Search results: AR

Indonesia’s biggest tech firm GoTo Gojek Tokopedia (GOTO) has forayed into the cryptocurrency market with the purchase of local crypto exchange Kripto Maksima Koin for US$8.38 million. See related article: Indonesia’s wholesale CBDC to be ready for bank use by year end: report Fast facts GoTo has acquired 100% of Kripto Maksima Koin shares for […]

Singapore state-backed fund is leading a US$100 million funding round into Hong Kong-based blockchain and game venture Animoca Brands, Bloomberg reported.  See related article: Singapore’s Temasek says doesn’t own Bitcoin, but prepping for tokenized assets Fast facts Temasek will make the investment through convertible bonds, according to unnamed sources cited by Bloomberg. Temasek has been […]

The new payments system will allow faster payments of bills, paychecks and other transfers around-the-clock instead of days. See related article: Fed issues guidelines for crypto banks to enter central banking system Fast facts The U.S. Federal Reserve expects to launch the payments system between May and July of 2023, after a testing phase beginning […]

Singapore-based crypto lender Hodlnaut has been placed under Interim Judicial Management (IJM), a form of creditor protection, and will now be managed and controlled by interim judicial managers appointed by court order. See related article: Singapore’s central bank says cryptocurrencies have ‘no fundamental value’ Fast facts Hodlnaut said its legal representatives attended the IJM hearing […]

Binance Australia is tightening its sign-up process for new users, as part of renewed efforts to protect users considered most vulnerable to scams and cyber attacks, according to a report by Binance Australia. See related article: Binance to suspend ETH deposits, withdrawals during “The Merge” Fast facts According to the report, the company’s research and […]

South Korea will have to institutionalize initial coin offerings (ICO) when establishing its new crypto law, tentatively named the Digital Asset Basic Act, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). See related article: South Korea’s all-encompassing crypto law is coming — what we know so far Fast facts South Korea’s Financial Services Commission banned ICOs […]

CME Group — the world’s largest operator of financial derivatives markets, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange — has launched euro-denominated futures on Bitcoin and Ether. See related article: New US crypto bill seeks to make CFTC top Bitcoin, Ethereum watchdog Fast facts See related article: Here comes the crypto derivatives boom

The ongoing battle between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Ripple Labs over the latter’s token XRP is playing out not just in a courtroom but in media channels as well. See related article: SEC files no objection to Ripple request to seal non-party identities in XRP lawsuit Fast facts Stu Alderoty, general counsel […]

Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO of crypto exchange FTX, denied on Tuesday that he has a plan to buy out another crypto exchange, Huobi, after a rumor circulating on Chinese social media said that FTX has acquired the exchange. See related article: FTX CEO: This is the canary in China’s crypto ban coal mine Fast facts “No, […]

Crypto investors were blindsided when firms like Voyager suddenly froze their accounts. How can we improve digital asset protection in the future?

Excluding a few dozen tokens, most cryptocurrencies are bound to “go away,” according to Umar Farooq, Chief Executive Officer of JPMorgan’s blockchain unit. See related article: Singapore’s MAS says needs to do better job explaining crypto policy Fast facts “Most of crypto is still junk,” he said at the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Green Shoots […]

Welcome to The Daily Forkast – August 29, 2022 – presented by Joel Flynn. Coming up on today’s show: Crypto clarity from Singapore’s central bank. Forkast and NEAR Foundation initiative champions women in Web3. We’ll have more on those stories — and other news shaping the cryptocurrency and blockchain world — in this episode of […]

The city-state hosted a seminar with a title that it hopes sums up its crypto approach: “Yes to digital asset innovation, No to cryptocurrency speculation.”

Although the price of Bitcoin fell below US$20,000 for the first time since mid-June after sliding 7% in the 24 hours following Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s hawkish speech, the number of addresses holding over 0.1 bitcoin hit all-time-high on Sunday. This was despite mining difficulty for the crypto likely to see its third-highest ever […]

Women foster a better environment for innovation and are sober with money — which is what the industry needs, writes Gracy Chen of Bitget.

The domain for the Ethereum Name Service Decentralized Autonomous Organization (ENS DAO), eth.link, now displays an empty page with a banner saying the domain has expired, as the only person with authority to renew it is in prison. See related article: What is ENS (Ethereum Name Service) and how does it work? Fast facts Ethereum […]

The National Energy Administration (NEA) will explore blockchain-based power trading platforms to facilitate electricity trading between self-contained power generation units and the state and national grids, according to a policy document released last Friday. see related article: The Bitcoin-energy connection intensifies Fast facts see related article: Here’s why Australia can’t use its empty deserts to mine […]

South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) has recently unveiled the first draft of core ethical principles that are fundamental for growing and participating in the metaverse. See related article: South Korea places $185M bet on the metaverse Fast facts The science ministry’s three values for the metaverse participants are an intact self-identity, safe […]

In recent filings, the crypto asset management firm has said Stellar (XLM), Zcash (ZEC) and Horizen’s (ZEN) native cryptocurrencies may be securities. Grayscale was responding to questions from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding the company’s crypto trusts. See related article: Grayscale sues SEC over spot Bitcoin ETF rejection Fast facts In its […]

Interoperability among blockchains will be central to the next phase of the technology’s evolution, says Cosmos cofounder Ethan Buchman.

Crypto experts weigh in on the direction crypto regulation is headed in APAC and beyond.

Thailand’s oldest lender SCBX Pcl has announced it is withdrawing from an earlier decision to purchase a 51% stake in the crypto exchange Bitkub for US$500 million, citing regulatory issues. See related article: Thailand’s central bank to get more power in crypto regulation overhaul: report Fast facts In a statement addressed to the Stock Exchange […]

Panelists speaking at Forkast’s recently live-streamed event “Crypto Rising: The future of crypto regulation: APAC and Beyond,” co-hosted by Crypto Council for Innovation (CCI), said there need to be international cooperation among regulators from around the world to make any oversight of the crypto industry effective.

Global crypto exchange Binance and the city of Busan in South Korea announced a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Friday to promote the growth of the blockchain ecosystem in the city and the development of the Busan Digital Asset Exchange. See related article: Issue tokens later for growth, not for initial fundraising, advises Binance chief […]

Taiwan’s Ministry of Digital Affairs will officially launch on Aug. 27, with information security and Web 3.0 technology as key focus areas to protect against Chinese cyberattacks amid escalating tensions between China and Taiwan. See related article: Taiwan completes trials of its prototype CBDC for retail use Fast facts The new ministry will be in […]

Sam Bankman-Fried, chief executive officer of FTX exchange, denied a recent report by Bloomberg which stated that the venture capital subsidiary under FTX would merge with the VC operations under Alameda Research, a sister company of FTX. See related article: FTX revenue grew 1,000% in 2021 amid booming crypto market: SBF  Fast facts “This seems […]

Its operations in mainland China are continuing as normal.

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, said it will suspend deposits and withdrawals for ETH and ERC-20 during “The Merge,” in support of Ethereum’s migration to the proof-of-stake (PoS) model. See related article: Ethereum finalizes start date for Bellatrix upgrade Fast facts Binance said on Thursday that it will do so on […]

Riot Blockchain (RIOT)’s Bitcoin mining facility Whinstone is seeking at least US$15 million in damages from Japanese tech company GMO Internet in a four-year-long dispute over usage of mining equipment, according to a document filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Monday. See related article: Crypto miners plan […]

Bitcoin Depot has announced its backdoor listing plans on the Nasdaq by the first quarter of 2023 via a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) GSR II Meteora at an estimated equity value of US$885 million, the crypto ATM operator said in a statement. See related article: Bitcoin ATMs face existential threat in Hong […]

The final timeline for the ETH merge has been announced. Meanwhile, we take a deeper dive at blockchain and civic administrations.

The Shanghai Data Exchange has debuted blockchain-based digital assets without allowing secondary trading, a day after the exchange began digital asset trading on Wednesday.  See related article: Ant Group, JD.com, Tencent pledge to resist speculation of ‘digital collectibles’ Fast facts See related article: Beijing, Hengqin ramp up metaverse amid struggling economy

Alleged Tornado Cash developer, Alexey Pertsev, was accused of facilitating money laundering through the now-sanctioned crypto mixer. Pertsev will stay in jail for at least another 90 days, a judge in the Netherlands ruled on Wednesday. The developer has not been officially charged with any crime. See related article: Tornado Cash arrest heralds storm season […]

Ethereum has by far the most developers from DeFi projects to NFTs so how are they expected to respond to a plan by Etheruem miners to fork the network, a move miners argue is needed to stay in business.

Crypto trader Cobie has donated US$100,000 to YouTuber Erling Mengshoel “Atozy” to fight a lawsuit filed against him by Ben Armstrong “BitBoy Crypto”. See related article: Crypto ‘finfluencers’ are attracting a new following — of regulators Fast facts In a Twitter post, Atozy said he was being sued by BitBoy Crypto for a video Atozy […]

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is requesting to file a lengthy reply to its motion that seeks to exclude the testimony of Ripple Labs’ witnesses, as the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple drags on. See related article: Judge grants Ripple’s request to review videos of SEC officials Fast facts The SEC filed the request on […]

Ant Group, Chinese tech giant Alibaba’s fintech affiliate, has partnered with Malaysian investment bank Kenanga to launch a wealth management app with features to trade cryptocurrencies. See related article: Tencent gets patent nod to use blockchain for missing persons’ notices Fast facts Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad announced on Wednesday that it signed a memorandum of […]

Tether Holdings Ltd.,the issuer of USDT, the world’s largest stablecoin by market capitalisation, Wednesday said freezing the sanctioned addresses might interfere with ongoing investigations despite no clear instruction to do so by law enforcement. See related article: Bad actors in North Korea, Russia send record-high funds to crypto mixers Fast facts The U.S. Treasury Department’s […]

The $65-billion event ticketing industry is riddled with skulduggery, but NFT technology can transform it for the common good, writes Josh Katz of Yellowheart.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) seized and blocked a cryptocurrency wallet used to fund the Russian military campaign in the country. The agency is working on tracking the funds and transferring them under Ukrainian jurisdiction, according to the SSU. See related article: Vitalik Buterin says he used Tornado Cash to donate to Ukraine Fast […]

Financial instruments sold and traded on a public blockchain could be the next big thing, so Forkast caught up with OSL to hear about what’s planned.

iFinex Financial Technologies Limited, which operates the Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange, has announced Ethereum chain split tokens (CSTs) to help prepare for all eventualities as the Ethereum merge nears.  See related article: ‘The Merge’ can make crypto payments mainstream again: Vitalik Buterin Fast facts “The Merge” upgrade involves the Ethereum blockchain’s transition from the proof-of-work (PoW) […]

Huobi Global told Forkast it is working towards being in compliance with Malaysia after its securities regulator put the Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange on its investor alert list for operating the digital asset business without proper registration. See related article: Huobi to end crypto derivatives trading in New Zealand Fast facts “We are currently in discussions […]

Following Shanghai’s plan to develop its metaverse industry, additional local Chinese governments are adding the metaverse to their economic blueprints. Two recent plans come from Beijing’s Tongzhou District and Hengqin near neighboring Macau, just as some of China’s tech companies are shrinking their businesses to face an economic downturn. See related article: Shanghai sees its […]

U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has been hit with a class action lawsuit last week over claims the firm allegedly failed to properly secure customers’ accounts, leaving them vulnerable to unauthorized activity. See related article: Coinbase under investigation by SEC, quarterly report reveals Fast facts Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of […]

A total of six digital banks are now allowed to operate in the Philippines after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) issued Certificates of Authority to UnionDigital Bank, Inc. (UDB) and GoTyme Bank Corporation (GTYME). Read more: Philippine central bank governor says no plan to ban crypto BSP earlier authorized four digital banks namely Tonik […]

Bitcoin custodied by Singapore-based DBS Digital Exchange (DDEx) grew by 30% from April 30 to June 30 this year while Ethereum under custody grew by 3% during the same period.  See related article: DBS Bank slams brakes on retail crypto trading Fast facts Bitcoin bought on DDEx in June was nearly four times that of […]

The Tornado Cash bans have stirred the pot in the crypto markets. Meanwhile, Australia looks for new ways to regulate crypto.

Over 50% of Indian crypto investors intend to increase their investments over the next six months as they view the asset class as a long-term investment rather than hype, according to a report by cryptocurrency exchange Kucoin.  See related article: Most Indian traders impacted by India’s crypto tax: survey Fast facts While 56% of crypto […]

The Treasury Department says its plan for how to regulate cryptocurrencies is unlike anything else in the world, but the country’s crypto industry isn’t sure that’s a good thing.

Chinese tech giant Tencent has received a patent for blockchain-based notices for missing persons, as the tech firm continues to explore blockchain applications despite shutting one of its non-fungible token (NFT) platforms recently. See related article: Tencent’s Huanhe allows NFT refunds, halts further sales Fast facts Tencent’s design could enhance the efficiency of publishing such […]

The Singapore and Hong Kong-based Hodlnaut has a funding gap of about US$193 million, and potentially 17,513 creditors, crypto media outlet The Block reported citing an affidavit the troubled crypto lender filed with the court last week. See related article: India authorities freeze Vauld exchange’s assets worth $46.5 mln Fast facts See related article: Hodlnaut […]

Virtual asset airdrops could be subject to gift taxes in South Korea, local publication Yonhap News Agency reported on Monday, citing tax authorities. See related article: S. Korea’s 20% crypto tax delayed by two more years Fast facts In response to a tax law interpretation inquiry, a government official said recipients of free virtual asset […]

Another group of claimants against bankrupt crypto lender Celsius Network LLC is banding together to retain legal representation and seek to form an ad hoc group in bankruptcy hearings to get their money back. See related article: Celsius says it owes its users US$4.72B amid a US$1.19B balance sheet deficit Fast facts See related article: […]

Decentralized exchange Uniswap has appeared to block 253 wallet addresses linked to illicit financial activities on its front end after the U.S. government imposed sanctions on Tornado Cash earlier this month. See related article: Largest Ether mining pool Ethermine stops processing Tornado Cash transactions Fast facts DeFi platform Yearn developer Banteg tweeted on Saturday that […]

Real estate as an investment is not very liquid, composable or accessible, writes Joel Lin of CitaDAO. Can tokenization and DeFi transform this market?

The Australian Treasury under the ruling Albanese Government will prioritize “token mapping” in 2022 to help regulations Down Under keep pace and adapt with the crypto sector.  See related article: Singapore’s MAS to further strengthen crypto regulations Fast facts “Token mapping”, the primary step in the government’s reform agenda, intends to identify the appropriate direction […]

BTC and ETH hit by volatility, while big players start investing in blockchain despite market wobbles.

The hackers responsible for stealing US$610 million worth of crypto from Axie Infinity’s Ronin bridge back in March have since transferred most funds from ETH into BTC using renBTC and privacy tools like Blender, ChipMixer, and TornadoCash, according to a report. See related article: Axie Infinity blockchain Ronin hacked for over $600M Fast facts The […]

The Merge, one of this year’s biggest crypto events, is now due to happen next month. Why is it so hotly anticipated — and feared?

Not every NFT collection is facing the same issue, but due to the collection’s outsized influence it could have a significant impact on the rest of the Ethereum NFT ecosystem.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), one of the two federal agencies insuring savings in American depository institutions, has sent cease-and-desist letters to five companies, including FTX.US, for making false statements about deposit insurance. See related article: FDIC clarifies that cryptocurrencies are not insured Fast facts In a press release, the FDIC said it has […]

Creditors of cryptocurrency lender Voyager Digital Holdings are objecting to the company’s request for funds to payout bonuses to staff, saying the employees are already “well-compensated.” See related article: Court allows Voyager Digital to return US$270 mln in custodial account to customers Fast facts The creditors’ objection came after Voyager, which filed for Chapter 11 […]

Metaverses are more than gamified virtual spaces — they’re a different way to live real life, says Metapolis cofounder Sandra Helou.

CME prepares to launch ETH options as the merge gets closer, Meanwhile, a Chainalysis says crypto scams are down.

The Singapore and Hong Kong-based crypto lender said it was exploring options to allow users to withdraw deposits at an undisclosed discount rate, while seeking Singapore court approval to appoint a judicial manager for the company, according to a post on its blog on Friday. See related article: How a market slump may be helping […]

The New York-based crypto exchange said its staking service will allow customers to stake their cryptocurrencies and receive rewards within their Gemini account.  See related article: Gemini sued over US$36 mln Bitcoin and Ethereum hack Fast facts Gemini Staking will be available for users across the U.S. (excluding New York), Singapore, and Hong Kong, the […]

ETHPoW, the token that will run on a potential Ethereum PoW fork, fell to an all-time low of US$50.36 on Thursday, down 64% from its Aug. 2 peak, according to CoinMarketCap.  See related article: Chandler Guo tells why he is the man who would hard fork Ethereum Fast facts The ETHPoW token is currently only […]

With all the excitement surrounding the Ethereum merge scheduled for next month, the number of Ethereum Name Service (ENS) addresses created have surpassed the 2 million mark, according to a Twitter post by ENS Domains.  See related article: Ethereum will soon turn 7 — and its upcoming ‘Merge’ will be well worth the wait Fast […]

The Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU) has requested investigative authorities to block 16 unregistered foreign-based Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) that reportedly targeted domestic consumers by offering services in Korean. See related article: South Korea’s all-encompassing crypto law is coming — what we know so far Fast facts According to a press release, these unregistered […]

CME Group – the world’s biggest operator of financial derivative markets, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange –  on Wednesday said it will offer options on Ether futures starting Sept. 12, pending regulatory review. See related article: New US crypto bill seeks to make CFTC top Bitcoin, Ethereum watchdog Fast facts See related article: ETH futures […]