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The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has accepted Coinone’s compliance report with South Korea’s latest crypto regulations, while Bithumb is left as the only crypto trading platform out of the country’s four major exchanges to not be officially registered under the FIU. Fast facts Coinone became the third official cryptocurrency exchange of South Korea, following Upbit […]

Charities are just beginning to explore the potential of NFTs, writes Billy Sebell of XinFin Network. Here’s how NFTs can help raise big money beyond artwork auctions.

The religious body’s decision comes after the country saw crypto transaction growth earlier this year.

Covid laid bare the gaps in people’s access to banking services. Moeda Seeds is looking not just to fill the gaps but to change the banking paradigm.

More than 100,000 consumers used China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) to make some 240,000 purchases on China’s top e-commerce platform JD.com on the annual shopping festival Double 11 [11.11], according to the platform’s report. Yet that is likely only a fraction of total Nov. 11 digital sales. Fast facts Double11 refers to a Chinese […]

The Russian government could be looking to legalize cryptocurrency mining, as parliamentarian Andrey Lugovoy proposed the creation of a working group to discuss the issue, according to a Thursday press statement from State Duma, the country’s lower house of the parliament. Fast facts Lugovoy, also a deputy chairman of a committee on security and anti-corruption, […]

Rounding out an impressive year for the world’s No. 5 blockchain, Solana held its first global offline conference in Lisbon this week. Here’s a look at some of the key moments.

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.

Only two days after hinting via Twitter that leading social media platform Discord may support Ethereum, company co-founder and CEO Jason Citron has clarified the platform “has no current plans” to integrate the two. Fast facts Tweeting in response to the original post, Citron thanked community members for their perspectives and reiterated the firm is […]

China’s soft rollout of the first major economy’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) continues apace. Yi Gang, governor of the People’s Bank of China, and Mu Changchun, director of the Digital Currency Research Institute of the bank, reported that the average weekly transaction volume of e-CNY is growing by 3 billion yuan (US$469 million) and […]

Ethereum’s sprawling Web 3.0 ecosystem — which includes the majority of the decentralized finance (DeFi), stablecoins, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and blockchain gaming worlds — continues to expand and draw users, with 3.4 million Ethereum addresses interacting with DeFi protocols, according to ConsenSys’ Web 3 Q3 2021 report published this week. Led by Ethereum co-founder Joseph […]

Mayor Francis Suarez may be on his way to eliminating taxes by paying residents a crypto dividend

After recent scams were uncovered involving Walmart and Kroger, and Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin, why did the stock prices fall while the crypto prices rallied?

In a 48-second, computer-generated 3D animation, ROK uses a decentralized format to offer an ironic take on China’s internet giants crowding to host the shopping holiday.

The Seoul District Court made an unprecedented ruling in favor of investors who lost their virtual assets in a hacking incident at crypto exchange Coinrail. Fast facts On Wednesday, the court ruled that Linus Co., the operator of the Coinrail exchange, needs to pay the plaintiffs 380 million Korean won (about US$320,000). The plaintiffs, consisting […]

Crypto surges on US inflation rise meanwhile, Korean investors win damages

The greatest number does not mean the greatest significance, analytics firm PatSnap says.

Inspired by Miami’s launch of a city token — MiamiCoin — Mark Wheeler, the city of Philadelphia’s chief innovation officer, announced an initiative to bring blockchain and Web 3.0 technology to city governance. Fast facts Wheeler is currently conducting a discovery process to hold conversations with blockchain and Web 3.0 technology developers to understand the […]

While Kazakhstan — a popular destination for Chinese crypto miners as they look for more regulation-friendly shores — continues to face power shortages, the country’s energy minister has said the authority will not restrict power consumption for legal crypto miners, according to a government statement. Fast facts Magzum Mirzagaliyev, Kazakhstan’s minister of energy, said at […]

Amid rising retail and institutional investor interest in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, investments poured into crypto firms in Southeast Asia in the first nine months of 2021 surged by over 400% compared with full year 2020 to US$356 million, according to the FinTech in ASEAN 2021 report by UOB, PwC Singapore and the Singapore […]

The U.S. Securities and Exchange commission halted the token registration of American CryptoFED, the first legally recognized decentralized autonomous organization in the U.S. Fast facts Wyoming-based American CryptoFED became the first DAO in the U.S. to achieve legal status in July after Wyoming passed a law that recognized DAOs as limited liability companies. A DAO […]

As speculation continues over the fate of the Chinese property development giant, crypto markets were not spared the downturn over fears of its potential collapse.

Trying to move beyond XRP, Ripple hopes its customers will join RippleNet with a wallet that supports fiat and other cryptos like Bitcoin and Ether.

World leaders at the COP26 climate summit this month promised to end deforestation by 2030. But significant challenges to achieving the goal remain to be overcome. The Cambridge Centre for Carbon Credits, based at the University of Cambridge, this week launched with the goal to build a decentralized marketplace of verifiable carbon credits to support […]

Circle, the digital payment company that operates the USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin, this week announced it is setting up a regional hub in Singapore and looking to partner with local businesses for its stablecoin Lighthouse Project. Fast facts U.S.-based Circle says its move into Singapore is part of its global expansion plans and the company […]

The digital artist who helped launch the non-fungible token craze earlier this year, Beeple, has sold his first physical artwork and accompanying NFT for US$28.9 million at a live Christie’s auction in New York on Tuesday night. Fast facts Beeple’s first physical work “Human One” is a seven-foot-tall box with LED screens on each side […]

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.

Despite movement from both the ruling Democratic Party and the conservative party to delay the 20% virtual asset gains tax, South Korean finance minister still thinks it should start as planned for Jan. 1, 2022.

Panel looks at best practices in news coverage from Decrypt Media, CoinDesk, South China Morning Post.

FTX founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried says building products that people want is what matters most, and the crypto industry and regulators will need to find compromises to resolve some of the industry’s pressing issues.

The Indian government is looking to introduce a cryptocurrency bill in the winter session of parliament in a bid to “fast track” regulation of a rapidly growing ecosystem, CNBC-TV18 reported. Fast facts India first drafted a bill to ban all cryptocurrencies in the budget session of 2021, but it was never tabled for discussions. Officials […]

Co-founder and CEO of popular social media platform Discord, Jason Citron, has hinted at integration with Ethereum via wallets such as MetaMask by tweeting a screenshot of Discord connecting to the world’s number two blockchain along with the caption “probably nothing.” Fast facts It came in response to another tweet by writer Packy McCormick, which […]

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.

From China’s crackdowns to El Salvador’s Bitcoin adoption, where is the world headed in how governments regard crypto? An expert panel explores the future of decentralized finance in the global economy.

Cryptocurrency exchange Huobi Global will stop serving Singapore-based customers from March 31, 2022 to comply with Singapore laws, according to a company announcement on Nov. 9. Fast facts “To comply with the laws of Singapore, we will have to include Singapore as a restricted jurisdiction. Regrettably, this means Huobi Global can no longer offer services […]

The largest U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase, earned just US$406 million net income in Q3 this year — a 74.7% decline over the previous quarter — according to the company’s investor earnings report released yesterday. Fast facts That figure represents a 500% increase over Q3 last year, but is significantly less than the US$1.6 billion in […]

Crypto is ‘a behavioral economics experiment,’ says Real Vision co-founder Raoul Pal. ‘Your incentive system is not a like button on Facebook, it’s money.’

One of South Korea’s largest entertainment agencies, SM Entertainment, plans to create future content under its SM Culture Universe (SMCU) metaverse in NFTs — according to its founder Lee Soo-man at Solana’s Breakpoint 2021 conference. Fast facts Lee said SM’s own metaverse, the SMCU, needs to be a place for creation where K-pop prosumers can […]

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?

Trust, data privacy and job elimination are some of the challenges that society will face as blockchain ushers in Web3.0, according to Don Tapscott.

What makes 2021’s roaring crypto market different from 2017’s are the banks and VCs piling in, writes Calvin Shen of Hex Trust. What’s behind their crypto adoption?

The highly competitive cryptocurrency exchange industry appears to be consolidating, according to blockchain analytics provider Chainalysis as part of its Competitive Landscape Report that will be released next week. Fast facts The number of active cryptocurrency exchanges peaked at 845 in August 2020 and stood at 672 as at August 2021, Chainalysis reported. The exchanges […]

Crypto market cap breaks US$3 trillion, also APAC crypto cards to launch

Speaking at the Singapore FinTech Festival, Ethereum’s creator discusses DeFi adoption and why he expects Ethereum’s ‘killer ecosystem’ to grow over the next few years.

Top blockchain and crypto news: Ethereum rises and rivals follow. Taxing times for US investors. New life for reborn crypto miner.

Amid the global energy crisis, nine companies from four countries — China, Japan, Australia and Saudi Arabia — announced they will jointly build a blockchain documentation platform to speed up customs clearance and cargo delivery to trade the commodities of energy, chemical products and metal. Fast facts Platform participants includes Sinochem Energy, Mitsui.Co, Macquarie CGM, Saudi […]

Speaking at the Singapore FinTech Festival, Singapore central bank chief Ravi Menon announces the launch of Project Orchid, a digital dollar project.

Affinidi, a Singapore-based technology company founded by state-owned investment firm Temasek, today announced the launch of a new business unit called Finnovate that aims to serve millions of underbanked individuals and small and medium enterprises across Southeast Asia by leveraging on Web 3.0 blockchain technologies. Fast facts Affinidi Finnovate is partnering with the financial services […]

The Central American nation is the first to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender. As many countries face similar issues of large unbanked population and high remittance fees, will others follow suit?

New Jersey-based crypto banking services provider BlockFi and investment management firm Neuberger Berman jointly filed for a Bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday. Fast facts In September, the U.S. got its first Bitcoin-linked ETF with the launch of ProShares Bitcoin Strategy Fund. But ProShares’ ETF was backed […]

Signaling increased confidence in the future of digital assets, cryptocurrency investment products saw institutional investment inflows of US$174 million last week — the 12th consecutive week of inflows — bringing year-to-date inflows to a record US$8.9 billion, according to digital assets manager CoinShares. Fast facts Institutional investment into crypto products have surged this year with […]

BTC and ETH are surging to dizzying new heights today as part of a broader crypto market rally. What’s going on?

Before the crypto-enthusiastic mayor-elect has been sworn in, a grassroots effort announces it will launch a Bitcoin-backed token to support the city.

Mastercard has partnered with three crypto companies in Asia Pacific — Hong Kong-based Amber Group, Bitkub in Thailand, and CoinJar in Australia — to launch crypto-funded payment cards, according to a Nov. 8 media statement. Fast facts The three companies are the first APAC-based cryptocurrency platforms to join Mastercard’s global Crypto Card Program, which enables […]

Ethereum hits new all-time high meanwhile South Korea says NFTs not virtual assets

Cryptocurrency exchange Huobi Global, which obtained a distributed ledger technology license from the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission in 2018, will be migrating its spot trading services to the regulated entity in Gibraltar (“Huobi Gibraltar”), the company announced today. Fast facts Huobi has received approval from the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission to migrate its cryptocurrency spot […]

The city’s disaffected post-protest youth and recent statistics suggest a brain drain in the city’s future.

China’s capital city, Beijing, is  inviting public tenders on a project to build a blockchain platform and computing center for government affairs with a total bidding price of 242 million yuan (approximately US$37.8 million). Fast facts The bidding project, “Beijing Municipal Experimental Blockchain Platform,” is for storing residents’ and city facility’s information and dealing with […]

Digital assets are disrupting financial services in ways not seen since the Middle Ages, writes Alex Tapscott of Ninepoint Partners. Here is the taxonomy for the future of finance.

As China continues to crack down on the private tutoring sector, one education-tech company has decided to pivot into blockchain and cryptocurrency mining. Fast facts Nasdaq-listed Meten Holding Group, which officially changed its name from Meten EdtechX Education Group in August, has moved forward with plan for the new business venture in the crypto world, […]

The country will follow global crypto guidelines in excluding non-fungible tokens (NFTs) from its categorization of virtual assets — meaning income from NFTs may remain untaxed in Korea.

Ethereum reached a new all-time price high of US$4,766 earlier today, flying past its previous all-time high record of US$4,634 set five days ago, according to CoinGecko data. Fast facts The world’s second-largest cryptocurrency by market value has been on a record run since late last month. On Oct. 28, Ethereum’s price climbed to US$4,416 for the first time. The […]

hashport, a public utility that facilitates the movement of digital assets between distributed ledger technology networks without the need for a native network token, today announced that it will launch on Nov. 9, according to a media statement. At launch, hashport will connect the Hedera public distributed ledger to the Ethereum and Polygon networks. Fast […]

The familiarity of centralized systems may feel comforting, but decentralized technologies like blockchain are the wave of the future, writes Corey Petty of Status.

Solana Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners and cryptocurrency exchange FTX today announced that they are partnering to invest US$100 million on gaming studios and projects building on the Solana blockchain. Fast facts “Gaming has a massive opportunity to bring the next billion users to Web3,” said Amy Wu, partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, in a statement. […]

Canaan sues over patent infringement also, PayTM considers crypto services

Chinese companies are in a craze for trademark registrations related to the metaverse, and Baidu and NetEase are the latest tech giants to register such trademarks. Fast facts According to the QiChacha, a website where you can search for information about Chinese company information, shows that NetEase has applied for three trademarks with the metaverse: […]

As Solana surges to new all-time highs, 50 fintech experts surveyed by Finder offer predictions on SOL’s price outlook for the end of the year and longer-term.

The traditional financial industry is getting its feet wet in tokenization of assets, and there’s an influx of interest in the private asset space, as Mathew McDermott, managing director of Goldman Sachs, said today at a Hong Kong Fintech Week panel moderated by Angie Lau, editor-in-chief and founder of Forkast.News. Fast facts McDermott said Goldman […]