Search results: ETF

Shanghai released a policy paper setting a goal to cultivate its metaverse-related industry to a total value of 350 billion yuan (US$52 billion) by the end of 2025.  See related article: Hong Kong gears up for its first metaverse ETF Fast facts See related article: China’s zero-Covid policy realigning global economy, financial markets

In an exclusive interview with Forkast Editor-in-Chief Angie Lau, Circle Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Fox-Geen said reserves backing the so-called USDC stablecoin are ring-fenced from any potential fallout from the contagion engulfing crypto markets.

The crypto lender signed definitive agreements with FTX US for a US$400 million revolving credit facility that will be subordinate to all client funds. The crypto exchange also has an option to acquire BlockFi for about US$240 million based on performance targets. See related article: Sam Bankman-Fried steps in to bail out BlockFi Fast facts […]

The crash of Terra-LUNA threw the entire crypto space into a dark funk, and raised questions about the safety and role of stablecoins. CFTC Commissioner Caroline D. Pham offers a regulators’ viewpoint at a Forkast+ exclusive event.

Bitcoin dropped below US$19,000 for the first time since December 2020 as the crypto market wrapped up Q2 with further downturns as of Friday morning in Asia. See related article: Bitcoin, crypto fall amid reports of 3AC’s court-ordered liquidation Fast facts The world’s largest cryptocurrency hit a low of US$18,729 and was trading at US$20,352 […]

Investors withdrew US$423 million in funds from digital assets last week, the largest such weekly outflow on record, according to exchange data tracked by CoinShares. See related article: Crypto winter ushers in account freezes as platforms feel the chill Fast facts The outflows were almost entirely from Bitcoin (BTC), which experienced a net withdrawal of […]

Top blockchain and crypto news: Investors snowed in as liquidity crunch hits. Solend harpoons anti-whale maneuver. Chinese NFTs prove a tricky target.

A perceived failure to address increasing fraud in the NFT industry prompts calls for regulation and the adoption of a more centralized approach to weed out bad actors.

Crypto lender Celsius Network’s native token CEL saw an uptick of around 50% on Tuesday as community members attempted a short squeeze.  See related article: CEL down over 50% since Celsius Network’s withdrawal freeze Fast facts In a short squeeze, bulls attempt to buy out the underlying asset to push up its price and make […]

Australian cryptocurrency exchange BTC Markets announced on Tuesday it has become the first crypto firm to receive an Australian Financial Service License (AFSL) from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). See related article: What does the new Australian Labor government mean for the crypto industry? Fast facts BTC Markets says the license will enable […]

CEL has dropped 53.1% over the past 24 hours and was trading at US$0.20, at press time, according to CoinGecko.  Fast facts Crypto staking and lending platform Celsius Network paused user withdrawals, swaps, and transfers on Monday, citing “extreme market conditions,” driving its native token to shed more than half of its value. The lending […]

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) can be regulated if they represent similar characteristics to securities, particularly in the category of “collective investment schemes,” Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) said on Monday.  See related article: Hong Kong retail investors blocked from Bitcoin spot ETFs Fast facts See related article: Hong Kong to propose bill to license […]

Changes in government don’t come about too often in Australia, so there’s always plenty to unpack when it does, including what’s in store for investors in the world of cryptocurrency.

Top blockchain and crypto news: Billions cut ties with Tether. Are Terra’s UST troubles just beginning? China’s miners stay one step ahead.

Crypto exchange FTX.US has introduced FTX Stocks for select U.S. customers to allow stock trading and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) through its app. See related article: FTX reaches US$32B valuation after closing $400M series C Fast facts FTX.US will provide commission-free stock market trading where orders will be routed to Nasdaq through its clearing firm Embed, […]

Top blockchain and crypto news: Terra puts down the fork. Bitcoin loses its shine in Singapore. China’s miners dig in.

Solana-based non-fungible token (NFT) collection Okay Bears copycat “Not Okay Bears” has been delisted from marketplace OpenSea after recording millions of dollars in sales. See related article: Okay Bears NFTs record sellout helps Solana net US$2B in sales Fast facts Not Okay Bears are mirror images of the 10,000 versions of the original, and have […]

The price of LUNA, the native token of Terra, is now as volatile as low-cap meme currencies, and is currently at 23,716.5% from its all-time low set on Friday, according to CoinGecko data. See related article: UST loses dollar peg as Terra market cap slumps Fast facts The Terra network suffered a major meltdown last […]

A developmental shift in the cryptocurrency industry is ushering in geographical shifts among crypto companies, with a number of businesses abandoning locations once hailed as crypto hubs in favor of jurisdictions with regulatory regimes more to their liking.  Forkast sat down with two of the crypto industry’s rainmakers who are among those spearheading this trend […]

Terra’s dollar-pegged stablecoin, terraUSD (UST), “depegged” for the second time this week, dropping to as low as US$0.6841 in Tuesday morning trading in Asia, according to CoinMarketCap. It has since recovered slightly. See related article: What are stablecoins, and why are some governments so afraid of them? Fast facts Terra’s price also dropped by over […]

As decentralized finance redefines the way money moves, a do-or-die moment is approaching for traditional finance sector businesses, says Anthony Scaramucci.

Top blockchain and crypto news: Otherdeeds debacle stings with gas fee spike. Algorand scores World Cup deal. Will China be forced to embrace Bitcoin?

There’s never a dull moment in the news business. Now, as media outlets explore blockchain, the Associated Press’s Dwayne Desaulniers says more change is coming.

Another crypto exchanges moves out of Singapore into Dubai. Meanwhile, two South Koreans have been charged for treason.

Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover isn’t really about free speech, writes Ben Armstrong, aka BitBoy Crypto. It’s an attempt to push you out of Bitcoin and sell your data.

Fidelity, one of the largest providers of 401(k) retirement plans in the U.S., is allowing participants to invest a piece of their retirement portfolio into Bitcoin, provided the employers allow it. See related article: Nexo and Fidelity Digital Assets expand institutional lending services Fast facts Fidelity introduced a digital assets account to hold Bitcoin, integrating […]

Axie Infinity is a blockchain-based game that rewards players with cryptocurrencies and NFTs. Learn all about how Axie Infinity is creating a play-to-earn revolution in this Forkast explainer.

Dogecoin is back in the crypto top 10 after Twitter accepted Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s US$44 billion offer to purchase the social media platform. See related article: Will the dog have its day on Doge Day? Fast facts The world’s leading memecoin reached a high of US$0.1677 before retreating slightly, its highest point since Musk […]

Top blockchain and crypto news: Crisis response brings crypto relief. North Korea’s Lazarus Group named in Ronin hack. NFTs face new risks in China.

Providing access to global customers and higher income, NFTs are changing lives in some of the poorest places in the world, writes Katherine Ng.

Crypto market downturns can dredge up bad memories of ICOs. What lessons can investors learn from the past — and how is Bitcoin different?

Authorities in Hong Kong moving to block retail investors from accessing non-derivative crypto products could undermine the presence of Bitcoin ATMs in the city with the most crypto ATMs in Asia.

Top blockchain and cryptocurrency news: Britain’s crypto gamble. WAVES crashing. China’s big digital yuan push.

The Korea Federation of Banks (KFB) may request South Korea’s incoming presidential administration to approve local banks servicing cryptocurrencies, according to a leaked draft report. See related article: South Korea’s largest financial group mulls crypto ETFs Fast facts KFB, the largest body representing domestic lenders, wrote in its report that banks should be permitted to […]

Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchanges Crypto.com and Bybit have announced that they will be setting up offices in Dubai, as the industry continues its migration towards the United Arab Emirates (UAE).  See related article: As Binance shrinks away in Asia, will it put down roots in the Middle East? Fast facts See related article: Ripple launches first […]

The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) has announced its highly anticipated AU$250 million (US$187 million) blockchain project has been delayed for release until late 2023 at the earliest. See related article: Australian Securities Exchange to launch crypto-related ETF Fast facts CHESS, or Clearing House Electronic Subregister System, was initially slated for a blockchain upgrade by April […]

BAYC is one of the hallmark NFT collections and a billion-dollar ecosystem. This Forkast explainer explores the cartoon primates and what makes them so special.

Growth drivers of the NFT ecosystem The growing popularity of NFTs is stunning, having risen from several hundred million dollars in sales when the market first started, to around US$20 billion in 2021. We believe the exponential growth seen around the world can be explained by the product-market fit: NFTs have effectively provided a bridge […]

Top blockchain and crypto news: Bitcoin buzz in Malaysia. Yuga Labs teases Otherside. Blockchain verdict in China.

The rapid rise of NFTs has sparked concerns about speculative bubbles as well as the negative impact on the environment. As discussed earlier, China permits trading in NFTs so long as there is a holding period after each purchase. The country’s state media have also warned against speculative behavior surrounding NFTs.  In places such as […]

Yuga Labs, creators of the Bored Apes Yacht Club (BAYC) non-fungible token (NFT) collection, teased the launch of its metaverse called Otherside, coming in April. See related article: BAYC’s floor price surpasses 100 ETH since ApeCoin launch Fast facts The teaser video released by Yuga Labs on Saturday featured Yuga Labs NFTs including Mutant Ape […]

Terraform Labs CEO and founder Do Kwon has accepted bets worth millions of dollars on Terra’s cryptocurrency LUNA trading higher than US$88 in a year’s time, which was the price of the token at the time of the bet. See related article: Is Terra — whose LUNA coin is now at another all-time high — […]

Japan’s Financial Services Agency and Ministry of Finance jointly announced penalties on crypto exchanges that do not comply with sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, following G7 vows to tighten crypto sanctions. See related article:  Russians turn to crypto as Western sanctions hit the ruble Fast facts See related article: Russia faces crypto […]

Top blockchain and crypto news: Moscow faces crypto winter. DeFi doyen quits Fantom. China mulls metaverse moves.

Cryptocurrency exchanges will face public backlash if they continue to operate in Russia, Alex Bornyakov, Ukraine deputy minister of digital transformation, said in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday, reiterating his call for a blanket ban on Russian crypto traders. See related article: Coinbase blocks 25,000 Russian crypto wallet addresses Fast facts “Private business decides […]

Bitcoin and other cryptos are being used on both sides of the fight, raising ethical issues that cut to the core of decentralization, says AAX’s Ben Caselin

Top blockchain and crypto news: Digital currency battling Russian invasion. Ethereum remains NFT projects’ chain of choice. China to lock up crypto traders.

The European parliament has scrapped wording from proposed legislation that would have banned cryptocurrencies that rely on the proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism, like Bitcoin. See related article: How serious is the threat of Bitcoin mining to the environment? Fast facts The European Parliament member in charge of spearheading the bill known as the Markets in […]

When the world’s biggest crypto exchange acquires a major stake in the business publication it once sued for defamation, should we worry?

NFTs hit resale market in China despite criticism over speculation. Meanwhile, South Korean financial giant plans crypto funds.

Top blockchain and crypto news: Super Bowl score for digital asset exchanges. CryptoPunks holders face copyright conundrum. Hong Kong warns of NFT risks.

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway purchased US$1 billion of Brazilian neobank Nubank Class A stock in Q4 2021 while selling billions of dollars of stock in Mastercard and Visa. Fast facts Buffett’s holding company dumped US$1.3 billion and US$1.8 billion from Mastercard and Visa, respectively, according to a Feb. 14 filing with the U.S. Securities and […]

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.

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, plans to take a US$200 million stake in Forbes through a private placement, making it one of the two largest shareholders of the 104-year-old business magazine. Fast facts The investment comes as Forbes seeks to go public on the New York Stock Exchange via a deal with a special […]

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 […]

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

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 […]

Top blockchain and crypto news: New Delhi’s crypto give and take. Malice in Wonderland? Hong Kong’s selective spot ETF rules.

With new products and services being launched and international exchanges setting up camp, crypto startups thrive despite the shadow of a crypto ban.

Top blockchain and crypto news: Market chills make investors shiver. Hacking storm at OpenSea. Has Beijing tamed NFTs?

OpenSea NFT marketplace has suffered a front-end attack with the exploiter withdrawing 332 ETH (US$800,000), as reported by security and data tracker PeckShield. Fast facts PeckShield noted the issue overnight Asia time, revealing the attacker received 10 ETH from Ethereum mixer TornadoCash, which was then wrapped to wETH to carry out the attack. The non-fungible […]

K-pop fans are waging online campaigns against their favorite artists over NFTs, denouncing the technology’s carbon footprint. How polluting are NFTs?

Meta’s Facebook and Instagram are exploring plans that would allow non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to be used as profile pictures, according to a report. Fast facts The plans include the showcasing, minting and selling of NFTs, several insiders told Financial Times. Meta staff members are also reportedly discussing the launch of a marketplace to buy and […]

Though the world’s most powerful central bank does not stake a position, its discussion paper is a big step toward supporting a future US digital currency.

The fast-growing crypto exchange Crypto.com discloses large amounts of Bitcoin and Ether were stolen from 483 customers.

Developers adopt NFT technology to promote staple video game franchises, but reaction from a number of gamers has been negative.

Internet blackouts are partially restored but access remains unpredictable to support full crypto mining, industry players say.

The 2022 crypto market has had a tough start as Bitcoin and Ethereum dipped below significant price points. But crypto experts say it’s not all doom and gloom.

Sega, the Japanese gaming giant, has vowed to backtrack on its NFT (non-fungible tokens) plans if fans continue to criticize the project. Fast facts (Update removes mention of Mortal Kombat)

Limited restoration of internet access in Kazakhstan is not enough to bring the world’s second-largest crypto mining hub back fully online, according to internet tracker NetBlocks.  Fast facts Last week, internet access in the central Asian nation was shut off after protests over fuel prices spread across the country, resulting in more than 100 deaths […]

How has layer-2 innovation saved Bitcoin from becoming a victim of its own success? Blockstream chief Adam Back explains.

What’s behind the crypto cheerleading by U.S. mayors? Are their city coins savvy moves — or will the bespoke crypto end up worthless?