approval from the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority to operate as a financial institution to manage and trade in virtual currency, as part of the exchange’s continuing expansion in Europe.
Binance says it plans to expand hiring by as much as 30% in 2023 as rivals cut jobs
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume, is planning to increase staff by as much as 30% this year.
FTX loses Miami Heat stadium sponsorship
National Basketball Association (NBA) team Miami Heat’s home arena will soon be renamed after a Florida judge ended the naming rights agreement between the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange, FTX.com, and Miami-Dade County
Bankrupt FTX exchange has recovered US$5 bln worth of ‘liquid’ assets, lawyers say
The names of the crypto exchange’s 9 million customers and creditors will remain sealed from the public for at least three months.
How DeFi can overcome the stench of shitcoins and ponzinomics
DeFi Summer has cooled into Crypto Winter, but with a silver lining — investors are finally asking sensible questions like: ‘Where does the yield come from?’ writes Julian Koh of Ribbon Finance.
CBDCs may drive more funds into DeFi protocols, says Immunefi’s Mitchell Amador
Immunefi founder Mitchell Amador believes the future security risks of CBDCs will highlight the benefits of DeFi.
Hong Kong crypto exchanges to follow same laws as traditional finance
Hong Kong has passed a new licensing regime on for crypto exchanges that will subject providers to the same legislation and rules as traditional finance.
India’s WazirX crypto exchange releases proof of reserves, says 90% of user assets in Binance wallets
Some 90% of user assets at WazirX, India’s largest crypto exchange by volume, are held in wallets at Binance while the remaining 10% are stored in hot and warm wallets, revealed WazirX’s proof of reserves that the company released on Wednesday.
Ripples’ ripple?
The battle for who gets to regulate cryptocurrencies continues as SEC v. Ripple Labs carry on larger implications for the crypto world.
Thai regulator probes Zipmex crypto exchange amid acquisition: report
Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has written to cryptocurrency exchange Zipmex Thailand seeking clarification on whether it has been operating as a digital-asset fund manager without permission, according to a Bloomberg report.
Binance U.S. gets court approval to buy Voyager Digital for US$20 mln
Binance’s U.S. wing has received court approval to buy Voyager Digital’s crypto platform for US$20 million, as part of Voyager’s plan to liquidate in bankruptcy.
Digital Currency Group in spotlight over suspicious fund transfers
Top blockchain and crypto news: DCG under investigation. Lido DAO surges as Ethereum’s Shanghai upgrade looms. Hong Kong burnishes crypto credentials.
India’s CoinSwitch exchange to add non-crypto products amid punishing taxes on digital asset trading
Indian cryptocurrency exchanges faced a flurry of taxes on trading last year that saw volumes across most platforms drop as much as 90%, slashing income from trading fees. What’s a crypto exchange to do? Maybe sell mutual funds?
Binance’s BUSD-peg stablecoin has not always been fully collateralized: report
Binance Global, the world’s largest crypto exchange, has acknowledged flaws in its systems that allowed its BNB Smart Chain-based BUSD stablecoin to be under-collateralized by up to US$1 billion on at least three occasions, according to a Wednesday report from Bloomberg.
MetaMask developer ConsenSys to slash 100 or more staffers: report
ConsenSys, the Ethereum software firm behind cryptocurrency wallet MetaMask, is reportedly planning to lay off at least 100 employees.
Coinbase to cut 20% of its remaining workforce
Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S., will be letting go of about 950 employees, or about 20% of its current workforce, as part of “a further restructuring plan,” which is expected to be “substantially complete” by the second quarter of 2023.
Microsoft mulls US$10 bln investment in ChatGPT’s OpenAI
Microsoft is reportedly in talks to place a US$10 billion bet in OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT
Stopping Scalpers
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour was met with a series of ticketing nightmares as scalpers tried to resell tickets for as high as US$22,000. But could NFTs have solved that problem?
India’s Decimal Point Analytics gets US$750,000 grant funding to develop tokenization solutions
India’s Decimal Point Analytics (DPA), a research and data analytics firm, has received grant funding of up to US$750,000 from The Hashgraph Association, a Switzerland-headquartered non-profit organization, to develop an asset tokenization platform on Hedera’s distributed ledger technology (DLT) network.
Paycoin seeks reapproval after S.Korea suspends the payments token: report
PayProtocol, the South Korean issuer of payments-focused cryptocurrency Paycoin (PCI), will reapply for a local license to stay in business.
Can human psychology help save blockchain gaming?
NFTs in gaming have drawn mixed reactions, including gamer backlash and vitriol. What can the sector do to better meet gamers’ innermost needs?
Trust and Compliance
Many crypto exchanges are implementing proof of reserves as trust and confidence are becoming two of the biggest watch words in the crypto space, but traditional institutions are also trying to bring the crypto sphere back to health.
Slumdog Millionaire composer A. R. Rahman tunes into metaverse
Indian music composer A. R. Rahman, who won Best Original Score at the Oscars for the movie Slumdog Millionaire, has launched the ‘Katraar’ metaverse platform to promote new music creations and other art forms.
U.S. subpoenas hedge funds in Binance probe: report
Federal prosecutors have issued subpoenas to several U.S. hedge funds that have dealt with the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance Global Inc.
US prosecutors, SEC probes Digital Currency Group: report
U.S. prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have started to investigate cryptocurrency-focused conglomerate Digital Currency Group (DCG), Bloomberg reported on Saturday, citing unnamed sources.
Will crypto’s decentralized application layer boost mass adoption in 2023?
ChainSafe’s Aidan Hyman believes that crypto’s fully decentralized application layer may finally be complete in 2023.
Ripple Decision Soon?
Ripple expects a SEC ruling on a two-year-old suit and what regulations it could bring about.
Crypto exchange Huobi latest firm to slash staff: Reuters
Seychelles-based crypto exchange company Huobi plans to lay off about 20% of its staff, according to a Friday report from Reuters.
CeFi regulation may create an advantage for DeFi, Bitcoin.com CEO says
Dennis Jarvis of Bitcoin.com believes the incoming regulatory crackdown on CeFi may tip the scales in DeFi’s favor next year.
Lido DAO surges 35% over the last week, BitDAO gains 22%: Why?
LDO surged as Ethereum’s upcoming March upgrade is expected to resolve current risks in ETH staking. BitDAO also gained with its buyback plan.
SEC objects to Binance’s US$1 bln deal to buy Voyager Digital’s assets
The U.S. SEC has objected to Binance’s U.S. affiliate’s proposed US$1 billion purchase of bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital’s assets.
Hong Kong lawmaker says e-HKD has potential to be a stablecoin
Hong Kong should make efforts to encourage the establishment of virtual assets rating agencies, and consider developing the e-HKD, the city’s central bank digital currency in the works, into a stablecoin, a Hong Kong lawmaker said in a recent media interview.
Digital Currency Group shuts down wealth management unit: report
Cryptocurrency-focused conglomerate Digital Currency Group (DCG) is shutting down its wealth management unit called HQ, CoinDesk, a DCG-owned media outlet, reported on Friday.
Silvergate cuts 40% of staff after facing US$8.1B in withdrawals amid FTX collapse
Cryptocurrency bank Silvergate Capital has laid off 40% of its staff, or about 200 employees, after the collapse of FTX.com, which sparked mass withdrawals of around US$8.1 billion.
India’s Crypto Outlook
WazirX VP Rajagopal Menon sits down with Forkast to provide some insight as survival becomes a huge concern for crypto exchanges in India.
Will crypto’s real-world impact become more evident in 2023?
Crypto Council’s Sheila Warren hopes to see more of crypto’s real-world use cases emerging in the media next year.
Crypto P2E game investments not protected by law, China court says
A Shanghai court ruled that investments in cryptocurrency-powered play-to-earn (P2E) games are not protected by law in China.
How ‘naming collisions’ threaten the promise of Web3
What are ‘naming collisions,’ and why will unique user-owned identities play a pivotal role in Web3’s future success? Matthew Gould explains.
Blockchain in Davos
Welcome to The Daily Forkast – January 4, 2022 – presented by Angie Lau. As the bells rang in the new year, many said goodbye and good riddance to a year of headline grabbing failures in the blockchain space. From Ronin’s bridge hack, the collapse of Terra Luna, to the bankruptcy of FTX, 2022 was […]
CeFi regulation to accelerate further 2023
Regulators will focus on centralized finance instead of decentralized finance in 2023, Chainalysis’ Caroline Malcolm says.
Crypto, digital assets account for 69% of online investment scams in Hong Kong
The Hong Kong Police received 1,503 online investment scam complaints over the first 10 months of 2022, 70% were related to cryptocurrencies.
Binance declines comment on speculation it may buy South Korean crypto exchange GOPAX
Binance declined to comment on reports in local media that it is in late stage talks to acquire South Korean digital asset exchange GOPAX.
Magic Eden NFTs display explicit content, ‘Big Bang Theory’ images
Images on Magic Eden, the largest Solana-based non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace, displayed pornographic content and popular sitcom series “The Big Bang Theory” on Tuesday Asia time instead of users’ NFTs.
Decentralized social media can change content ownership in 2023
NEAR Foundation’s Marieke Flament believes that Web3-based social media platforms could gain popularity in 2023.
Bahamas regulator denies FTX CEO’s claims over seized assets
The Securities Commission of The Bahamas has rejected “material misstatements” made by FTX’s newly-appointed CEO, John J. Ray III
Bitcoin mining difficulty drops 3.6% in latest adjustment
The Bitcoin mining difficulty level fell 3.59% on Tuesday morning in Asia, after some U.S. mining firms unplugged due to deadly winter storms over the holiday season on top of continued cash shortages mainly caused by low Bitcoin prices and high energy costs.
Bitcoin ATM rush Down Under: Australia leapfrogs El Salvador, Poland
Australia had a total of 225 Bitcoin ATMs by the end of 2022 after installing around 150 machines in the final four months of the year, overtaking El Salvador and Poland to become home to the fourth-highest number of crypto ATMs in the world, according to data from CoinATMRadar.com.
Happy birthday to Bitcoin! What will it become when it’s all grown up?
It takes a village to raise a child, and Bitcoin is no different — we must support its growth but also set firm boundaries, writes Justin d’Anethan of Amber Group.
How crypto custodians can help centralized exchanges win back public trust
In the post-FTX world, crypto exchanges must offer stronger protection for investors’ assets, writes Colin Brooks, chairman of the advisory board of Hex Trust.
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried allegedly cashes out US$684,000, on-chain data show
On-chain data showed that Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the now-bankrupt FTX exchange, sent around 570 Ether worth US$684,000 to a Seychelles-based exchange and Ren Protocol’s Bitcoin bridge on Wednesday
Bahamas regulators hold US$3.5 bln of FTX assets, to be delivered to customers, creditors
The Securities Commission of the Bahamas is temporarily holding US$3.5 billion of digital assets seized from FTX Digital Markets
A series of events: Crypto’s 2022 timeline
Cryptocurrencies had a turbulent 2022 to say the least. Blockchain technology made progress but that failed to offset the multiple bankruptcies and hacks that plagued the industry through the year.
Second set of transactions from Alameda wallets likely liquidators: Nansen
FTX liquidators may be behind the latest transactions from Alameda Research wallets, but someone else may have sent the first set of cryptocurrencies to decentralized exchanges.
China state-backed NFT trading platform to launch on Jan. 1
“China Digital Asset Trading Platform,” a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace developed by state-owned entities and a private sector firm, has been set for launch on Jan. 1, 2023, state media outlet China Daily reported on Tuesday. See related article: NFTs ruled virtual property in China, its sales protected by law Fast facts See related article: […]
South Korea keeps betting on the metaverse, ignoring the current clunky technology
South Korea took a real shine to the metaverse in 2022, with the central government, regions and cities all interested in getting a piece of the virtual reality pie, despite criticism that the technology has a long way to go.
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried likely to enter plea deal: report
Sam Bankman-Fried is expected to enter a plea deal next week to fraud charges connected to the collapse of cryptocurrency FTX Reuters reported.
FTX customers file lawsuit for priority repayment
Former customers of FTX have filed a class action lawsuit against the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange and its top executives, including Sam Bankman-Fried, to seek priority rights to repayment before any non-customer creditors.
Kraken to shut Japan operations
Kraken announced on Wednesday that it will “cease its operations” in Japan and deregister from the Financial Services Agency.
Will non-financial use cases of NFTs emerge in 2023?
MetaKovan, owner of the world’s most expensive NFT owned by an individual, believes that crypto and blockchain are still the remedy for human corruption.
Why digital assets need regulations now more than ever
In times of market volatility, regulation can restore confidence and public trust in crypto, writes Albert Isola, Gibraltar’s minister for digital and financial services.
Japan plans to lift ban on stablecoins issued overseas: report
Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) reportedly plans to allow the circulation of foreign-issued stablecoins in the local market next year.
Biggest blockchain trends for 2023 and beyond
After a year of new all-time highs for major cryptocurrencies in 2021, 2022 was a challenging year for Web3. Industry experts tell Forkast what crypto has in store for 2023 and beyond.
Will FTX’s collapse decentralize the industry?
While the collapse of FTX may invite more scrutiny for centralized exchanges, Binance’s Patrick Hillmann believes it could benefit the industry through more decentralization.