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K-pop superstars Brave Girls, Se7en and A.C.E. are among the latest to jump on the non-fungible token bandwagon. Are fans buying it?

Despite speculation that the NFT market is cooling, OpenSea continues to post record transaction volumes, and Hong Kong artists are getting in on the action.

Chinese blockchain company RongxinChain has alleged that Tencent’s IOU applet is operating in breach of the country’s Unfair Competition Law, according to a report by the Shenzhen Baoan District Credit Promotion Association. Fast facts Tencent’s IOU blockchain applet went online in July on the company’s “super app,” Wechat, allowing users to issue legally valid IOUs […]

CoinDCX, an Indian cryptocurrency exchange, has become the country’s first crypto unicorn with a US$90 million Series C fundraise, the company announced today. The funding was led by Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin’s B Capital. The fresh funding pegs CoinDCX’s valuation at US$ 1.1 billion. Fast facts Founded in 2018, CoinDCX offers a range of crypto […]

Despite a recent recovery in crypto prices, digital asset investment products last week saw outflows of US$26 million, according to CoinShares, Europe’s largest digital asset fund manager. It was the fifth consecutive week in which institutional money flowed out of cryptocurrencies, mainly Bitcoin. Fast facts Bitcoin — the largest cryptocurrency by market value — bore […]

Amid a period of increasing regulatory interest in stablecoins, Circle, the digital payment company that issues USDC, the world’s second-largest stablecoin , has announced plans to become a full-reserve national digital currency bank in the U.S. Fast facts In a company blog post, CEO and co-founder Jeremy Allaire said the company was prepared to operate […]

After hovering aroud the US$35,000 mark through most of June and July, Bitcoin’s price has started rising again this past month. In the past 24 hours, Bitcoin’s price broke US$45,000 for the first time since mid-May amid the market-wide crash from the historic highs in April, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Fast facts Conversely, gold […]

A landmark US$1 trillion infrastructure bill moved one step closer to becoming law on Sunday, notably without carve-outs for cryptocurrency miners and network validators. What does it mean for the industry?

Singapore and Hong Kong are at the forefront of regulations over crypto exchanges, writes Vince Turcotte of Eventus Systems. Here’s why trade surveillance and risk management will be critical.

As more crypto companies go public, some are returning to a decentralized business model. ShapeShift CEO Erik Voorhees explains the ethos and reasons why.

E-commerce company’s tie-up with government-owned lender suggests hybrid private-state future for central bank digital currency.

Binance — the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume — today announced that it will be restricting the use of its derivatives products for customers from Hong Kong. Fast facts Hong Kong customers will, with immediate effect, not be able to open new Binance deriviative product accounts, according to a Binance announcement posted at […]

As court grants CEO request to obtain info from Binance to bolster defense in SEC lawsuit, Ripple seeks to expand use cases for XRP Ledger.

Ethereum’s London hard fork sees a smooth launch as the crypto market sends Ether’s price soaring.

Will Google greenlighting US crypto ads, Ethereum’s London upgrade and clearer regulations pave the way for another Ether price rally?

In a long-awaited reversal of a 2018 policy decision, Google will allow crypto exchanges and wallets to advertise on its platform in the U.S. But not everyone’s happy.

DBS eyes bigger investor base as digital assets under custody top US$100 million.

Amid a turbulent time for the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance has announced a new partnership with Alchemy Pay to bring crypto payment options to e-commerce platforms such as Shopify. Fast facts Running on the exchange’s Binance Pay feature, the partnership will allow users and merchants to send and receive crypto globally in over 40+ […]

Hong Kong-based Aspen Digital, a digital asset management platform for institutional investors, announced on Wednesday that it has secured US$8.8 million in pre-A funding to develop a one-stop shop for asset managers to invest in digital assets and manage their clients’ portfolios. Fast facts The funding round was led by RIT Capital Partners, the London-based […]

Cryptocurrency miners are front-running Ethereum transactions to make profits called MEV that critics decry as unfair. What can be done about it?

Investing in litigation was once limited to the wealthy. But a lawsuit’s monetary potential can now be tokenized for sale to the masses. Is that a good idea?

Ethereum upgrade closely watched also India launches e-RUPI voucher

Top blockchain and crypto news: Is Ethereum’s price flatlining on eve of revolution? Uncle Sam wants pay to play. China’s Big Tech toes the line with NFTs.

Chinese central bank branches in Fujian and Guangxi provinces have announced that their provinces did US$2.4 billion and US$875 million, respectively, of blockchain-based export credit insurance financing for the first half of 2021. Fast facts Fujian Province struck a total of 6,516 insurance deals, and Guangxi Province saw 166 enterprises participate. On May 17, the […]

North America emerges as hardware demand hotspot amid Beijing’s regulatory onslaught against cryptocurrency sector.

ETH rose in a historic run in anticipation of ‘Ethereum halving’ — but dipped on the eve of the London hard fork. Forkast.News asks top cryptocurrency analysts to find out why.

Binance’s woes continue to mount as global banking giant HSBC is now blocking its customers in the United Kingdom from making credit card payments to Binance, according to Yahoo News. Binance is the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. Fast facts HSBC’s move follows similar actions taken by NatWest — a Scotland-based bank with 12.5 million customers […]

The Ethereum ecosystem is continuing to see strong growth, with institutional capital ‘flooding’ into decentralized finance and decentralized autonomous organizations flourishing.

Cryptocurrency mining rig manufacturer Canaan has announced the appointment of James Jin Cheng as its new CFO, following the resignation of his predecessor in February. Fast facts Cheng was previously vice president of Chinese internet recruiting platform Zhaopin Ltd., which listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2014 before being taken private in 2017. […]

Global payments giant Square — which recently made moves into decentralized finance — is acquiring Australian “buy now pay later” fintech company Afterpay for US$29 billion (AU$39 billion) to expand its range of services, according to a recent company press release. Fast facts The purchase will enable Square’s CashApp and Seller business units to offer […]

Australian cryptocurrency exchange Independent Reserve said Monday that it had received an “in-principle approval” for a Major Payment Institution License in Singapore to operate as a regulated digital payment token (DPT) service provider, according to a company statement. Fast facts Founded in Australia in 2013, Independent Reserve set up its first overseas operations in Singapore […]

Crypto-related crime has hit record levels in Hong Kong for the first six months of this year, with one victim losing HK$124 million (US$15.95 million) to fraudsters, according to the South China Morning Post. Fast facts Hong Kong police recorded 496 such cases totaling HK$214.4 million (US$27.58 million) in just the first half of this […]

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has a vision for metaverses — online worlds that one day will replace big parts of our offline lives. But some say that future is already here.

China maintains crypto market pressure. On the other hand, J-Pop stars offer NFT advice.

People’s Bank of China vows to keep sector under ‘heavy pressure’ as it pushes digital yuan.

World’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange steps up compliance and cuts product offerings, with a ban in Malaysia and end of lucrative derivatives business in three EU nations.

A provision in an infrastructure bill being debated by the U.S. Senate has prompted concerns in the crypto industry as it boosts Internal Revenue Service reporting requirements for investors and brokers. Fast facts According to the New York Times, the provision is an effort to help fund a US$ 1 trillion bipartisan bill and could […]

A new NFT platform built on Hedera Hashgraph aims to give patients greater control over their health information. How does it work?

Two of Japan’s largest crypto firms, Monex and SBI Groups, have seen strong performances in the second quarter of the year, according to the groups’ respective Q2 reports. Fast facts SBI operates two domestic exchanges, SBI VC Trade and the TaoTao platform, as well as the mining arm SBI Crypto and U.K.-based liquidity provider B2C2. […]

Blockchain technology is part of the important work being done toward a safer and healthier world. Lucas Schweiger of Blockdata summarizes this year’s strides forward.

The global Bitcoin hashrate is now on an uptrend as miners pushed out by China resettle on friendlier shores and resume investing big money in mining equipment.

Busan, the “blockchain city” of South Korea, is in the early stages of building its own platform for digital asset transactions. Fast facts According to Coindesk Korea, Busan city has started setting up detailed plans and strategies in establishing a digital asset exchange. Its plans include building an ecosystem for securities token-based digital asset transactions […]

Speaking to Parliament, India’s finance minister reveals that the government does not know how many crypto exchanges India has nor the number of crypto users.

The International Monetary Fund says it has a mandate to help countries around the world adopt and adapt to digital currencies, but only if the digital money is in the public interest — which Bitcoin is not, according to an IMF report published yesterday. Fast facts While the IMF recognizes the potential benefits of digital […]

Japan’s crypto-asset business association published a report yesterday that highlights issues in crypto investing for the country’s institutional investors.  Fast facts This report is an update of the latest use cases and projects from the “Discussion Paper Interim Report on Cryptocurrency Use Cases” published on May 7, 2021, and is a supplementary material to the […]

What is Robinhood really worth, now that it’s a public company? Perhaps its true value depends on who you are.

Robinhood’s hotly-anticipated market debut had an underwhelming start on Thursday, closing 8% down on its debut price of US$38, according to data from TradingView.com. Fast facts Trading under the ticker HOOD, Robinhood’s stock had an immediate rocky start, falling 10% before recovering slightly. But HOOD still ended the day at US$34.82. As Forkast reported recently, […]

Wire fraud, including cryptocurrency-related fraud, becomes fastest-growing crime as scams — some even involving China’s digital yuan project — proliferate.

Tokenization is creating new ways to invest. 3 crypto firms are partnering to also offer crypto retirement portfolios and inheritance planning.

Number of new South Korean crypto investors have tanked in the month of June as crypto mining investments boom outside China.

Despite China’s crackdowns on Bitcoin mining and growing consternation about crypto mining’s carbon footprint, some miners are betting big on a rosy future.

Bitmain’s move comes amid China’s crypto mining crackdowns and AntPool’s shrinking hashrate. Is Bitmain gussying up for an IPO?

Shifting to renewable energy is now a global goal. Using electric vehicles as an example, Author Joseph Jacobelli examines how digital technologies like blockchain will lead the way to a greener planet.

Hong Kong-based crypto financial services company Amber Group wants to bridge the gap between creators, collectors and platforms looking to get into NFTs and the crypto space.

Binance CEO CZ confirms that a new executive may lead the organization. Meanwhile, Bitmain spins off one of the world’s largest mining pool Antpool.

The fee-free trading platform’s initial public offering promises plenty of action for retail investors, but pitfalls may lie in wait amid trading volatility and wider adoption of business model.

Top blockchain and crypto news: Is Amazon taking up BTC? Robinhood’s share sale deserves scrutiny. Did Huobi jump or was it pushed?

Thailand’s central bank yesterday published guidelines to regulate and promote the use of blockchain technology in the financial sector.  Fast facts Released by Siritida Panomwon Na Ayudhya, assistant governor of the payment systems policy and financial technology group at the Bank of Thailand, the guidelines provides principles for blockchain technology adoption by financial services providers.  […]

The Korea Fair Trade Commission has advised eight cryptocurrency exchanges to changes terms and conditions in their user agreements that it deems unfair to customers. Fast facts The commission discovered 15 types of terms and conditions that it said were unfavorable to customers. One condition stipulated that balances of less than a minimum withdrawal amount […]

San Francisco-based payments technology company Ripple has partnered with SBI Remit, Japan’s largest money transfer provider, mobile payments service Coins.ph and digital asset exchange platform SBI VC Trade to use XRP for remittances between Japan and the Philippines, according to a company statement. Fast facts The partnership — Ripple’s first on-demand liquidity service implementation in […]

Fifteen of India’s largest banks have invested in a fintech firm that aims to use blockchain to speed up domestic letters of credit, a first in domestic trade finance, regulatory filings to the National Stock Exchange of India show. Fast facts Named the Indian Banks’ Blockchain Infrastructure Co., the firm uses blockchain technology to verify […]

EthSign — a Singapore-based electronic signing platform built on the Ethereum blockchain — today announced additional seed round funding from Silicon Valley venture capital firm Draper Associates. Fast facts EthSign is a decentralized application that allows users to comment on, edit and access each version of an electronic agreement securely. Built on the Ethereum blockchain, […]

In an effort to “expand and accelerate innovation around digital asset technology”, Mastercard is launching a new global program to support cryptocurrency startups by giving them access to Mastercard’s business network and technology. Fast facts Announced yesterday, Mastercard’s Start Path program already has signed up seven crypto-related startup companies: GK8, Mintable, Stacs, Supraoracles, Taurus, Uphold […]

Capital increase takes company’s valuation to US$2 billion as it looks to grow customer base, partnerships.

Ethereum’s future is top of mind for a group of fintech experts polled by Finders. Where do they think Ethereum prices are headed, and will Ethereum overtake Bitcoin?

Jasmine Telecom Systems, a publicly-listed unit of Thai telecoms operator Jasmine International, is set to ride the Bitcoin mining wave, with plans to install tens of thousands of mining machines over the next few years. Fast facts JTS is kicking off plans to deploy 500 mining machines in a data center in the third quarter […]

The Philippine Digital Asset Exchange, a cryptocurrency trading platform licensed by the central bank of the Philippines, now has more than 450,000 users, a 22.5-times increase from 2019, the bourse has told local media.  Fast facts PDAX Chief Executive Nichel Gaba said many Filipinos were crypto-curious, which explained why the number of traders on the […]

A cryptocurrency-themed TV drama series with a historical twist is currently in production in South Korea, depicting the make-believe arrival of a cryptocurrency in the country’s ancient Joseon Dynasty. Fast facts “The Age of Money,” as the show will be known, follows a fictional king trying to get to the bottom of an “invisible” brass […]

World’s largest stablecoin dismisses report suggesting possibility of U.S. investigation, despite claims of recent Justice Department interest and track record of legal woes.

As regulation permitting the establishment of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds remains stalled in the U.S., Goldman Sachs has officially applied for an ETF offering exposure to companies in decentralized finance and blockchain. Fast facts In a recent filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the bank said its fund — the Goldman Sachs Innovate DeFi […]

For the third consecutive week, digital asset investment products last week saw outflows — this time, to the tune of US$28 million, according to CoinShares, Europe’s largest digital assets fund manager. Bitcoin saw the majority of outflows, but multi-asset investment products remained positive with inflows of US$3.1 million. Fast facts Bitcoin investment products saw US$24 […]

Singapore-based crypto derivatives exchange Bybit today announced it had made a US$19.3 million contribution in Ethereum (ETH), Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC) to BitDAO, one of the world’s largest decentralized autonomous organizations, which it helped launch last month. Fast facts Many crypto projects, especially those in decentralized finance, have organized themselves as DAOs for […]