Search results: Forkast.News

As Bitcoin’s price movement began to mirror that of traditional markets, some likened it to tech stocks. Its recent price action shows otherwise.

T Rabi Shankar, the deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank, proposed an outright ban on cryptocurrencies on Monday, assuring the central bank’s position to prohibit digital assets has not changed since the 30% tax on crypto income was announced.  Fast facts Shankar said he found no merit in the […]

DBS Digital Exchange (DDEx), one of Asia’s first bank-backed digital exchanges, recorded over SG$1.1 billion (US$818 million) in trading value in FY2021, the company said in a press release on Tuesday. Fast facts DDEx is currently a members-only exchange that provides corporate and institutional investors, accredited investors, and family offices that bank with DBS, access […]

Hong Kong’s Ocean Park announced on Monday that it is entering The Sandbox metaverse to offer virtual experiences through non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and gaming, as visitors to its physical venue dropped throughout the pandemic.  Fast facts The government proposed last January that it will transform the physical theme park into a resort and leisure destination […]

2022 will see a flowering ecosystem of blockchains working together, writes Will Harborne of DeversiFi. Here’s what the multi-chain future will look like.

A South Korean financial watchdog announced it will strengthen monitoring of new trade assets, including non-fungible tokens (NFTs), in its annual work plan released on Monday. Fast facts The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said it will prepare countermeasures against factors that cause damage to consumers in the rapidly growing digital assets market. Earlier this month, […]

A Hong Kong government-run internet security watchdog has listed risks associated with non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and the metaverse as a top “must watch” security threat this year, while both trends continue to thrive in the city. Fast facts The Hong Kong Computer Emergency Response Team Coordination Centre said in a statement last week that criminals […]

The aggregate sales volume of the four crypto exchanges that advertised during the Super Bowl on Monday Asia time accounted for under 60% of the world’s largest exchange Binance, which did not. Fast facts The four exchanges — Coinbase, FTX, Crypto.com and BitBuy — saw a total of US$6.75 billion in the past 24 hours […]

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, dubbed Crypto Mom, dissented in Monday’s US$100M BlockFi settlement, saying the punishment does not fit the crime.

Chinese giant Alibaba and Canaan team up to work on AI. Meanwhile, Valentine NFTs are created by meta-human using auction data.

Vitalik Buterin’s advocacy of synthetic wombs misses the point, writes Izzy Howell of Cypher. Here’s why crypto can do more for gender equality.

The Indian government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are working in “complete harmony” and any decision on cryptocurrency will be made jointly, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a press conference on Monday.  Fast facts Discussions on crypto have been ongoing between the government and the RBI — India’s central bank — even […]

The biggest-selling NFT collection of all time has two competing versions, threatening to undermine the value of the tokens and faith in the industry itself.

Exchanges say the crypto tax was announced without key directives. While exchanges await clarity, they struggle to figure out their role in the tax system.

Ethereum’s price is expected to reach US$7,609 this year, although it is expected to end the year at around US$6,500, according to Australian fintech Finder’s panel of 33 crypto specialists.  Fast facts In the long term, the panel predicted that Ethereum’s price will reach US$10,810 by the end of 2025, and US$26,338 by the end […]

Union minister Bhagwat Karad said on Saturday that cryptocurrencies are not legal in India and that their future is uncertain at the moment.  Fast facts Many investors and exchanges had viewed a decision to impose a 30% tax on cryptocurrency profits as a step toward validating the industry. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, however, clarified last […]

Bitcoin has continued to outperform traditional investment vehicles with the digital asset leading over major tech stocks in the last 30 days, according to Finbold. Fast facts Bitcoin outperformed the top six tech stocks by an average return on investment (ROI) of 12.24% as of Feb. 13. Bitcoin significantly outpaced Meta by 46.74%, followed by […]

Advertisements for several crypto exchanges vied for the spotlight in this year’s Super Bowl, including one for Crypto.com that aired during the showcase halftime break. Fast facts Following a widely publicized ad featuring Matt Damon, Singapore-based Crypto.com’s new ad featured basketball star LeBron James talking to his younger self in 2003 insinuating the creation and […]

Bitcoin’s hashrate reached an all-time high over the weekend, despite many miners being forced to move operations out of Kazakhstan. Fast facts The total Bitcoin hashrate surged by 31.7% to an all-time high of 248.11 exahashes per second in raw values on Saturday, according to data from Blockchain.com. The latest hashrate read at 209.63 EH/s […]

South Korea’s Sungkyunkwan University will issue non-fungible token (NFT) certificates to three students who won in-school competitions at the institution’s upcoming online graduation ceremony on Wednesday. Fast facts Sungkyunkwan University said NFT certificates can be used any time as official proof of graduation without the risks of losing the original or fear of forged copies.  […]

Phillips, a global auction house, launched a nine-day non-fungible token (NFT) auction on Monday, Valentine’s Day, in Hong Kong. Fast facts Six artworks are being auctioned as NFTs. One NFT for bidding is an auction data-generated NFT “Drowning in Love” made by MonoC, a virtual artist developed by Gusto Collective. MonoC is a virtual metahuman […]

Reserve Bank of India’s chief sends crypto warning. In addition, Korean crypto execs gets jailed

As more countries announce plans for central bank digital currencies, will that break crypto’s promise as the future of money?

Seven executives of scam crypto exchange V Global were found guilty on Friday and sentenced to jail time — but it might not be enough to console victims.

The Philippine Digital Asset Exchange (PDAX) has raised US$50 million in a Series B funding round led by Tiger Global.  Fast facts UBX, the venture fund of UnionBank of the Philippines, Kingsway Capital, Jump Capital, U.S. blockchain payments company Ripple, among others, also participated in the round.  The funding round started in August last year […]

North Korea’s foreign affairs ministry wrote on its website Tuesday that the U.S. is behind the claim that the socialist state hacked millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrency. Fast facts The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) warned that it considers the act of spreading rumors about a “non-existent” cryptocurrency theft to be a serious […]

Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das said in a press conference that cryptocurrencies have no underlying value and that they are “not even a tulip,” warning investors of its risks.  Fast facts Das’s comments come just over a week after India’s central government announced a 30% taxation plan on income from crypto assets as well […]

As stablecoins face pressure to adopt traditional safeguards, the industry’s efforts to self-regulate should not be overlooked, writes Charlie Martin of Gro.

Netmarble revealed Thursday that it has formed a strategic partnership with Binance to establish a global blockchain gaming ecosystem. Fast facts Binance will provide its blockchain platform and tech infrastructure to Netmarble. Netmarble will build a new sidechain on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) for developing GameFi and an initial game offering (IGO) on the […]

The European Commission announced Wednesday it will propose a bill in early 2023 to introduce a digital euro, according to a report by Politico. Fast facts The European Central Bank (ECB) is already experimenting with the digital euro and is expected to begin working on a prototype by the end of next year. A digital […]

Japanese gaming giant Bandai Namco plans on a metaverse with their IP meanwhile, Russia does a crypto flip.

Upcoming digital yuan trial to piggyback on Hong Kong’s popular Faster Payment System for smoother cross-border transactions.

The announcement of a crypto tax dispelled fears of a ban but left exchanges wondering whether they may be hurt in the long run.

Cryptocurrencies categorized as fan tokens surged by 27.53% in global sales volume over the past seven days while non-fungible tokens (NFTs) dropped by 31.66%, according to CryptoSlam data.   Fast facts The market capitalization of fan tokens surged in tandem, rising by 41.3% over the same timeframe as NFTs also jumped by 30.4% in this measurement.   […]

China does not expect significant impact on its monetary system if the digital dollar were introduced, said Mu Changchun, director-general of the People’s Bank of China Digital Currency Initiative on Wednesday. He spoke at a panel organized by the Atlantic Council think tank to support the release of the International Monetary Fund’s report on central […]

Non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace OpenSea has removed CryptoPunks V1, the “wrapped” edition of the original collectibles, after receiving a DMCA notice — a takedown issue by copyright holders — from creator Larva Labs. Fast facts The V1 CryptoPunks is the original issue of the collection but were replaced with exact copies — the current V2 […]

Russia’s central government agencies reached an agreement to regulate cryptocurrencies by mandating licenses for exchanges and taxing large transactions on Tuesday, shelving concerns of a blanket ban proposed by the central bank last month.  Fast facts Russian business newspaper Kommersant reported the government and the Bank of Russia are preparing a draft law by Feb. […]

The United Nations specialized agency for telecommunications standardization, ITU-T, has approved a non-fungible token (NFT) technical framework proposed by Chinese tech giants including Tencent Holdings and Ant Group, state-owned media reported.   Fast facts The framework, which introduces an NFT standard, proposes technical and security requirements for digital collectibles on the blockchain.  The international standards approved […]

Bandai Namco is investing 15 billion Japanese yen (US$130 million) into building an “IP Metaverse” with its array of games and content, the Japanese entertainment conglomerate announced on Tuesday. Fast facts “Through the IP Metaverse, we will establish communities among Bandai Namco and fans, as well as among fans themselves,” the company wrote in its […]

The new token economy offers unparalleled opportunities for content creators, writes Weiwei Geng of Unite.io. Improving user experience will be key.

PBoC pushes for e-CNY standardization, meanwhile Indian crypto unicorn CoinDCX hits 10 million users

WikiLeaks founder’s legal defense fundraising bonanza. Shiba Inu’s big new leap. NFT fever rises in China.

By returning data ownership and reshaping human-machine interactions, the third generation of the internet promises an interconnected future.

Last weekend’s rally shows there is still life left in memecoins. Industry insiders weigh in on where they stand in the long run.

Ukrainian activists and volunteer groups are crowdsourcing significant money through crypto donations to fund the defense against a possible Russian invasion.  Fast facts Ukrainian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and volunteer groups have collectively received over US$570,000 in crypto, with the majority of funding coming in last year, data from blockchain analysis firm Elliptic shows.  Come Back […]

Indian crypto trading exchange CoinDCX says it has crossed the 10 million user mark. Fast facts CoinDCX had 3.5 million customers as of August last year.  CoinDCX became India’s first crypto unicorn after its Series C funding round led by former Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin’s B Capital and others. Established in 2018, the company’s milestone […]

Kakao Games announced Tuesday that Friends Games, its subsidiary, will now become Meta Bora to focus on blockchain-based games and entertainment supporting its Bora cryptocurrency. Fast facts “We will work our hardest to help the development of the Web 3.0, such as in blockchain and the metaverse, by integrating Kakao Games’ game industry network and insight […]

Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange Bybit has teamed up with Cabital, a Hong Kong-based crypto wealth management platform, to offer users more fiat on-ramp pathways to buy crypto. Fast facts Bybit said Tuesday in a statement that through the partnership, its users can use EUR and GBP to buy crypto on the Bybit platform and transfer crypto […]

Decentralized finance has not yet done much real-world good, writes Ben Sheppard. But putting it to work on small infrastructure projects can do just that.

Web 3.0 blockchain developer Alchemy announced on Tuesday that it has raised an additional US$200 million, bringing its valuation to US$10.2 billion. Fast facts Led by venture capital firms Lightspeed and Silver Lake, the funding is a continuation of its Series C round launched in October where it raised US$250 million at a US$3.5 billion […]

The Hong Kong government intends to propose a licensing system for crypto exchanges, according to a discussion paper published on Monday. Fast facts The proposed amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing bill will designate any crypto exchange as a “regulated virtual asset activity” and any person who seeks to engage in this work […]

Smart MFG, a blockchain-based supply chain decentralized finance firm, has integrated with Polygon to launch Phigital, a 3D marketplace for non-fungible tokens (NFT). Fast facts Phigital will focus on interoperability of 3D assets across metaverses, and NFTs with real-world use cases. The movement of different assets and NFTs across metaverses has been one of the […]

South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb goes for Olympic gold, meanwhile in India clouds cast over crypto tax questions

Bithumb, one of South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, says it will distribute digital art non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for traders who meet the criteria every time South Korea wins a medal at the Beijing Winter Olympics. Fast facts Held jointly with blockchain-based sports content platform 300FIT, the NFTs will be accessible to traders who have transacted […]

“Digital collectibles” issued by Shanghai Securities News are trading at least 13 times their original price on China’s largest second-hand trading platform, despite state media’s criticism of the non-fungible token (NFT) frenzy.  Fast facts In China, the phrase “digital collectibles” is often used to avoid references to NFTs. The collectibles are now available on the […]

Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, has partnered with YG Entertainment, a top K-pop entertainment agency, to develop non-fungible tokens (NFTs), metaverse and gaming projects, despite fans’ concerns over the potential environmental impact. Fast facts Binance announced Tuesday that it will provide the NFT platform and technology support, while YG will supply the content. Helen […]

Japan’s largest bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust (MUFJ), plans to issue a yen-pegged stablecoin in 2023 for instant settlement of securities transactions, according to Nikkei Asia. Fast facts By accelerating the settlement process, Mitsubishi UFJ hopes to cut costs arising from settling securities transactions by fiat, which usually takes a few days to process. Japan’s Financial […]

Memecoins, led by Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB), have been among the biggest movers in this week’s rally, gaining more than 20% in market cap as a token category over the past 24 hours, Tuesday morning Asia time, according to CoinGecko. Fast facts SHIB was one of the strongest performers, gaining almost 30% in […]

North Korea is benefits financially from the crypto cyberattacks. Also, is Russia looking to tax crypto mining soon?

After a poor start to the year, the market needed some good news. Industry watchers urge caution.

The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) digital rupee will run on a government-mandated electronic wallet that will allow the central bank to be the middleman between merchants and customers, a top government official told the Press Trust of India.  Fast facts The government official said the nation’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) is likely to […]

North Korea has been funding its nuclear and ballistic missile programs with profits from cyberattacks on crypto exchanges, Reuters reported, citing a confidential United Nations (U.N.) report. Fast facts “According to a member state, DPRK cyberactors stole more than US$50 million between 2020 and mid-2021 from at least three cryptocurrency exchanges in North America, Europe […]

A prominent Russian lawmaker has proposed a personal income tax rate of at least 15% for crypto miners, according to local media reports, as the country continues to debate regulations for the industry. Fast facts Vladimir Gutenev, who chairs an industry committee at the Duma, parliament’s lower house, said at a Friday briefing that mining […]

Unique non-fungible token (NFT) buyers hit an all-time high (ATH) in January with more than 895,000 shoppers, according to data tracker CryptoSlam. Fast facts The new ATH recorded an almost 3,000% year-over-year increase and a 6.5% month-over-month growth. The number of unique sellers grew by almost 14% from December to January with 741,865 vendors, just […]

Charitable donations on crypto philanthropy platform The Giving Block rose by 1,558% in 2021, the company announced in its annual report. Fast facts The Giving Block’s crypto donation volume increased in each quarter of 2021 and surpassed US$69 million in total donations, with an average of US$10,455 worth of crypto per donation. As cryptocurrency is […]

Over 54,000 crypto investors have signed a petition urging the Indian government to reconsider a planned 30% tax rate announced earlier this week.  Fast facts Blockchain and crypto education provider Crypto India co-founder Aditya Singh started the petition on Thursday to stop the government from comparing crypto to “social evils like betting and gambling.” The […]

While sales volumes on NFT marketplaces thrive, new data show much of this comes from manipulating sales — painting the whole industry in a different light.

The beloved Pinkfong Baby Shark franchise is getting its own blockchain-based play-to-earn (P2E) game, set for a worldwide release in the first half of this year, South Korean developer CityLabs announced on Thursday. Fast facts The Baby Shark Bubble Pong Friends game has been teased as a bubble-shooter puzzle game where players transact in cryptocurrencies […]

The two most popular NFT-related crimes, money laundering and wash trading, resulted in illicit profits of US$10 million in 2021, according to a report released Wednesday by blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis. Fast facts While the US$10 million of global NFT criminal activity is relatively small, Chainalysis reported a spike in the use of illicit funds […]

Jump Crypto announced that it replaced 120,000 ETH Friday morning Asia time to its cross-chain bridge Wormhole after a US$325 million exploit left wrapped Ether (wETH) in the Solana ecosystem unbacked. Fast facts The hacker was able to exploit Solana’s verification system to mint 120,000 wETH, and use it to funnel at least 93,750 ETH […]

CBDCs are vulnerable to hacking and the powers of quantum computing, cybersecurity expert Amnon Samid writes. Central banks must heed the warning.

Fresh off a US$32 billion valuation, crypto derivatives exchange FTX Trading said Wednesday it will acquire its Japanese competitor Liquid Group and all its subsidiaries. Fast facts The deal is expected to close in March, according to a Liquid release. “Following FTX’s acquisition of Liquid, Quoine will gradually integrate FTX’s products and services into its […]