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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.

Hong Kong will be initiating a study on a digital Hong Kong dollar as part of its plans to “future proof” the city for central bank digital currencies.

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

The Ontario Securities Commission is set to take enforcement action against two companies behind the cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin for violating the province’s securities laws.

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

In collaboration with Wharton business school, WEF releases a toolkit for governments to consider the opportunities and risks of decentralized finance.

California-born singer looks to rekindle relationship with his fans as he pledges to donate the proceeds from his NFT sale to a Taiwan-based NGO.

Did Ripple have ‘fair notice’ that SEC might deem the XRP a security? Ripple calls report on SEC’s prior anti-crypto enforcement actions ‘misleading.’

Crypto exchanges in India have partnered with the Internet and Mobile Association of India to form a self-regulatory body.

Millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin paid to ransomware hackers who shut down the main fuel pipeline on the U.S. East Coast last month has been recovered.

China has released guidelines aimed at boosting the country’s blockchain development.

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.

Nearly 40% of Australians born between the early 1980s and mid-1990s would rather invest in cryptocurrencies than real estate, according to a nesurvey.

Cryptocurrency exchange Fasset has received three licenses from the Labuan Financial Services Authority in Malaysia for business operations in the country.

XRP last week saw inflows of US$7 million into investment products, the most since April, according to CoinShares.

Canaan, one of the largest crypto mining rig makers in the world, is opening its first-ever service center outside China—in Kazakhstan.

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.

CoinShares has announced that its Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin physically-backed exchange traded products have cross-listed on Germany’s Börse Xetra exchange.

Binance today announced a “100 creators” campaign featuring creative talents from around the world as part of the launch of its non-fungible token marketplace on June 24.

Users of cybersecurity product NortonLifeLock will soon be able to mine Ethereum on their home computers through a new feature named Norton Crypto.

Following a digital yuan giveaway announced for Beijing last week, Shanghai will distribute 350,000 red envelopes to people across the city during next week’s Dragon Boat Festival.

Microblog platform Weibo has blocked more than 30 influential Chinese cryptocurrency-related accounts amid a series of actions by Beijing against crypto mining and trading.

Australia’s first capital growth fund to offer institutional exposure to BTC has announced its received inquiries from some of the country’s largest companies.

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.

Hong Kong arranged a Bitcoin gathering ahead of Bitcoin 2021 Conference in Miami as Phillips auction house offers Banksy’s work for crypto.

After Tether’s legal settlement with New York, USDT’s growth is exploding—dispelling concerns over Tether’s reserves, says Bitfinex CTO Paolo Ardoino.

It is important to distinguish between developing a digital currency for currency digitalization and digitalization of assets or cryptocurrencies so that China can be more focused on preventing risks in the financial sector, said Fan Gang, a Peking University professor and a prominent advocate in China for economic reform. Fast Facts: In a keynote speech […]

Regulators Hainan province have issued a warning against illegal fundraising schemes using crypto or blockchain..

Many of Britain’s crypto firms are failing to meet required anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws, says the country’s watchdog.

BitFlyer announced today that it is launching a Bitcoin-to-Japanese yen pair for currency traders in the U.S.

Governments meet up with the crypto industry to discuss how to regulate the booming industry as BC Group’s OSL ties up with SC Ventures.

To defend themselves against SEC lawsuit, Ripple’s CEO and chairman ask court for help getting XRP info from a who’s who list of offshore crypto exchanges.

From digital bonds to real estate, blockchain-enabled security token offerings and tokenization are redefining corporate fundraising and investing.

Eleven users of Upbit have filed a class action lawsuit against its owner, Dunamu Inc., seeking damages over a suspected technical failure.

Can Ethereum, also known as the ‘World Computer,’ function outside this world — in space? A SpaceX rocket launch today will put that to the test.

Standard Chartered and BC Group to launch digital asset trading platform for corporate and institutional clients in Europe and the UK.

Chinese Bitcoin mining hardware maker Canaan says overseas sales accounted for almost four-fifths of its revenue during the first quarter of 2021.

Green crypto mining operations should be spared China’s recent crackdown on the sector, according to the CEO of Canaan Inc.

SpaceChain shoots blockchain to tech to the International Space Station aboard Falcon 9 as Cardano announces first cross-chain bridge with Nervos.

Input Output Hong Kong and Nervos announced today that they will be launching a cross-chain bridge to connect the two networks.

Other top blockchain and crypto news: Thailand’s SEC tries to rein in DeFi via regulation. Will China’s future DCEP digital yuan offer smart contracts?

WazirX launched the country’s first NFT marketplace on Tuesday, featuring artists from India and other South Asian nations.

Dogecoin has gained an additional measure of credibility, with crypto exchange Coinbase announcing that it will add DOGE to its professional trading platform.

Ethereum has hit a market-share high of 27% of all digital asset investment fund products following recent price corrections.

ATO will contact 400,000 Australian crypto holders over concerns that they may not be fully aware of their crypto tax obligations. Tax cheats beware!

Thailand becomes one of the first governments to attempt DeFi regulation as India’s RBI clarifies that banking ban no longer exists.

Bitcoin’s proposed Taproot update for smart contracts and privacy has wide verbal support from miners, but will they put their crypto where their mouth is?

South Korean banks processed over 64 trillion won (US$57 billion) of deposits and withdrawals linked to crypto exchanges in the first quarter.

China-based trading apps Futu and Tiger Brokers have announced plans to move into crypto to compete outside China with apps such as Robinhood and eToro.

The Financial Stability Board has launched a public consultation on global targets for cross-border payments.

‘Know your customer’ is key to anti-money laundering efforts. Isabelle Corbett of R3 explains why blockchain is uniquely suited for KYC/AML.

Bitcoin dropped by 37.5% in May after hitting a low of US$34,195 yesterday, the second-largest drop on record after it fell 40% in September 2011.

Singapore’s DBS Bank has announced its first security token offering on the DBS Digital Exchange.

India’s central bank has said that banks and other finance sector businesses should not adhere to a prohibition it imposed on lenders dealing in cryptocurrencies.

Gold prices are rising again and at a three-month high. How does gold — a store of value for over 2,500 years —  compare to Bitcoin as a refuge from market turmoil?

Tax season is here and the ATO wants to make sure Aussies pay their taxes for crypto earnings. Also, Privacy coins have surged over the past weeks.

Privacy-centric coins like Monero, ZCash and Dash are seeing big price rises as the IRS and ATO issue warnings on taxable crypto transactions.

Following the launch of Cardano’s first testnet for its smart contract platform, Alonzo, ADA’s price rebounded by 15% on Monday morning to reach US$1.65.

The latest Bitcoin mining difficulty adjustment, made at 1 a.m. UTC on May 30, saw the difficulty of Bitcoin mining drop 15.97%.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has failed in a bid to gain access to any legal communications Ripple Labs sought or received as to whether sales of XRP were subject to federal securities law.

Banks in India, including some of the country’s largest lenders, are notifying their customers not to engage in cryptocurrencies, adhering to a central bank rule from 2018 that bans them from dealing in cryptos — despite the fact the ban was overturned by the Supreme Court more than a year ago.

Turkish regulators have tightened their grip on cryptocurrencies, but small traders and investors appear to have barely noticed.

Crypto crime is surging in Asia while Bitcoin is being blamed for splitting up married couples in South Korea.

From mass liquidations to meme trading, the characteristics unique to the crypto market can now be seen in traditional markets, says FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.

SEC says Ripple had plenty of ‘notice’ that XRP transactions could be violating the law via its many enforcement actions against other crypto companies.

Input Output Hong Kong, one of the companies behind the Cardano blockchain, today announced the launch of the first testnet for Cardano’s Alonzo upgrade.

Blockchain technology has massive data requirements, but the data can be difficult and costly to access. What are some of the solutions?

Sanctions enforcement affecting the cryptocurrency industry has intensified rapidly in the past two years, according to a new report by crypto compliance consultancy Elliptic.

Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com has announced that it is committed to becoming carbon-negative within 18 months, following carbon-neutral initiatives launched by other Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchanges FTX and BitMEX.

Energy regulators in the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan, which has abundant hydropower resources, will hold a seminar on June 2 to assess the province’s cryptocurrency mining industry, fanning hopes among miners that the beleaguered sector may be given a reprieve from its recent hardships in China.