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Brinc, a Hong Kong-headquartered venture capital focused on Web 3.0, today announced that it has secured US$30 million in a Series B round and an additional US$100 million for startup investments. The funding was led by Animoca Brands — a Hong Kong-based blockchain gaming, metaverse and non-fungible token (NFT) company — to further fuel Brinc’s investment in […]

Nike announced the acquisition of a company that designs fashion clothing for the metaverse, RTFKT Studios, once noted for selling 608 pairs of NFT shoes in just six minutes. Fast facts After announcing the acquisition, both Nike and RTFKT Studios tweeted videos, each containing the logos of Nike, Jordan, Converse and RTFKT. RTFKT Studios, founded […]

Metizens can already attend concerts, visit art galleries and earn money in a metaverse, writes Joe Caselin of Hex Trust. What’s coming next?

Blockchain gaming studio Vulcan Forged was hacked on Tuesday and 4.5 million PYR, the platform’s native token, was stolen, the company announced on Twitter. Fast facts Vulcan Forged also runs a decentralized exchange and a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace. The attacker gained the private keys to 96 wallets and proceeded to empty them, making off […]

The billion-dollar intersection of sports and crypto is a big win for all, writes Ben Armstrong, aka BitBoy Crypto. Here’s how to make sense of this seismic cultural shift.

Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), one of the most successful non-fungible token (NFT) collections, is joining hands with Animoca Brands — a Hong Kong-based blockchain gaming, metaverse and NFT company — to develop a play-to-earn game utilizing BAYC’s popular avatar NFTs, according to a company statement. Fast facts The new game, which will feature play-to-earn […]

Gamers and developers gather at the annual Digital Entertainment Leadership Forum to discuss how video games may evolve in the future.

Confusion surrounded the Solana blockchain community over the weekend as a sudden drop in transaction speeds was initially believed to be a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack, resulting in a lengthy debate as to the cause of the delay. Fast facts Solana-based non-fungible token (NFT) platform Blockasset was one of the first to highlight […]

The price of the native token of the SafeMoon blockchain momentarily surged over 8% in price this morning Asia time, as the developer behind the token announced that it had successfully transitioned to the second iteration of the network. SafeMoon’s price retreated throughout the day, however, and was trading at US$0.0000016 at press time, 2% […]

Shibu Inu coin struggles, meanwhile could blockchain an inflation hedge solution?

Decentralized autonomous organizations are ripe for robot takeovers, says SingularityDAO’s Marcello Mari. After all, why do decentralized entities need leaders?

Gaming is increasingly defined by NFTs, play-to-earn and the metaverse, writes Charlie Baillie of Ampverse. Will Asia continue to lead the hottest gaming trends?

Blockchain gaming unicorn Animoca Brands announced yesterday a partnership with Aquis Farm — a major racehorse-breeding business owned by Hong Kong’s billionaire Fung family — to bring equestrian activities into the metaverse. The blockchain specialist will leverage Aquis Farm’s equestrian intellectual properties to develop blockchain games and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).  Fast facts “Aquis recognises the […]

India’s proposed rules for digital assets would ban cryptocurrency for payments while the Securities and Exchange Board regulates exchanges. Will it become law?

Hong Kong-based venture capital (VC) firm Chiron Partners announced Wednesday the launch of a US$50 million fund to support the Terra blockchain ecosystem. Fast facts Chiron Partners will use the fund, namely the Chiron Terra Fund I (CTI), to invest in innovative projects built on the Terra ecosystem, such as decentralized finance (DeFi) applications and […]

Animoca Brands — a Hong Kong-based blockchain gaming, metaverse and non-fungible token (NFT) company — said it held US$15.87 billion worth of digital assets at the end of November, reflecting robust growth in its metaverse business units. Fast facts Animoca Brands said in a statement released Wednesday that in the first three quarters of this […]

New OpenSea chief financial officer Brian Roberts has clarified that the company is not actively planning for an initial public offering, days after his comments riled the OpenSea NFT community. Fast facts In a tweet on Wednesday, Roberts wrote: “There was inaccurate reporting about @OpenSea’s plans. Let me set the record straight: there is a […]

South Korea’s National Tax Service (NTS) recently launched an intensive tax investigation into blockchain and crypto venture capital firm Hashed, while its CEO denies any involvement in slush fund raising or tax evasion, according to local media reports. Fast facts Hashed confirmed that it had cooperated with the 4th Bureau of Investigation from the Seoul […]

ENS allows for a readable username that is portable across dApps and blockchains. Why is it important for the Web 3.0 world? Forkast.News explains.

Four of Japan’s virtual currency firms established the Japan Metaverse Association (JMA) yesterday with aims to promote metaverse technology and improve the framework for implementing user protection measures. Fast facts The Japan Metaverse Association aims to help the country become a forerunner in the race toward the metaverse by collecting and sharing essential information from […]

Meta’s South Korea representative says the country has one of the best environments for the metaverse business to thrive in, at its first press conference in Korea after rebranding from Facebook. Fast facts At Meta Korea’s VR (virtual reality) art media showcase, Jung Ki-hyun, the country director, said South Korea is accommodating to the metaverse […]

‘Team Pacquiao GG’ may be coming soon to League of Legends and Axie Infinity. But whatever happened to the former pro boxer’s Pac token?

With suitable regulation in place, DeFi could yet play an important role in the financial system, BIS suggests.

Brian Roberts, who recently resigned from ride-sharing firm Lyft, has become the first CFO of OpenSea and is charting a course for its initial public offering, according to a Bloomberg report. Fast facts Roberts, who previously worked at Microsoft and Walmart, is set to step down after a seven-year stint at Lyft. Roberts will, however, continue […]

Tourism officials want to attract more crypto-wealthy travelers to Thailand’s shimmering shores. But will the crypto faithful come if Thailand still has a ban on SHIB and Dogecoin?

Binance Smart Chain (BSC) has joined hands with Animoca Brands — a Hong Kong-based blockchain gaming, metaverse and non-fungible token (NFT) company — to launch a US$200 million investment program to accelerate and incubate early crypto gaming startups built on BSC, according to a company statement released Monday. Fast facts Specifically, the duo are co-investing up to US$100 million […]

Singapore-based crypto exchange had claimed the fan token would support BTS members — while the band’s agency denied any association with it.

Japan’s mobile game Elemental Knights Online is planning to release Gensokishi Online -META WORLD-, which is its newest version incorporating elements of play-to-earn, user-generated NFTs (non-fungible tokens), and the metaverse. Fast facts Gensokishi Online’s “Meta World” metaverse will allow players to purchase land and freely edit in their creations, such as buildings and characters. The […]

Terry Gou, founder of Foxconn, which manufactures components for Apple’s iPhone, said Saturday at an event that mainstream monetary finance could not really be decentralized and only an underground economy would adopt cryptocurrency, as reported by Taiwanese local media Economic Daily News. Fast facts Gou later said in a Facebook post — to clarify comments […]

Signaling a growing interest in business opportunities in the interactive virtual world, KRAFTON, one of South Korea’s major game developers, quietly invested 5 billion Korean won (around US$4.2 million) in Naver Z back in July. Naver Z, under internet giant Naver, services the fast-growing Zepeto metaverse platform. Fast facts KRAFTON told local media that its […]

Supply chain woes are deepening as seasonal consumer demand meets a logistics logjam. Dennis Delgado of SyncFab explains how blockchain can help. 

A cabinet note suggests the government intends to regulate cryptocurrencies as assets with the Securities and Exchange Board of India at the helm.

BadgerDAO, a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) focused on bringing Bitcoin to decentralized finance (DeFi), is the latest to suffer an exploit that was estimated to result in losses of US$120 million. Fast facts Crypto security firm PeckShield said in a Thursday tweet the total loss has amounted to at least 2,100 BTC and 151 ETH. […]

Distinguished names in South Korean industry have invested in Hashed Venture Fund II to promote the Web3 ecosystem.

A new normal forced by the pandemic is bringing out a wave of creators and influencers for a decentralized economy, writes Alex Shkor of DEIP. Here’s what to expect in the year to come.

Shiba Inu and Luna on a tear, also K-pop bets on digital assets

Top blockchain and crypto news: Are India’s CBDC plans crowding out crypto? Jack Dorsey goes full Bitcoin bro. China’s digital yuan hopes claim another victim.

South Korea-based Naver Z Corporation — the operator of metaverse platform Zepeto — raised 223.5 billion Korean won, or about US$189 million in a Series B round, which included investments from SoftBank, Mirae Asset and three of K-pop’s largest talent agencies. Fast facts Japan’s SoftBank led the funding round by investing about US$148 million in Naver […]

The Cosmos ecosystem is expanding rapidly with inter-blockchain transfers on the rise. What makes Cosmos different from other blockchains? Forkast.News explains.

Now that South Korea’s crypto tax is delayed a year, what will the final form look like? Should crypto gains be taxed like stock profits — or winning the lottery?

The metaverse is a convergence of the physical and digital worlds, writes Gloria Wu of Ontology. How can the metaverse escape Web 2.0’s failings?

Twitter’s stock rose 10% on the news, and his other company, Square, also opened up 4%.

The director of China’s central bank’s anti-money laundering office said the People’s Bank of China will establish a tracking system for the virtual assets, such as cryptocurrencies and NFTs, for cracking down on virtual-related crimes, adopting technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, mainland China local media reported. Fast facts Gou Wenjun said at […]

SK Square, a new investment firm under one of South Korea’s largest conglomerates, SK Group, chose cryptocurrency exchange Korbit as one of its first investments. The two companies aim to upgrade the trading platform’s environment in order to deliver more accurate and trustworthy investment information to users, and plan future businesses in the metaverse and […]

The impact was relatively short-lived, and many major tokens had already retraced most of their positions from Friday coming in Asia business hours.

South Korea reaches a tentative agreement to delay a pending tax on virtual assets. Crypto investors in next-door Japan already face taxation up to 55%.

Metaverse picks up momentum, on the other hand Binance tweet gets yellow card

Andrés Iniesta, former FC Barcelona veteran and current midfielder for Japan’s Vissel Kobe, promoted crypto exchange Binance via Twitter, which prompted a securities market regulator to write a cautionary reply tweet against crypto. Fast facts Iniesta wrote on Twitter Wednesday, saying: “I’m learning how to get started with crypto with Binance,” also posting pictures of […]

The metaverse has been the hottest trend in tech this past month and tokens attached to metaverse projects are showing that growth with the Sandbox’s SAND and Decentraland’s MANA are both up over 600% in the past month to reach all-time highs of US$8.51 and US$5.90 yesterday, respectively, according to CoinMarketCap. Fast facts The Sandbox […]

Luxury fashion houses set trends that trickle down to the rest of culture. Here’s where brands like Prada and Burberry are headed on the blockchain curve.

Gamevil, the South Korean mobile game software developer, has acquired blockchain technology company Zenaad with plans to grow as a platform for blockchain-based games. Fast facts Gamevil revealed yesterday that it has entered the final stage of constructing its blockchain ecosystem with the acquisition of Zenaad. The tech force at Zenaad has been internalized into […]

Cardano ADA and Tron TRX will no longer be available to eToro’s US customers next year while CRO reflects Crypto.com ‘going from strength to strength.’

Arbitrum is leading the way in Ethereum scaling, according to a new report by Nansen, a blockchain analytics platform. What are the challenges that lie ahead?

Hex Trust and Animoca Brands team up to tackle a key problem in gamefi.

Blockchain gaming company Animoca reacts to a US$1.1 million scam on a Discord server for its upcoming new game release.

India proposes crypto ban meanwhile Metaverse race heats up

South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) compiled a set of proposals for a new crypto law including criminal punishment to unfair actors in the market. The compiled report has been submitted to the national assembly for review. Fast facts Yesterday, the FSC submitted a basic outline for the national assembly’s consideration in constructing the new […]

As social media’s influence on broader society continues to grow, decentralized platforms will mean less central moderation — for better or worse.

The Pacific island nation of Palau has partnered with San Francisco-based blockchain payments company Ripple on a U.S. dollar-backed digital currency for the country — the world’s first government-based national stablecoin — using the XRP Ledger, according to a Ripple announcement. Fast facts Ripple will provide Palau with technical, business, design and policy support for […]

BloXmove will use the Ontology blockchain to allow people to have one decentralized, secure identifier to share across multiple transportation apps.

Another e-CNY scam busted, meanwhile SCMP to tokenize history

Algorand ‘re-imagines’ blockchain by trying to solve key weaknesses of Bitcoin. Learn about this wannabe Ethereum killer in this Forkast.News explainer.

OliveX, a digital health and fitness company listed on the national stock exchange of Australia (NSX), today announced it will be raising AUD$8 million (US$5.8 million) via a share placement with investors including Hong Kong-based blockchain gaming company Animoca Brands, One Football, a digital media platform for football, and Bombora Investment, as it builds out a […]

A week after the announcement that the famed Staples Center in Los Angeles will be renamed the Crypto.com Arena, the city plays host to another landmark crypto event, as a player for the NFL team the L.A. Rams has announced he will receive his US$4.25 million salary for the 2021-22 season in Bitcoin. Fast facts […]

The US Infrastructure Act has provisions that should make crypto advocates shudder, writes Alex Shipp of Offshift. Who will stand up for crypto’s core values?

How blockchain technology can usher in the next stage of the internet and social media, through decentralized hosting and integration with cryptocurrency.

Crypto market cap plunges as South Korean banks head into metaverse

The promise of financial democratization forms the bedrock of DeFi’s appeal. But who’s in charge — and who to hold responsible when things go south?

Out of nowhere, a leaderless ‘flash mob’ of crypto investors pops up to buy a rare copy of the US Constitution. What are DAOs and how do they work? Forkast.News explains.

Joining the slew of cryptocurrency exchanges that have completed investment rounds in recent months, New York-based cryptocurrency exchange Gemini this week announced the close of a US$400 million funding round led by Morgan Creek Digital, bringing the company’s valuation to US$7.1 billion. Fast facts Investors in the funding round — which was Gemini’s first-ever outside […]

As interest in the metaverse continues to gain pace, big names in entertainment including Snoop Dogg, deadmau5 and Shaun Neff have joined leading crypto VC firm Outlier Ventures to invest and advise start-ups to accelerate the Open Metaverse. Fast facts Since launching its Base Camp Accelerator in 2019, Outlier Ventures has helped raise over US$250 […]

Taproot unlocks Bitcoin opportunities meanwhile Mintable aims big