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Two more regional equity exchanges in the Chinese cities of Tianjin and Qingdao have been approved by the China Securities Regulatory Commission this week to pilot blockchain applications over equity trading. Fast facts The regional equity exchanges are private equity markets in provincial or municipal administrative regions for medium to micro enterprises to trade equity. […]

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 […]

The US Internal Revenue Service is taking a hard look at cryptocurrency transactions to crack down on tax dodgers. How can crypto holders protect themselves?

Three U.S. agencies released a joint statement outlining a plan to fast-track crypto-asset regulation in 2022.

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

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

Citigroup is looking to enter the race toward crypto offerings by hiring 100 people for its blockchain and digital assets division, according to a Bloomberg report. Fast facts The firm has appointed Puneet Singhvi as the head of digital assets for its institutional clients group (ICG), the report said. Singhvi used to head blockchain and […]

More provinces in China are taking serious actions to crack down on crypto mining following the all-out ban announced on Sept. 24 by the country’s top authorities. Fast facts Southeast China’s Fujian provincial development and reform commission on Friday held a video conference meeting with local authorities to clarify their responsibilities and pledged to “clear […]

Inner Mongolia police bust yet another digital yuan money laundering case.

Amid a sea of red in crypto markets today Avalanche is bucking the trend, gaining 130% since the start of the month to reach a new all-time high of US$146.22 and leaping over Dogecoin to enter the crypto top 10. This clears that list of memecoins for the first time since Dogecoin’s historic run in […]

Bitcoin continued its descent this morning Asia time and is currently trading around US$57,050 according to CoinGecko data. The largest cryptocurrency by market value saw a brief surge Monday, crossing the US$59,000 mark, but the rally was not sustained. Ethereum, too, is trading lower at US$4,169, down 15% from its Nov. 10 all-time high of […]

American lifestyle guru Martha Stewart auctions a storytelling NFT recounting her first, disastrous Thanksgiving dinner.

Korea stands firm on NFT games, meanwhile Laos introduces crypto regulations

The Beijing Securities Regulatory Bureau released a list of a first batch of 16 fintech pilot projects. Among the listed projects, four are based on blockchain and one uses e-CNY, the central bank digital currency. The projects are for exploring regulatory frameworks and tools for fintech. Fast facts The e-CNY-based fintech project will allow users […]

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?

The Scandinavian country is concerned with potential environmental harm, while the debt-laden SE Asia nation seeks to regulate.

Chinese cryptocurrency mining rig maker Canaan doesn’t seem to shy away from running its own mining business in Kazakhstan despite a power shortage situation in the Central Asian nation, which has become a popular destination for Chinese miners amid China’s clampdown on the sector. Fast facts Canaan announced today it has started joint mining operations […]

South Korea’s Bithumb exchange has been officially registered under the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). This makes all four major exchanges of the country licensed to operate virtual assets including cash-to-crypto services. Fast facts The FIU announced on Nov. 19 it has registered Bithumb as an official virtual asset business. The country’s other three major exchanges […]

El Salvador — the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender in September — plans on building the world’s first “Bitcoin City,” an entire city to be funded by Bitcoin bonds and powered by geothermal energy from one of the country’s many volcanoes, according to El Salvador’s official presidential Twitter page. […]

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

More than 85 members of the WEF Digital Currency Governance Consortium contributed eight white papers on CBDC and stablecoins.

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?

Blockchain data company Blockdata has published a list of eight top crypto custody providers. The eight companies, selected based on their total funding and assets under custody (AUC), are Coinbase Custody, Bitgo, Fireblocks, Gemini Custody, Ledger Enterprise Solutions, Cactus Custody, NYDIG and Bitcoin Suisse. Fast facts A total of over US$253 billion worth of assets […]

Every morning at Upbit, the nation’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, a brief and odd surge in random altcoin prices takes place. Which crypto will it be tomorrow?

Alibaba’s blockchain branch Antchain has set a time threshold for transferring “digital collectibles” — non-fungible tokens, or NFTs — to prevent what it calls “malicious hype” amid Beijing’s unsupportive attitude towards NFT trading. Fast facts “Digital collectibles” refers to NFTs. Tech giants in China began referring to NFTs as “digital collectibles” amid Chinese state media’s […]

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 […]

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service — the department responsible for collecting tax revenue — seized US$3.5 billion worth of cryptocurrencies during fiscal year 2021, accounting for 93% all assets seized by tax enforcement that year, according to the agency’s 2021 Criminal Investigation Report released Thursday. Fast facts An agency official said on a call with […]

17,437 virtual strangers chipped in over $40 million to jointly buy a rare copy of the US Constitution. They lost their bid but now has everyone asking: What is a DAO?

Acala, a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform built for the Polkadot ecosystem, this week won the first slot in the Polkadot parachain auction with over 32 million DOT (approximately US$1.3 billion) — the native cryptocurrency of Polkadot — contributed by over 81,000 stakeholders. Fast facts The highly-anticipated first Polkadot parachain auction saw a close fight between […]

Blockchain-powered iVote.ph lets users ‘vote’ on NFTs depicting presidential candidates in the Philippines. Can the underlying technology be trusted?

Taproot unlocks Bitcoin opportunities meanwhile Mintable aims big

While fears of a complete ban on virtual currencies have been dispelled, Indian investors are still in the lurch about what may or may not be allowed.

A few more Chinese cryptocurrency news sites are currently unavailable amid the country’s ongoing clampdown on the sector. Fast facts The website of ChainNews, one of China’s largest crypto news websites, was not available as of press time on Thursday. It tweeted on Nov. 15 that the site will be down for eight to 10 […]

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

Bit Digital, a Nasdaq-listed Bitcoin mining company headquartered in New York that had significant operations in China, said in its latest Q3 update that the exit of its mining fleet from China is now complete, with all of its miners having arrived in North America. Fast facts Bit Digital said it started the migration back in […]

Movie director Quentin Tarantino is being sued by Hollywood studio Miramax over his recent plan to auction off a series of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) based on his 1994 film “Pulp Fiction.” Miramax alleges that Tarantino’s planned offerings violate the copyright it holds to the director’s film, including the rights to the property he intends to […]

Bitcoin’s scarcity premium puts crypto into direct competition with gold and treasuries.

Following news of a strategic alliance with Big Four accounting firm Deloitte, AVAX rose above US$106, up 90% for the month.

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 […]

South Korea a metaverse hub, also NFTs go from digital to physical

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

China’s mining exodus has flowed to the cowboy state that embraces crypto, but it might have to take into consideration the surging power loads.

China may be banning crypto mining activities, but rig makers appear to be spared from the clampdown.

Indian investors will now get exposure to global companies in the blockchain ecosystem as the Securities and Exchange Board of India greenlighted the Invesco CoinShares Global Blockchain ETF Fund of Fund (FoF). Fast facts The feeder fund will invest in the Invesco CoinShares Global Blockchain UCITS exchange-traded fund (ETF), formerly known as Invesco Elwood Global […]

Investment firm VanEck’s Bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund (XBTF) closed Tuesday 1.94% down in price to US$59.73 for its initial day of trading on the Chicago-based CBOE global exchange, according to MarketWatch’s data.  Fast facts On Nov. 15, VanEck announced the launch of XBTF as the “lowest-cost Bitcoin-linked ETF” compared to its competitive rivals. The company […]

The projects topped 300 rivals in their potential to improve the future digital Singapore dollar in payment services and financial inclusion. Who were the other winners?

As global markets continue to watch the Evergrande debt crisis nervously, Chinese bank branch agrees to U.S. risk management measures.

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.

The tiny island nation of Barbados announced it will build a virtual embassy in Decentraland.

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 […]

Circle invests in JYPC meanwhile Baby Shark NFTs announced

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.

While a significant legislative achievement for U.S. President Joe Biden, the US$1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill signed into law on Monday included provisions relating to cryptocurrency tax reporting requirements that has many in the industry nervous. Fast facts As Forkast.News previously reported, provisions were added to the bill as it was being drafted in August […]

China has yet again reiterated its determination to crack down on the cryptocurrency mining sector and revealed today that authorities will focus on state-owned entities engaging in virtual currency mining. Fast facts Wei Meng, a spokesperson of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the country’s top economic planner, said at a press briefing today […]

As Circle expands into Asia as part of a global expansion plan, what does the investment in a yen-back stablecoin mean for the market?

While the government has yet to figure out the details, a crypto regulatory regime is expected to be released before February.

LuLu Exchange, a financial services company in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Pakistan’s Bank Alfalah are partnering to bring faster and more cost-effective cross-border payments and remittances from the UAE to Pakistan using RippleNet. Fast facts Bank Alfalah’s integration with RippleNet — Ripple’s global payments network for financial institutions — and its launch with […]

Cryptocurrency prices dropped again this morning Asia time, with Bitcoin and Ethereum trading 7% and 8% lower respectively in 24-hour trading, according to CoinGecko data. In the meanwhile, a new CoinShares report on institutional investing in cryptocurrency found record inflows year-to-date, suggesting that big investors overall are still bullish on crypto. Fast facts Bitcoin — the […]

While Ethereum leads the market in smart contracts, Bitcoin’s Taproot upgrade could help the world’s oldest blockchain emerge as a future contender. Here’s why.

As central bank digital currencies begin picking up steam around the world, the Central Bank of Nigeria announced on Friday the digital wallet for its own digital currency, the eNaira, has been downloaded 488,000 times in 160 countries — in just 19 days after its launch. Fast facts According to local news reports, after President […]

A former Chinese official has been expelled from the Communist Party of China for “serious violations of discipline and law” as he was found to introduce and support cryptocurrency mining activities, in what may be the first time for China’s anti-graft watchdog to expel an official over crypto mining. Fast facts The country’s anti-corruption watchdog […]

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 […]

Russia to legalize crypto mining; Korean candidate goes all out crypto

The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has accepted Coinone’s compliance report with South Korea’s latest crypto regulations, while Bithumb is left as the only crypto trading platform out of the country’s four major exchanges to not be officially registered under the FIU. Fast facts Coinone became the third official cryptocurrency exchange of South Korea, following Upbit […]

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.

The Russian government could be looking to legalize cryptocurrency mining, as parliamentarian Andrey Lugovoy proposed the creation of a working group to discuss the issue, according to a Thursday press statement from State Duma, the country’s lower house of the parliament. Fast facts Lugovoy, also a deputy chairman of a committee on security and anti-corruption, […]

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.

If the term ‘crypto mining’ sounds confusing to you, you’ve come to the right place. In this Forkast.News video explainer, we break down how it all works.

China’s soft rollout of the first major economy’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) continues apace. Yi Gang, governor of the People’s Bank of China, and Mu Changchun, director of the Digital Currency Research Institute of the bank, reported that the average weekly transaction volume of e-CNY is growing by 3 billion yuan (US$469 million) and […]