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The World Economic Forum is launching a new Crypto Sustainability Coalition, consisting of 30 partners within the intersection of sustainable development and web3, crypto, and blockchain technologies, the international non-government organization (NGO) announced in a Webinar on Wednesday in New York, U.S.

Bitcoin continued trading above US$19,000 in Friday afternoon trading in Asia. Ether rose along with most of the top 10 coins by market capitalization following the completion of the first phase of Cardano’s Vasil hard fork. XRP led gains with its price soaring over 20% in the past 24 hours. See related article: Markets: Cryptocurrencies […]

DBS Bank Ltd., Southeast Asia’s largest lender, has launched a self-directed cryptocurrency trading service for accredited wealth clients.  See related article: Asia banking giant DBS jumps into The Sandbox metaverse Fast facts The bank’s wealth clients have been favoring self-directed options, with digital trades dominating 90% of equity transactions, DBS said in a press release […]

Coinbase, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has obtained regulatory approval in the Netherlands, as the U.S.-based exchange looks to expand its presence globally. See related article: Coinbase hit with lawsuit over allegedly poor security Fast facts Coinbase said on Thursday in a statement that it has registered with De Nederlandsche Bank, the central […]

The Chinese province of Gansu says that it will “strictly prohibit crypto mining” in the server rooms for China’s mega digital Eastern Data and Western Computing infrastructure project, according to a policy document. See related article: GBA among regions for China’s blockchain-powered data hubs  Fast facts See related article: China’s Zhejiang busts state-owned entities on […]

Bitcoin bounced back above US$19,000 in Friday morning trading in Asia as Cardano announced a successful hard fork to their upgraded Vasil network. XRP led gains among the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. See related article: Cryptocurrency lobby group gets court approval to weigh in on SEC vs Ripple’s XRP lawsuit Fast facts Bitcoin […]

Can regulators strike a balance between innovation and regulation of stablecoins and CBDCs? We take a closer look in today’s episode of TDF.

Binance has tapped Max Baucus, a former U.S. senator and ambassador to China, to chair its new global advisory board, to advise the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange on regulatory, political and social issues. See related article: Binance stablecoin conversion controversial, but what does it mean for users? Fast facts Binance said on Thursday in a […]

Linda Jeng, chief regulatory officer and general counsel at the Crypto Council for Innovation said the U.S. has seen the writing on the wall and is expanding the conversation about cryptocurrency, in comments at Forkast’s “Crypto Rising: CBDCs & Stablecoins: The Asia Perspective.”

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Director Mhel Plabasan said the central bank has adopted a flexible approach on the digital assets.

Crypto exchange Huobi Global’s Hong Kong-listed sister company, Huobi Technology Holdings, is proposing renaming the group to “New Huo Technology Holdings Limited,” while its sister company, the crypto exchange Huobi Global, is reportedly seeking a buyer for the majority of its company. See related article: Huobi-incubated Chinese NFT platform iBox ends international operations  Fast facts […]

Binance generated controversy when it told customers it would convert their holdings in three stablecoins to its own stablecoin. Some analysts say the concerns are overblown, others disagree.

South Korea-based internet giant Naver Corp. launched its non-fungible token (NFT) platform, NOW.Drops, with LINE NEXT on Wednesday. The platform will let K-pop music fans create customized NFTs. See related article: Naver’s Zepeto metaverse starts blockchain initiative with Solana Fast facts NOW.Drops allows users to mint NFTs of their favorite musical acts that they crop […]

Blockchain technology remains a world divided by silos that keep out developers and users, writes Manu Siddaligegowda of Lisk. What are the solutions?

Bitcoin fell below US$19,000 in Thursday morning trading in Asia after briefly moving above that resistance level overnight as investors digested the U.S. Federal Reserve decision to raise interest rates by 75 basis points, or in line with expectations. All the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization lost ground, with Ether the biggest loser.  See […]

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, rose more than 3% on Thursday to recover from a sharp drop to under US$19,000 after the Federal Open Market Committee said it would raise interest rates by 75 basis points, or in line with market expectations, to rein in inflation. See related article: Digital dollar takes another […]

Top blockchain and crypto news: Where is Do Kwon hiding out? Ethereum Merge mood fading fast. China’s digital yuan draws scrutiny Down Under.

While India’s central bank has adopted a hostile stance towards cryptocurrency, the South Asian nation has recognized the potential for blockchain technology.  See related article: Women in India start to plug into cryptocurrency trading Fast facts Use of blockchain technology is going to rise by about 46% in the next few years, India’s finance minister […]

The entirety of the provinces of Guangdong, Jiangsu, Hebei and Sichuan will be piloting the e-CNY by end 2022, says central bank official.

J-pop is increasing ties with immersive metaverse technology, with Japan’s top record producer Akimoto recently announcing his ambitious virtual idol project.

China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) claimed on Tuesday in a news conference that the country accounted for more than 84 percent of the world’s blockchain patent applications, despite the country’s ban on cryptocurrencies. See related article: Ant Group and Tencent obtain the most blockchain patents in China: report Fast facts See related […]

Bitcoin fell below the US$19,000 resistance level for the second time in a week in early Wednesday trading in Asia. Ether and most other tokens in the cryptocurrency top 10 by market capitalization lost ground. XRP was the exception, gaining on news the token’s issuer, Ripple Labs Inc, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission […]

CoinDCX, India’s first crypto unicorn, asked users not to click on any link or messages from its official Twitter handle as the company lost control of the social media account following a hack. See related article: How Twitter hackers social-engineered their way into VIP accounts to shill for bitcoin Fast facts “We are in the […]

South Korea’s top financial watchdog Monday said it is difficult for the country to establish laws overseeing the cryptocurrency industry in the country ahead of a common global regulatory framework as cross-border enforcement would be a key determinant of effectiveness.

The U.S. Department of Treasury is seeking public opinion on the “responsible development of digital assets” and has requested comments from the general public on national security and illicit financing risks posed by digital assets.  See related article: Singapore’s central bank says cryptocurrencies have ‘no fundamental value’ Fast facts Comments can be submitted until Nov. […]

Self-described crypto influencer charged with violating SEC regulations by trading and promoting an initial coin offering under undisclosed financial terms.

WazirX, India’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trade volume, said it has stopped deposits of stablecoins USDC, USDP and TUSD, and will automatically convert users’ existing balances to Binance’s USD-backed stablecoin BUSD at a 1:1 ratio.  See related article: India’s WazirX introduces new ‘learn and earn’ campaign with The Sandbox Fast facts WazirX will begin the […]

Bitcoin rose above US$19,000 in early Tuesday morning trading in Asia after falling below that resistance level overnight for the first time in almost two weeks. Ethereum showed signs of shaking off the post-Merge slump as it gained along with the rest of the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. See related article: Ethereum’s PoW […]

Hong Kong has invited firms interested in security token offerings (STO) to share their proposals with the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), the regulator’s Fintech department head Elizabeth Wong told digital assets industry representatives last week, according to a press release published on Monday.  See related article: Hong Kong regulator: ramp up oversight of virtual […]

The argument centers around if Ripple’s XRP sales were offerings of unregistered securities.

Already a big part of global finance, interest rate swaps can be a boon for DeFi — if it can overcome these challenges, writes Simon Jones of Voltz Labs.

These PoW forks were created to keep revenue flowing for Ethereum’s miners, but plummeting prices put that plan at risk.

Aptos, a public chain launched by former members of failed Meta stablecoin project Diem, announced Friday a prize of up to US$1 million to encourage developers to find major vulnerabilities in the blockchain network, as the launch of the highly-anticipated blockchain fell slightly behind schedule. See related article: Binance makes additional investment in Aptos  Fast […]

Maja Vujinovic, founder and CEO of OGroup, a financial services company with a focus on artificial intelligence and blockchain, spoke to Forkast about the future of digital assets at StartmeupHK Festival 2022.

Yi He, who manages the multibillion-dollar portfolio at Binance Labs, is looking to invest in Web 3.0 projects from infrastructure, application and data to analytics and security.

Bitcoin fell back below US$20,000 in early Monday morning trading in Asia after breaching that support line overnight, while Ethereum led the losses in the crypto top 10 by market capitalization, which were all trading lower. See related article: Markets: Bitcoin dips below US$20,000; Ether, ETC fall post-Merge Fast facts Bitcoin fell by 3.4% in […]

Non-fungible tokens aren’t merely novelty items — they can play a valuable a role in preserving history and culture, says Artifact Labs chief Gary Liu

Many believe Ethereum is destined to overtake Bitcoin’s dominance in an event known as “The Flippening.” Find out if Ethereum’s reign is inevitable in this Forkast explainer.

The Fed will continue its CBDC research as Republicans pressure the central bank to clarify its stance on digital dollar issuance.

A member of the prosecuting team tells Forkast additional charges are likely to be leveled against Terraform Labs Chief Executive Officer Do Kwon following this week’s issuance of an arrest warrant for violating the country’s Capital Markets Act.

Binance Labs, the venture capital arm of world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has made a follow-on investment in Aptos Labs, as a part of a broader fundraising round by the blockchain startup. See related article: Aptos raises US$150 mln from FTX Ventures, Jump Crypto Fast facts Aptos will use the funds to expand its team and […]

The Sandbox, a subsidiary of Animoca Brands Corp. Ltd., the Hong Kong-based game software and venture capital company, will be taking its Hong Kong metaverse strategy to a new market in Dubai, launching a “Dubaiverse,” the company said at the 62nd edition of the True Global Ventures Conference on Thursday.  Animoca Brand’s Dubai-themed metaverse will […]

Bitcoin continued trading below the US$20,000 support line in Friday afternoon trading in Asia. Ether fell in a “sell the news” mood after the Ethereum network completed the network Merge on Thursday. Most other coins among the top 10 by market capitalization dropped. See related article: Markets: Bitcoin dips below US$20,000; Ether, ETC fall post-Merge […]

Three Ethereum chains that support mining — Ethereum Classic, ETHPoW and Ethereum Fair — together accounted for about 30% of the peak hashrate of Ethereum before “the Merge.”

The crypto labor force skews heavily male, which could impede the industry’s future growth, writes Lottie Wells of Wirex. Here are some ways to increase women’s participation.

When is a cryptocurrency a security and when is it not? Financial regulators around the world are raising that question. The answer that comes out of the U.S. may set the tone, but South Korea is also ahead in tackling it.

Amid its bankruptcy proceedings, crypto lender Celsius Network LLC has sought court approval to sell and/or exchange its stablecoin holdings for U.S. dollars in order to generate liquidity and help fund its operations.  See related article: Goldman Sachs said to raise US$2B for Celsius assets: report Fast facts “Celsius currently owns eleven different forms of […]

Bitcoin fell below the US$20,000 support line in Friday morning trading in Asia, while Ether saw a sell-off following the long-awaited network “Merge” on Thursday. The total cryptocurrency market capitalization fell below US$1 trillion as all top 10 tokens were trading down. See related article: Ethereum says Merge upgrade successfully completed, more to come Fast […]

SBI Digital Markets Pte. Ltd. (SBI DM) has received a Capital Markets Services (CMS) license from Singapore’s central bank, which allows it to provide custodial services and offer capital markets products. See related article: Singapore’s MAS says needs to do better job explaining crypto policy Fast facts SBI DM plans to launch a digital asset […]

The bankrupt crypto lender Celsius Network’s native CEL token suddenly spiked to US$4.26, during Ethereum’s much-anticipated Merge, according to data from CoinGecko. See related article: Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky floats restructuring as custody business amid bankruptcy proceedings Fast facts CEL’s price has since dropped to US$1.94, making it the 61st largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, […]

The last block on the proof-of-work (PoW) Ethereum chain before The Merge was filled by a VanityBlocks non-fungible token (NFT) minted for 31.5 ETH, which was succeeded by the first NFT in the post-Merge proof-of-stake (PoS) chain minted for 36 ETH.  See related article: Fungible after all? Duplicates may disrupt NFT industry after Ethereum Merge […]

APAC is leading in crypto use and adoption, according to a new report from U.S. blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis released on Wednesday, with China returning to the report’s top 10 countries for crypto adoption after it fell out of the list last year. APAC accounted for six of the top 10 countries in the index. […]

Crypto exchanges in India say the number of female investors isn’t huge, but it is growing even as prices slide and new taxes eat into revenue.

The Merge is a milestone in slashing electricity use on the Ethereum blockchain, but there are plenty more upgrades in the pipeline.

South Korea will issue a guideline for regulating the metaverse instead of applying existing law on video games, the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) announced at a government briefing on Wednesday. See related article: S.Korea’s science ministry announces ethical principles for the metaverse Fast facts The guideline that will be used to better promote […]

Bitcoin was little changed while most of the crypto top ten by market capitalization rose, edging the entire crypto market cap back above US$1 trillion in Thursday morning trading in Asia. Ether and Cardano led the gains after Wednesday’s slump on inflation concerns in the U.S. See related article: Markets: Bitcoin, Ether drop on CPI […]

London-based Ownera has raised US$20 million in a Series A funding round from investors including banking giant JPMorgan and private asset management firm LRC Group. See related article: Tokenized assets may make up 10% of global GDP by 2030: report Fast facts The funds will be used to deploy a global interoperability network to unlock […]

Top blockchain and crypto news: Binance bets on Ethereum Merge. What does Terra’s sudden resurgence mean? China seeks to expand e-CNY ecosystem.

Cryptocurrency markets continued their skid in Wednesday afternoon trading in Asia, with the global market capitalization dipping to around US$997 billion, down 6% in the last 24 hours. All cryptocurrencies in the top 10 by market cap fell. Solana led the losers, with Bitcoin coming in second. Stock markets slumped. See related article: Markets: Bitcoin, […]

Ethereum post-Merge will be much more attractive to institutional investors keen on ESG and earning stable yields, writes Wei Zhou of Coins.ph. Here’s why.

In a decision involving Litecoin, a Chinese court says there are no rules ‘that negate the protectability of cryptocurrency itself as virtual property.’

Over a month after placing the Ethereum coin-mixing tool Tornado Cash under sanctions, the U.S. Treasury Department announced a way for Tornado Cash users to recover their funds on Tuesday.  See related article: Tether says didn’t freeze sanctioned Tornado Cash addresses so as to not interfere in investigations Fast facts The new guidance provides a […]

EDX Markets Crypto Exchange, backed by Charles Schwab, Citadel Securities, Fidelity Digital Assets, Paradigm, Sequoia Capital and Virtu Financial, seeks to settle trades on the blockchain for greater speed and efficiency at lower cost, eliminating the need for bilateral settlements, according to a press release on Tuesday. See related article: FTX agrees to help South […]

Bitcoin fell almost 10% with Ether close behind in Wednesday morning trading in Asia as the August U.S. consumer price index, a key inflation indicator, came in higher than expected overnight, driving down equity markets and pointing to more agressive interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve. All cryptocurrencies in the top 10 by market […]

Argentina’s tax collection agency (AFIP) has concluded its first-ever operations against illegal and “clandestine” crypto mining farms operating within the country, the agency announced last week. See related article: Crypto miners should disclose energy data, US lawmakers say Fast facts The AFIP conducted four raids on crypto farms that were under the guise of other […]

The Crypto Fraud and Asset Recovery Network (CFAAR), which calls itself the first global network of its kind, has launched a Hong Kong-based chapter in collaboration with seven local finance, law, and crypto regulation experts.  See related article: Australia establishes federal crypto police unit Fast facts The Crypto Fraud and Asset Recovery network began in […]

Identifying characteristics of securities in Terra’s tokens could help South Korea with new charges on Terraform Labs and CEO Do Kwon.

Bitcoin and Solana continued their rallies in Tuesday afternoon trading in Asia, both up over 10% in the past week. However, Ether continued to slip as the market awaited the upcoming Etherium “Merge.”  See related article: Markets: Bitcoin, Solana lead gains in crypto top ten, Ether slips ahead of Merge Fast facts Bitcoin was up […]

Tokenized assets are expected to expand into a US$16 trillion business opportunity by 2030 — making up 10% of global GDP by the end of the decade — from US$310 billion in 2022. This is according to a new report by global consulting firm BCG and the digital exchange for private markets ADDX. See related […]

Crypto exchange Huobi has ceased topping-up service for seven kinds of privacy-focused tokens on its exchange as it prepares to delist the tokens on Sept. 19, citing regulatory concerns. See related article: Privacy protocol Monero completes upgrade to make transactions more private Fast facts See related article: Huobi-incubated Chinese NFT platform iBox ends international operations

The most critical upgrade in Ethereum’s history is just around the corner, so what will it mean for prices of cryptocurrency?

Ethereum’s completion of its much anticipated ‘Merge’ this week will unlikely improve the network’s long-term speed or scalability, writes Mark Lurie of Shipyard Software. Why is this so, and why will it still be good for innovation?