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Being a ‘crypto native’ involves much more than using Bitcoin and DeFi, writes Alvin Lee of DeGate DAO. It’s sharing core values like freedom and inclusion.

El Salvador recently became the first country to recognize Bitcoin as legal tender, and it seems unlikely to be the last. Samson Mow, chief strategy officer of Bitcoin technology company Blockstream, looks forward to a future in which Bitcoin edges out fiat currency.

As countries step up their implementation of the Financial Action Task Force’s standards, the list of regulators that have Binance in their crosshairs just keeps growing longer. Fast facts Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission today filed a criminal complaint against Binance — the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume — for operating a digital asset […]

Top blockchain and cryptocurrency news: Binance bounced out of Britain. Musk moves Shiba Inu prices again. China’s digital currency gets ready to roll.

In the last installment of a 3-part series on blockchain in Asia, Forkast.News examines: Everyone knows money has value. But does it also have ‘values’?

How value is created Our methodology for calculating the value of this market includes tokenized commodity, energy, currency (i.e., stablecoins), gold and real estate projects. Calculations include publicly listed projects found via Blockexplorers. It excludes cryptocurrency, as it’s a native digital asset, as well as DeFi projects because of their extreme volatility. All tokenized assets […]

Singapore cryptocurrency exchange Coinhako today announced a 500% increase in trading volume during the first five months of 2021 compared to the whole of 2020.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore is inviting proposals for retail central bank digital currency innovations to improve payment services.

How China’s deployment of the digital yuan intertwines economics with geopolitics and concrete with virtual infrastructure, from Cambodia to the Caribbean.

What is blockchain and how can it help smaller companies? A special panel sponsored by Blockchain-based Service Network explores the use cases.

As China shuts down crypto mining over environmental concerns, miners are moving next door to Kazakhstan, one of the most coal-rich countries in the world.

Long before most governments, the Asian superpower saw the potential in Bitcoin’s technology to spawn the next internet and a new form of money.

Bitcoin was recovered by the FBI from the Colonial Pipeline ransomware cyber criminals DarkSide, sparking privacy concerns around cryptocurrencies.

A major Ethereum upgrade via London hard fork — which experts call a ‘seismic shift’ for the industry — is coming soon. Are ‘Ethereum killers’ doomed?

Following Israel’s recent tests of a digital shekel, the Palestinian Monetary Authority is looking to launch its own central bank digital currency.

Law enforcement agencies in several countries have arrested suspected members of a crypto-linked cybercrime group believed to be responsible for laundering more than US$500 million from ransomware attacks.

A university in Paraguay has announced that it will begin accepting cryptocurrency as payment for tuition starting from August.

The Bank of Israel is testing its central bank digital currency, the digital Shekel, in a private permissioned ecosystem using Ethereum.

Top blockchain and cryptocurrency news: Bitcoin’s still winning. Titan’s troubles as a teachable moment. Beijing creates a crypto mining diaspora.

In a new report, Bank for International Settlements extols central bank digital currency (CBDC) as the future of money. Will CBDCs replace Bitcoin someday?

Ethereum is much more than a cryptocurrency, and it has already attracted huge interest among investors. What’s all the fuss about? Forkast.News explains.

Kazakhstan offers nearby bolthole as North America and Europe beckon.

Better known for uses in art and collectibles, non-fungible tokens can also improve supply chains and prevent fraud. Richard Crook of LAB577 explains how.

Bitcoin sheds 4% but BTC’s share of the total crypto market grows after US Fed projects higher inflation and plans interest hikes earlier than expected.

In a recent conference, central bankers from Cambodia and Singapore discuss how digital currencies are transforming existing payment systems for the better.

Permissionless, open source and decentralized, Web 3.0 will transform computing and data storage. Maria Paula Fernandez of Golem Network explains how.

France-based PlanetWatch, which records air quality data on Algorand’s blockchain, has launched its first test sensor in Hong Kong.

BitDAO — a new decentralized autonomous organization that aims to promote and propel the mass adoption of open finance and the decentralized tokenized economy — has announced the completion of a US$230 million private sale.

The ASEAN Financial Innovation Network (AFIN) is partnering with enterprise software firm R3 on a central bank digital currency (CBDC) sandbox.

The Chinese University of Hong Kong and Ethereum software company ConsenSys today announced the launch of a Covid-19 digital health passport.

What does it mean to own an NFT, and why are some NFTs vanishing? Alexander Hobbs of Zenotta explains the weaknesses in NFTs’ underlying technology.

Four people have been arrested and more than 400 Bitcoin mining machines seized by police in the Malaysian city of George Town.

One of DeFi’s hottest trends, yield farming can bring riches but is not for crypto beginners or those who can’t afford to lose. Forkast.News explains why.

While the world waits for Eth 2, blockchain developers like Enya.ai and OMG Network are trying to solve Ethereum’s scalability issues via layer 2.

Auction house Sotheby’s has sold a non-fungible token of a digital artwork known as “CryptoPunk, Alien #7523” for US$11.8 million.

El Salvador’s adoption of Bitcoin has the world buzzing. Can Singapore be next? China mining crackdown continues.

Jump Trading, a high-frequency trading firm, is joining Oxygen, a decentralized finance prime brokerage protocol, as a strategic partner and market-maker to provide liquidity on the Oxygen platform.

Ravi Menon, managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, says technologies such as blockchain will help Asian nations to reduce carbon emissions.

Beijing-based Red Date Technology — the face of China’s ambitious nationwide blockchain service network — receives a big investment boost.

Kikitrade today announced a US$12 million fund raise with investment from British hedge fund billionaire Alan Howard to accelerate its growth.

Staking service provider Moonstake has partnered with UzNEX to provide blockchain consulting services in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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?

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?

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

Former CFTC chairman Chris Giancarlo and Accenture’s David Treat are not in a CBDC race, but a ‘contest’ to develop money that reflects societal values.

As Singapore builds Project Dunbar, a cross-border multiple-CBDC platform, its government dives into DeFi learning and ponders a CBDC for the masses.

Banks in Singapore are leading blockchain and DLT developments while South Korean game developer WeMade entrusts its US$130 million crypto holdings to KODA.

Deutsche Bank Securities Services in Singapore and Singapore fintech firm Hashstacs, or STACS, today announced the completion of a tokenized securities proof-of-commercialization test named Project Benja.

In a new court filing, SEC tries to keep out 6 representatives of 17,100 XRP holders from joining as 3rd party defendants in the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple.

The home video that has been viewed more than 880 million times is set to be sold as NFT to highest bidder — and then deleted forevermore from YouTube.

What will happen to your Bitcoin keys and crypto wallets when you die? Southeast Asia’s largest bank will now take care of it all for the super wealthy.

Yet another U.S. regulatory probe of leading crypto exchange Binance is underway, but CEO Changpeng Zhao isn’t impressed with news headlines.

Elon Musk drops ‘fossil fuel’ Twitter bomb on Bitcoin, triggering a BTC price crash and dragging down Ethereum, Dogecoin and Shiba Inu.

FTX crypto derivatives exchange pioneered TRUMP crypto futures and now dwarfs Coinbase in trading volume. Is going public in FTX’s near future?