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Strong sales from leading NFT series may be a sign the market is maturing as investors become more discerning, observers say.

Bored Ape Yacht Club creator Yuga Labs announced on Wednesday Asia time that it has raised US$450 million in a funding round, bringing the Web 3.0 company to a total valuation of US$4 billion.  See related article: The future is decentralized: How Web3 can reshape the world Fast facts The funding round was led by […]

Adding to its ambitious roster of sports sponsorships, Crypto.com will be the exclusive cryptocurrency trading platform backing the Qatar World Cup after bagging the deal for an undisclosed amount, the international soccer association announced on Wednesday, Asia time.  See related article: Crypto.com discloses details of US$34M hack Fast facts Singapore-based Crypto.com stands to gain massive […]

Traditional banks are failing the nearly 2 billion people in the world without access to financial services, writes Khalid Howladar. But DeFi can be a lifeline.

China’s state-backed Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN) has announced the addition of “Zhong Yi Chain,” developed by telecommunications giant China Mobile, to its open permissioned blockchain ecosystem to bolster the growth of home-grown non-fungible tokens (NFTs). See related article: BSN to integrate CasperLabs’ chain to support NFT issuance in China Fast facts The new chain serves […]

The rapid rise of NFTs has sparked concerns about speculative bubbles as well as the negative impact on the environment. As discussed earlier, China permits trading in NFTs so long as there is a holding period after each purchase. The country’s state media have also warned against speculative behavior surrounding NFTs.  In places such as […]

Inspired by the success of Beeple, Miguel Wang created CryptoTigers to generate pixelated tiger images for the Year of the Tiger.

Sichuan and Inner Mongolia are two regions that recently announced their first cases using blockchain-stored evidence, local media reports. See related article: How blockchain technology is shaking up courtrooms in Asia Fast facts See related article: Court in China says trading in cryptocurrency ‘not protected by law’

Algorand is planning a series of upgrades to bolster the network’s privacy and speed, and developing permissioned co-chains with a trustless decentralized bridge between chains, founder and MIT professor Silvio Micali said at Blockchain Week Australia on Tuesday.  See related article: What is Algorand and why is it a blockchain to watch? Fast facts Algorand […]

Malaysia’s deputy minister of its Communications and Multimedia Ministry told the parliament on Monday the country should consider adopting cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin as legal tender, local media The Star reported. See related article: Will El Salvador’s lead on Bitcoin inspire others to follow suit? Fast facts Zahidi Zainul Abidin, the deputy minister, said the communications […]

In a move that may adversely impact crypto adoption in the country, India’s government said its pending tax law for virtual digital assets will not allow offsetting gains on one crypto with losses from another. See related article: India may impose 28% GST on crypto transactions Fast facts India’s government plans to collect a 30% […]

The Korea Forest Service is starting a tree-planting campaign in the metaverse in conjunction with fintech company Dunamu — for every tree planted in the metaverse, it will plant two trees in the fire-affected mountain forest of Andong. See related article: South Korea places $185M bet on the metaverse Fast facts An event is planned […]

Ethereum’s market value passing up Bitcoin’s may not be a matter of if, but when. Dr. Kosrow Dehnad and Joe Duncan offer a predictive model.

Goldman Sachs announced its first over-the-counter crypto options trade on Monday, becoming the first major U.S. bank to do so, marking a milestone for crypto adoption on Wall Street. See related article: Goldman Sachs: Bitcoin could reach $100K price by beating gold Fast facts The trade was in the form of a Bitcoin non-deliverable option […]

The $320 million Wormhole hack laid bare the vulnerability of cross-chain bridges, writes Alex Smirnov of deBridge. How can we plug the gaps?

Bahamas-based crypto exchange FTX announced the establishment of an Australian branch on Monday Asia time as part of the company’s global expansion plans. See related article: New crypto regulation — including tax reform — coming to Australia Fast facts FTX Australia will be headquartered in the nation’s financial capital Sydney and will be fully licensed […]

Australian senator Andrew Bragg called for “urgent” regulation of decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) under the nation’s Corporations Act as part of his Digital Services Act proposal at Blockchain Week Australia on Monday.  See related article: ​​New crypto regulation — including tax reform — coming to Australia Fast facts DAOs can replace companies and are therefore […]

Yuga Labs, creators of the Bored Apes Yacht Club (BAYC) non-fungible token (NFT) collection, teased the launch of its metaverse called Otherside, coming in April. See related article: BAYC’s floor price surpasses 100 ETH since ApeCoin launch Fast facts The teaser video released by Yuga Labs on Saturday featured Yuga Labs NFTs including Mutant Ape […]

Financial Action Task Force (FATF) travel rule compliance service providers VerifyVASP and CODE have signed a memorandum of understanding to link their services before the rule goes into full effect in South Korea this Friday. See related article: South Korean crypto businesses scramble to meet FATF travel rule Fast facts The two entities are backed […]

MaiCoin, Taiwan’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, is considering a Nasdaq listing within two years, Bloomberg reported on Friday. See related article: Taiwan has a chance to develop crypto amid China’s clampdown, Filecoin Foundation director says Fast facts MaiCoin is also completing its Series C funding round which would value the company at US$400 million. MaiCoin expects […]

The People’s Bank of China and four state departments confirmed their support for bidding regions in the southeastern province Zhejiang to carry out the next batch of digital yuan pilots. See related article: PBOC branch chief seeks clarity on digital yuan as legal tender Fast facts See related article: Hong Kong makes apt testbed for […]

The Indian government is working to determine whether cryptocurrencies can be classified as goods or services, which can impose a different taxation scheme on digital assets, local media reported. See related article: India’s crypto tax will incur losses for government, says WazirX CEO Fast facts Government officials believe crypto trading is similar to gambling and […]

Sweeping reforms are coming to Australia’s crypto sector, including a new tax system, additional protections for investors, and regulation for crypto exchanges and brokers. See related article: Australia on track for a crypto boom by 2030, EY report says Fast facts The Australian government will release documents relating to the regulation on Monday as it […]

Cryptocurrencies have won credit for their role in Ukraine’s war, showing utility that will drive them beyond the battlefield, says Amber Group’s Michael Wu.

Capital control limiting outflows may be less of an issue in the future with e-CNY being a ‘controllable currency,’ experts say.

Weibo, a social media platform known as the Chinese equivalent of Twitter with 249 million daily active users, launched its non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace TopHolder on Thursday, allowing users to mint their original posts into NFTs and sell them. See related article: Zuckerberg confirms NFTs coming to Instagram Fast facts Users will need to pass […]

Europe’s first metaverse-themed exchange-traded fund (ETF), the ETC Group Global Metaverse UCITS ETF (METR), listed on the London Stock Exchange Thursday, available for sale across Europe. See related article: Hong Kong gears up for its first metaverse ETF Fast facts The ETF will track the Solactive ETC Group Global Metaverse Index, which currently offers exposure […]

South Korean financial institution Shinhan Financial Group’s credit card subsidiary announced Friday that all of its employees are headed to the Gather.town metaverse for training on data usage in business operations. See related article: S. Korean, S. African banks team up for stablecoin-based remittances Fast facts Shinhan Card employees will complete missions on the metaverse […]

Nasdaq-listed crypto exchange Eqonex has appointed Jonathan Farnell, a former head of Binance U.K., as its new CEO and a director on the board. See related article: UK regulator may cancel Eqonex’s registration over Binance, Bifinity ties Fast facts Helen Hai, president of Binance’s payment arm Bifinity, has also been appointed to the board. The […]

Tokyo-based mobile financial platform Kyash has raised US$41.2 million (about 4.9 billion yen) in its Series D funding joined by Jack Dorsey’s Block. See related article: After Facebook’s name change to Meta, Square has now become Block Fast facts Kyash has accumulated a total funding of about US$107.7 million since its launch in 2015, which […]

The largest U.S. crypto exchange Coinbase announced on Friday support for the Solana ecosystem through its wallet browser extension, allowing users to manage their Solana (SOL) and Solana-based SPL tokens See related article: Solana wallet Phantom brings valuation to $1.2B after $109M Series B Fast facts Solana’s integration with the wallet enables users to access […]

The Central Bank of Russia has given the country’s largest bank, Sberbank, a license to issue and exchange digital assets only two months after the central bank had called for a full ban on cryptocurrency. See related article: Russia retreats from crypto ban as it pushes rules for industry Fast facts The move may allow […]

Around 4 million trees are required to offset the nearly 240 million kilograms of carbon dioxide produced by the CryptoKitties non-fungible token (NFT) collection, according to research by NFT Club, an NFT education company.  See related article: ​​NFTs and music: Is the fan outcry over NFTs’ environmental impact warranted? Fast facts Sorare, Axie Infinity, Art […]

Ethereum’s merge on the Kiln testnet on Wednesday was a success, as the blockchain passed the final public test before its highly anticipated transition from a proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism to proof-of-stake (PoS), which is expected to happen by the end of Q2, 2022. See related article: The best of Ethereum 2.0 is yet to […]

South Korean digital asset experts gathered at the National Assembly on Thursday to discuss president-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s crypto campaign promises, which included his plan to bring back initial coin offerings (ICOs). See related article: A crypto bull wins the presidency: What it means for South Korea Fast facts The head of crypto exchange Upbit’s investor […]

Bored Ape Yacht Club’s (BAYC) floor price surged to 106.5 ETH since the launch of ApeCoin, while its spin-off collection Mutant Ape Yacht Club’s (MAYC) floor price rose to 23.65 ETH at press time. See related article: Bored Ape Yacht Club teams up with Animoca Brands to develop play-to-earn game Fast facts The ApeCoin launch […]

Binance has received a virtual asset license in Dubai to offer services to qualified investors, as the world’s largest crypto giants continue their Middle East drive.  See related article: Binance wins license in Bahrain, explores acquisition of Brazilian brokerage Fast facts The license will allow Binance to operate within Dubai’s “test-adapt-scale” model and serve pre-qualified […]

Chinese crypto mining rig maker Canaan announced Wednesday its plans to buy back up to US$100 million worth of shares over the next two years. See related article: Chinese mining rig maker Canaan secures purchase order from Genesis for 30K units Fast facts The Nasdaq-listed company’s latest move comes after it completed its previous US$20 […]

Crypto’s growing popularity is also leading to more fraud and abuses, writes Ronald Molenaar of ADVANCE.AI. What can be done to better protect users?

Bitcoin and most of the top cryptocurrencies by market capitalization landed in the green on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates on Wednesday. See related article: Is Bitcoin really a hedge against inflation? Fast facts The U.S. central bank hiked its benchmark interest rate by 0.25 basis points, for the first time […]

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a virtual assets bill into law to legalize cryptocurrencies in a country that is receiving millions in crypto donations for military and humanitarian aid in its war against Russia. See related article: Ukraine crypto donations top $36M amid Russian invasion Fast facts The law determines the legal status for […]

HSBC, a leading global banking and financial services provider, announced a partnership with blockchain gaming platform The Sandbox, in a statement released on Wednesday, to build its presence in the Hong Kong-based firm’s metaverse. See related article: Who are the biggest players in the metaverse today? Fast facts HSBC will develop a plot of LAND, […]

Top blockchain and crypto news: PoW spared as Europe revamps MiCA rules. Yuga Labs acquires CryptoPunks rights. China’s Mango TV makes NFT debut.

Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) became the fifth non-fungible token (NFT) collection to cross US$1 billion in all-time sales on Wednesday, according to data from CryptoSlam.  See related article: Mutant Ape NFTs collect $140 million on OpenSea market Fast facts Axie Infinity occupies the top spot in sales volume with over US$4 billion, followed by […]

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, crossed the US$40,000-mark on Wednesday morning Asia time after a sudden surge before returning to its pre-surge price in less than two hours.  See related article: Bitcoin leads market-wide downturn as Russia fears rise Fast facts Bitcoin’s price has remained steady for the past five days, and its […]

Terraform Labs CEO and founder Do Kwon has accepted bets worth millions of dollars on Terra’s cryptocurrency LUNA trading higher than US$88 in a year’s time, which was the price of the token at the time of the bet. See related article: Is Terra — whose LUNA coin is now at another all-time high — […]

Former Kazakhstan president Nursultan Nazarbayev’s brother Bolat Nazarbayev was among 106 illegal cryptocurrency miners to halt operations in the government’s latest round of inspections, the Financial Monitoring Agency announced on Tuesday. See related article: Kazakhstan busts 13 illegal Bitcoin mining farms amid power concerns Fast facts See related article: Crypto mining’s Great Migration continues — […]

Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, two divergent narratives about crypto are being told, writes Alex Tapscott. Which version is correct?

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg confirmed non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are coming to Instagram while speaking at the SXSW festival in Texas on Tuesday. See related article: What decentralization can offer Web 3.0 and social media | Part 1 Fast facts “We’re working on bringing NFTs to Instagram in the near term,” Zuckerberg said. Zuckerberg said the […]

Ethereum software developer ConsenSys announced on Tuesday it has raised US$450 million in Series D funding, bringing its valuation to US$7 billion. See related article: New Cosmos, Mastercard projects to boost Ethereum scalability Fast facts The latest funding round was led by ParaFi Capital, with investors including Temasek, SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Microsoft. The […]

China’s Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN) has announced a partnership with U.K. tech firm INDUSTRIA, as the state-backed blockchain infrastructure looks to make a foray into the European market. See related article: BSN to integrate CasperLabs’ chain to support NFT issuance in China Fast facts The partnership marks BSN’s first attempt to enter the U.K. and […]

Vogue Singapore and Vogue Ukraine have listed a non-fungible token (NFT) collection “Fashion for Peace” on the OpenSea marketplace to raise funds for humanitarian relief efforts in Ukraine.  See related article: Two sides to every coin: Crypto as a weapon in the fight for Ukraine Fast facts See related article: Ukraine to launch NFT ‘museum’ […]

Crypto exchange FTX has secured a digital asset exchange license in Dubai under new laws adopted last week and will be setting up a local headquarters in the city.  See related article: Crypto on the beach: FTX and other players find paradise in the Caribbean Fast facts Binance has also secured a license under the […]

One in three gamers among 1,103 respondents are willing to quit or will consider resigning from their professional positions to play non-fungible token (NFT) games full time, according to a survey conducted by NFT gaming platform Balthazar.  See related article: Top NFT game Axie Infinity generated $1.3B in revenue last year Fast facts Among the […]

MangoTV, a Chinese video streaming platform with 50.4 million subscribers, launched its non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace on Monday, as its first batch of collectibles sold out within seconds since opening.   See related article: China plans crackdown on illegal fundraising in metaverse, NFTs Fast facts MangoTV is owned by the state-backed Hunan Broadcasting System and is the […]

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has imposed financial measures targeting designated Russian banks, entities and activities in Russia, and fundraising activities benefiting the Russian government, in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. See related article: Singapore prohibits crypto, NFT transactions in sanctions against Russia Fast facts An MAS notice named the designated banks as […]

LG Household & Health Care is minting 3,000 non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on OpenSea to promote its beauty brand Belif with plans to further expand linkage with the metaverse. See related article: TV home shopping in South Korea moves to the metaverse Fast facts LG’s Klaytn blockchain-based NFT collection consists of 12 characters from the Belif […]

While crypto used to be associated with a ‘bro’ culture, it is now maturing into a hotbed for inclusivity, writes Cynthia Wu of Matrixport.

Binance has obtained a license from the Central Bank of Bahrain to operate as a crypto service provider, marking a significant step for the crypto exchange to expand in the Middle East. See related article: Binance eyes gaming, e-commerce in upcoming acquisition spree Fast facts Binance will be allowed to offer crypto trading, custodial and […]

The European Parliament voted on Monday against a de facto ban on cryptocurrencies that rely on energy-intensive proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanisms, such as Bitcoin, from its proposed Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) framework. See related article: How serious is the threat of Bitcoin mining to the environment? Fast facts The Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs […]

Ripple, a blockchain-based digital payment network, has made a proposal for South Korea to make clear distinctions in cryptocurrencies between payment tokens, utility tokens, and security tokens, in a policy paper released on Tuesday. Read related article: Amid SEC lawsuit, Ripple buys back stock and raises value to US$15B Fast facts Ripple’s policy paper says […]

In an era when anyone can claim anything as ‘truth,’ it’s more important than ever for oracles to be trustworthy and secure, writes Hart Lambur of UMA.

Japan’s Financial Services Agency and Ministry of Finance jointly announced penalties on crypto exchanges that do not comply with sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, following G7 vows to tighten crypto sanctions. See related article:  Russians turn to crypto as Western sanctions hit the ruble Fast facts See related article: Russia faces crypto […]

The Ukrainian government will launch a non-fungible token (NFT) collection that will be “like a museum of the Russian-Ukrainian war,” the Guardian reported on Sunday, citing minister of digital transformation Alex Bornyakov.  See related article: Ukraine cancels crypto airdrop, promises NFTs Fast facts Each NFT will feature digital art depicting a news story from trusted […]

A pair of diamond earrings designed by luxury lifestyle brand L’Dezen and its non-fungible token (NFT) counterpart sold for 3.27 ETH (US$8,205) at an online auction on Saturday at Ethereum-based marketplace Digital Twin.  See related article: How high fashion is waking up to blockchain’s possibilities Fast facts The winning bidder will receive the physical jewelry […]

South Korean convenience store CU’s non-fungible token (NFT) collectibles airdrop event for White Day, a local romantic holiday, drew in more than 20,000 applications.  Read related article: Samsung-backed university to issue NFTs to select graduates Fast facts March 14 is celebrated as White Day in Japan and Korea, where men return the favor to women […]

Income from non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in Singapore will be subject to existing income tax rules, the Business Times reported, citing Singapore Finance Minister Lawrence Wong’s Friday speech in parliament.  See related article: Singapore prohibits crypto, NFT transactions in sanctions against Russia Fast facts However, individuals who receive capital gains from NFT transactions will not be […]

Cryptocurrency is being used both to fund Ukraine’s defense and prevent Russia’s ability to skirt sanctions in what may become a pivotal moment for the industry.

ICOs, revamped taxation, and investor protection reverse a past crypto reluctance under the incoming administration.

Around 42% of venture capital and hedge funds investing in crypto are betting on the success of Polkadot’s smart contracts platform, according to Messari’s fund analysis. See related article: What is Polkadot and why is it one of the hottest blockchains right now?  Fast facts Polkadot was the most commonly held altcoin in Q4 last […]

War-mongering Russia is finding itself increasingly isolated. Can cryptocurrency help the rogue state soften the blow of sanctions?

An anonymous company based in Hangzhou told state media that it has signed deals with major commercial banks to facilitate the digital yuan, hinting China’s southeastern city could be a winning bidder for an upcoming batch of digital yuan pilot programs.  See related article: PBOC branch chief seeks clarity on digital yuan as legal tender […]