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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

Algorand (ALGO) — the native cryptocurrency of the Algorand blockchain — soared 50% from just under US$1.70 noon Asia time today to a new two-year high of US$2.66, according to CoinGecko data. But the surge was short-lived, with ALGO currently trading just under US$2 as of publishing time. Fast facts Algorand’s surge amidst the wider […]

Billions have been stolen through hacks from decentralized finance protocols, with Ethereum seeing the bulk of losses, according to a report by Elliptic.

Ethereum blockchain software company ConsenSys today announced the completion of a US$200 million funding round, bringing the company’s valuation to US$3.2 billion as it seeks to spearhead the growth of Web 3.0. Fast facts ConsenSys’ announcement comes as the number of monthly active users of its MetaMask non-custodial wallet product exceeded 21 million — a 38-fold increase from […]

A ticket to the metaverse is highly coveted in South Korea, whether it’s by an individual, a public company or a city government.

In a speech, Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin notes the rise in cities experimenting with crypto, DAO and NFTs. What are the possibilities of blockchain cities?

Scams like the Squid Game Token rug pull are every investor’s nightmare. How to avoid hoaxes and not feel like a fool? Forkast.News explains.

Ethereum Layer 2 solutions — protocols built on top of the Ethereum blockchain that handle transactions off the Ethereum mainnet — have been on the rise as developers work on improving Ethereum’s scalability as its number of users and applications continue to grow. Polygon, a Layer 2 Ethereum scaling platform, today announced the launch of […]

South Korean financial companies bring investors results a month after their metaverse exchange-traded funds were listed, with one fund gathering nearly $170M in net asset value.

After shooting to prominence earlier in the year and bringing huge profits to early adopters, earnings for players of blockchain-based game Axie Infinity have dropped below the minimum wage line for most players in the Philippines, according to a recent report by research firm Naavik. Fast facts Using data sourced from the official website of […]

The Algorand Foundation, a Singapore-based blockchain organization supporting the development of the Algorand ecosystem, has partnered with the Blockchain Association Singapore to drive the development of blockchain technology in Singapore and the wider Southeast Asia region. Fast facts In a memorandum of understanding signed on Nov. 12, the ecosystem partnership will see the Algorand Foundation […]

In another sign of increasing adoption of blockchain technology in the gaming industry, Forte — a leading provider of blockchain solutions for game publishers — has secured US$725 million in a Series B fundraising round, the firm announced. Fast facts Led by Sea Capital and Kora Management, this follows from the US$185 million it raised […]

First Digital Trust, a Hong Kong-regulated trust and custodian specializing in digital assets, has become the first official custodian of IX Swap, a security token and cryptocurrency exchange, according to a company announcement today. Fast facts IX Swap is a decentralized finance (DeFi) automated market maker and liquidity pool for security tokens and tokenized stocks. […]

The religious body’s decision comes after the country saw crypto transaction growth earlier this year.

Covid laid bare the gaps in people’s access to banking services. Moeda Seeds is looking not just to fill the gaps but to change the banking paradigm.

Rounding out an impressive year for the world’s No. 5 blockchain, Solana held its first global offline conference in Lisbon this week. Here’s a look at some of the key moments.

Only two days after hinting via Twitter that leading social media platform Discord may support Ethereum, company co-founder and CEO Jason Citron has clarified the platform “has no current plans” to integrate the two. Fast facts Tweeting in response to the original post, Citron thanked community members for their perspectives and reiterated the firm is […]

Ethereum’s sprawling Web 3.0 ecosystem — which includes the majority of the decentralized finance (DeFi), stablecoins, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and blockchain gaming worlds — continues to expand and draw users, with 3.4 million Ethereum addresses interacting with DeFi protocols, according to ConsenSys’ Web 3 Q3 2021 report published this week. Led by Ethereum co-founder Joseph […]

After recent scams were uncovered involving Walmart and Kroger, and Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin, why did the stock prices fall while the crypto prices rallied?

Trying to move beyond XRP, Ripple hopes its customers will join RippleNet with a wallet that supports fiat and other cryptos like Bitcoin and Ether.

The digital artist who helped launch the non-fungible token craze earlier this year, Beeple, has sold his first physical artwork and accompanying NFT for US$28.9 million at a live Christie’s auction in New York on Tuesday night. Fast facts Beeple’s first physical work “Human One” is a seven-foot-tall box with LED screens on each side […]

Bitcoin & Beyond

Panel looks at best practices in news coverage from Decrypt Media, CoinDesk, South China Morning Post.

Co-founder and CEO of popular social media platform Discord, Jason Citron, has hinted at integration with Ethereum via wallets such as MetaMask by tweeting a screenshot of Discord connecting to the world’s number two blockchain along with the caption “probably nothing.” Fast facts It came in response to another tweet by writer Packy McCormick, which […]

As Ethereum has become the preferred blockchain for smart contracts, what’s the future of the Bitcoin blockchain?