Archives

Sunny skies and wide open spaces may seem the perfect place to mine Bitcoin using cheap solar power, but one industry insider tells Forkast there’s much more to it than that.

The cryptocurrency market took a nosedive in what was already seeming like a day in the red zone after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a “special military operation” for the “demilitarization and de-Nazification of Ukraine.”  See related article: Crypto market tumbles amid uncertainty over Russia and Ukraine Fast facts The global cryptocurrency market cap dipped […]

A new electricity rate hike for crypto miners in China’s southeastern province Zhejiang is a penalty, not a green light, province capital Hangzhou authorities said, the China Times reported on Wednesday.  See related article: China’s Zhejiang province busts dozens of state-owned entities for mining crypto Fast facts Zhejiang Province announced this month that it would […]

Chinese court reiterates its stance that the law cannot cover crypto losses. Meanwhile, Indian investors are paying double the South Korean kimchi premium.

The RBI is casting a cloud of regulatory uncertainty over the local digital assets industry, but the nation’s Bitcoin premium shows India wants crypto. 

Solana joined Bitcoin’s free fall along with other cryptocurrencies on Tuesday, after being among the few cryptos standing in the green during a red day in the crypto market on Monday.  See related article: What Solana prices will be at the end of 2021 and beyond Fast facts Solana — currently at US$83.50 – is […]

Kazakhstan’s energy authority has identified and disconnected 13 unauthorized crypto mining farms in the country, as the government continues to ramp up efforts to regulate the sector. See related article: Crypto mining’s Great Migration continues — out of Kazakhstan Fast facts The Ministry of Energy said on Monday that an inspection team has shut down […]

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, continues to tank along with other cryptocurrencies in the global market, with investor sentiment at “extreme fear” at Bitcoin’s Fear and Greed Index.  See related article: Bitcoin leads market-wide downturn as Russia fears rise Fast facts Bitcoin is currently down by almost 2% to trade at US$39,185. Bitcoin’s […]

Bitcoin led a market-wide sell-off Thursday night Asia time by losing almost 8% coming into business hours Friday Asia time, and was trading at US$40,578 at press time. See related article: Is Bitcoin’s rocky start to 2022 a sign of things to come? Fast facts All other major tokens were down around the same amount, […]

Russia’s Ministry of Economic Development proposed to greenlight crypto mining in regions with steady electricity surplus, local media reported on Tuesday, days before Friday’s expected crypto regulation draft. Fast facts The ministry also suggested introducing taxes for realized profits on liquidated cryptocurrencies earned through mining. Last week, Russia’s central government agencies reached an agreement to […]

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 […]

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

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 […]

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 […]

American banking giant JPMorgan predicts Bitcoin’s price will approach US$150,000 in the long term, strategist Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou wrote in an investors note cited by Bloomberg. Fast facts Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, is currently trading at about US$43,830, but JPMorgan pegs its fair value at around US$38,000, about 15% lower than its current […]

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has seized over US$3.6 billion worth of Bitcoin linked to crypto exchange Bitfinex’s hack that occurred in 2016, as the country ramps up efforts to combat crypto crime. Fast facts The DOJ said Tuesday in a statement that it has arrested two individuals for allegedly laundering proceeds of 119,754 […]

Hong Kong’s financial regulators released new guidelines on Friday that restrict retail investor access to financial products that invest directly in digital assets. Fast facts In a joint circular released by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), the regulators placed sales restrictions on non-derivative products such as crypto […]

South Korean police have provided global police agency Interpol with information on a crypto-related voice phishing case after receiving a purple notice on two international crimes that victimized locals, according to local media reports. Fast facts Last May, an individual was reported to be disguised as a public prosecutor to convince a victim to buy […]

The Bitcoin mining difficulty level rose to an all-time high in its latest adjustment on Friday while the total Bitcoin hashrate also reached an all-time-high during a global cryptocurrency sell-off. Fast facts The mining difficulty level rose by 9.32% to 26.64 trillion at block height 719.712, reflecting its most difficult level in history, according to […]

The price of Bitcoin dropped below US$40,000 on Friday for the second time in two weeks, in the face of headwinds from the Russian central bank’s call to ban crypto trading. Fast facts Bitcoin lost up to 11% on Friday morning Asia time and was trading at US$38,599 at press time, according to CoinMarketCap. The […]

South Korean lawmaker Lee Kwang-jae announced on Sunday that he has started accepting political donations in cryptocurrencies. Fast facts Donors can use Bitcoin, Ethereum, Kakao’s KLAY, media industry-focused NEWS, and payments-focused Paycoin, while receipts can be issued as non-fungible tokens (NFTs), according to Lee’s website.  The first donor was an anonymous professional from the blockchain […]

Cardano’s ADA edged out Bitcoin as the currency of choice in a Twitter poll posted by Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin on a hypothetical future without ETH. Fast facts Buterin asked his 3.1 million followers on Friday what currency, aside from Ethereum, they would prefer to be used in 80% of all global transactions by 2035, […]

India may soon get its first Bitcoin and Ethereum futures exchange traded funds (ETFs) pending approval by a financial regulator.  Fast facts India INX, the international arm of BSE (formerly Bombay Stock Exchange) and Torus Kling Block Chain IFSC have jointly sought regulatory approval for a Bitcoin and an Ethereum Futures ETF, according to a […]

A computer database at a supermarket in eastern China is being held hostage by cybercriminals demanding 0.042 Bitcoin, which amounts to US$1,832, according to a Chinese media report. Fast facts

Taiwanese’s superstar Jay Chou’s NFT dethrones Bored Ape Yacht Club. Meanwhile Bitcoin dips below US$40k mark.

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.

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

Traditional equities and global markets are due for a correction. Valkyrie CEO Leah Wald wonders whether Bitcoin would hold strong in a global sell-off.

Goldman Sachs, one of the world’s largest banks, joins the list of analysts predicting the price of Bitcoin could reach US$100,000, according to a report by Bloomberg. Fast facts According to Goldman Sachs estimates, Bitcoin’s float-adjusted market capitalization is just shy of US$700 billion, which accounts for a 20% share of the “store of value” […]

The crypto market leaders are trading sideways so far in the new year. But NFT trading volume has exploded, with strong Q1 performance expected.

Bitcoin is now a teenager but it’s not a celebration for some as Indian tax authorities raid crypto businesses.

Love it or hate it, Bitcoin can be a powerful force for good — and it’s here to stay, writes Peter Vessenes, co-founder of The Bitcoin Foundation.

2021 was a big year for crypto. As we enter a new year, Forkast.News asks market watchers what might be in store for the next 12 months.

With wider acceptance as a financial asset, a teenage Bitcoin may not see the explosive 200% average annual returns of the past, but also may experience less price volatility.

Perianne Boring of the Chamber of Digital Commerce sees agencies elbowing each other to oversee the crypto industry while investors start to pay big taxes.

In December 2020, Stefan Rust successfully predicted a ‘Cambrian Explosion’ of crypto tokens. Now he says 2022 will be when the crypto markets will be ‘flooring out.’

Bitcoin adoption soared in 2021 with El Salvador’s currency experiment with the help of the layer-2 scalers. Will Lightning strike twice in 2022? 

Curious to use Bitcoin but don’t know where to start? Forkast.News explains how.

Court overturns Korean Bitcoin ruling, also are the days numbered for SWIFT?

An investor who received $1.25M in Bitcoin by accident will not be criminally penalized, raising questions on the legal status of cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin’s current price is not indicative of the crypto’s future prospects, says Mark Yusko, who looks forward to the tokenization of everything.

India prime minister Narendra Modi’s Twitter account was hacked on Sunday morning, with the attacker posting a false tweet about India officially adopting Bitcoin as legal tender. Fast facts The tweet also said the government has bought 500 Bitcoin which will be distributed among citizens. This was the second instance of Modi’s Twitter account getting […]

The energy authority in Southwest China’s Yunnan province said it has eliminated the illegal power supply from small and midsize hydropower stations to Bitcoin mining, as China continues to intensify its clampdown on crypto mining. Fast facts In a Friday post on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like microblogging platform, the Yunnan authority said as of the end […]

Bitcoin’s hashrate has almost fully recovered just six months after China’s crypto ban sent miners fleeing to more hospitable shores. Fast facts Despite the recent price crash, the total Bitcoin hashrate stood at 180.5 million terahashes per second, almost approaching its all-time high of 180.67 million TH/s back in May, according to data from Blockchain.com. The hashrate took […]

Chinese property giant Evergrande has defaulted on its debt to global investors, credit rating firm Fitch Ratings reported today. Fast facts Fitch has downgraded Evergrande to “Restricted Default” after its deadline to pay interest due on two dollar-denominated bonds passed on Monday. The actual payments were due a month ago and the grace period expired […]

South Korean game shares fell sharply, just a few weeks after announcements of new NFT metaverse ventures sent the shares up.

One of the world’s largest asset managers sought SEC approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF in March and is still awaiting a response.

The SEC’s second rejection of a spot Bitcoin ETF again cited concerns about fraud and manipulation.

Griid Infrastructure, a U.S.-based Bitcoin mining company, is set to go public through a merger with Adit EdTech Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), in a deal that would value the combined company at about US$3.3 billion, according to a company statement released Tuesday. Fast facts Upon completion of the deal, the combined […]

Fed chairman Jerome Powell signaled that tighter monetary policy may be coming, which sent Bitcoin price’s down slightly.

While the wait for a U.S. Bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund continues, Invesco, a U.S. investment firm with US$1.6 trillion in assets under management, has partnered with CoinShares to launch a European exchange-traded product physically backed by Bitcoin, according to reporting on Nasdaq.com. Fast facts The Invesco Physical Bitcoin ETP will be listed on Deutsche Börse […]

Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum’s Ether (ETH) prices on Tuesday morning Asia time held their rebound from the Black Friday sell-off of global equities and cryptocurrencies following news of the new Covid-19 Omicron variant. Bitcoin was trading at US$57,184 and Ethereum at US$4,445, as of publishing time, according to CoinGecko data. Fast facts Institutional investors appear […]

Fund manager Fintonia has launched two new Bitcoin funds — Fintonia Bitcoin Physical Fund and Fintonia Secured Yield Fund — for institutional investors. Fast facts The physical fund buys and holds actual Bitcoin, rather than investing in a Bitcoin-linked derivative product. The fund’s Bitcoin will be stored with a licensed and insured custodian, according to […]

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has accused the owners of Gold Coast-based business A One Multi of scamming 92 investors out of AU$25 million (US$18 million) and are now in possession of a cold wallet believed to hold almost US$20 million in Bitcoin purchased with the defrauded funds, according to a report by […]

Bitcoin continued its descent this morning Asia time and is currently trading around US$57,050 according to CoinGecko data. The largest cryptocurrency by market value saw a brief surge Monday, crossing the US$59,000 mark, but the rally was not sustained. Ethereum, too, is trading lower at US$4,169, down 15% from its Nov. 10 all-time high of […]

The Scandinavian country is concerned with potential environmental harm, while the debt-laden SE Asia nation seeks to regulate.

El Salvador — the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender in September — plans on building the world’s first “Bitcoin City,” an entire city to be funded by Bitcoin bonds and powered by geothermal energy from one of the country’s many volcanoes, according to El Salvador’s official presidential Twitter page. […]

Bitcoin continued its downtrend today to reach a low of $55,861, its lowest price this month. The world’s first cryptocurrency has dropped by 18.6% since reaching a fresh all-time high of over US$69,000 last week. Bitcoin’s price low comes amid struggles in the overall crypto market, which has lost over US$400 billion from its total […]

Taproot unlocks Bitcoin opportunities meanwhile Mintable aims big

Bitcoin’s scarcity premium puts crypto into direct competition with gold and treasuries.

Top blockchain and crypto news: Spot ETFs stymied as SEC stands firm. Is Bitcoin’s Taproot upgrade worth the wait? China’s crypto mining goes underground.

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 […]

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 […]

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.

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

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.

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

Bitcoin & Beyond

Panel explores sustainability issues surrounding the energy-intensive industry at Bitcoin & Beyond Virtual Summit.

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.

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?