Forkast.News is now Forkast Labs

Thailand bans crypto lending and staking services

The Thailand Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has prohibited cryptocurrency companies from offering digital assets lending and staking products, or depository services.  See related article: Thailand’s SCBX scraps plan to buy 51% stake in crypto exchange Bitkub Fast facts The regulator said in a press release on Thursday that the decision was made to protect […]

Merge finally arrives; India’s female traders

Welcome to The Daily Forkast – September 15, 2022 – presented by Megha Chaddah. Coming up on today’s show: Ethereum’s Merge is complete. Indian women start to plug into cryptocurrency trading. And finally, can the crypto world shrug off carbon footprint concerns? We’ll have more on those stories — and other news shaping the cryptocurrency […]

CEL price rallies to US$4.26 during Ethereum’s Merge

The bankrupt crypto lender Celsius Network’s native CEL token suddenly spiked to US$4.26, during Ethereum’s much-anticipated Merge, according to data from CoinGecko. See related article: Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky floats restructuring as custody business amid bankruptcy proceedings Fast facts CEL’s price has since dropped to US$1.94, making it the 61st largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, […]

Ethereum’s last PoW and first PoS NFTs minted for 67.5 ETH

The last block on the proof-of-work (PoW) Ethereum chain before The Merge was filled by a VanityBlocks non-fungible token (NFT) minted for 31.5 ETH, which was succeeded by the first NFT in the post-Merge proof-of-stake (PoS) chain minted for 36 ETH.  See related article: Fungible after all? Duplicates may disrupt NFT industry after Ethereum Merge […]

Ethereum mining machine maker Sunlune concludes ‘tens of millions’ Series A with chipmaker Intel’s investment arm

Chinese Ethereum mining rig maker Sunlune has concluded its Series A fundraising with “tens of millions” of US dollars from Intel Capital, in an announcement two days before the completion of the Ethereum Merge.  See related article: Why Ethereum Merge will be game-changing for DeFi and crypto investing Fast facts See related article: Crypto miners […]

Women in India start to plug into cryptocurrency trading

Crypto exchanges in India say the number of female investors isn’t huge, but it is growing even as prices slide and new taxes eat into revenue.

Markets: Prices rise as Ethereum Merge boosts ETH, linked tokens

Cryptocurrency markets trended higher in Thursday afternoon trading in Asia, with global market capitalization up 0.4% in 24 hours, trading at US$995.9 billion, still under the US$1 trillion benchmark it dropped below last night. All cryptocurrencies in the top 10 by market cap, with the exception of Bitcoin, strengthened.  See related article: Markets: Bitcoin little […]

Ethereum says Merge upgrade successfully completed, more to come

The Merge is a milestone in slashing electricity use on the Ethereum blockchain, but there are plenty more upgrades in the pipeline.

Polkadot to hold first hackathon centered in Latin America

Polkadot will hold its first hackathon that focuses on Latin America starting Sept. 26 to engage local developers in the network and promote the uses of blockchain around the world. See related article: Polkadot is top crypto held by VCs and hedge funds in Q4 2021 Fast facts See related article: Polkadot-based Acala Dollar burns […]

Cryptocurrency lobby group seeks to weigh in on SEC vs Ripple’s XRP lawsuit

Cryptocurrency advocacy group Chamber of Digital Commerce (CDC) has sought to be an amicus curiae (Latin for friend of court) in the lawsuit between the Securities and Exchange Commission and Ripple Labs. See related article: Ripple opposes SEC request to seal expert witness identities in XRP lawsuit Fast facts CDC Wednesday filed several documents in […]

South Korea will not rule the metaverse with game laws, science ministry says

South Korea will issue a guideline for regulating the metaverse instead of applying existing law on video games, the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) announced at a government briefing on Wednesday. See related article: S.Korea’s science ministry announces ethical principles for the metaverse Fast facts The guideline that will be used to better promote […]

South Korea’s Seongnam city to provide citizenship rights through NFTs

Seongnam, the 12th most populated city in South Korea, is planning to recreate the city in the metaverse and will issue non-fungible token (NFT) citizenships to give access to municipal information, according to local media reports. See related article: South Korea’s capital city launches first stage of “Metaverse Seoul” Fast facts The city will finalize […]

Markets: Bitcoin little changed; Ether, Eth Classic lead gains ahead of the Merge

Bitcoin was little changed while most of the crypto top ten by market capitalization rose, edging the entire crypto market cap back above US$1 trillion in Thursday morning trading in Asia. Ether and Cardano led the gains after Wednesday’s slump on inflation concerns in the U.S. See related article: Markets: Bitcoin, Ether drop on CPI […]

JPMorgan, LRC bet on blockchain startup Ownera in US$20 mln Series A

London-based Ownera has raised US$20 million in a Series A funding round from investors including banking giant JPMorgan and private asset management firm LRC Group. See related article: Tokenized assets may make up 10% of global GDP by 2030: report Fast facts The funds will be used to deploy a global interoperability network to unlock […]

Diamond Standard raises US$30 mln to ramp up tokenized asset distribution

Diamond Standard Co. has raised US$30 million in a Series A funding round led by Left Lane Capital and Horizon Kinetics, the company announced in a statement.  See related article: De Beers to use Tracr blockchain to assure sourcing of diamonds Fast facts The blockchain startup allows institutional and retail investors to trade tokenized counterparts […]

Fed vs The Merge; Crypto regulation conversations

Welcome to The Daily Forkast – September 14, 2022 – presented by Megha Chaddah. Coming up on today’s show: Will the Merge solve the market’s woes? Regulators paying heed to crypto. We’ll have more on those stories — and other news shaping the cryptocurrency and blockchain world — in this episode of The Daily Forkast […]

Binance launches Ethereum staking ahead of Merge upgrade

Top blockchain and crypto news: Binance bets on Ethereum Merge. What does Terra’s sudden resurgence mean? China seeks to expand e-CNY ecosystem.

Tencent Cloud, Strange Universe Technology to explore virtual space for enterprise

Tencent Cloud, the cloud computing services arm of the Chinese tech giant, on Tuesday, announced it signed a memorandum of understanding with Web 3.0 firm Strange Universe Technology to create and host virtual reality (VR) spaces for businesses. See related article: Tencent Cloud continues blockchain expansion with two new platforms  Fast facts See related article: […]

KKR offers tokenized exposure to private equity fund on Avalanche

Global investment firm KKR has partnered with digital assets securities firm Securitize to offer tokenized positions for its clients with at least US$5 million in investible assets, exposing them to its US$4 billion health care equity fund, the Wall Street Journal reported. See related article: Guide to tokens and NFTs: what is ‘tokenization’ and how […]

Markets: Bitcoin, Ether slide, crypto market cap drops under US$1 trillion

Cryptocurrency markets continued their skid in Wednesday afternoon trading in Asia, with the global market capitalization dipping to around US$997 billion, down 6% in the last 24 hours. All cryptocurrencies in the top 10 by market cap fell. Solana led the losers, with Bitcoin coming in second. Stock markets slumped. See related article: Markets: Bitcoin, […]

Why Ethereum Merge will be game-changing for DeFi and crypto investing

Ethereum post-Merge will be much more attractive to institutional investors keen on ESG and earning stable yields, writes Wei Zhou of Coins.ph. Here’s why.

China’s two systems for crypto: Trading is banned, but virtual assets can be protected

In a decision involving Litecoin, a Chinese court says there are no rules ‘that negate the protectability of cryptocurrency itself as virtual property.’

South Korea issues arrest warrant for Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon

South Korean prosecutors investigating the collapse of Terra-LUNA have issued an arrest warrant for Terraform Labs cofounder and chief executive officer Kwon Do-hyung, also known as Do Kwon, the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office told Forkast. See related article: Securities or not? South Korea to evaluate Terra’s LUNA token Fast facts “Violation of the capital […]

Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky floats restructuring as custody business amid bankruptcy proceedings

Amid its bankruptcy proceedings, crypto lender Celsius Network LLC, one of the major players in the contagion that struck the industry earlier this year, plans to reorganize as a crypto custody business, according to audio shared by a customer of the company and a report by the New York Times. See related article: Celsius files […]

Treasury to allow users to recover Tornado Cash funds

Over a month after placing the Ethereum coin-mixing tool Tornado Cash under sanctions, the U.S. Treasury Department announced a way for Tornado Cash users to recover their funds on Tuesday.  See related article: Tether says didn’t freeze sanctioned Tornado Cash addresses so as to not interfere in investigations Fast facts The new guidance provides a […]

Should K-pop’s BTS get pass on military duty? Metaverse jury still out

South Korea’s Cytown Metaverse is holding a virtual poll and discussion on the topic of giving the members of K-pop megagroup BTS a special exemption from the country’s mandatory military service. See related article: Google approves South Korea’s Cyworld metaverse app Fast facts Cytown opened a public poll on the topic in Cy-agora, the virtual […]

Bitcoin mining difficulty reaches all-time high, up 3.5% in latest adjustment

Bitcoin mining difficulty rose by 3.45% on Wednesday, reaching an all-time high, according to data from BTC.com. See related article: Argentinian tax agency conducts first-ever raids on illegal crypto mining farms Fast facts The mining difficulty reading was at 32.05 trillion, as of block height 753,984, the data showed. The difficulty level, which changes about […]

Citadel, Fidelity and Sequoia backed digital exchange to launch in November

EDX Markets Crypto Exchange, backed by Charles Schwab, Citadel Securities, Fidelity Digital Assets, Paradigm, Sequoia Capital and Virtu Financial, seeks to settle trades on the blockchain for greater speed and efficiency at lower cost, eliminating the need for bilateral settlements, according to a press release on Tuesday. See related article: FTX agrees to help South […]

Huobi becomes third global exchange to sign with S.Korea’s Busan city

Global cryptocurrency exchange Huobi Global announced it will sign a memorandum of understanding with South Korea’s Busan city on Wednesday to help the city establish its first crypto exchange and promote its blockchain ecosystem. See related article: Binance to help S. Korea’s Busan build first city-backed exchange Fast facts The agreement entails Huobi providing technical […]

Markets: Bitcoin, Ether drop on CPI report, Solana biggest loser, Dogecoin back in top 10

Bitcoin fell almost 10% with Ether close behind in Wednesday morning trading in Asia as the August U.S. consumer price index, a key inflation indicator, came in higher than expected overnight, driving down equity markets and pointing to more agressive interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve. All cryptocurrencies in the top 10 by market […]

Bitcoin drops 4% after U.S. August CPI rises 0.1% from July

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, dropped over 4% at 9.40 p.m. Hong Kong time, after the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the consumer price index (CPI) had inched up 0.1% in August from July.  See related article: Markets: Bitcoin, Solana continue rally, Ether slips in anticipation of Merge Fast facts The […]

NFT double disruption?; Web3 women celebrated

The NEAR foundation, in partnership with Forkast, has announced the Women in Web3 winners.

Filecoin service provider RRMine leaves China for Singapore

Tighter restrictions on cryptocurrency usage in China have prompted leading storage service platform RRMine Global to close its mainland China operations and move its headquarters to Singapore. See related article: China has seen blockchain’s future and it doesn’t include cryptocurrencies Fast facts “As Singapore has been one of the world’s most open economies for a […]

Argentinian tax agency conducts first-ever raids on illegal crypto mining farms

Argentina’s tax collection agency (AFIP) has concluded its first-ever operations against illegal and “clandestine” crypto mining farms operating within the country, the agency announced last week. See related article: Crypto miners should disclose energy data, US lawmakers say Fast facts The AFIP conducted four raids on crypto farms that were under the guise of other […]

Crypto Fraud and Asset Recovery Network in U.K. launches Hong Kong chapter

The Crypto Fraud and Asset Recovery Network (CFAAR), which calls itself the first global network of its kind, has launched a Hong Kong-based chapter in collaboration with seven local finance, law, and crypto regulation experts.  See related article: Australia establishes federal crypto police unit Fast facts The Crypto Fraud and Asset Recovery network began in […]

Securities or not? South Korea to evaluate Terra’s LUNA token

Identifying characteristics of securities in Terra’s tokens could help South Korea with new charges on Terraform Labs and CEO Do Kwon.

Fungible after all? Duplicates may disrupt NFT industry after Ethereum Merge

The Merge is the most anticipated event in the crypto industry in years, but could the multibillion dollar non-fungible token industry become an unexpected casualty?
and

Markets: Bitcoin, Solana continue rally, Ether slips in anticipation of Merge

Bitcoin and Solana continued their rallies in Tuesday afternoon trading in Asia, both up over 10% in the past week. However, Ether continued to slip as the market awaited the upcoming Etherium “Merge.”  See related article: Markets: Bitcoin, Solana lead gains in crypto top ten, Ether slips ahead of Merge Fast facts Bitcoin was up […]

Tokenized assets may make up 10% of global GDP by 2030: report

Tokenized assets are expected to expand into a US$16 trillion business opportunity by 2030 — making up 10% of global GDP by the end of the decade — from US$310 billion in 2022. This is according to a new report by global consulting firm BCG and the digital exchange for private markets ADDX. See related […]

Singapore central bank says data on crypto holdings by general public not available

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said it is unable to determine the proportion of cryptocurrency holdings by the general public in the city-state as these include transactions with both Singapore-based as well as overseas service providers.   See related article: Singapore’s MAS says needs to do better job explaining crypto policy Fast facts “Data on […]

Huobi to delist ‘privacy tokens’ including Monero, citing regulatory pressure

Crypto exchange Huobi has ceased topping-up service for seven kinds of privacy-focused tokens on its exchange as it prepares to delist the tokens on Sept. 19, citing regulatory concerns. See related article: Privacy protocol Monero completes upgrade to make transactions more private Fast facts See related article: Huobi-incubated Chinese NFT platform iBox ends international operations

All aboard the good ship Ethereum for The Merge. Next stop? 

The most critical upgrade in Ethereum’s history is just around the corner, so what will it mean for prices of cryptocurrency?

Ripple opposes SEC request to seal expert witness identities in XRP lawsuit

Cryptocurrency firm Ripple Labs filed a letter of response on Monday to oppose the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s request to seal portions of legal filings that contain information identifying the SEC’s proposed expert witnesses, as the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple Labs drags on. See related article: SEC seeks to seal information exposing expert witness […]

Why Ethereum Merge won’t be able to overcome the ‘Scalability Paradox’

Ethereum’s completion of its much anticipated ‘Merge’ this week will unlikely improve the network’s long-term speed or scalability, writes Mark Lurie of Shipyard Software. Why is this so, and why will it still be good for innovation?

Fidelity considers Bitcoin trading on brokerage platform: WSJ

The financial services giant Fidelity Investments is considering a move that would allow its individual brokerage customers to trade Bitcoin (BTC), according to a Wall Street Journal report.  See related article: Fidelity’s crypto arm wants to add Ethereum trading, plans hiring spree Fast facts The WSJ cited “people familiar with the matter” and a statement […]

Markets: Bitcoin, Solana lead gains in crypto top ten, Ether slips ahead of Merge

Bitcoin rose to hold its gains above US$22,000 in Tuesday morning trading in Asia, a price it crossed on Monday for the first time in three and half weeks. Ether slipped, while Solana posted the largest gains among the top ten tokens by market capitalization. See related article: Markets: Bitcoin sole gainer in crypto top […]

WazirX resumes banking operations after account freeze lifted

India’s financial crime fighting agency has allowed WazirX to resume banking operations after unfreezing its bank accounts, the crypto exchange said on Monday. See related stories: India’s WazirX says it has no-tolerance policy on illegal activities Fast facts WazirX, one of India’s largest crypto exchanges by trading volume, said in a statement that its active […]

NEAR Foundation, Forkast announces Women In Web3 winners

The eleven winners highlight the achievements and importance of women in the burgeoning Web3 space.

Central banks of France, Nigeria latest to join Hyperledger Foundation

Banque de France and the Central Bank of Nigeria will headline the newest batch of eight members joining the Linux Foundation’s enterprise blockchain ecosystem, the Hyperledger Foundation, it said on Monday. See related article: Back to the future: Blockchain returns to the real world Fast facts CasperLabs, BCW Group, DSR Corporation, Realto Group, Digital Identity […]

Hacks, losses in cryptocurrency offer vast opportunity for insurers

Cryptocurrency-related insurance is a vast untapped market, with less than 1% of crypto investments covered amid hacks and losses in the industry running into the billions of dollars, Cointelegraph reported, citing an executive from decentralized insurance protocol InsurAce. See related article: DeFi insurance: Why buy coverage for your digital assets? Fast facts Dan Thomson, the […]

Markets: Bitcoin trades above US$22,000, Ether slips back, Solana rises

Bitcoin rose back above US$22,000 in Monday afternoon trading in Asia, while Ether slipped. Solana saw the second-biggest gain among the 10 largest coins by market capitalization after Bitcoin, while the rest of the top 10 were little changed. See related article: Markets: Bitcoin sole gainer in crypto top ten, Ether dips, Polkadot leads losers […]

Ethereum has had problems since its inception. Will the ‘Merge’ solve them?

Ethereum has long grappled with centralization, which the Merge will unlikely address in a meaningful way, writes Daniel Dizon of Swell Network.

How will crypto exchanges handle Ether post-Merge? Alphalab has a chart for that

Singapore-based crypto trader Alphalab Capital put together charts to show investors how different exchanges plan to handle Ether after the Merge. Note, some exchanges declined to comment.

SEC seeks to seal information exposing expert witness identities in XRP lawsuit

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a motion seeking to seal portions of the filings that contain information identifying the SEC’s expert witnesses in its lawsuit against Ripple Labs. See related article: SEC, Ripple take XRP lawsuit battle to media as well Fast facts The SEC wrote in the motion on Friday that […]

China wants unified QR code systems for digital yuan, central bank official says

China’s central bank is pushing for interconnectivity between its digital yuan and other traditional digital electronic payment tools through universal QR code payments, as the country expands the pilots for its digital currency. See related article: China to speed up, expand digital yuan smart contracts, PBOC official says Fast facts Fan Yifei, a deputy governor […]

S.Korean man sentenced to four years for sexual abuse in metaverse

A South Korean man in his 30s was recently sentenced to four years in prison after producing and storing sexually exploitative content involving minors he lured on the metaverse. See related article: South Korea struggles to prevent sexual harassment of minors in the metaverse Fast facts The man, whose identity was not made public, had […]

SEC to open digital asset office as it cranks up regulatory scrutiny of cryptocurrencies

Amid an increased focus on cryptocurrency among global regulators and lawmakers, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is launching a new office dedicated to reviewing filings related to digital assets. See related article: MicroStrategy and Michael Saylor sued by District of Columbia for evading taxes Fast facts The SEC is adding the Office of […]

Markets: Bitcoin sole gainer in crypto top ten, Ether dips, Polkadot leads losers

Bitcoin held weekend gains to move toward US$22,000 in Monday morning trading in Asia, while other tokens in the top 10 by market capitalization were flat to lower. Ether slipped, along with Polkadot and XRP. See related article: Markets: Bitcoin, Ether little changed; Polkadot leaps Dogecoin into crypto top ten Fast facts Bitcoin rose 0.3% […]

Future of digital assets

Maja Vujinovic joins us to talk about how digital assets can be implemented to increase financial inclusion across the world.

The metaverse is already here. What’s holding back the party?

Interoperability is a key characteristic for the metaverse to be useful, writes Dr. Dimitry Mihaylov of National Univ. of Singapore. But the technology and laws are still lacking.

Markets: Bitcoin back above US$20,000, Ether rallies, Solana leads gains in Top 10

Bitcoin and Ether rallied in late Friday afternoon trading in Asia, helping drive up the global cryptocurrency market capitalization more than 5% to back above the US$1 trillion mark.  Solana led the gains among tokens in CoinMarketCap’s top 10 by market capitalization.  See related article: Markets: Bitcoin, Ether little changed; Polkadot leaps Dogecoin into crypto […]

US$30 mln seized from North Korea hacking group: report

Over US$30 million worth of cryptocurrency stolen by North Korea-linked hackers has been seized by law enforcement, with the help of crypto organizations like the Chainalysis Crypto Incident Response Team. See related article: North Korea behind Ronin hack: US Fast facts This marks the first time that digital assets stolen from North Korean hacking groups […]

US raises red flag on crypto mining with concerns over carbon emissions

White House says carbon footprint of crypto industry does not align with goals to decarbonize the economy.

Queen Elizabeth artwork NFTs flood into OpenSea marketplace

Demand for non-fungible tokens connected to the late monarch surge along with prices.

Asia banking giant DBS jumps into The Sandbox metaverse

The Singapore-based bank said it will buy land in the metaverse to create the ‘DBS BetterWorld’ and build a virtual community.

Markets: Bitcoin, Ether little changed; Polkadot leaps Dogecoin into crypto top ten

Bitcoin and Ethereum were largely unchanged in Friday morning trading in Asia. Polkadot rose to leapfrog Dogecoin into the top 10 list by market capitalization, while Solana posted the biggest percentage gain on the list. See related article: Markets: Bitcoin climbs above $19,000, Ether bounces back, BNB gains on staking Fast facts Bitcoin rose less […]

The Ethereum Merge approaches; Building better systems

The Bellatrix upgrade for Ethereum is now live, but what should we be expecting as the merge comes closer?

Indian finance minister urges IMF to lead crypto regulation

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) should lead the way in global regulation of crypto assets, India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has urged IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva at their meeting in New Delhi. See related article: Crypto regulation has to ‘take its time’: India FM Nirmala Sitharaman Fast facts At their meeting on Wednesday, they […]

WazirX launches coin reports with data from crypto research firms Crebaco, IntoTheBlock

WazirX, India’s largest crypto exchange by volume, has begun to publish data-driven reports for over 200 coins listed on its exchange, with data from  crypto intelligence firms Crebaco and IntoTheBlock.  See related article: TZ APAC, NUS join for blockchain, computing education Fast facts Research reports by Crebaco published on WazirX aim to help readers understand […]

Markets: Bitcoin, Ethereum hold gains, Terra Classic soars on Luna airdrop

Bitcoin held onto gains above US$19,000 in late afternoon trading in Asia. Ethereum also rallied to post the biggest gain among tokens in CoinMarketCap’s top 10 by market capitalization. Terra Luna Classic surged more than 50%. See related article: Markets: Bitcoin climbs above $19,000, Ether bounces back, BNB gains on staking Fast facts Bitcoin rose […]
and

Elon Musk Dogecoin lawsuit heats up with new parties joining

The US$258 billion lawsuit filed against Tesla CEO Elon Musk by an American Dogecoin investor accusing him of running a Dogecoin cryptocurrency pyramid scheme is heating up as new players are summoned in the case. See related article: Markets: Dogecoin still in the dog house; Bitcoin, Ether make up some ground Fast facts First filed […]

Fed officials call for stablecoin regulations amid concerns over financial stability

Two U.S. Federal Reserve officials have called for new regulations specifically for stablecoins and reiterated the new asset class holds risks similar to traditional finance. See related article: Financial Stability Board calls for high regulatory standards for stablecoins Fast facts Michael Barr, the Fed’s vice chair for supervision, said on Wednesday at a Brookings Institution […]