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CFTC and SEC disagree over whether cryptocurrencies are securities, and two big lawsuits clouding the industry’s future invoke laws that long predate the digital era.

Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange Bitget expects more clarity on Hong Kong’s licensing regime from June as the city pushes ahead with plans to attract blockchain and cryptocurrency entrepreneurs.

Bitcoin dropped below US$29,000, while Ether fell below US$1,900 on Monday afternoon in Asia. Binance’s BNB was the only token in the top 10 cryptocurrencies to rise.

How would layer 3 improve upon what layer-2 protocols do, and what barriers does this emerging technology still need to overcome? Tony Cheng of Foresight Ventures explains.

Bitcoin edged up on Monday morning in Asia to hold above US$29,000. Ether fell below US$1,900. Most other top 10 non-stablecoin tokens traded lower except BNB.

NFT IP allows traders to multiply their brands and grow. The Nakamigos collection has leveraged this advantage of the technology.

Mad Lads has been the best selling NFT collection in the world since its launch that was delayed last week due to a DDOS attack.

Coinbase said the Securities and Exchange Commission seems to be undermining its own role as the monitor of companies registering to sell shares to the public

Bitcoin rebounded from US$27,000 multiple times this week. Uncertainty over U.S. regulation and geopolitical tensions may continue weighing on the crypto market, industry experts told Forkast.

Bitcoin and Ether rose during Asian trading hours on Friday, while the top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization closed mixed. The SOL token saw the biggest gain. Asian equity markets strengthened after the Chinese central bank boosted short-term cash injections for the 11th day.

Arthur Yuen, Deputy Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, urged local lenders to provide banking services to regulated crypto firms.

Welcome to The Daily Forkast – April 28, 2023 – presented by Megha Chaddah. The crypto markets end the week on a strong note after a difficult start, with most of the major cryptocurrencies trading in the green once again. The NFT markets had a tougher time today though, as most of the Forkast Indexes […]

Binance said it has more than 700 employees in its compliance team, which includes 170 staff working to combat crypto fraud.

Bitcoin rose on Friday morning in Asia amid worries about U.S. banks and a possible recession. Ether edged lower. along with most other top 10 tokens.

The current US approach to regulating crypto flies against its history of supporting tech innovation and undermines its own national interest, writes Hamilton Keats of Krayon Digital.

Google Cloud has announced that its node hosting service, the Blockchain Node Engine, will be available for developers on the Polygon blockchain. 

Top blockchain and crypto news: Coinbase in court to force SEC’s hand. PEPE surge lifts memecoin mood. China paves CBDC path with payroll.

Bitcoin and Ether rose during Asian trading hours on Thursday, while most top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization declined. Cardano’s ADA token saw the biggest gain.

Hong Kong’s Web3 industry can look forward to more regulatory clarity, with the city set to release its cryptocurrency exchange licensing framework in May

New York-based investment bank H.C. Wainwright has initiated a “buy” rating on publicly traded Coinbase Global Inc., the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S., saying the company is poised to benefit from growth in the global digital asset economy as the so-called “crypto winter” of falling prices is over.

Franklin Templeton said Wednesday that its OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund is now supported on the Polygon network.

Meta Platforms Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said the social media giant is not moving away from its metaverse focus despite reporting repeated losses in the billions of dollars at its division dedicated to developing the virtual reality online world. 

Bitcoin rose above US$29,000 on Thursday morning in Asia, rebounding from an earlier drop. Ether gained. Other top 10 non-stablecoin tokens traded mixed.

The lack of clarity in crypto rules in the U.S. not only affects exchanges but also this U.S.-based blockchain gaming company, John Linden said.

Tensor topped Magic Eden’s sales volume on Wednesday afternoon in Hong Kong, giving it a brief stint as Solana’s top NFT marketplace. 

Christopher Giancarlo, the former chair of the CFTC, said the U.S. is resisting cryptocurrency innovation due to its threat to vested interests in the financial system.

Bitcoin and Ether rose on Wednesday trade in Asia, along with all top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies, with Solana and Cardano leading the way.

South Korea’s legislation on how to regulate digital assets passed the first phase of review in the country’s National Assembly on Tuesday.

Binance.US, a cryptocurrency exchange set up by Binance chief Changpeng Zhao to serve U.S. clients, has pulled out of a US$1.3 billion deal to buy bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital, the company said Tuesday, citing a lack of clear regulations in the country for the crypto industry.

Bitcoin rose in Wednesday morning trading in Asia to reclaim the US$28,000 mark, with Ether and all other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies moving higher.

‘Proof of reserve’ is the new catchphrase and promise by crypto leaders eager to allay investor fears. But loopholes remain and audits might not mean what you think, writes Anndy Lian.

Bitcoin fell in Tuesday afternoon trade in Asia, along with all other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies. Polygon was the biggest loser followed by Solana.

South Korean prosecutors on Tuesday indicted Terraform Labs co-founder Daniel Shin for alleged fraudulent transactions related to the collapse of the Terra-Luna crypto project.

Ethereum-linked digital asset investment products saw inflows of around US$17 million in the week ending April 21, up from US$300,000 in the previous week, appearing to show investor confidence following the blockchain’s milestone upgrade, Coinshares report shows.

Coinbase sued the U.S. SEC on Monday, asking that a court require the regulator to publicly respond to the Coinbase July 2022 petition asking for clearer crypto regulation guidelines. 

Bitcoin fell below US$27,500 support on Tuesday morning in Asia. Ether and most other top 10 tokens traded lower amid a broader correction.

People won’t want to bother with a new technology if it’s painful to use, even if they’re aware of the potential benefits, writes Toby Rush of Redeem.

Japan’s welcome mat for Web3 is shifting the tone from “buzzword” to opportunity, but success will hinge on the authorities adopting a global, flexible view toward this new technology, says Yudai Suzuki, co-founder of Fracton Ventures.

Russia is now the second largest Bitcoin miner after the U.S., according to a report by Russian media Kommersant. 

PEPE, a memecoin launched on April 14, fell 18.81% to US$0.0000002626 in the 24 hours to 7 p.m. on Monday in Hong Kong. The coin is still up over 392% on the weekly chart and has a market capitalization of US$116 million, according to DEXTools.

Bitcoin extended losses in Monday afternoon trade in Asia, along with all top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, with Solana and Polygon as the biggest losers.

India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in commending the potential of distributed ledger technology (DLT), has urged for a global consensus in regulating crypto while emphasizing that regulation did not equate to government control over the technology. 

State employees in China’s Changshu City will receive their salaries in digital yuan from May, as China’s CBDC expands in daily uses.

Kwon Do-hyeong will have a court hearing on May 11 in Montenegro on charges of allegedly attempting to travel using a false passport.

Bitcoin rose on Monday morning in Asia but was boxed in below US$28,000. Ether and most other top 10 tokens gained, but not by enough to erase losses for the past week.

A new memecoin craze is raising Ethereum transaction fees, but it’s also bringing new liquidity in for non-fungible tokens.

Bitcoin fell to US$28,000 in the same week the European Parliament passed its landmark crypto framework. Industry analysts told Forkast that holding US$27,500 will be crucial for Bitcoin in order to spark an upward momentum.

Mempool congestion issues subsided after the Bitcoin network surpassed 1 million Ordinals inscriptions.

Bitcoin and Ether fell by the end of Asian trading hours on Friday afternoon, together with all top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization apart from the BNB token. Asian equities declined along with U.S. futures, amid mounting political pressure between China and the U.S. Fast facts See related article: EU green lights MICA but […]

Leading auction house Sotheby’s said it will sell NFT artworks owned by the bankrupt crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital.

Bitcoin’s mining difficulty level rose 1.72% on Thursday to a record high, while the network’s hashrate increased, showing miners are applying more computing power.

Bitcoin fell to near US$28,000 on Friday morning in Asia, with Ether trading flat and most other top 10 non-stablecoin tokens losing steam.

Critics have long slammed Bitcoin mining for its enormous carbon footprint. But what if all the heat that miners emit can be sustainably powered and reused?

The European Parliament has approved the Markets in Crypto-Assets Act (MiCA), a legislation aimed at standardizing regulations and establishing harmonized rules for crypto assets across the European Union

South Korea’s Do Kwon went from a poster boy of digital finance as a co-founder of the US$40 billion Singapore-based Terraform Labs to a fugitive on Interpol’s wanted list, all in a matter of several rollercoaster years. He’s now in a Montenegro jail where he may face more time in detention as the U.S. and South Korea demand his extradition to face a long list of charges, including securities fraud – allegations he has repeatedly denied. The following is a timeline of how we got here.

Top blockchain and crypto news: Bittrex in SEC line of fire. Bored Apes fall after whale sale. Chinese banks court crypto clients.

Bitcoin and Ether fell during afternoon trading hours in Asia on Thursday, while most other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization strengthened. Crypto investors were cautious ahead of Europe’s vote on the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) bill.

Shares of Singapore-based cryptocurrency miner Bitdeer have slid more than 35% since their Nasdaq debut on April 14, and were trading at US$6.41 at closing on Wednesday.

Bitcoin slid below the US$29,000 mark on Thursday morning in Asia. Ether lost hold of US$2,000 in a sell-off across all top 10 non-stablecoin tokens.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s second set of NFTs sold out within the first 24 hours since launch, according to the project’s website.

Hong Kong’s High Court has recognized cryptocurrency as property in a March 31 landmark ruling in a legal tussle involving defunct crypto exchange Gatecoin

Intel has announced it would shut down its Bitcoin mining chip production a year after launch.

Bitcoin rose and traded above US$30,000 on Wednesday afternoon in Asia, while Ether fell along with most top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. Solana lost the most, followed by Binance’s BNB token.

The U.K. could see digital asset regulation in the next 12 months as part of a push to turn the nation into a hub for digital assets, said economic secretary to the Treasury, Andrew Griffith

Bitcoin is expected to hit a high of US$42,225 in 2023 and close the year around US$35,485, according to a survey by Finder.

UAE’s Securities and Commodities Authority said Monday it has started accepting applications for operating licenses from cryptocurrency businesses.

Bitcoin rebounded above US$30,000 on Wednesday morning in Asia. All top 10 tokens rose after SEC chair Gary Gensler was criticized at a congressional hearing for his approach to digital assets.

Nothing in life is free. Be wary of crypto exchanges that offer ‘free trading,’ and ask hard questions about how they make money, writes Ben Caselin of MaskEX.

Former President Donald Trump’s NFT collection’s floor price may be dropping, but media coverage may extend his profits from the digital trading cards.

SEC Chair Gary Gensler did not give a direct answer when asked whether Ether is a security or a commodity at a congressional oversight hearing on Tuesday. 

Former U.S. President Donald Trump has announced a second drop of his NFT trading cards, but the first collection’s price is sinking.

Bitcoin dropped on Tuesday afternoon in Asia but remained above US$29,000, while Ether and most top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies gained. Dogecoin and Solana fell on the day and rose on the week.