Archives

Bitcoin and Ether gained ground in Wednesday morning trading in Asia, with most other top 10 tokens mixed. Litecoin gained, BNB was the biggest loser.

NFT prices and trading volume are dropping but this could be an indicator of a maturing market.

Now that the Bitcoin Ordinals genie is out of the bottle, a debate is raging about whether they’re good for the original blockchain and their long-term consequences.

How would layer 3 improve upon what layer-2 protocols do, and what barriers does this emerging technology still need to overcome? Tony Cheng of Foresight Ventures explains.

NFT IP allows traders to multiply their brands and grow. The Nakamigos collection has leveraged this advantage of the technology.

Top blockchain and crypto news: Coinbase in court to force SEC’s hand. PEPE surge lifts memecoin mood. China paves CBDC path with payroll.

Meta Platforms Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said the social media giant is not moving away from its metaverse focus despite reporting repeated losses in the billions of dollars at its division dedicated to developing the virtual reality online world. 

The culture of collecting unique digital assets may be here to stay, but data suggests that NFT prices may continue to fall.

India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in commending the potential of distributed ledger technology (DLT), has urged for a global consensus in regulating crypto while emphasizing that regulation did not equate to government control over the technology. 

A clear and balanced legal framework will encourage more crypto investment, while the industry can promote best practices, writes Mahin Gupta of Liminal.

State employees in China’s Changshu City will receive their salaries in digital yuan from May, as China’s CBDC expands in daily uses.

The European Parliament has approved the Markets in Crypto-Assets Act (MiCA), a legislation aimed at standardizing regulations and establishing harmonized rules for crypto assets across the European Union

South Korea’s Do Kwon went from a poster boy of digital finance as a co-founder of the US$40 billion Singapore-based Terraform Labs to a fugitive on Interpol’s wanted list, all in a matter of several rollercoaster years. He’s now in a Montenegro jail where he may face more time in detention as the U.S. and South Korea demand his extradition to face a long list of charges, including securities fraud – allegations he has repeatedly denied. The following is a timeline of how we got here.

Nothing in life is free. Be wary of crypto exchanges that offer ‘free trading,’ and ask hard questions about how they make money, writes Ben Caselin of MaskEX.

Former President Donald Trump’s NFT collection’s floor price may be dropping, but media coverage may extend his profits from the digital trading cards.

What are ‘trustless oracles,’ and how will they shape the development of the metaverse and Web3? Markus Levin of XYO and XY Labs explains.

Bitcoin continued its rally to near the US$31,000 mark in Friday afternoon trading in Asia. All other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptos gained, led by Ethereum.

Forkast Labs’ NFT indexes reveal Polygon’s US$3 million incentive to move y00ts over to its blockchain may have cost its users.

Twitter users will soon have access to stocks and cryptocurrency through a new partnership with eToro, a trading platform. 

Ether holders withdrew more than US$102 million worth of Ether in the first six hours after the Shanghai upgrade opened the door to cash out the staked token, though analysts see the amount as within expectations.

Japan’s top finance diplomat, Masato Kanda, announced on Tuesday that the G7 nations will work together to help developing countries introduce CBDCs in line with international standards. 

Singapore-headquartered crypto mining firm Bitdeer Technologies is set to go public on Nasdaq on April 14 via a SPAC merger following multiple delays in closing the US$4 billion deal.

Bitcoin held above US$30,000 in Wednesday morning trading in Asia, while most other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies moved higher.

The NFT industry is gathering at New York for NFT.NYC, but the overloading frequency of events could be causing “event fatigue.”

The upcoming upgrade to the Ethereum blockchain will allow users to withdraw millions of “staked” Ether, the native cryptocurrency, for potential sale. That would typically indicate a flood of selling pressure awaits the token, but not everyone is buying that.

Traditional institutions are testing crypto waters, but given last year’s market carnage, it’s not easy to gain their confidence, writes Simon Schaber of Spool.

Bitcoin rose as Ether fell during Asian trading hours on Friday, with most of the top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization dropping. XRP rose the most, while Dogecoin was the biggest loser.

The arrested crypto fugitive Kwon Do-hyung has “zero ” identifiable assets in his native South Korea, prosecutors said on Friday.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore is reportedly working on guidelines to help local banks vet and provide banking services to cryptocurrency clients

Bitcoin and Ether fell during afternoon trading hours in Asia on Thursday, along with all other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.

Polygon blockchain is gaining traction among traders with fast transactions, low gas fees and Ethereum’s provenance. From hosting popular games to partnering with major brands, Polygon’s versatility is one to watch.

Alchemy Pay is eyeing expansion in South Korea following its US$10 million funding from blockchain investment firm DWF Labs.

The Philippines has licensing requirements and proactively monitors crypto firms, while the US regulates by enforcement only after consumers are already badly hurt, writes Robert De Guzman of Coins.ph.

The blockchain world is hampered by many of the same problems as the early internet, writes Amrit Kumar of Altlayer. What could RaaS do for the industry?

The conversation hasn’t died down, and the potential is still there. But what about the ambition?

For long, people could only put cash into a bank account or under the mattress, writes Eric Johnson. Will blockchain technology offer a viable alternative?

As banking contagion worries reignited, Bitcoin traded firmly above US$28,000 for most of the week. Considering that Bitcoin was made for a potential banking crisis, industry experts are eyeing the US$30,000 mark for BTC.

Filing taxes on crypto assets is a ‘massive pain in the proverbial butt,’ writes Don Gossen of Nevermined. As IRS deadlines loom large, how can responsible investors avoid underreporting or overpaying?

DAOs are exploding in popularity but still hampered by weak governance and treasury mismanagement. What can help these novel organizations become more effective?

If there was a lesson from the crypto implosions of 2022, it is the demonstration of the superiority of open code and decentralization over central intermediaries, argues Voorhees at DC Blockchain Summit.

Top blockchain and crypto news: Banking woes boost Bitcoin. Arbitrum counts down to launch. Chinese billionaire faces US crypto scam charges.

The fall of Silvergate, SVB and Signature has left crypto firms scrambling for new banks. Will crypto banking head offshore for the long term?

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) aims to publish cryptocurrency and stablecoin consultations feedback by the middle of this year, it said Monday.

As bank after bank topples, fingers are pointing everywhere. But crypto is not to be blamed for this unfolding crisis, writes Winston Hsiao of XREX.

Many crypto users see losses as the cost of doing business. In fact, we can and must improve the sector’s deficiencies, writes Pelle Brændgaard of Notabene.

Former employees of Do Kwon’s Terraform Labs are being questioned by the FBI and U.S. prosecutors in New York.

What began as novel collectibles and rampant speculation is maturing into real-world utility across a multitude of industries, writes Tom Chalmers of Banxa.

The collapse of Voyager and Celsius highlights the risks of crypto investing apps and underscores the need for tailored user education, writes Jackson Zeng of Caleb & Brown.

Meta Platforms, the parent company of the social media applications Facebook and Instagram, is exploring a decentralized text-based Twitter alternative.

In the race to tame crypto’s excesses, we need to avoid regulatory clashes while DeFi draws lessons from TradFi, writes Rachel Lin of SynFutures.

NFT sales and market capitalization show rising investor activities, but recycled liquidity and wash trading may tell a different story, Forkast Labs co-CEO says.

Unique in the world, Singapore is a big investor and player in digital assets while advancing regulations that favor institutions over individual crypto users, writes Danny Chong of Tranchess.

Top blockchain and crypto news: Silvergate woes spark bankruptcy talk. LDO dips on false enforcement rumors. Chinese leaders push digital development.

Ethereum validators are benefiting from the increasingly heated competition between the two largest NFT marketplaces that is driving up gas fees, but the windfall may not last much longer.

With 69% of Bitcoin supply in profit, BTC is struggling to stay above the US$22,300 support level. A daily close below US$22,300 could see Bitcoin retest the US$21,450 support level. Industry experts share their end-of-March Bitcoin price predictions with Forkast.

DAOs are supposed to be democratic, egalitarian and inclusive, but those ideals are far from the current reality, writes Awa Sun Yin of Namada.

Australia has outlined potential use cases and providers for a central bank digital currency (CBDC), with a pilot program to be launched in the coming months.

DBS bank’s digital exchange, which serves institutional clients, said macroeconomic conditions last year were not suitable for security token offerings (STO), but it will explore opportunities for such listings in 2023 and plans to add more crypto tokens.

Top blockchain and crypto news: Blur wash trading explodes. Coinbase extends developer foray with Base test. Hong Kong crypto embrace gets Beijing’s nod.

American payments giant Visa is not slowing down its cryptocurrency plans despite last year’s bear market, according to the firm’s crypto head Cuy Sheffield.

Bitcoin and Ether gained in Wednesday afternoon trading in Asia, along with most other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. Asian equities mostly rose on Wednesday as investors digested economic recovery indications as Hong Kong ended its mask mandate.

Nishad Singh, former engineering chief of bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, pleaded guilty to fraud and several other criminal charges at a hearing on Tuesday related to the collapse of the company, Bloomberg reported.

Officials at Bitcoin mining companies say the rebound in prices so far this year for the world’s biggest cryptocurrency has thrown a lifeline to the industry after some miners sought protection from creditors last year amid the slump in the token’s price.

Bitcoin and Ether fell in Tuesday afternoon trade in Asia, along with all other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, despite U.S. equities rising on Monday after last week’s selloff. Asian stock markets mostly rose on Tuesday as investors absorbed key economic indicators across the region.  

Robinhood says it’s cooperating with an SEC investigation into the company’s trading and handling of cryptocurrencies.

The Metabirkins case makes clear that NFT trademarks belong to the original creator, bolstering future profit-making opportunities for fashion houses as well as other companies, writes Justin Banon of Boson Protocol.

Crypto industry’s interaction with regulators is important and quite common in Asia but missing in the US, says Brooks Entwistle of Ripple Labs.

Bitcoin remained resilient around the US$24,000 level on Tuesday despite Wall Street’s worst day of the year so far. Industry experts are eyeing a potential retest of the US$25,000 psychological level, as a failure to reclaim it may result in a downtrend to around US$21,500.

It remains unclear whether the U.S. SEC’s enforcement action against cryptocurrency exchange Kraken represents a broader crackdown on staking, according to Timothy Massad, former Commodity Futures Trading Commission chairman.

Amid the rubble of FTX and other centralized exchanges, cross-chain technology and on-chain trading offer more trustworthy alternatives, writes Simon Harman of Chainflip.

Hong Kong’s proposed crypto licensing regime received Huobi Global’s pledge to return to the city, and more companies may follow, industry experts told Forkast.

Web3 gaming could see a huge turn in growth in 2023. Is there potential for this industry to match the growth and performance of the mainstream video game industry?