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Tokyo-based financial services group Nomura Holdings, Inc., recently announced its new digital asset subsidiary named Laser Digital and respective holding company Laser Digital Holding, which will be active in Switzerland. See related article: Japan’s government approves policy to drive Web 3.0 adoption Fast facts Laser Digital will focus on secondary trading, venture capital and investor […]

Crypto exchange Huobi Global’s Hong Kong-listed sister company, Huobi Technology Holdings, is proposing renaming the group to “New Huo Technology Holdings Limited,” while its sister company, the crypto exchange Huobi Global, is reportedly seeking a buyer for the majority of its company. See related article: Huobi-incubated Chinese NFT platform iBox ends international operations  Fast facts […]

J-pop is increasing ties with immersive metaverse technology, with Japan’s top record producer Akimoto recently announcing his ambitious virtual idol project.

CoinDCX, India’s first crypto unicorn, asked users not to click on any link or messages from its official Twitter handle as the company lost control of the social media account following a hack. See related article: How Twitter hackers social-engineered their way into VIP accounts to shill for bitcoin Fast facts “We are in the […]

WazirX, India’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trade volume, has introduced a “learn and earn” campaign with The Sandbox, one of the biggest Ethereum-based metaverse game platforms.  See related article: WazirX launches India’s first NFT marketplace Fast facts The campaign started Sept. 19, and the top five winners will get free passes for The Sandbox’s recently […]

Many believe Ethereum is destined to overtake Bitcoin’s dominance in an event known as “The Flippening.” Find out if Ethereum’s reign is inevitable in this Forkast explainer.

The Fed will continue its CBDC research as Republicans pressure the central bank to clarify its stance on digital dollar issuance.

ETHPoW, the Ethereum hard fork blockchain intended to preserve proof-of-work after the native chain transitioned to proof-of-stake, is facing technical difficulties despite months of anticipation.  See related article: Ethereum says Merge upgrade successfully completed, more to come Fast facts Prior to the fork, it was announced that ETHW tokens would be airdropped to Ethereum holders. […]

Bitcoin fell below the US$20,000 support line in Friday morning trading in Asia, while Ether saw a sell-off following the long-awaited network “Merge” on Thursday. The total cryptocurrency market capitalization fell below US$1 trillion as all top 10 tokens were trading down. See related article: Ethereum says Merge upgrade successfully completed, more to come Fast […]

The Merge is a milestone in slashing electricity use on the Ethereum blockchain, but there are plenty more upgrades in the pipeline.

Tencent Cloud, the cloud computing services arm of the Chinese tech giant, on Tuesday, announced it signed a memorandum of understanding with Web 3.0 firm Strange Universe Technology to create and host virtual reality (VR) spaces for businesses. See related article: Tencent Cloud continues blockchain expansion with two new platforms  Fast facts See related article: […]

Global investment firm KKR has partnered with digital assets securities firm Securitize to offer tokenized positions for its clients with at least US$5 million in investible assets, exposing them to its US$4 billion health care equity fund, the Wall Street Journal reported. See related article: Guide to tokens and NFTs: what is ‘tokenization’ and how […]

In a decision involving Litecoin, a Chinese court says there are no rules ‘that negate the protectability of cryptocurrency itself as virtual property.’

The Crypto Fraud and Asset Recovery Network (CFAAR), which calls itself the first global network of its kind, has launched a Hong Kong-based chapter in collaboration with seven local finance, law, and crypto regulation experts.  See related article: Australia establishes federal crypto police unit Fast facts The Crypto Fraud and Asset Recovery network began in […]

Crypto exchange Huobi has ceased topping-up service for seven kinds of privacy-focused tokens on its exchange as it prepares to delist the tokens on Sept. 19, citing regulatory concerns. See related article: Privacy protocol Monero completes upgrade to make transactions more private Fast facts See related article: Huobi-incubated Chinese NFT platform iBox ends international operations

The most critical upgrade in Ethereum’s history is just around the corner, so what will it mean for prices of cryptocurrency?

Bitcoin rose back above US$22,000 in Monday afternoon trading in Asia, while Ether slipped. Solana saw the second-biggest gain among the 10 largest coins by market capitalization after Bitcoin, while the rest of the top 10 were little changed. See related article: Markets: Bitcoin sole gainer in crypto top ten, Ether dips, Polkadot leads losers […]

Bitcoin held weekend gains to move toward US$22,000 in Monday morning trading in Asia, while other tokens in the top 10 by market capitalization were flat to lower. Ether slipped, along with Polkadot and XRP. See related article: Markets: Bitcoin, Ether little changed; Polkadot leaps Dogecoin into crypto top ten Fast facts Bitcoin rose 0.3% […]

Interoperability is a key characteristic for the metaverse to be useful, writes Dr. Dimitry Mihaylov of National Univ. of Singapore. But the technology and laws are still lacking.

GameStop shares jumped over 11% in after-market trading on Wednesday following an announced partnership with the cryptocurrency exchange giant FTX US, which will focus on “new e-commerce and online marketing initiatives.” See related article: FTX agrees to help South Korea’s Busan build its own crypto exchange Fast facts The announcement came in tandem with GameStop’s […]

Top blockchain and crypto news: USDC gets the boot from Binance. MicroStrategy looks for Lightning strikes. STEPN heads to Hong Kong.

China’s Blockchain-based Service Network wears two hats in building blockchains: one for business in China and one for everywhere else, but it doesn’t see a role for crypto in either.

A slowdown in crypto investment — particularly in firms offering coins, tokens and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) — will continue in the second half of the current year, according to a new report by global audit and consulting firm KPMG.  See related article: Siloed regulatory efforts unlikely to help bring oversight to highly decentralized crypto industry […]

Crypto influencer Fatman Terra pitched his own fake investment scheme on Twitter — and found willing investors instantly — in an attempt to educate people about scams in the industry.  See related article: Terra’s Mirror Protocol fixes exploit that drained more than US$2 million Fast facts “In two hours, I received over one hundred DMs,” […]

Axie Infinity’s decline shows that earning can’t be everything, writes Riaz Lalani of Gambit Games. What went wrong with P2E and what can we learn from it?

The collapse of Celsius and Anchor wasn’t a failure of DeFi, writes Kaaran Kalantari of WingRiders. They failed to assess risk, and crypto Darwinism took shape.

How can blockchain help women gain financial independence? And how can female participation be boosted? Social entrepreneur Wendy Diamond explains

Ethereum Name Service (ENS) reported its third-highest month of revenue in August, with 301,000 new “.eth” registrations, totaling 2.17 million names, according to a post on its verified Twitter handle. See related article: ENS domain name expires as developer is in prison, becomes up for grabs in Sept. Fast facts ENS generated 2,744 ETH, currently […]

Hong Kong is hosting the Digital Asset Series (DAS) educational seminars, which started in August to continue into November this year. See related article: Why children around the world need crypto education Fast facts The free educational seminars will be delivered by industry experts, legal professionals, regulators and scholars from the finance-technology (fintech) sector, according […]

Nearly a year after China banned crypto trading and mining, the director of the Technology Supervision Bureau at Chinaøs Securities Regulatory Commission has published a book discussing Web 3.0 and blockchain technology. See related article: Shanghai turns to metaverse, NFTs to counter lockdown economic fallout Fast facts Yao Qian’s book “Web 3.0: Changes and Challenges […]

South Korea-based LG Electronics is reportedly preparing to release its first crypto wallet application named “Wallypto” in the third quarter of 2022.  See related article: S. Korea’s Danal, LG CNS to build ‘one-for-all’ Web3 payments platform Fast facts LG Electronics has been running a beta test of the application with developers since August and is […]

Vitalik Buterin will release a book on proof-of-stake consensus on Sept. 27, compiling various writings by the Ethereum founder over the last 10 years, according to his recent Twitter post. See related article: Vitalik Buterin says he used Tornado Cash to donate to Ukraine Fast facts The book, titled “Proof of Stake, The Making of […]

Are you a good runner? Or eater? Or sleeper? Chances are whatever you’re good at, there’s a Web3 project out there to reward you in crypto. But do the tokenomics stack up?

Singapore state-backed fund is leading a US$100 million funding round into Hong Kong-based blockchain and game venture Animoca Brands, Bloomberg reported.  See related article: Singapore’s Temasek says doesn’t own Bitcoin, but prepping for tokenized assets Fast facts Temasek will make the investment through convertible bonds, according to unnamed sources cited by Bloomberg. Temasek has been […]

Dunamu, the owner of South Korea’s leading cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, reported an operating profit of 566.1 billion Korean won (about US$419 million) for the first half of this year, a 70% decrease compared to the same period last year. See related article: Dunamu denies making US$100 million off of LUNA Fast facts Dunamu’s consolidated operating […]

Women foster a better environment for innovation and are sober with money — which is what the industry needs, writes Gracy Chen of Bitget.

Interoperability among blockchains will be central to the next phase of the technology’s evolution, says Cosmos cofounder Ethan Buchman.

Sam Bankman-Fried, chief executive officer of FTX exchange, denied a recent report by Bloomberg which stated that the venture capital subsidiary under FTX would merge with the VC operations under Alameda Research, a sister company of FTX. See related article: FTX revenue grew 1,000% in 2021 amid booming crypto market: SBF  Fast facts “This seems […]

Ethereum has by far the most developers from DeFi projects to NFTs so how are they expected to respond to a plan by Etheruem miners to fork the network, a move miners argue is needed to stay in business.

Ant Group, Chinese tech giant Alibaba’s fintech affiliate, has partnered with Malaysian investment bank Kenanga to launch a wealth management app with features to trade cryptocurrencies. See related article: Tencent gets patent nod to use blockchain for missing persons’ notices Fast facts Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad announced on Wednesday that it signed a memorandum of […]

The $65-billion event ticketing industry is riddled with skulduggery, but NFT technology can transform it for the common good, writes Josh Katz of Yellowheart.

Following Shanghai’s plan to develop its metaverse industry, additional local Chinese governments are adding the metaverse to their economic blueprints. Two recent plans come from Beijing’s Tongzhou District and Hengqin near neighboring Macau, just as some of China’s tech companies are shrinking their businesses to face an economic downturn. See related article: Shanghai sees its […]

Ten winners will be selected by public vote, which will end on August 29.

Chinese tech giant Tencent has received a patent for blockchain-based notices for missing persons, as the tech firm continues to explore blockchain applications despite shutting one of its non-fungible token (NFT) platforms recently. See related article: Tencent’s Huanhe allows NFT refunds, halts further sales Fast facts Tencent’s design could enhance the efficiency of publishing such […]

Stakeholders in India’s blockchain space have created a new forum with more than 40 influencers to liaise with governments and regulators for blockchain and Web 3.0 adoption in the country. See related article: India’s latest tax assault on crypto exchanges starts Friday Fast facts According to a local media report, India Blockchain Forum is setting […]

Real estate as an investment is not very liquid, composable or accessible, writes Joel Lin of CitaDAO. Can tokenization and DeFi transform this market?

The Merge, one of this year’s biggest crypto events, is now due to happen next month. Why is it so hotly anticipated — and feared?

Not every NFT collection is facing the same issue, but due to the collection’s outsized influence it could have a significant impact on the rest of the Ethereum NFT ecosystem.

Bitcoin and Ether rose with most of the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization in Monday morning trading in Asia. The gains follow a flash crash last Friday afternoon that dragged the world’s leading cryptocurrency below US$21,000 on Saturday for the first time in almost a month. Bitcoin is still down about 12% in the […]

Metaverses are more than gamified virtual spaces — they’re a different way to live real life, says Metapolis cofounder Sandra Helou.

The embattled Ukrainian government has spent US$54 million, raised through donations in cryptocurrencies, to supply defenders with military equipment, armor, clothing, medicines and vehicles, a senior minister said.  See related article: Vitalik Buterin says he used Tornado Cash to donate to Ukraine Fast facts See related article: Ukraine’s NFT museum of Russian conflict goes live

In a Q&A, the former cryptocurrency miner explains his methods for trying to pull together a band of Ethereum mining brethren in order to keep their rigs running. The idea started at a party at his house.

Venture capital for two new investment funds from CoinFund and Shima Capital were announced, with amounts reaching US$300 million and US$200 million, respectively. See related article: New Investors and Investments Fast facts The Ventures I fund, announced Thursday by CoinFund, will focus on backing blockchain startups, including both existing portfolios and new startup teams. The […]

Top blockchain and crypto news: Eqonex shutters exchange operation. Huobi denies sale report. Taiwan beefs up cyber defenses.

The Federal Reserve issues new crypto banking guidelines. Meanwhile, Singaporean crypto exchange Coinhako plans an expansion.

Forty top corporations invested about US$6 billion into blockchain startups between September 2021 and June 2022, according to an analysis by blockchain data platform Blockdata. As some investments involved participation from multiple investors, Blockdata said it was not clear how much each company invested in one particular project. See related article: Korea Blockchain Week points […]

Virtual worlds currently exist in silos, and there is no easy way to communicate between ecosystems — which limits their value, writes Witek Radomski of Enjin.

Regulatory compliance will be critical to improving crypto’s ‘Wild West’ image and public acceptance, writes Karen Er and Benjamin Bai of Amber Group. Here’s why.

The crypto winter may have chilled many in Web3, but metaverses are an increasingly hot prospect in traditional finance, says DBS Bank’s legal chief

Bitcoin fell while Ethereum traded little changed on Friday afternoon in Asia. Huobi Token, the native coin of China crypto exchange Huobi, jumped 18.9% in the last 24 hours after Bloomberg reported its founder was seeking to sell a majority stake in the business. See related article: Markets: Bitcoin, Ether retreat as investors digest inflation, […]

Follow the money? Korea Blockchain Week concludes this weekend in Seoul and one of the overarching themes is enthusiasm for blockchain-based gaming as the key to opening up a Web3 world to a broader audience.

Can blockchain technology help starstruck little guys profit from being superfans of popular e-girls? Joel Stein joins Irene Zhao’s IreneDAO to find out.

Crypto’s volatility may be top of mind right now, but blockchain’s practical uses will be the industry’s future, writes Johannes Schweifer of CoreLedger.

Top blockchain and crypto news: Binance spurns WazirX amid India probe. BlackRock bets on Coinbase. Crypto influencers in China’s crosshairs.

Reddit has partnered with cryptocurrency exchange FTX to integrate the social network’s Community Points feature with FTX Pay to allow Reddit users to buy Ether on the app. See related article: Instagram expands NFT platform to 100 countries Fast facts FTX Tuesday said the partnership enables Reddit users to purchase the second-largest crypto by market […]

South Korean metaverse platform Zepeto has teamed with Solana and Web 3.0 developer Jump Crypto to construct ZepetoX, a cryptocurrency-based metaverse project, according to a press release. See related article: HYBE, Softbank invest big in Zepeto metaverse creator Naver Z Fast facts ZepetoX aims to establish a 3D open-world platform where creators and users can […]

Welcome to The Daily Forkast – August 9, 2022 – presented by Angie Lau. Coming up on today’s show: US lawmakers aim to push Fed on digital dollar. Circle freezes smart contract addresses linked to blacklisted Tornado Cash. Also, Hodlnaut freezes withdrawals, swaps and deposits. Zipmex to release specific amounts of Bitcoin and Ether. And […]

South Korea’s new administration under President Yoon Suk-yeol will likely abolish its ban on blockchain and play-to-earn gaming in 2023, Henry Chang, CEO of South Korea-based video game developer Wemade, said in a media interview joined by Forkast on Tuesday at Korea Blockchain Week 2022. See related article: NFT gaming to drive wider blockchain adoption, […]

China has shut down nearly 13,000 accounts advocating cryptocurrency investments on popular Chinese social media platforms this year, deleted 51,000 related posts and closed 105 websites offering crypto-related information, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) announced on Tuesday. See related article: Tencent to cut domestic NFT marketplace team, look overseas: report Fast facts See related […]

Cryptocurrency platform Crypto.com has forayed into South Korea with two acquisitions — payment service provider PnLink Co. and virtual asset service provider OK-BIT Co., the company said.  See related article: Crypto.com, K-pop agency Fantagio enter joint NFT venture Fast facts The Singapore-based company also said it secured registration under South Korea’s electronic financial transaction act […]

Mythical Games, a California-based studio that developed non-fungible token (NFT) game Blankos Block Party, focuses more on in-game assets than the earning aspects of its games, Chief Executive Officer John Linden told Forkast on Tuesday at Korea Blockchain Week 2022. See related article: Play-to-earn game developers pivot to engaging fans Fast facts “We are going […]

The crypto world is plagued by products that are hard to use and have little utility, writes Roman Kashcheev of Quantfury. What can turn things around?