Archives

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire spoke at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Blockchain Policy Forum on September 12, 2019. He offered a spirited defense of French and European technology policies and spoke frankly about the deep difference in values over the regulation challenging French relations with the U.S. and China. In his […]

The world of insider trading as relates to cryptocurrency — what are the rules that govern trading crypto, in the eyes of the SEC, CFTC, and the like? Forkast.News Editor-in-Chief, Angie Lau sits down with attorney and partner, Jason Gottlieb, at NY-based Morrison Cohen law firm to discover the in’s and out’s of trading. Listen […]

Key Highlights “[A central bank’s digital currency is] a huge database using the hash function, chain technology. There’s no distributed ledger portal.” “[The People’s Bank of China] have been working on CBDC for about four years now.” “One of the areas where I really think blockchain could help is on trade finance. When I say […]

What are the rules? For most blockchain companies and projects, the complex landscape of regulation and policy creates business risk, which impacts not only innovation but also ultimately, mainstream adoption.  But at OECD’s second Global Blockchain Policy Forum, regulators are increasingly becoming aware of the need for concerted efforts at every government and agency levels. […]

Why would tokenization of real estate be attractive? Fractional ownership will allow part of an asset to be made available by tokenization. This provides the asset owner with different choices on how to approach the market. For instance, an anchor investor could hold a 40% interest, 30% could be released to other key investors, and […]

Bitcoin (BTCUSD) spent the past week back above the psychologically key 10k whole figure level, continuing an ongoing 2 month plus consolidation around 10k.  BTCUSD is increasingly close to resuming a bull flag (on its weekly and daily chart), with any resumption of the bull markets since the November low likely coinciding with Ripple (XRPUSD) […]

NEO is a cross-platform, code-agnostic blockchain revolutionizing the sector starting with distributed storage. We sit down with Hongfei Da to chat about the technology and where it’s going.  In any sort enterprise deployment, or even in a software stack, different protocols and standards need to co-exist. One way to ensure this cross-compatibility is through APIs […]

Facebook executives announced not long ago that they would launch their own cryptocurrency, Libra, next year. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has likened his vision for the ease of peer-to-peer cash transfers to sending photos, and now it seems as if the company may be able to bring that vision to life with cryptocurrency. And beyond […]

Listen to the podcast Full Transcript Angie Lau: Welcome to Word on the Block, the series that takes a deeper dive into the topics we cover right here on Forkast.News. I’m Editor-in-Chief Angie Lau and today we dive into what many are seeing emerging in blockchain, that Asia could soon be taking the lead from […]

Listen to the podcast In its genesis, blockchain was designed with the intention of it being a decentralized peer-to-peer network. However, these networks can either require permission by a controlling entity (a private blockchain) or be truly permissionless and everyone can make modifications (a public blockchain). But when it comes to enterprises and businesses, which […]

Initial coin offerings (ICOs), initial exchange offerings (IEOs), and security token offerings (STOs) are a worldwide phenomenon. After all, a coin or token that has no physical existence apart from some computer code can be easily sent around the world to anyone with an internet connection with a few clicks of a keyboard.   While the […]

In this last week, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney made waves in the crypto industry by espousing, as a pillar of traditional banking, an alternative to the very system he heads. At a speech in the U.S., Carney put forward the idea of a “synthetic hegemony currency” – in other words, a central bank-banked […]

Key Highlights There is a huge demand [for stablecoins] out there. When we look at the global economy, we’re suffering as a result of the US-China trade wars. The trade fluctuations this year have been defined by this growing tension between the US and China. Stablecoins are something that people inevitably will look at. We’ve […]

Much has been made of the clear divergence between Asia’s embrace of blockchain innovation versus the West. But three seemingly disparate storylines this month suggest the gap might be widening as we speak. The first is South Korea creating a special enterprise zone for cryptocurrency trading and initial coin offerings. China’s fast-accelerating timetable for issuing its […]

Ethereum (ETHUSD) spent this past week just below the psychologically key 200 whole figure level.  Bulls should get reprieve any day though as hinted by the bottomish daily RSI, Stochastics and MACD, and the descending wedge nearing completion (on the daily chart).  The rally could quickly flatten the still slightly downsloping weekly Stochastics.  A decisive […]

In this episode of Word on the Block, Editor-in-Chief Angie Lau sits down with Kevin Kelly of Delphi Digital to explore the recent trends in the market has seen for Bitcoin given monetary policy. Kelly recently published a piece, The Perfect Storm for Bitcoin. Is the global macroeconomic environment creating an opportune moment for cryptocurrency? […]

Key Highlights Digital currencies on the blockchain can only go global if transactions can be expedited Mass adoption could yield micro-economies, where millions of public businesses could theoretically take off Blockchain technologies are in their infancy, but are projected to yield a 17 trillion-dollar economy when combined with AI and the Internet of Things In […]

Key Highlights Digital currencies on the blockchain can only go global if transactions can be expedited Mass adoption could yield micro-economies, where millions of public businesses could theoretically take off Blockchain technologies are in their infancy, but are projected to yield a 17 trillion-dollar economy when combined with AI and the Internet of Things In […]

In the midst of rising U.S.-China trade war tensions over sanctions against Iranian oil, investors are likely to look to bitcoin and other cryptos as alternative options to traditional stocks and other fiat-driven investments. While uncertainty in traditional markets has benefited the crypto market, volatility remains a substantive issue for investors seeking long-term price stability. […]

Blockchain is a revolutionary technology that has the potential to be a complete game-changer for many industries, including supply chain. With the rise of globalization, supply chains are now much more complex than ever before in history. Consequently, the time is ripe for a disruption of this process; blockchain is one possible instigating factor. With distributed […]

Trade wars. Slowing global growth. Weak inflation. $14 trillion of negative-yielding debt. Unprecedented monetary policies. It’s easy to get lost in the mayhem of markets when these are just some of the notable trends investors face today. Amid the chaos, the narrative surrounding Bitcoin has shifted quite dramatically since the beginning of the year as […]

Key Highlights “For the blockchain technology itself, there’s universal acceptance. I haven’t come across one government either in person or having read about any that are at all negative about the underlying technology. They are ambivalent about a key application, which is financial cryptocurrencies, because of certain things that have happened over the last two […]

Key Highlights “For the blockchain technology itself, there’s universal acceptance. I haven’t come across one government either in person or having read about any that are at all negative about the underlying technology. They are ambivalent about a key application, which is financial cryptocurrencies, because of certain things that have happened over the last two […]

Bitcoin (BTCUSD) pushed higher for the 2nd straight week last week as it appears close to completing its month plus consolidation, and resuming its uptrend since December.  Nevertheless, while bulls see BTCUSD resuming its upchannel or bull flag (on its weekly and daily chart), they should closely monitor Ripple (XRPUSD) and Ethereum (ETHUSD) as they […]

As the saying goes, “ignorance of the law excuses no one.” It is a legal principle that holds even in the murky space of cryptocurrency trading. With securities and commodities regulators almost unanimously asserting jurisdiction over cryptocurrencies under the theory that such products are securities or commodities, it follows that insider trading abuses in the […]

Key Highlights “So, right now, I look at the state of blockchain very similar to Internet in ’96 and ’97… And so I think at this point, but much like Internet in ’96 and ’97, blockchain is a word you’ve heard. It’s something you know. Everyone’s talking about it in the context of the future, […]

Bitcoin (BTCUSD) has decisively reclaimed the psychologically key 10k level in the past week and appears close to completing its month plus consolidation.  Significantly, BTCUSD is attempting to resume its upchannel or bull flag (on its weekly and daily chart), with broader crypto sector strength seen by the inability this past week of bears to […]

Key Highlights The inherent differences in policy that result from country-specific priorities and demands lead to opportunities for arbitrage across borders. It is in the interest of all parties involved to prevent this from happening, even if that means compromising on certain rules. The input of drastically different nations on their experiences with regulating cryptocurrency […]

Key Highlights The inherent differences in policy that result from country-specific priorities and demands lead to opportunities for arbitrage across borders. It is in the interest of all parties involved to prevent this from happening, even if that means compromising on certain rules. The input of drastically different nations on their experiences with regulating cryptocurrency […]

Key Highlights From a regulatory standpoint, there is ample reason for governments and institutions to be interested in the cryptosphere. Giles Ward references how it stands to pose “investor protection and market integrity risks.” Marius Jurgilas, Board Member of the Bank of Lithuania, thinks about the potential for blockchain technology to be used in the […]

Listen to the podcast Key Highlights “Within the G7, within the G20, there’s a lot of concern among governments, and I think that some of the concerns are valid. I mean, some of the concerns have to do with control, of course, but they also have to do with money laundering, and I also think […]

Bitcoin (BTCUSD) appears to be struggling to find support after the Saturday plunge, but on the shorter 4hr timeframe chart (not shown) is showing tentative signs going into the European Sunday morning of bottoming.  BTCUSD’s break below upchannel support (on the weekly and arguably on the daily chart) seemingly suggests stronger selling this week, but […]

Key Highlights “There is, from an enterprise standpoint, a desire to engage in this new technology and in this ability to move money globally without any barriers at a very efficient cost basis. Speed is what the market is looking for, particularly as we move towards a global organization. Governments are still trying to regulate […]

Key Highlights “There is, from an enterprise standpoint, a desire to engage in this new technology and in this ability to move money globally without any barriers at a very efficient cost basis. Speed is what the market is looking for, particularly as we move towards a global organization. Governments are still trying to regulate […]

Facebook just did the unthinkable in the Donald Trump era: give America’s Republicans and Democrats something on which to agree. Same with the Group of Seven nations taking a dim view of the social media giant minting its own money. US President Trump declared that Libra, Facebook’s proposed virtual currency, “will have little standing or […]

It wasn’t even on the agenda last year. Ling Wu, Founder and CEO of TBCASoft, tells us why blockchain is taking the Shanghai Mobile World Congress 2019 by storm. Wu is the Chairman of the Carrier Blockchain Study Group (CBSG) Consortium, an initiative between TBCASoft and SoftBank to build a cross-carrier blockchain platform with leading global telecom operators. […]

It wasn’t even on the agenda last year. Ling Wu, Founder and CEO of TBCASoft, tells us why blockchain is taking the Shanghai Mobile World Congress 2019 by storm. Wu is the Chairman of the Carrier Blockchain Study Group (CBSG) Consortium, an initiative between TBCASoft and SoftBank to build a cross-carrier blockchain platform with leading global telecom operators. […]

Bitcoin (BTCUSD) has bounced back above 10k in the past few days after dipping below the psychologically key whole figure level last week.  Although the weekly RSI and Stochastics are turning down from overbought levels, which when combined with the weekly MACD trying to negatively cross seemingly suggest bearish momentum, any further downside this week […]

This week, NEO, an open-source blockchain platform based in China, announced “a partnership to build an open cross-chain platform and establish the foundation for next-gen Internet.” Both NEO and Ontology were founded by Da Hongfei and Erik Zhang.  Interoperability is significant in world of blockchain because the future of the distributed web lies in the ability […]

Trustless payment methods were the first disruption blockchain brought to the financial industry. The second wave of disruption came about when the ICO boomed in 2017 as a way to reach a larger market of investors through crowdfunding smart contracts on Ethereum. In 2017 alone, ICOs raised around $7 billion. More recently, we’re seeing the […]

Ethereum (ETHUSD) is under growing pressure as it enters a new week, and is arguably breaking upchannel support (on the daily chart).  Bulls should not rule out a deeper slide further below daily chart upchannel support (as hinted by the weekly Stochastics turning down from overbought levels).  A deeper reversal will likely find initial support […]

Taiwan faces an existential threat. It is a nation that is dependent on exports, but like other developed nations, recognizes that in order to survive, it needs to champion high-technology industries as labor-intensive industries leave for nations with cheaper workforces like Vietnam or China. Could blockchain and cryptocurrency be part of the answer? Jason Hsu […]

Taiwan faces an existential threat. It is a nation that is dependent on exports, but like other developed nations, recognizes that in order to survive, it needs to champion high-technology industries as labor-intensive industries leave for nations with cheaper workforces like Vietnam or China. Could blockchain and cryptocurrency be part of the answer? Jason Hsu […]

What is blockchain? And why does it matter?  Simply put, blockchain (a form of distributed ledger technology) scales trust. If you were explaining why blockchain matters to your mother, you might tell her that she will no longer need to go through a bank to make a payment to the electric company. Or go to […]

Is Asia gaining ground in the technology race? Edith Yeung, advisor at 500 Startups, partner at Proof of Capital, and author of “China Internet Report” (link to new 2019 report below) shares why Asia is the place to be for blockchain adoption. For a VC who spends half her time in Silicon Valley, she recognizes […]

Changpeng Zhao, better known as CZ, is one of the most influential figures in cryptocurrency / blockchain circles. From flipping burgers at McDonald’s to getting his computer science degree at McGill University, to now Founder and CEO of Binance; CZ has built one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges. In this unreserved 40-minute conversation, CZ […]

Ethereum (ETHUSD) is under pressure as it enters a new week, and currently testing upchannel support (on the daily chart). Bulls should be prepared for a potential break below daily chart upchannel support, where a deeper reversal will likely find initial support at the 38.2% Fib retrace of the May-June bounce.  Note that the two […]

In a candid conversation, Co-Founder and CEO of BitMEX Arthur Hayes defends why BitMEX is set up in Seychelles, the promise of blockchain for everyone, why ICOs are not a problem, and why his industry is not a “scam.” This self-proclaimed “economics-history nerd” and former Deutsche Bank banker, who joined then lost his job at […]

There are very few events market participants are watching more intently than the ongoing trade disputes between the world’s two largest economies. In one corner, the Trump administration has recently stoked the trade war fire with threats of additional tariffs on $300 billion of Chinese imports, on top of the $250 billion worth of Chinese […]

LONDON — Aon, one of the world’s largest insurance companies, has teamed up with respected charity Oxfam and blockchain start-up Etherisc to deliver blockchain crop insurance policies to small farmers in Sri Lanka. “Farmers in Sri Lanka represent a third of the workforce and account for almost 20 percent of the economy. Yet, very few […]

Forkast.News Editor-in-Chief Angie Lau sits down with Peter Lin, CEO of AAX at the Mobile World Congress in Shanghai for this episode of “In Conversation With” Lin is about to launch a new digital asset exchange using London Stock Exchange trade-matching technology to provide an institutional grade platform to attract investments from hedge funds and […]

Bitcoin (BTCUSD) is trying to resume its massive rally but remains vulnerable to a deeper slide this week with the weekly RSI and Stochastics overbought, and the daily MACD hinting at a negative crossover attempt. On the weekly chart, BTCUSD is above former upchannel resistance, with BTCUSD attempting to trade within a larger range defined by […]

TALLINN, Estonia – Innovative trading platform Geco.one launched its Initial Exchange Offering (IEO) today. Geco.one is novel because lets users invest with a professional cryptocurrency trader. Any user can select a trader on the platform and let that trader manage their assets. The trader combines the assets with their own trades. The company says since […]

Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Committee (FSC) has recently released guidance on STO rules. What does this mean for the regulation in Taiwan, particularly as it emerges as a hub for blockchain growth and development? Angie Lau, Editor-in-Chief of Forkast.News sits down with Sam Reynolds to learn more. Read the related piece from Sam Reynolds: Innovation versus […]

Greenwood Village, Colorado — Many of the world’s largest telecoms will team-up to launch a blockchain-based platform to make contracting and payments between themselves faster and cheaper. Known as the Communications Blockchain Network (CBN), it will go live in the coming months. Currently, 11 carriers have agreed to join: A1 Telekom Austria, China Telecom Global, […]

Angie Lau, Editor-in-Chief of Forkast.News, sits down with Andrew Fai, CEO of Asia Blockchain Summit, to talk about the upcoming summit in Taipei in July 2019. Use our special discount promo code ForkastNewsABS to get 30% off ticket prices. Read Related Innovation vs Conservatism: Taiwan’s Big Blockchain Conundrum

Key Highlights Osaka may be the “Crypto Bretton Woods” in terms of significance to the global economy Unlike the current economic system, crypto is “rising from the ground up” and is being forced on the global elites “Science-fiction is becoming fact and happening in a way they [governments] can’t ignore.” In the latest episode of […]

Ripple (XRPUSD) is bumping up against ascending triangle resistance (on the daily chart) and the psychologically key 0.5 whole figure level. A break above this multiple resistance zone in the next week or so will likely be quickly followed by a test of the psychologically key 0.75 level. XRPUSD is a prime candidate in the next few […]

The recent move by the U.S. government to blacklist Huawei has been causing a lot of commotion.  The decision by the U.S. to ban Huawei has invited speculation as to the reasoning, although the main point cited by the Trump administration is the issue of national security. While the whole situation is multi-faceted, the trepidation […]

Taiwan is known as a hub for semiconductors and technology, but not finance. While neighboring Hong Kong has HSBC, and Singapore to its south has DBS, Taiwan’s financial sector — mighty on paper in its own right with approximately $1 trillion in financial assets on the books — lacks the global cachet of its neighbors. […]

Facebook’s proposed cryptocurrency faced strong political headwinds from U.S. lawmakers. Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters, chair of the House Financial Services Committee, demanded Facebook stop development of Libra, the cryptocurrency the company unveiled on Tuesday. “Given the company’s troubled past, I am requesting that Facebook agree to a moratorium on any movement forward on developing a […]

The specter of Facebook clicking “like” on Bitcoin adds fuel to what can best be called a resurrection rally. Left for near dead a few months ago, the best-known crypto asset boomed partly on reports Mark Zuckerberg would unveil a digital currency. Now that Facebook’s Libra is out, it could be stellar news -– a […]

Armonk, NY — IBM, KPMG, Merck, and Walmart have been picked by the United States Food and Drug Administration to develop a blockchain system to improve drug safety. The four corporate giants will work together on a solution to track and trace some prescription medicines and vaccines as they move through the supply chain. Each company […]

Key Highlights In lieu of being open source, Hedera Hashgraph aims to bring stability to its platform Hedera Hashgraph’s cryptocurrency is called HBAR Listen to the full podcast version of this interview Transcript of Part II But Hashgraph in of itself is patented… Hashgraph is an algorithm, correct. The IP for Hashgraph is privately owned. […]

Key Highlights Hashgraph is an alternative to blockchain Hashgraph optimizes both security and performance Listen to the full podcast version of this interview Transcript of Part I In conversation with Mance Harmon, Co-Founder and CEO of Hadera Hashgraph, and also a course director for cyber security at US Air Force Academy. He’s also a Program […]

Key Highlights Fundraised $100M at a $6B valuation Hedera Hashgraph has proposed a new regulatory language Listen to the full podcast version of this interview Transcript of Part III Well, it’s very exciting in the space. You raised 100 million dollars on a 6 billion dollar valuation. What are you doing with 100 million dollars? […]

Key Highlights Hedera Hashgraph will devote capital from the fundraise to grow enterprise sales and double down on regulatory The governing body for Hedera Hashgraph was designed to be distributed and representative of all constituencies from a global perspective Listen to the full podcast version of this interview Transcript of Part IV Liquidity and market. […]

Key Highlights Hedera Hashgraph is focused on enterprise solutions of distributed ledger technology (DLT) adoption Several large brands, including Nomura, Deutsche Telekom, Swisscom, and DLA Piper are already users of Hashgraph Listen to the full podcast version of this interview Transcript of Part V What’s the road map for you? Testnet, Mainnet, what do we […]

Key Highlights The market of players will consolidate over time to a handful of large players Hedera Hashgraph will continue to start with enterprise applications in an effort to become the leader in that space within distributed ledger technology Listen to the full podcast version of this interview Transcript of Part VI Can you co-exist […]

Facebook today unveiled its long rumored cryptocurrency, which will be known as Libra, and you won’t need a Facebook account to use it. That’s because Facebook says it wants to help those without bank accounts. “Libra holds the potential to provide billions of people around the world with access to a more inclusive, more open […]

Key Highlights Hashgraph is an alternative to blockchain Hashgraph optimizes both security and performance In lieu of being open-source, Hashgraph aims to bring stability to its platform Hedera Hashgraph’s cryptocurrency is called HBAR Fundraised $100M at a $6B valuation Hedera Hashgraph has proposed a new regulatory language Hedera Hashgraph will devote capital from the fundraise […]

Hong Kong – The fallout from a controversial extradition bill proposed by Hong Kong’s pro-China Chief Executive Carrie Lam has reportedly triggered capital flight and Bitcoin trading at a premium in the city. Massive demonstrations against the bill, including one that saw an estimated 2 million of Hong Kong’s 7.5 million people march on Sunday, […]