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Why is social media’s current centralization problematic, and what would a decentralized Twitter or Facebook look like?

Play-to-earn game Axie Infinity has caught the blockchain community’s attention in the past few months as the price of its governance token has kept rising. Now it’s hit an all-time high, players are earning some serious money.

ICICI blocks crypto transfers as South Korean banks are to report crypto crime.

As issuer Circle prepares to list and China sounds the alarm over speculation, the mood among regulators is mixed, despite stablecoins’ clear appeal to investors.

In the second installment of a 2-part report, Lucas Schweiger of Blockdata examines the most notable current trends in blockchain and capital markets.

South Korean financial watchdog says the nation’s crypto laws will apply to foreign exchanges.

Korean banks extend partnerships with crypto exchanges — for now. And also in Korea, how to earn crypto during bathroom breaks.

Cosmos’s DeFi capital pulling power is set to get stronger as Gravity DEX launches, with Gravity Bridge and the Emeris DeFi portal on the way.

The price of Axie Infinity blockchain game’s native token has been on a tear. Why is Small Love Potion (SLP), a token on the AXS ecosystem, also rising?

Crypto industry gets the ‘overleveraged’ label and authorities are cracking down on derivatives providers. Alexander Höptner of 100x believes the pushback foreshadows the industry’s next big thing — derivatives.

Market dominance suggests that investors are flocking towards Bitcoin as Covid delta variant concerns hit markets. In Thailand, authorities remind the industry of their stance on cryptocurrency payments.

NFTs offer haven as authors self-censor amid intensifying crackdown on free expression.

Though Dogecoin and NFTs dominate headlines, their underlying technology — blockchain — is transforming our world in more meaningful ways, according to authors Kosrow Dehnad and Joe Duncan.

Korea issues penalties for kimchi premium arbitrage as China holds its 15th digital yuan pilot trials.

In the first of a special two-part report, Lucas Schweiger of Blockdata explores what the future of capital markets could look like with blockchain-based infrastructure.

Top blockchain and crypto news: Ethereum upgrade, torque of the town. SEC in snafu over Bitcoin ETFs. Crypto miners flourish amid China fallout.

Chinese tech giant forecasts a US$17.3 million loss in its BTC investment as more musicians in Asia lean towards NFTs.

The standards-setter for banks around the world wants to subject crypto like Bitcoin to higher capital requirements. What do industry players think?

Huobi Eco Chain, an open-source, decentralized public blockchain, today announced 11 new partners, including Hong Kong-based blockchain gaming company Animoca Brands and crypto data website CoinMarketCap — which is owned by Huobi rival Binance — that will run validating nodes to improve the stability and decentralization of the network. Fast facts Other new validators include […]

Despite uncertainty surrounding cryptocurrency regulation in India, Coinbase — the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States — is stepping up its expansion plans in the world’s second-most populous country and home to fast-growing projects such as Polygon and Instadapp. Fast facts Coinbase is looking to build out its India tech hub, which was announced […]

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.

Crypto exchanges WazirX and Binance look to implement stronger compliance measures. Forkast News speaks with FTX founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried about crypto regulatory measures in Asia. Chinese district rewards residents with e-Yuan for counting footsteps. We’ll have more on these stories and other news shaping the cryptocurrency and blockchain world in this episode of […]

Mintable, a Singapore-based non-fungible token platform, this week closed a US$13 million series-A funding round, with U.S. payments technology company Ripple Labs investing. Fast facts Mintable, currently built on the Ethereum and Zilliqa blockchains, enables users to create, buy and sell NFTs using fiat or cryptocurrency. Mintable intends to use the fresh capital to scale […]

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 […]

What does a fully functioning network with DeFi applications look like, and why is it important to assess? Garrette Furo of Cosmos explains.

Demand for blockchain analytics is on the rise as FTX partners up with NFL superstar quarterback Tom Brady and supermodel Gisele Bündchen.

Wealth management firms need to develop new offerings around emerging trends such as the rise of digital assets and sustainable investing, according to Capgemini’s World Wealth Report 2021.

Formula 1 has announced that Hong Kong-based Crypto.com will be an inaugural global partner for the new F1 Sprint series in 2021.

Nasdaq-listed Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, announced today its plans to expand its business internationally as it seeks to improve its asset-listing process and build a crypto app store. Fast facts: “We’re seeing crypto quickly mature from its initial use case of trading bitcoin to the trading of thousands of new […]

With Theta’s new mainnet 3.0, the network aims to be the go-to blockchain-powered content delivery platform for online streaming. Will Theta succeed?

Hex Trust, a Hong Kong-based digital asset custodian, today announced that it has secured investment from Cyberport, a technology incubator project backed by the Hong Kong government.

Millennials and Gen Z Millennials have earned the reputation of disrupting or killing traditional industries, and the financial sector is no exception.  The disconnect between millennials and traditional investments is the result of various factors, such as their firsthand experience with the long-term effects of the 2008 global recession on assets and investments, as well […]

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 […]

Interview with Trent Barnes, Principal at Zerocap Tokenization brings new models for raising capital, as well as institutional-grade opportunities Forkast.News: How does a digital asset become “institutional-grade”? What sort of criteria are institutional-level traders looking for? TB: The criteria would include clear guidelines and regulatory frameworks as to how digital assets are treated, deepening pools […]

South Korea’s top asset managers are racing to get into the metaverse game while Forkast.News visits a decentralized theme park in Hong Kong.

Top three digital asset market trends shaping the future Three key trends in the digital asset market are: Tokenization of widely traded traditional assets, such as stocks and bonds; Tokenization of previously untraded or under-traded assets, such as real estate and fine art; Institutional adoption and trading of digital tokens. During the past year the […]

Managing trading volume and geography The importance of having the right infrastructure to drive an exchange – any exchange, not just ones for digital assets – cannot be overstated. It provides the engine that lies behind every software platform.  Investors need to know they can execute trades without outages or other interruption. As well, they […]

Prototype launches in Hong Kong, with children able to collect digital currency and NFTs instead of arcade coupons.

This report is about the development of digital assets, cryptocurrencies and tokenization and how that all-important confidence is established. Thank you for your interest in digital assets and the role of digital asset exchanges, custodians and the value digital assets offer to investors looking to diversify.  For any currency, digital or otherwise, confidence in the […]

Executive Summary The crypto market of 2020 is not the crypto market of 2013. What was once a cryptocurrency market is now a digital asset market. Blockchain’s strengths in efficiently and transparently tracking assets have given birth to an industry of assets represented by tokens, allowing both a new class of investors to have exposure […]

Table of contents Foreword For any currency, confidence is essential. This report is about the development of digital assets, cryptocurrencies and tokenization and how that all-important confidence is established. by Angie Lau, Forkast Editor-in-Chief Executive summary and introduction The crypto market of 2020 is not the crypto market of 2013. What was once a cryptocurrency […]

Why are so few adopting FATF guidance for VASPs? Money laundering watchdog decries ‘continued misuse of virtual assets through jurisdictional arbitrage.’

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?

Nearly one in three novice traders reported making no traditional investments outside crypto over the past year, according to a survey published today by Overbit, a Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange. In contrast, 85.3% of professional traders reported diversifying their investment portfolios to stock, real estate or other traditional assets. Fast facts: The survey of 3,000 traders […]

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.

Sotheby’s has announced it will be accepting cryptocurrency as payment in an upcoming auction for a 101.38-carat diamond with flawless clarity.

Crypto literacy of Indian regulators is evolving and crypto players are trying to keep industry clean via self-regulations, says Nischal Shetty of WazirX.

Singapore-based decentralized exchange SynFutures has closed a $14 million series A round to bring crypto derivatives to new users around the world.

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

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.

Huobi Group has announced the launch of a Blockchain Assets Center to provide a standardized, streamlined process for projects seeking to list on its cryptocurrency exchange, Huobi Global.

South Korean government is holding on-site visits to help crypto exchanges get regulated while an Aussie business wants crypto for rent.

With Kusama slot parachain auctions underway, the first starting next week, Plasm and Shiden networks prepare for a multi-chain future with Polkadot.

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.

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

In a talk this week, Vitalik Buterin explains Ethereum’s growing use in enterprise and the importance of building diverse, open-source communities.

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.

In a special Q&A, Sarojini McKenna of Alien Worlds discusses play-to-earn gaming, digital assets like Trilium, and lives increasingly lived inside virtual worlds.

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.

SpaceChain shoots blockchain to tech to the International Space Station aboard Falcon 9 as Cardano announces first cross-chain bridge with Nervos.

Ethereum has hit a market-share high of 27% of all digital asset investment fund products following recent price corrections.

Thailand becomes one of the first governments to attempt DeFi regulation as India’s RBI clarifies that banking ban no longer exists.

The Financial Stability Board has launched a public consultation on global targets for cross-border payments.

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?

Vitalik Buterin sets a green future for the Ethereum network while Bitdeer becomes the latest to block Chinese miners.

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.

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

Investors are turning to green alternatives to tackle Bitcoin’s impact on the environment as Indonesia gears up for a CBDC.

China’s miners prepare for migration and Hong Kong reacts to possible retail ban. Meanwhile a South Korean governor becomes a crypto influencer.