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Can blockchain tech in green finance attract more investors and deter bad actors?

As governments look towards zero carbon emission goals, new means of creating climate-related financial products are being tested on the blockchain.

Huobi plans to move HQ to the Caribbean, Justin Sun says

Huobi Global, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, plans to move its headquarters to the Caribbean, its new advisory board member Justin Sun said.

NEAR sets up Web3 hub in South Korea, eyes Asia expansion

NEAR Foundation is establishing a Web3 hub in South Korea to expand its allegiance with blockchain projects in Korea and Asia.

Singapore lender DBS explains its DeFi experiments, plans

DBS, the largest bank in Southeast Asia, said it tested trading of foreign exchange and government bonds using permissioned decentralized finance (DeFi) liquidity pools on a public blockchain as part of the city-state’s Project Guardian exploration of blockchain in finance.

DBS bank says it tested blockchain DeFi protocols for forex, bond transactions 

The bank is in the center of developments shepherded by the Monetary Authority of Singapore to explore digital financial technologies emerging around blockchain.

Asia’s largest metaverse Zepeto targets sex abuse, exploitation

Naver Z Corp. announced its partnership with INHOPE to protect youth from sexual abuse and exploitation on the virtual platform.

Markets: Bitcoin, Ether prices flat; Dogecoin, SHIB lead gains in crypto top 10

Bitcoin and Ether were little changed in Wednesday morning trading in Asia along with most of the cryptocurrency top 10 by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins.

Regulators are your friend, IMF official tells crypto industry

Deputy director of monetary and capital markets at the IMF, Dong He, said at Hong Kong Fintech Week on Tuesday that his message to the crypto industry is to embrace regulation.

Web 3.0 suffers from hype, fragmentation, say industry experts

Interconnectivity is on the way, even as various segments of the Web 3.0 ecosystem are largely disconnected from reality and one another, said Web 3.0 experts at Hong Kong Fintech Week on Tuesday.

mBridge participants to end domestic payments of foreign CBDCs

Bank of Thailand’s Vachira Arromdee said on Tuesday the four central banks in the mBridge CBDC trials agreed to end use of foreign CBDCs domestically.

Markets: Bitcoin, Ether rise; Dogecoin, Shiba Inu biggest gainers in top 10 crypto

Bitcoin and Ether traded up in Tuesday afternoon trading in Asia, while memecoins Dogecoin and Shiba Inu were the biggest gainers among the top 10 coins by market capitalization excluding stablecoins.

India seeks info from crypto exchanges as it mulls GST on asset class: report

India’s Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC), responsible for policy formulation and collection of indirect taxes like the goods and services tax (GST), has asked major cryptocurrency exchanges to provide details on the type of digital coins and tokens being traded and their valuation. 

Coinbase seeks to weigh in on XRP lawsuit to support Ripple against SEC

Crypto exchange Coinbase has requested to file an amicus brief in support of Ripple to weigh in on the ongoing lawsuit between the SEC and Ripple.

JP Morgan, Standard Chartered execs disagree over Bitcoin’s significance

JPMorgan Chase and Standard Chartered execs were in disagreement at Hong Kong Fintech Week over how significant Bitcoin and the wider crypto industry are.

S.Korea sees passing crypto investor protection as a priority: report

The country looks to pass an initial bill that focuses on protecting digital asset investors and preventing unfair trade acts, ahead of wider legislation.

Singapore’s Tokenize crypto exchange opens platform for institutional investors

Cryptocurrency exchanges in Singapore are shifting focus to heavy-hitter investors, such as family offices and financial institutions, in line with the central bank’s warnings about the risks in retail crypto trading.

Bankman-Fried calls wealth-based barriers to crypto investment classist, racist

The billionaire founder of crypto exchange FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, criticized regulations in Hong Kong and elsewhere that limit access to crypto investment to wealthy investors.

Hong Kong to boost funding, investor pool for fintech startups

Hong Kong will increase funding for startups, including fintech companies, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau said on Tuesday.

Why DAOs need a more accountable governance model

Many DAOs suffer from voter apathy and are hobbled by too much decentralization. What can help DAOs make better decisions?

Markets: Bitcoin, Ether prices fall; Dogecoin, Shiba Inu bull run continues; BNB gains

Bitcoin and Ether prices fell in Tuesday morning trading time in Asia, while memecoin Dogecoin and Shiba Inu had the biggest gains among the top 10.

India shortlists nine banks to start CBDC trial from Nov. 1

India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), will pilot the country’s first digital rupee in the wholesale segment (e₹-W) from Nov. 1 and has identified nine banks for participation in the trial. 

Web 2.5 is new Web 3.0, says co-founder of blockchain VC firm Kenetic Capital

A hybrid middle ground between Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 is necessary before full Web 3.0 integration, argued Jehan Chu, co-founder and managing partner of blockchain venture capital firm Kenetic Capital, adding that “it’s not the fully decentralized future we were promised, but it’s the one we’re going to get first.”

Singapore’s digital marketplace Alta buys Hg Exchange

Singapore-based Alta, a digital marketplace for alternative investments, has acquired private digital securities exchange Hg Exchange (HGX) for an undisclosed amount. 

Hong Kong announces policies to win back role as digital asset hub

Hong Kong reveals digital asset policies to distinguish itself from China, where cryptocurrency trading was banned in September last year.

Singapore’s DBS Bank trials use of digital SingDollar with vouchers

DBS Bank, the largest lender in Southeast Asia, has partnered the Singapore government’s Open Government Products (OGP) to pilot purpose-bound money-based vouchers (PBM) using tokenized Singapore dollars to facilitate live transactions with selected merchants. 

Markets: Bitcoin, Ether fall; DOGE leads losses across top 10 crypto

Bitcoin fell in evening trade in Asia along with almost all other top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins, with the sole gain seen in Polkadot’s uptick.

Satoshi’s other big legacy: Bitcoin is propelling a green energy revolution

The Bitcoin white paper, published 14 years ago this day, launched an industry that is now subsidizing clean energy and turning waste into digital gold, writes Will Szamosszegi of Sazmining.

South Korea’s Wemade to remedy WEMIX token after ‘investment warning’ by crypto exchanges

South Korea-based blockchain game developer Wemade is working on a fix for WEMIX after four major crypto exchanges in the country added the cryptocurrency to an “investment warning” list for inaccurately reporting circulation numbers.

Hong Kong seeks to allow crypto futures ETFs

The city is seeking to allow digital asset-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to be publicly listed and traded in the city.

Sam Bankman-Fried says Hong Kong could become Asia’s Web 3 hub

The founder of crypto exchange FTX, which moved out of Hong Kong in 2021, said that the city could emerge as a Web3, blockchain and cryptocurrency hub.

Terra CEO Do Kwon faces lawsuit in Singapore, next hearing on Wednesday

A hearing is scheduled in Singapore on a lawsuit filed against Terraform Labs’ Do Kwon on behalf of investors who lost about US$57 million in the collapse of Terra-LUNA.

Fortune favors the brave? One year on from Crypto.com’s ad with Matt Damon

Trading volume on cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com has slumped about 90% in the 12 months since the company’s “fortune favors the brave” ad.

Markets: Bitcoin, Ether, Cardano, XRP fall; BNB gains on Binance Twitter investment

Bitcoin and Ether fell in Monday morning trading in Asia, along with most other top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins.

Visa’s trademark filings hint at launch of crypto wallet

Visa International Service Association on Oct. 22 filed two trademark applications that hinted at plans of launching a crypto wallet.

Meta’s one-year anniversary: Virtual reality meets tough reality

It is the one-year anniversary of Facebook’s rebrand as Meta, a major step in the company’s foray into virtual reality and Web3. However, in actual reality, not everything has gone to plan for the platform’s new parent company.

Markets: Bitcoin, Ether drop; ADA leads decline across top 10 crypto

Bitcoin dropped nearly 3% in afternoon trading in Asia. All other top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins, declined following a strong two-day rally by most tokens.

Binance confirms equity in Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition

Binance has confirmed its participation in Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition as an equity investor.

Blockchain will be YouTube for finance, says CEO of South Korean blockchain firm Streami

The use of blockchain technology in finance will have an impact similar to that of YouTube on the media industry, said Lee Jun-haeng, CEO of South Korea-based blockchain company Streami.

NFT ‘hype cycle’ over, major changes expected in 2023: report

New York-based technology consulting firm, Activate Consulting, has projected that 2023 will see “the end of NFTs hype cycle” with the token class expected to undergo major changes in how they are used and regarded.

Binance says will help Busan city grow blockchain industry from bottom up

Busan, S. Korea’s designated blockchain city, plans to make itself a global center for the technology. Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, plans to help.

Hong Kong set to relaunch itself as digital asset hub with revamped policies

When China banned cryptocurrency trading and mining in September 2021, it was feared that policy would make its way into Hong Kong. Seems that concern is getting a rethink.

SBF: FTX stablecoin, ‘Second Great Stablecoin War’ are coming

Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the crypto exchange FTX, says he hopes FTX will soon join most other major exchanges in having launched a stablecoin.

Ethereum’s LooksRare latest NFT marketplace to make creator royalties optional

LooksRare is the latest NFT marketplace to make paying creator royalty fees optional as the industry struggles amid an ongoing slump in the NFT market.

Huobi Global to end HUSD trading, delist stablecoin

Crypto exchange Huobi Global will delist its stablecoin HUSD on Friday, refund holders 1:1 with USDT.

Markets: Bitcoin, Ether fall; Dogecoin gains as Elon Musk’s Twitter buyout moves ahead

Bitcoin’s recent price gains came to a halt in Friday morning trading in Asia though it remained above the US$20,000 support line.

Crypto a rising currency of choice for drug smugglers in India

India has witnessed an increase in drug smuggling using cryptocurrencies and the darknet, according to the country’s Home Minister Amit Shah. 

Kazakhstan’s central bank to test CBDC on BNB chain

The National Bank of Kazakhstan [NKB] will be testing the integration of their central bank digital currency (CBDC) on the BNB Chain.

UK High Court shuts down PGI Global for alleged crypto scam

The United Kingdom High Court has shut down PGI Global UK Ltd. for allegedly running a crypto scam and has appointed the official receiver as the company’s liquidator. 

Hong Kong mulls plans to legalize retail crypto trading: Bloomberg

Hong Kong is mulling plans to legalize retail crypto trading to regain its status as a global digital asset hub.

Markets: Bitcoin, Ether rise; Dogecoin leads gains across most top 10 cryptos

Bitcoin extended its rally and rose nearly 2%, with top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins, mostly higher on the day, led by Dogecoin’s 18% gain as Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter neared completion.

Education is best protection measure in blockchain tech, says Binance chief CZ

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao believes education is key to a wider, safer adoption of blockchain technology.

FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried says action needed on global rules for cryptocurrencies

Bankman-Fried says the global crypto industry needs a “passporting” policy framework that lowers barriers for crypto businesses.

Crypto a ‘better bet’ than gold, says Ethereum cofounder Vitalik Buterin

Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin has called crypto “the better bet” over gold, and that “gold has less adoption than crypto.”

SEC takes no position on two motions in support of Ripple in XRP lawsuit

The SEC is not taking a position on two motions, submitted by non-profit organization Investor Choice Advocates Network and crypto wallet provider SpendTheBits, which seek to weigh in on the lawsuit between the SEC and Ripple.

Gaming and NFTs will drive Web3 growth: Crypto.com COO

The future of the burgeoning Web3 sector will be gaming and non-fungible tokens, said Eric Anziani of global digital asset exchange Crypto.com.

Meta AR/VR arm adds to mounting losses for Facebook parent company

Meta’s metaverse division Reality Labs lost US$3.7 billion in the third quarter of this year, bringing its accumulated losses in 2022 to US$9.4 billion.

Google to update legal compliance following lost criminal crypto exchange data

Google agreed to improve its legal compliance process in a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice after failing to produce data on the now-defunct crypto exchange BTC-e in 2016.

More than just a JPEG? Digital Art Fair Hong Kong explores NFTs for data streaming and display

Pixelated pictures and cartoonish drawings have typically dominated the world of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), but some exhibits at Hong Kong’s Xperience art fair show new means of applying the technology.

A 100% reserve is a must for any stablecoin: Wemade CEO

A stablecoin that is not stable is an ‘oxymoron,’ said Henry Chang, CEO of South Korea-based blockchain game developer Wemade.

How Europe’s MiCA can pave the way for crypto’s revival

Europe’s new MiCA framework for regulating crypto shows the good that can happen when government works with and not against the industry, writes Nick Saponaro of Divi Labs.

Markets: Bitcoin price nears US$21,000 amid market rally as Ether, Dogecoin lead gains

Bitcoin continued its price run higher in Thursday morning trading in Asia as it neared US$21,000. Ether and the rest of the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins, also rose. The total crypto market cap exceeded US$1 trillion for the first time since mid-September. Leading memecoin Dogecoin was the best performer, while the […]

Cash App users can now receive Bitcoin via the Lightning Network

Cash App users in the U.S. can now buy, send, and receive Bitcoin using the Lightning Network, directly within the app. 

Hong Kong crypto firm Q9 Capital gets Dubai provisional approval

Hong Kong-based crypto investment firm Q9 Capital has received a provisional virtual asset approval from Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA), the company said on Wednesday in a statement shared with Forkast.

Aptos debut underwhelms amid questions over design and performance

Top blockchain and crypto news: Aptos launch falls short. Why FTX chief is calling for crypto regulations. Is Hong Kong paving way for a retail CBDC?

BIS’ mBridge shows CBDCs enhance cross-border payment efficiency: HKMA

The pilot successfully executed real-value cross-border transactions involving four currencies and 20 commercial bank participants across four jurisdictions, the HKMA said.

Singapore floats tests for retail crypto traders, plans to regulate stablecoins

The central bank is also considering options such as banning crypto firms from offering credit facilities, leverage or staking services to retail traders.

Chinese blockchain firms conducting financial businesses may be violating PBOC guidelines

The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has reminded financial technology (fintech) firms to comply with financial laws and regulations, in the central bank’s new set of guidelines released earlier this month.

Markets: Bitcoin price hits three-week high; top 10 cryptos gain, led by Ether

Bitcoin posted a three-week high in afternoon trading in the Asia time zone. Ether led gains across all top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, with a 12% surge. Cardano’s ADA and Solana’s token also registered double-digit gains.

S.Korea’s Shinhan Securities lays groundwork toward hoped-for crypto expansion

As a leading financial institution of South Korea, Shinhan is gearing up for business expansion into crypto — while a local ban remains on the books.

Meta, Taiwan LGBT group launch NFTs for upcoming pride

Meta is collaborating with a Taiwan LGBT advocacy group and a local cryptocurrency exchange to issue charity NFTs as part of the Taiwan Pride celebration.

UK lawmakers vote to regulate digital assets as financial instruments

Lawmakers in the British Parliament’s lower house voted in favor of recognizing cryptocurrency assets as regulated financial instruments and products Tuesday.

Singapore court issues ‘huge’ NFT decision, allows papers to be served via blockchain

The lead counsel for the plaintiff in the case has called Friday’s ruling a decision with implications for the global blockchain industry