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NetEase, a Chinese video gaming company, said on a Q3 earnings call the company “will be one of the fastest runners in the metaverse space.” Fast facts Margaret Shi, investor relations director at NetEase, said the company has been “technologically ready” for the metaverse and knows how to accumulate metaverse-related technology. With gaming making up […]

Investment firm VanEck’s Bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund (XBTF) closed Tuesday 1.94% down in price to US$59.73 for its initial day of trading on the Chicago-based CBOE global exchange, according to MarketWatch’s data.  Fast facts On Nov. 15, VanEck announced the launch of XBTF as the “lowest-cost Bitcoin-linked ETF” compared to its competitive rivals. The company […]

In a speech, Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin notes the rise in cities experimenting with crypto, DAO and NFTs. What are the possibilities of blockchain cities?

The projects topped 300 rivals in their potential to improve the future digital Singapore dollar in payment services and financial inclusion. Who were the other winners?

As global markets continue to watch the Evergrande debt crisis nervously, Chinese bank branch agrees to U.S. risk management measures.

Scams like the Squid Game Token rug pull are every investor’s nightmare. How to avoid hoaxes and not feel like a fool? Forkast.News explains.

The tiny island nation of Barbados announced it will build a virtual embassy in Decentraland.

Ethereum Layer 2 solutions — protocols built on top of the Ethereum blockchain that handle transactions off the Ethereum mainnet — have been on the rise as developers work on improving Ethereum’s scalability as its number of users and applications continue to grow. Polygon, a Layer 2 Ethereum scaling platform, today announced the launch of […]

Circle invests in JYPC meanwhile Baby Shark NFTs announced

Global Blockchain Business Council (GBBC), an industry association, has released its Global Standards Mapping Initiative 2.0 to provide a holistic view of the industry’s global activity. Fast facts The initiative maps out the global digital asset landscape in terms of legislation, technical standards, industry standards and recommendations, university sources, as well as industry consortia. Specifically, […]

South Korean financial companies bring investors results a month after their metaverse exchange-traded funds were listed, with one fund gathering nearly $170M in net asset value.

While a significant legislative achievement for U.S. President Joe Biden, the US$1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill signed into law on Monday included provisions relating to cryptocurrency tax reporting requirements that has many in the industry nervous. Fast facts As Forkast.News previously reported, provisions were added to the bill as it was being drafted in August […]

As Circle expands into Asia as part of a global expansion plan, what does the investment in a yen-back stablecoin mean for the market?

Chinese police have busted yet another tele-fraud case related to e-CNY money laundering as the country continues to test the digital currency.

While the government has yet to figure out the details, a crypto regulatory regime is expected to be released before February.

The maker of the catchy children’s song and dance video of Pinkfong Baby Shark is launching NFTs (non-fungible tokens) of its globally beloved characters with upgraded design and music. Fast facts SmartStudy, a South Korean educational entertainment company and the creator of the Pinkfong Baby Shark, announced a partnership with MakersPlace, a digital art marketplace. […]

LuLu Exchange, a financial services company in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Pakistan’s Bank Alfalah are partnering to bring faster and more cost-effective cross-border payments and remittances from the UAE to Pakistan using RippleNet. Fast facts Bank Alfalah’s integration with RippleNet — Ripple’s global payments network for financial institutions — and its launch with […]

After shooting to prominence earlier in the year and bringing huge profits to early adopters, earnings for players of blockchain-based game Axie Infinity have dropped below the minimum wage line for most players in the Philippines, according to a recent report by research firm Naavik. Fast facts Using data sourced from the official website of […]

Cryptocurrency prices dropped again this morning Asia time, with Bitcoin and Ethereum trading 7% and 8% lower respectively in 24-hour trading, according to CoinGecko data. In the meanwhile, a new CoinShares report on institutional investing in cryptocurrency found record inflows year-to-date, suggesting that big investors overall are still bullish on crypto. Fast facts Bitcoin — the […]

A crypto investor in Hong Kong was rescued six days after being kidnapped earlier this month when he tried to meet a buyer offline who promised to purchase his Tether tokens.

The creator of the Mirror protocol and its CEO Do Kwon have little recourse but to comply with the SEC subpoena to produce documents and testify.

What are the different kinds of cryptocurrency wallets, and which should you choose? Watch this 3-minute Forkast.News video explainer to find out what’s right for you.

Taproot goes live, meanwhile Hong Kong crypto kidnap

While Ethereum leads the market in smart contracts, Bitcoin’s Taproot upgrade could help the world’s oldest blockchain emerge as a future contender. Here’s why.

A recent survey in South Korea revealed a majority of its wealthier investors are not willing to make investments in virtual assets, due to concerns over experiencing losses. Fast facts KB Financial Group’s Korea Wealth Report 2021 surveyed 400 South Korean citizens with over 1 billion Korean won, or about US$847,816 in financial assets. Out […]

As central bank digital currencies begin picking up steam around the world, the Central Bank of Nigeria announced on Friday the digital wallet for its own digital currency, the eNaira, has been downloaded 488,000 times in 160 countries — in just 19 days after its launch. Fast facts According to local news reports, after President […]

Animoca Brands, a Hong Kong-based blockchain gaming unicorn, announced today that it has teamed up with Cube Entertainment, a major K-pop entertainment agency, to form a joint venture dedicated to building a music metaverse and issuing non-fungible tokens (NFTs), joining a slew of K-pop labels to make forays into the NFT and metaverse space. Fast […]

Developing regulations for decentralized finance is easier said than done. Attorneys Victor Ho, Andre Da Roza and Saranpaal Calais discuss the many legal and practical hurdles.

A former Chinese official has been expelled from the Communist Party of China for “serious violations of discipline and law” as he was found to introduce and support cryptocurrency mining activities, in what may be the first time for China’s anti-graft watchdog to expel an official over crypto mining. Fast facts The country’s anti-corruption watchdog […]

First Digital Trust, a Hong Kong-regulated trust and custodian specializing in digital assets, has become the first official custodian of IX Swap, a security token and cryptocurrency exchange, according to a company announcement today. Fast facts IX Swap is a decentralized finance (DeFi) automated market maker and liquidity pool for security tokens and tokenized stocks. […]

The SEC rejected a Bitcoin spot ETF, citing the possibility of fraud, which briefly sent BTC prices down.

Russia to legalize crypto mining; Korean candidate goes all out crypto

The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has accepted Coinone’s compliance report with South Korea’s latest crypto regulations, while Bithumb is left as the only crypto trading platform out of the country’s four major exchanges to not be officially registered under the FIU. Fast facts Coinone became the third official cryptocurrency exchange of South Korea, following Upbit […]

The religious body’s decision comes after the country saw crypto transaction growth earlier this year.

Covid laid bare the gaps in people’s access to banking services. Moeda Seeds is looking not just to fill the gaps but to change the banking paradigm.

More than 100,000 consumers used China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) to make some 240,000 purchases on China’s top e-commerce platform JD.com on the annual shopping festival Double 11 [11.11], according to the platform’s report. Yet that is likely only a fraction of total Nov. 11 digital sales. Fast facts Double11 refers to a Chinese […]

The Russian government could be looking to legalize cryptocurrency mining, as parliamentarian Andrey Lugovoy proposed the creation of a working group to discuss the issue, according to a Thursday press statement from State Duma, the country’s lower house of the parliament. Fast facts Lugovoy, also a deputy chairman of a committee on security and anti-corruption, […]

If the term ‘crypto mining’ sounds confusing to you, you’ve come to the right place. In this Forkast.News video explainer, we break down how it all works.

Only two days after hinting via Twitter that leading social media platform Discord may support Ethereum, company co-founder and CEO Jason Citron has clarified the platform “has no current plans” to integrate the two. Fast facts Tweeting in response to the original post, Citron thanked community members for their perspectives and reiterated the firm is […]

China’s soft rollout of the first major economy’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) continues apace. Yi Gang, governor of the People’s Bank of China, and Mu Changchun, director of the Digital Currency Research Institute of the bank, reported that the average weekly transaction volume of e-CNY is growing by 3 billion yuan (US$469 million) and […]

Pony Ma, chairman and CEO of Tencent — the Chinese payments and social media giant that is also the world’s biggest video games vendor — said in the company’s third-quarter performance call this week that the metaverse is “very exciting, but a little bit vague,” and “an opportunity that really adds growth to the existing […]

Ethereum’s sprawling Web 3.0 ecosystem — which includes the majority of the decentralized finance (DeFi), stablecoins, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and blockchain gaming worlds — continues to expand and draw users, with 3.4 million Ethereum addresses interacting with DeFi protocols, according to ConsenSys’ Web 3 Q3 2021 report published this week. Led by Ethereum co-founder Joseph […]

Mayor Francis Suarez may be on his way to eliminating taxes by paying residents a crypto dividend

After recent scams were uncovered involving Walmart and Kroger, and Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin, why did the stock prices fall while the crypto prices rallied?

In a 48-second, computer-generated 3D animation, ROK uses a decentralized format to offer an ironic take on China’s internet giants crowding to host the shopping holiday.

Crypto surges on US inflation rise meanwhile, Korean investors win damages

While Kazakhstan — a popular destination for Chinese crypto miners as they look for more regulation-friendly shores — continues to face power shortages, the country’s energy minister has said the authority will not restrict power consumption for legal crypto miners, according to a government statement. Fast facts Magzum Mirzagaliyev, Kazakhstan’s minister of energy, said at […]

Amid rising retail and institutional investor interest in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, investments poured into crypto firms in Southeast Asia in the first nine months of 2021 surged by over 400% compared with full year 2020 to US$356 million, according to the FinTech in ASEAN 2021 report by UOB, PwC Singapore and the Singapore […]

The U.S. Securities and Exchange commission halted the token registration of American CryptoFED, the first legally recognized decentralized autonomous organization in the U.S. Fast facts Wyoming-based American CryptoFED became the first DAO in the U.S. to achieve legal status in July after Wyoming passed a law that recognized DAOs as limited liability companies. A DAO […]

As speculation continues over the fate of the Chinese property development giant, crypto markets were not spared the downturn over fears of its potential collapse.

Trying to move beyond XRP, Ripple hopes its customers will join RippleNet with a wallet that supports fiat and other cryptos like Bitcoin and Ether.

Circle, the digital payment company that operates the USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin, this week announced it is setting up a regional hub in Singapore and looking to partner with local businesses for its stablecoin Lighthouse Project. Fast facts U.S.-based Circle says its move into Singapore is part of its global expansion plans and the company […]

The digital artist who helped launch the non-fungible token craze earlier this year, Beeple, has sold his first physical artwork and accompanying NFT for US$28.9 million at a live Christie’s auction in New York on Tuesday night. Fast facts Beeple’s first physical work “Human One” is a seven-foot-tall box with LED screens on each side […]

Within minutes of reports showing U.S. consumer prices rising and weekly wages falling, Bitcoin surged on inflation fears.

Bitcoin & Beyond

Despite movement from both the ruling Democratic Party and the conservative party to delay the 20% virtual asset gains tax, South Korean finance minister still thinks it should start as planned for Jan. 1, 2022.

Panel looks at best practices in news coverage from Decrypt Media, CoinDesk, South China Morning Post.

FTX founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried says building products that people want is what matters most, and the crypto industry and regulators will need to find compromises to resolve some of the industry’s pressing issues.

The Indian government is looking to introduce a cryptocurrency bill in the winter session of parliament in a bid to “fast track” regulation of a rapidly growing ecosystem, CNBC-TV18 reported. Fast facts India first drafted a bill to ban all cryptocurrencies in the budget session of 2021, but it was never tabled for discussions. Officials […]

Co-founder and CEO of popular social media platform Discord, Jason Citron, has hinted at integration with Ethereum via wallets such as MetaMask by tweeting a screenshot of Discord connecting to the world’s number two blockchain along with the caption “probably nothing.” Fast facts It came in response to another tweet by writer Packy McCormick, which […]

While El Salvador carved out its place in history as the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, there are others that may follow for an array of reasons.

From China’s crackdowns to El Salvador’s Bitcoin adoption, where is the world headed in how governments regard crypto? An expert panel explores the future of decentralized finance in the global economy.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has revealed that he owns cryptocurrency during a discussion yesterday at the New York Times’ Dealbook conference, responding to a question as to whether he owned either Bitcoin or Ethereum. Fast facts While he did not reveal which cryptocurrencies he held, the tech boss said in an interview with Andrew Ross […]

Cryptocurrency exchange Huobi Global will stop serving Singapore-based customers from March 31, 2022 to comply with Singapore laws, according to a company announcement on Nov. 9. Fast facts “To comply with the laws of Singapore, we will have to include Singapore as a restricted jurisdiction. Regrettably, this means Huobi Global can no longer offer services […]

The largest U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase, earned just US$406 million net income in Q3 this year — a 74.7% decline over the previous quarter — according to the company’s investor earnings report released yesterday. Fast facts That figure represents a 500% increase over Q3 last year, but is significantly less than the US$1.6 billion in […]

Crypto is ‘a behavioral economics experiment,’ says Real Vision co-founder Raoul Pal. ‘Your incentive system is not a like button on Facebook, it’s money.’

After the SEC approved a Bitcoin futures ETF, the cost of crypto mining rigs jumped. Coincidence? Varit Bulakul of The Brooker Group explains.

As Ethereum has become the preferred blockchain for smart contracts, what’s the future of the Bitcoin blockchain?

What makes 2021’s roaring crypto market different from 2017’s are the banks and VCs piling in, writes Calvin Shen of Hex Trust. What’s behind their crypto adoption?

The highly competitive cryptocurrency exchange industry appears to be consolidating, according to blockchain analytics provider Chainalysis as part of its Competitive Landscape Report that will be released next week. Fast facts The number of active cryptocurrency exchanges peaked at 845 in August 2020 and stood at 672 as at August 2021, Chainalysis reported. The exchanges […]

Crypto market cap breaks US$3 trillion, also APAC crypto cards to launch

Speaking at the Singapore FinTech Festival, Ethereum’s creator discusses DeFi adoption and why he expects Ethereum’s ‘killer ecosystem’ to grow over the next few years.