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The crypto world is plagued by products that are hard to use and have little utility, writes Roman Kashcheev of Quantfury. What can turn things around?

Bitcoin and Ethereum led broad gains among the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization on Tuesday morning in Asia. Bitcoin touched US$24,203 at one point overnight, its highest since July 31. Ethereum rallied to US$1,806, its highest since early June. See related article: Markets: Bitcoin, Ethereum rise in broad gains; Solana jumps; BNB adds to […]

Indian crypto exchange WazirX said its operations are being conducted as usual, even after Binance denied owning equity in Zanmai Labs, the entity operating WazirX. The spat over ownership — Binance had reportedly acquired WazirX in 2019 — surfaced after Indian authorities reportedly froze US$8 million in WazirX assets, alleging possible violation of foreign exchange laws. […]

A U.K. parliamentary group is seeking advice from both industry players and policymakers on regulating cryptocurrencies and the digital asset sector, according to a press release. See related article: UK seeks to regulate stablecoins for payments in new markets bill Fast facts See related article: Bank of England calls for greater crypto regulation

Singapore is growing its digital assets industry while reducing risks, and its clear regulations allow firms to better plan for the future, writes Desmond Yong of DTC.

Bitcoin and Ethereum rose in broad-based gains in cryptocurrencies that drove all other tokens higher in the top 10 list by market capitalization in afternoon trading in Asia on Monday. See related article: Bitcoin, Ethereum edge up; BNB rises; Avalanche adds to gains on partnerships Fast facts Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, added 3.3% in […]

Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange Bitget says it has launched a US$200 million “protection fund” to act as an “emergency insurance reserve” to protect user funds when their losses are not a consequence of their own actions or behavior on the platform.  See related article: How the crypto winter is laying groundwork for Web3 to reach its […]

The current bear market is an opportunity for blockchain developers to focus on building while there is no “noise,” Polygon cofounder Sandeep Nailwal said during a panel at Korea Blockchain Week 2022 on Monday. See related article: MATIC crypto skyrockets as Polygon joins Disney accelerator Fast facts “In the bear market, the best part is […]

DeBridge cofounder Alex Smirnov on Saturday alleged their team found evidence that North Korean state-backed Lazarus Group was attempting to attack the cross-chain protocol, warning that the group’s attack could broadly target Web3 teams. See related article: After Nomad and Solana, ZB.com gets hacked for US$4.8 mln Fast facts See related article: Why blockchain bridges […]

Tencent’s non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace Huanhe has not issued a new NFT for sale in a month, the first time that no new NFTs have been issued for an entire month since last October.  See related article: Tencent to cut domestic NFT marketplace team, look overseas: report Fast facts At the end of July, local […]

Once we have scaling technology […] it actually becomes possible to really try to make crypto payments more mainstream again,” Ethereum cofounder Vitalik Buterin said during his keynote speech at the Korea Blockchain Week 2022 conference on Monday. See related article: Prominent Chinese ETH miner plans proof-of-work fork amid The Merge Fast facts “Cryptocurrency payments […]

Sam Sangmin Seo, the head of South Korea’s Klaytn Foundation, says blockchain technology plays a crucial part in metaverse technology because it provides interoperability between different metaverses. See related article: Kakao’s Klaytn partners with OpenSea for NFT expansion in Asia Fast facts “Blockchain can provide means to implement virtual economy in the metaverse,” Seo said.  […]

Bitcoin and Ethereum rose in early morning trading in Asia, along with most other tokens on the top 10 list by market capitalization. BNB rose 3.4% to reach US$325, adding to gains made last week when the Binance exchange, the BNB issuer, said it would add more tokens. Cardano briefly touched a week’s high, up […]

Tezos has become a leading art blockchain, even in China, where NFTs are barely tolerated. Its regional chief, Katherine Ng, explains its success

The U.S. bill to bring cryptocurrencies under the oversight of the Commodities Futures and Trading Commission is likely to hasten legislation of such digital assets around the world.

Binance has partnered Mastercard to introduce a Binance card in Argentina for making purchases and paying bills with cryptocurrencies.  See related article: Philippines’ SEC warns public not to invest with Binance Fast facts The product is currently in a beta phase and will be widely available in the coming weeks, Binance said. The card is […]

American Bitcoin mining firm Riot Blockchain earned an estimated US$9.5 million in power credits in July as it reduced energy consumption and mined fewer Bitcoins. See related article: Bitcoin miners in Texas halt operations amid heat wave Fast facts Riot produced 318 Bitcoins in July this year, about 28% less than July last year, thereby […]

Lawmakers are pulling together regulations for trading in digital assets. If all goes to plan, the so-called Digital Asset Basic Act will be in shape by the first half of 2023.

Former PwC crypto arm leader Henri Arslanian said in a report the digital asset fund Nine Blocks Capital Management will receive $75 million from major supporters, including Hong Kong-based hedge fund Nine Masts Capital. See related article: Dubai scorches crypto winter with plans to support 40,000 ‘virtual jobs’ Fast facts See related article: India’s WazirX […]

The Lido decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) almost unanimously approved the sale of about US$25 million worth of treasury tokens to venture capital firm Dragonfly Capital on Thursday.  See related article: Lido Finance floats 2nd proposal to sell LDO to Dragonfly Capital Fast facts The voting page shows over 99% of the community members voted in […]

A U.S. bankruptcy court in New York approved crypto platform Voyager Digital’s request to return to customers US$270 million held in a custodial account at Metropolitan Commercial Bank (MCB), the Wall Street Journal reported.  See related article: Voyager crypto refund plan unconfirmed; fiat to be returned in full Fast facts The funds at the MCB […]

Ethereum Classic’s (ETC) price has rallied since Ethereum developers announced the scheduled date for “The Merge,” which will see the blockchain transition from proof of work (PoW) to proof of stake (PoS), while Messari’s Tom Dunleavy says it won’t see sustained growth. See related article: Prominent Chinese ETH miner plans proof-of-work fork amid The Merge […]

Instagram’s platform for non-fungible tokens (NFT), which the firm is calling “digital collectibles,” is now available in 100 countries, the Facebook parent Meta-backed social media giant said. See related article: Meta’s attempts at building a metaverse will ‘misfire’: Vitalik Buterin Fast facts With support for Coinbase and Dapper wallets added, Instagram now supports wallets from […]

Investment management firm BlackRock Inc. has partnered with cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global Inc. to provide institutional clients with access to crypto trading and custody services. See related article: Coinbase, biggest US crypto exchange, cuts workforce by 18% Fast facts BlackRock is extending the use of its Aladdin asset management software suite to its institutional clients […]

2022’s marquee NFT event in America’s biggest city failed to capitalize on its namesake technology, while an iconic music festival in the California desert understood the possibilities, writes Mirwan Suwarso of Mola TV.

Bitcoin mining difficulty rose by 1.74% on Thursday following three consecutive drops in previous adjustments, according to data from BTC.com. See related article: Chinese mining rig maker Canaan says global expansion on track despite ‘crypto winter’ Fast facts The mining difficulty reading was at 28.17 trillion, as of block height 747,936, the data showed. The […]

South Korea’s leading digital asset exchange Bithumb is linking its system with mobile applications from three major domestic financial institutions — Samsung Securities, NH Nonghyup and KB Kookmin Bank, Bithumb announced Thursday. See related article: Scarred by Terra-LUNA, South Korea moves ahead with digital asset reform Fast facts Bithumb users can now check up-to-date crypto […]

Revolut has started offering cryptocurrency services to users in Singapore, the global fintech firm said on Thursday. See related article: How a market slump may be helping Singapore’s stance against retail crypto Fast facts Revolut will levy transaction fees of 2.5% and 1.5% on standard and premium plans, the company said in its statement. Customers […]

It was a mixed bag for the top 10 cryptocurrencies Friday morning in Asia, with most moving less than 1%. Bitcoin dipped, while BNB continued its breakout run for a second day. Bitcoin was trading at US$22,612 as of 8 a.m. in Hong Kong, down 1% in the last 24 hours. Ethereum slipped 0.7% to […]

India’s government doesn’t like cryptocurrencies and has made that clear in statements and with heavy taxes on the asset class, but what does that say about blockchain adoption?

Bitcoin and Ethereum moved lower in Asia afternoon trading on Thursday, with Solana recovering from a price drop blamed on a hack of its network. Bitcoin was priced at US$22,927 as of 4:30 p.m. in Hong Kong, down 1.12% in the last 24 hours. Ethereum edged down 0.9% to US$1,621, according to data from CoinMarketCap. […]

India’s Directorate of Enforcement (ED), responsible for enforcing economic laws and fighting economic crime, is investigating two cases against crypto exchange WazirX under the Foreign Exchange Management Act of 1999 (FEMA), reported local media. See related article: Only the big fish will survive as India cracks the whip on crypto: Binance-backed WazirX Fast facts Zanmai […]

The massive Solana wallet hack had occurred after centralized servers stored unencrypted seed phrases sent by Slope Wallet’s mobile app, making them visible to anyone with access to the server, showed a preliminary finding from blockchain audit firm OtterSec. See related article: Solana blames Slope for exploit Fast facts See related article: After Nomad and […]

The Philippines’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has cautioned the public not to invest with Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, in response to think tank Infrawatch PH’s request to ban Binance in the Philippines. See related article: Philippines think tank calls for ban on Binance Fast facts In a letter responding […]

The city of Suzhou in China’s Southeast became the latest to issue an e-CNY loan to a manufacturing unit. See related article: China’s central bank to expand digital yuan pilot program Fast facts See related article: Complete anonymity never a consideration for CBDC: PBoC official

Concerns over power supply and cost uncertainties have prompted Singapore-based Bitcoin miner SAI.TECH (SAI) to terminate the remainder of its expansion plans in Kazakhstan, the Nasdaq-listed company said in a statement. See related article:  Bitcoin rig maker Canaan to deploy self-mining soon in US, executive says Fast facts SAI has terminated the second phase of […]

Crypto trading platform ZB.com, which halted withdrawals on Tuesday citing maintenance, may have been hacked to the tune of US$4.8 million, blockchain analytics firm PeckShield said on Wednesday. See related article: Nomad Bridge alerts law enforcement amid US$200 mln attack Fast facts According to PeckShield, hackers drained 21 different tokens from ZB.com, including USDT, USDC, […]

The U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee introduced a bill on Wednesday to put the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) at the helm of regulating all cryptocurrencies classified as commodities.  See related article: US crypto bill could undermine market protections: SEC, Gensler Fast facts The bill would give the CFTC “exclusive jurisdiction” over all “digital commodities,” which […]

Kim Seo-joon, head of South Korean blockchain venture capital (VC) fund Hashed, said in an interview with Bloomberg he lost most of his LUNA investments during the crash in May but is planning a third VC fund in the first half of 2023. See related article: Scarred by Terra-LUNA, South Korea moves ahead with digital […]

MicroStrategy’s share price jumped nearly 15% in early trading on Wednesday in the U.S. following Tuesday’s announcement that current CEO Michael Saylor is stepping down from that role to become executive chairman and will lead the company’s Bitcoin acquisition focus. See related article: MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor moves to chairman role to focus on Bitcoin […]

As wages stagnate and prices spiral, crypto offers investment and growth opportunities unmatched by the traditional financial system, writes Tarik Moon, CEO of Alpine.

The massive Solana wallet exploit that began on Wednesday Hong Kong time is believed to be related to the Slope mobile wallet app, while there is no evidence to show the blockchain’s code was compromised, Solana said. See related article:  Bitcoin, Ethereum little changed; Solana still lower after network hack Fast facts See related article: […]

Binance has named cofounder Yi He as the new head of its incubator and venture capital (VC) arm Binance Labs, as the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume works to invest in “projects with the tenacity to thrive in tough market conditions.” See related article: Calling a spade a spade holds Binance’s lesser known […]

South Korean entertainment agency Fantagio announced Wednesday a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with digital asset platform Crypto.com to pursue non-fungible token (NFT) projects, according to local reports. See related article: Dunamu’s NFT venture with BTS’s HYBE to launch services later this year Fast facts KOSDAQ-listed Fantagio manages K-pop idol groups such as ASTRO and Weki […]

The Ethereum layer-1 chain should eventually “stop changing completely,” to provide stability on the base layer, Ethereum cofounder Vitalik Buterin said in a conference in Seoul on Thursday. See related article: Prominent Chinese ETH miner plans proof-of-work fork amid The Merge Fast facts “If a layer-1 tries to do everything, there are a lot of […]

Bitcoin was trending lower to little-changed in early Asia trading on Thursday with most major cryptocurrencies losing ground. Solana remained lower after reports of a hack on its network. Bitcoin was priced at US$22,848 as of 8 a.m. in Hong Kong, off 0.6% in the last 24 hours. Ethereum dipped 0.8% to US$1,615, according to […]

Top blockchain and crypto news: Filecoin leads in market uptick. CryptoPunks in new glow as Tiffany jewelry. Chinese firms flock to Singapore.

Solana fell 4% in Asia afternoon trading on Wednesday as reports surfaced of a hack that had drained thousands of wallets holding the token. Bitcoin and Ethereum edged higher, though U.S.-China tensions were a broader concern across all markets. Bitcoin traded at US$23,187 as of 4:30 p.m. in Hong Kong, up 1.47% in the prior […]

Beijing’s drive to stamp out crypto mining and the slump in crypto prices are headwinds that Canaan says it knows how to deal with, adding that the crypto winter may be shorter than expected.

Crypto platform Zipmex on Aug. 2 began to resume the withdrawal of certain altcoins such as Solana, Ripple and Cardano, the firm said in a blog post, after it halted customer withdrawals on July 20.  See related article: Zipmex seeks moratorium from creditors in Singapore court Fast facts From Aug. 2, Zipmex users could withdraw […]

Approximately 7,767 wallets have been affected in the Solana exploit as of 1 p.m. Hong Kong time. Solana-based wallets Slope and Phantom are on the list, Solana said. See related article: Cardano users said to be indirectly affected by Nomad’s US$200 mln exploit Fast facts See related article: Waves community approves repayment plan for lending […]

An Indian firm providing crypto tax calculation services is introducing a software as a service (SAAS)-based solution to tackle India’s myriad crypto taxation regime. See related article: India’s latest tax assault on crypto exchanges starts Friday Fast facts SAAS-based TaxCryp software aims to simplify tax computation, compliance and reporting requirements, India-based TaxCryp Technologies said on […]

Gucci has further embraced cryptocurrencies, announcing in a tweet on Tuesday that it is accepting in-store purchases with ApeCoin through payment service provider BitPay. See related article: How high fashion is waking up to blockchain’s possibilities Fast facts ApeCoin is a cryptocurrency tied to Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), a non-fungible token (NFT) project created […]

Bitcoin is the worst option for increasing the efficiency of cross-border payments while stablecoins occupy an intermediary position, the European Central Bank (ECB) said in a study published Monday.  See related article: Cryptocurrency is worthless: ECB Christine Lagarde Fast facts Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and domestic instant payment systems have the highest potential for […]

Monday’s attack on Nomad indirectly affected Cardano users as the protocol was one of multiple bridges deployed to Milkomeda C1, a layer 2 protocol which allows Ethereum decentralized apps (dApps) to be deployed in the Cardano ecosystem, Milkomeda said. See related article: More than 300 addresses said to perpetrate Nomad’s US$200 mln exploit Fast facts […]

The New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) slapped a US$30 million fine on the crypto arm of trading app Robinhood on Tuesday for allegedly violating the bank secrecy act, anti-money laundering, and cybersecurity regulations. See related article: Sam Bankman-Fried buys 7.6% of Robinhood; stock jumps Fast facts The financial regulator also asked the firm […]

Layer 1 blockchain Waves, which has been mired in a liquidity crisis, will go ahead with a revival plan recently approved by the community behind its decentralized finance (DeFi) lending protocol Vires.Finance, to allow certain account holders to withdraw funds or keep their positions for later repayment. See related article: Waves’ Neutrino USD loses peg […]

MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor is stepping down to become executive chairman “to focus more on our Bitcoin acquisition strategy and related Bitcoin advocacy initiatives,” according to a company statement released Tuesday. See related article: Vitalik Buterin calls MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor a ‘total clown’ Fast facts According to the statement, this will allow the company to […]

More than 300 bad actors stole US$191 million from Nomad’s cross-chain bridge which resulted from a software upgrade that backfired, crypto analytics firm PeckShield told The Block on Tuesday. See related article: Nomad Bridge alerts law enforcement amid US$200 mln attack Fast facts A routine software update on one of Nomad’s smart contracts allowed users […]

Bitcoin was trending lower in early Asia trading on Wednesday with most major cryptocurrencies falling. Bitcoin was priced at US$23,048 as of 8 a.m. in Hong Kong, down 1.2% in the prior 24 hours. Ethereum was little changed at US$1,643, up 0.3%, according to data from CoinMarketCap. See related article: Bitcoin, Ethereum lose ground; Polkadot […]

In an update to its followers on Tuesday evening Asia time, cross-chain bridge Nomad said it is working to identify the attacker and recover the funds after an exploit drained nearly US$200 million on Monday. See related article: Nirvana’s ANA token down more than 80% after US$3.5 mln hack  Fast facts “We are working around […]

Stefan Chu, who used to head over-the-counter (OTC) trading at TPS Capital, has left the organization as the company seeks to distance itself from the bankrupt hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC), according to a report by The Block.  See related article: MAS takes aim at Three Arrows Capital, does not impose penalty Fast facts […]

The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) has listed the “orderly expansion of the scope of the digital yuan pilot” as one of its key tasks in the second half of the year, according to a Tuesday press release from the Chinese central bank’s second-half-year work plan. See related article: Covid-19, postponed Asian Games to push […]

The cryptocurrency market is trading down in general, with Bitcoin and Ethereum down 2.2% and 6.1% over the past 24 hours in Tuesday evening trade in Hong Kong. See related article: ETH crosses Bitcoin in options market for first time in history Fast facts Bitcoin was trading at US$22,843.99, while Ethereum was changing hands at […]

Bank of America (BofA) has said Ethereum needs improvements in scalability in order to retain its market share from newer blockchains such as Binance Smart Chain, Tron, Avalanche and Solana, according to a CoinDesk report.  See related article: Ethereum will soon turn 7 — and its upcoming ‘Merge’ will be well worth the wait Fast […]

Ahead of Ethereum’s upcoming “Merge,” prominent Chinese crypto miner Chandler Guo has indicated he wishes to fork Ethereum to maintain a version of the network that remains proof of work (PoW), according to a report by Decrypt. See related article: Ethereum will soon turn 7 — and its upcoming ‘Merge’ will be well worth the […]

Market analysts are mixed on outlook for non-fungible tokens, as some see mostly gloom, others point to glimmers of optimism.

Binance and Paxos Trust Company, which issues the dollar-pegged stablecoin BUSD (Binance USD), released the first unaudited breakdown of the reserves backing the token on Aug. 1. See related article: Binance spent over US$1B on compliance, founder Changpeng Zhao says Fast facts According to the reserve report, BUSD was backed by US$738 million in cash, […]

South Korea’s non-fungible token (NFT) collection MetaKongz’ price on OpenSea NFT exchange has fallen over 17% on average after alleged in-house problems such as hacking and differences among its executives. See related article: Hyundai Card building its first NFT marketplace and wallet service Fast facts The price of MetaKongz NFTs on OpenSea in the last […]

Blockchain payments company Ripple released 1 billion of XRP from three escrow accounts on August 1, pushing the price of its native token down by 3.4% in the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko data. See related article: SEC fails to block XRP holders from aiding in Ripple case Fast facts In December 2017, Ripple […]

Defi Payments, the parent company of troubled Singapore-based crypto exchange Vauld, received court approval to protect the platform from potential lawsuits for three months. See related article: Singapore crypto lender Vauld reportedly owes retail investors US$363  million Fast facts See related article: Zipmex seeks moratorium from creditors in Singapore court

Binance founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao Monday said the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume spent over US$1 billion on compliance efforts with its market share continuing to increase. See related article: Binance’s Changpeng Zhao sues Bloomberg publisher in HK Fast facts Zhao Monday said on his verified Twitter handle that a recent CoinDesk […]