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In the wake of crackdowns on crypto mining in China, investment firm IBC Group has announced it plans to shut all BTC and Ethereum mining operations in the country and relocate elsewhere.

Three of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea have tightened restrictions on virtual currency trading by their employees in a move designed to comply with the nation’s crypto regulations. Fast facts Bithumb announced that starting this month, it had banned its employees from trading cryptocurrencies using Bithumb accounts. The exchange has made employees sign […]

Being a ‘crypto native’ involves much more than using Bitcoin and DeFi, writes Alvin Lee of DeGate DAO. It’s sharing core values like freedom and inclusion.

Crypto exchanges WazirX and Binance look to implement stronger compliance measures. Forkast News speaks with FTX founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried about crypto regulatory measures in Asia. Chinese district rewards residents with e-Yuan for counting footsteps. We’ll have more on these stories and other news shaping the cryptocurrency and blockchain world in this episode of […]

Mintable, a Singapore-based non-fungible token platform, this week closed a US$13 million series-A funding round, with U.S. payments technology company Ripple Labs investing. Fast facts Mintable, currently built on the Ethereum and Zilliqa blockchains, enables users to create, buy and sell NFTs using fiat or cryptocurrency. Mintable intends to use the fresh capital to scale […]

El Salvador recently became the first country to recognize Bitcoin as legal tender, and it seems unlikely to be the last. Samson Mow, chief strategy officer of Bitcoin technology company Blockstream, looks forward to a future in which Bitcoin edges out fiat currency.

Ripple says William Hinman holds important insights into SEC’s stance on Bitcoin, Ether and XRP. How is Hinman’s 2018 speech on crypto relevant to the lawsuit?

Top blockchain and cryptocurrency news: Binance bounced out of Britain. Musk moves Shiba Inu prices again. China’s digital currency gets ready to roll.

What does a fully functioning network with DeFi applications look like, and why is it important to assess? Garrette Furo of Cosmos explains.

With Theta’s new mainnet 3.0, the network aims to be the go-to blockchain-powered content delivery platform for online streaming. Will Theta succeed?

Interview with Trent Barnes, Principal at Zerocap Tokenization brings new models for raising capital, as well as institutional-grade opportunities Forkast.News: How does a digital asset become “institutional-grade”? What sort of criteria are institutional-level traders looking for? TB: The criteria would include clear guidelines and regulatory frameworks as to how digital assets are treated, deepening pools […]

South Korea’s top asset managers are racing to get into the metaverse game while Forkast.News visits a decentralized theme park in Hong Kong.

Singapore cryptocurrency exchange Coinhako today announced a 500% increase in trading volume during the first five months of 2021 compared to the whole of 2020.

Nansen, a Singapore startup, is the latest darling of venture capitalists like Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) bullish on the growing field of crypto analytics.

Interview with Thor Chan, CEO of AAX Forkast.News: The value of digital assets has exploded during the last year, and we are now at levels well above previous forecasts. What are you seeing in the market right now? Thor Chan: We think that the global crypto market is growing. More money is flowing in, and […]

Kazakhstan is quickly becoming a mining hotspot as China’s mining exodus settles down. In Hong Kong, and update on the e-HKD.

Payment for listings raises questions over integrity of cryptocurrencies’ credit scores as compliance deadline nears.

What is blockchain and how can it help smaller companies? A special panel sponsored by Blockchain-based Service Network explores the use cases.

Bitcoin was recovered by the FBI from the Colonial Pipeline ransomware cyber criminals DarkSide, sparking privacy concerns around cryptocurrencies.

Blockchain Is Not China’s Future — It Is The Present Blockchain technology is a national priority for China, and it’s being integrated in both enterprise and government. Nowhere else in the world has a country approached the development of a technology with such a sense of urgency. Forkast.Insights sat down with top China-based insiders, academics, protocols, […]

Construction meets blockchain in Australian and Binance’s NFT marketplace is open for business.

Following Israel’s recent tests of a digital shekel, the Palestinian Monetary Authority is looking to launch its own central bank digital currency.

A university in Paraguay has announced that it will begin accepting cryptocurrency as payment for tuition starting from August.

QR Capital’s Bitcoin exchange-traded fund — the first Bitcoin ETF in Latin America — has been listed on Brazil’s stock exchange.

Nearly one in three novice traders reported making no traditional investments outside crypto over the past year, according to a survey published today by Overbit, a Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange. In contrast, 85.3% of professional traders reported diversifying their investment portfolios to stock, real estate or other traditional assets. Fast facts: The survey of 3,000 traders […]

Auction house Lloyds Auctions Australia has begun accepting cryptocurrency for all purchases on its marketplace.

Crypto exchange Binance is launching a non-fungible token marketplace, auctioning NFTs of artworks by Andy Warhol and Salvador Dali.

A judge has granted Ripple’s request to force the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to reveal its non-public policies regarding whether agency employees may buy and sell XRP and other cryptocurrencies, according to a screenshot of a new legal filing shared by the lawyer representing XRP holders. Fast facts: Earlier this month, Ripple sought the […]

Top blockchain and cryptocurrency news: Bitcoin’s still winning. Titan’s troubles as a teachable moment. Beijing creates a crypto mining diaspora.

Another legal challenge faces cryptocurrency exchange Upbit. In China, Ant Group is getting into the NFT game — through Alipay.

In a new report, Bank for International Settlements extols central bank digital currency (CBDC) as the future of money. Will CBDCs replace Bitcoin someday?

A team of doctors and engineers in Taiwan is developing a blockchain-based platform that could keep track of residents’ vaccination histories and health conditions.

After a spate of bad news, Bitcoin’s price tumbled to its lowest level this year before climbing back up to $34,000. Where are BTC prices likely to go next?

Crypto-related crime in the US increased an average of over 300% per year from 2017 to 2020with a total of 82,135 cases last year alone.

Decentralized finance hub Acala Network’s sister network, Karura, has won the first parachain lease auction on Kusama, Polkadot’s pre-production network, and is now successfully producing blocks, according to an announcement today. Fast facts: The successful completion of Kusama’s first parachain slot auction and Karura’s launch brings Polkdot ever closer to its rollout. Karura raised more […]

The next generation of mining hot spots are shaping out in the aftermath of China’s mining exodus as Upbit’s delisting generates new enemies.

Bitcoin is in its sixth consecutive week of institutional outflows, with US$89 million exiting the coin, according to a weekly fund flows report.

Sotheby’s has announced it will be accepting cryptocurrency as payment in an upcoming auction for a 101.38-carat diamond with flawless clarity.

European digital asset manager CoinShares hasannounced a partnership with German financial news portal Finanzen.net to bring crypto exchange traded products to investors with no trading fees.

Forkast.News speaks with Michael Wu, Amber Group’s co-founder and CEO, on how the crypto firm is going from $100 million to $1 billion in valuation.

Crypto literacy of Indian regulators is evolving and crypto players are trying to keep industry clean via self-regulations, says Nischal Shetty of WazirX.

Global securities index MSCI plans to launch a cryptocurrency index, according to CEO Henry Fernandez.

Institutional digital asset manager Grayscale announced today that it is exploring 13 more assets for its trusts, mainly related to decentralized finance.

Singapore-based decentralized exchange SynFutures has closed a $14 million series A round to bring crypto derivatives to new users around the world.

Self-published tokens get barred from South Korean exchanges as Hong Kong’s air quality recording meets blockchain technology.

Bitcoin sheds 4% but BTC’s share of the total crypto market grows after US Fed projects higher inflation and plans interest hikes earlier than expected.

Former executives from online travel platforms have partnered with Binance-backed Travala.com to launch an Airbnb-like decentralized home-sharing platform.

Permissionless, open source and decentralized, Web 3.0 will transform computing and data storage. Maria Paula Fernandez of Golem Network explains how.

BitDAO — a new decentralized autonomous organization that aims to promote and propel the mass adoption of open finance and the decentralized tokenized economy — has announced the completion of a US$230 million private sale.

Coinbase will add Shiba Inu, Chiliz and Keep Network to its professional trading platform with full trading beginning at 9am PT if liquidity conditions are met.

China’s crypto mining crackdown continues while Indian finance authorities probe one of the nation’s largest exchange WazirX.

One of DeFi’s hottest trends, yield farming can bring riches but is not for crypto beginners or those who can’t afford to lose. Forkast.News explains why.

Blockchain provides greater data transparency and security than ever before, but the technology is not immune to cyber attacks and data breaches.

Huobi Group has announced the launch of a Blockchain Assets Center to provide a standardized, streamlined process for projects seeking to list on its cryptocurrency exchange, Huobi Global.

South Korean government is holding on-site visits to help crypto exchanges get regulated while an Aussie business wants crypto for rent.

With Kusama slot parachain auctions underway, the first starting next week, Plasm and Shiden networks prepare for a multi-chain future with Polkadot.

Despite regulatory uncertainty over cryptocurrency trading in India, some of the world’s largest crypto exchanges are looking to enter the market.

Auction house Sotheby’s has sold a non-fungible token of a digital artwork known as “CryptoPunk, Alien #7523” for US$11.8 million.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will meet with El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele to finalize discussions around a pandemic relief loan to support the Central American nation. In a Thursday press briefing, IMF spokesman Garry Rice also implied that El Salvador’s decision to make Bitcoin a national currency will be a focus of the meeting for the IMF team.

GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, is investing in BC Group—the parent company of OSL, Hong Kong’s first licensed cryptocurrency exchange.

Jump Trading, a high-frequency trading firm, is joining Oxygen, a decentralized finance prime brokerage protocol, as a strategic partner and market-maker to provide liquidity on the Oxygen platform.

Beijing-based Red Date Technology — the face of China’s ambitious nationwide blockchain service network — receives a big investment boost.

Kikitrade today announced a US$12 million fund raise with investment from British hedge fund billionaire Alan Howard to accelerate its growth.

Hong Kong looks to explore CBDC feasibility as Australian millennials favor investing in crypto over traditional assets.

UNICEF Venture Fund is awarding up to $100,000 to blockchain startups, including India’s GovBlocks, in its latest funding round. Here are the other projects.

Regulatory uncertainty pushes India’s crypto industry towards self regulation as a secret Ethereum miner gets busted in Seoul Arts Center.

From Phillips auction house in Hong Kong to Art Fair Philippines, non-fungible tokens are redefining how Asia appreciates, buys and profits from art.

As 50,000 Bitcoiners and crypto superstars whoop it up at Miami’s Bitcoin 2021 fest, a smaller group of BTC fans hold their own at the Fringe in Hong Kong.

Chinese social media Weibo bans crypto accounts as employees of South Korean crypto exchanges can no longer trade on their own platforms.

Ripple is also asking court to order SEC to reveal the agency’s internal employee policies on trading cryptocurrencies and other digital assets.

In a special Q&A, Sarojini McKenna of Alien Worlds discusses play-to-earn gaming, digital assets like Trilium, and lives increasingly lived inside virtual worlds.

Is Bitcoin’s carbon footprint a growing risk to Earth, or is it a red herring? On this year’s United Nations World Environment Day, crypto mining is a hot topic.