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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.

Consumer adoption of cryptocurrencies has grown, with 38% of respondents to a survey saying they have either invested in or bought a cryptocurrency, according to digital wallet provider Skrill, part of payments provider Paysafe.

Vitalik Buterin sets a green future for the Ethereum network while Bitdeer becomes the latest to block Chinese miners.

The U.S. dollar reigns supreme as the current world reserve currency. Could the USD’s status change with the rise of CBDCs like China’s DCEP digital yuan?

The power of tokenization can fundamentally transform the fabric of the financial system, Singapore’s DBS Bank CEO Piyush Gupta told the Consensus by CoinDesk 2021 conference taking place this week.

Ripple’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse says Ripple was hit hard financially after SEC filed its lawsuit, but the company is now expanding uses for XRP’s technology.

Fintech companies in Asia-Pacific pulled in US$2.35 billion in investment during the first three months of 2021, more than the total amount raised in the first half of the previous year.

A proper regulatory system for cryptocurrencies and virtual assets can facilitate development, protect investors, and adhere to international regulatory standards, says treasury chief Christopher Hui

Breaking into occasional Mandarin at a Hong Kong conference, Ethereum’s visionary creator tells all — including why Ethereum 2.0 is taking so long.

BitDeer, one of China’s biggest crypto mining operators, blocked access to anyone using a mainland Chinese IP address last night.

Other top blockchain and crypto news: Australia signals progressive approach to crypto as Hong Kong moves closer to banning retail crypto trading.

Investors are turning to green alternatives to tackle Bitcoin’s impact on the environment as Indonesia gears up for a CBDC.

Fast-growing Ethereum scaling platform Polygon and decentralized storage network Aleph.im join forces to ‘supercharge’ Polygon’s NFT ecosystem.

Ripple is partnering with Bank Dhofar, Oman’s second largest bank, to facilitate cross border mobile payments through RippleNet.

The U.S. SEC is seeking additional discovery from Ripple on its XRP transactions and documents related to its lobbying efforts.

Chinese crypto mining firm BIT Mining is investing US$9.33 million to construct and operate a mining data center in Kazakhstan.

The Chinese region of Inner Mongolia – once a thriving cryptocurrency mining hub that has recently enacted a series of measures to rein in the sector – has unveiled eight new proposals designed to give added force to its recently imposed, all-out ban on crypto mining.

SpaceChain, a Singapore-based startup that focuses on the integration of blockchain with space technology, will be launching two missions to space next month to deploy decentralized satellite infrastructure and multi-signature services for its corporate customers.

Indonesia is planning to launch a digital version of its national currency, central bank Governor Perry Warjiyo said on Tuesday.

Despite recent outflows from crypto, U.S. dollar-linked stablecoin Tether (USDT) has surpassed US$60 billion for the first time this week.

New and innovative lenders are taking advantage of DeFi’s low costs to offer savings account interest rates that Main Street banks simply can’t match.

China’s miners prepare for migration and Hong Kong reacts to possible retail ban. Meanwhile a South Korean governor becomes a crypto influencer.

Amid declines in Bitcoin and Ethereum, Cardano and its native cryptocurrency ADA saw US$10 million inflows as institutional investors switch to proof-of-stake coins.

Chinese authorities’ latest regulatory offensive against the crypto industry may not be as bad for the sector as it appears.

Marathon Digital Holdings has announced a deal with Compute North to host 73,000 of Marathon’s Bitcoin miners at a new data center in Texas.

Bitcoin has rallied to nearly US$40,000, boosted by tweets from Tesla founder Elon Musk and MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor announcing that they have met with North American miners of the cryptocurrency to promote a renewable energy initiative.

Hong Kong is poised to ban small investors from buying cryptocurrencies, while making exchanges get licences. Industry experts discuss how this might play out. 

The current dip aside, what are Bitcoin and Ethereum’s longer-term price forecasts? Finder’s brain trust of 35 crypto experts peers into a crystal ball.

Hong Kong reacts to the region’s pending legislation on limiting crypto investment to professional investors while a conglomerate enters South Korea’s crypto custody scene.

As the crypto sell-off continued over the weekend, Bitcoin once again proved its resilience relative to other cryptocurrencies in not bleeding as much.

PwC and Elwood Asset Management have published their third annual report on the global crypto hedge fund landscape. Here are its findings.

Bitcoin and altcoin prices take heavy hits and sell-off deepens as more bad news, including a blatant DeFi exit scam, continue battering crypto markets.

Crypto exchange Bybit is launching cloud mining to provide exposure to Ether. What happens when Ethereum moves from proof of work to proof of stake?

Cryptocurrency exchanges in Hong Kong will have to obtain licenses from the territory’s markets regulator and limit their service offerings to “professional investors”, according to the results of a consultation published today.

Non-fungible tokens may be a boon for art and sports collectibles, but the technology is also spawning a host of thorny regulatory and legal issues.

The crypto market has rebounded after one of its biggest crashes. Bitcoin is a ‘safe haven’ for many investors.

Coinbase Pro adds Solana’s native token, opening the doors for US investors after SOL outperforms Bitcoin and most other cryptos amid market crash.

Diversification to allocate funds to Bitcoin is an “opportunity that (fiat) money cannot buy”, says DBS Bank’s chief investment officer.

Bithumb, one of South Korea’s biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, is attempting to disassociate itself from its former chairman amid fears that its links to him may pose a threat to its license to operate.

Hong Kong-listed beauty app Meitu and other companies that have invested in cryptocurrencies have seen millions of dollars wiped off the value of their stock following the huge global Bitcoin sell-off this week.

As mainstream finance embraces decentralized finance, neither it nor its younger challengers are likely to escape the evolutionary forces at work.

The Booker Group announced that it now holds approximately US$35 million in crypto and plans to invest US$3 million into DeFi in Q2.

U.S. SEC chair Gary Gensler says as technology and markets evolve, regulators should be ready to bring cases involving crypto.

Other top blockchain and cryptocurrency news: BlockFi’s accidental BTC millionaires. China’s Inner Mongolia asks citizens to report illegal crypto mining.

Mass liquidations are observed across exchanges as the crypto market continues to struggle. Meanwhile, institutions explore DeFi.

NEM Group is launching NFTs with former Liverpool footballer and manager Sir Kenny Dalglish and current Manchester City player Riyad Mahrez.

Chainlink, a data oracle, has joined the Hedera Governing Council, which oversees the distributed governance of the Hedera network, an enterprise-grade public network for the decentralized economy.

Newly elected South Korean Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum appears to be leading an embrace of the cryptocurrency sector among lawmakers.

In a win for the SEC, a judge knocks back Ripple’s request to stop the SEC from asking foreign regulators for info on Ripple and XRP transactions overseas.

The Chinese region of Inner Mongolia is urging members of the public to report all cases of cryptocurrency mining, setting up a reporting hotline, an office address and an email address to solicit tips for law enforcement authorities.