blockchain

The Cardano blockchain’s long-awaited upgrade, the Vasil hard fork, successfully completed its first phase early Friday morning, according to Cardano operator Input Output Global Hong Kong’s official Twitter page. See related article: Cardano’s Vasil hard fork upgrade confirmed for Sept. 22 Fast facts Vasil will bring improvements to the Cardano network, making it more scalable […]

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

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 […]

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 […]

Could blockchain – despite it’s high carbon emissions, also be part of the fight against climate change? We’ll take a closer look at that in this episode of The Daily Forkast.

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 […]

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 […]

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.”

ETHPoW, the Ethereum hard fork blockchain intended to preserve proof-of-work after the native chain transitioned to proof-of-stake, is facing technical difficulties despite months of anticipation.  See related article: Ethereum says Merge upgrade successfully completed, more to come Fast facts Prior to the fork, it was announced that ETHW tokens would be airdropped to Ethereum holders. […]

Polkadot will hold its first hackathon that focuses on Latin America starting Sept. 26 to engage local developers in the network and promote the uses of blockchain around the world. See related article: Polkadot is top crypto held by VCs and hedge funds in Q4 2021 Fast facts See related article: Polkadot-based Acala Dollar burns […]

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 […]

The NEAR foundation, in partnership with Forkast, has announced the Women in Web3 winners.

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?

The eleven winners highlight the achievements and importance of women in the burgeoning Web3 space.

Interoperability is a key characteristic for the metaverse to be useful, writes Dr. Dimitry Mihaylov of National Univ. of Singapore. But the technology and laws are still lacking.

China’s BSN pushes use of its Spartan Network – a non-crypto blockchain – outside of China.

Britain’s new Prime Minister Liz Truss has appointed Kwasi Kwarteng, former head of the U.K.’s department for business, energy and industrial strategy, as the new finance minister, charging him with decisions that will impact British and global crypto markets. See related article: Bank of England calls for greater crypto regulation Fast facts Former Finance Minister […]

A slowdown in crypto investment — particularly in firms offering coins, tokens and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) — will continue in the second half of the current year, according to a new report by global audit and consulting firm KPMG.  See related article: Siloed regulatory efforts unlikely to help bring oversight to highly decentralized crypto industry […]

ETC, the token of Ethereum Classic, logged a double-digit gain in the past 24 hours as of Tuesday morning in Asia, while its hashrate hit a record high on Monday as miners look for alternatives in anticipation of the “Merge.” See related article: Markets: Bitcoin rises slightly, Ether and Ethereum Classic gain amid price run […]

The Cardano blockchain’s hard fork upgrade, Vasil, is scheduled for mainnet on Sept. 22, according to Cardano developer and operator Input Output Global’s (IOG) Twitter announcement over the weekend. See related article: Cardano delays Vasil blockchain upgrade, citing bugs and ‘abundance of caution’ Fast facts “Vasil is the most significant Cardano upgrade to date, bringing […]

How can blockchain help women gain financial independence? And how can female participation be boosted? Social entrepreneur Wendy Diamond explains

Ethereum Name Service (ENS) reported its third-highest month of revenue in August, with 301,000 new “.eth” registrations, totaling 2.17 million names, according to a post on its verified Twitter handle. See related article: ENS domain name expires as developer is in prison, becomes up for grabs in Sept. Fast facts ENS generated 2,744 ETH, currently […]

We take a look at how the Ethereum PoW fork has gained crypto exchange backings in this episode of The Daily Forkast.

Nearly a year after China banned crypto trading and mining, the director of the Technology Supervision Bureau at Chinaøs Securities Regulatory Commission has published a book discussing Web 3.0 and blockchain technology. See related article: Shanghai turns to metaverse, NFTs to counter lockdown economic fallout Fast facts Yao Qian’s book “Web 3.0: Changes and Challenges […]

Google earns hundreds of billions annually by monetizing its users. Can blockchain return meaningful control over personal data back to the people?

Are you a good runner? Or eater? Or sleeper? Chances are whatever you’re good at, there’s a Web3 project out there to reward you in crypto. But do the tokenomics stack up?

In today’s episode, we take a deeper dive into x-to-earn concepts and how traditional hedge funds are increasing their crypto exposure.

The National Energy Administration (NEA) will explore blockchain-based power trading platforms to facilitate electricity trading between self-contained power generation units and the state and national grids, according to a policy document released last Friday. see related article: The Bitcoin-energy connection intensifies Fast facts see related article: Here’s why Australia can’t use its empty deserts to mine […]

The final timeline for the ETH merge has been announced. Meanwhile, we take a deeper dive at blockchain and civic administrations.

Ethereum has by far the most developers from DeFi projects to NFTs so how are they expected to respond to a plan by Etheruem miners to fork the network, a move miners argue is needed to stay in business.

The $65-billion event ticketing industry is riddled with skulduggery, but NFT technology can transform it for the common good, writes Josh Katz of Yellowheart.

Ten winners will be selected by public vote, which will end on August 29.

Chinese tech giant Tencent has received a patent for blockchain-based notices for missing persons, as the tech firm continues to explore blockchain applications despite shutting one of its non-fungible token (NFT) platforms recently. See related article: Tencent’s Huanhe allows NFT refunds, halts further sales Fast facts Tencent’s design could enhance the efficiency of publishing such […]

Stakeholders in India’s blockchain space have created a new forum with more than 40 influencers to liaise with governments and regulators for blockchain and Web 3.0 adoption in the country. See related article: India’s latest tax assault on crypto exchanges starts Friday Fast facts According to a local media report, India Blockchain Forum is setting […]

BTC and ETH hit by volatility, while big players start investing in blockchain despite market wobbles.

Web3 lifestyle app Stepn is releasing a non-fungible token (NFT) running shoe collection in partnership with crypto exchange WhaleFin and Spanish soccer club Atlético de Madrid, the company announced on Thursday. See related article: Play-to-earn game developers pivot to engaging fans Fast facts This collection will feature 1,001 Atlético de Madrid shoes that grant the […]

ETHPoW, the token that will run on a potential Ethereum PoW fork, fell to an all-time low of US$50.36 on Thursday, down 64% from its Aug. 2 peak, according to CoinMarketCap.  See related article: Chandler Guo tells why he is the man who would hard fork Ethereum Fast facts The ETHPoW token is currently only […]

dWallet Labs, a cybersecurity company specializing in blockchain technology, has raised US$5 million in pre-seed funding led by Node Capital and Digital Currency Group (DCG), the company said in a statement. See related article: Why DeFi remains attractive to institutions in a bear market Fast facts The funding round also included investors Amplify Partners, Lightshift […]

Forkast x CryptoSlam! are proud to present Moments in NFT History — an explainer video series hosted by Forkast’s Joel Flynn that gives you a front-row seat to history-in-the-making. When it comes to technology, few things in history could claim to be as significant as the automobile. It redefined the idea of movement and opened […]

Criminal activity in cryptocurrency was more resilient than legitimate uses despite the downturn in the crypto market in 2022, according to a new report by blockchain data aggregation firm Chainalysis. See related article: Chainalysis says $2 bln stolen in cross-chain bridge hacks this year, more expected Fast facts Illicit transaction volumes are down just 15% […]

Top blockchain and crypto news: Eqonex shutters exchange operation. Huobi denies sale report. Taiwan beefs up cyber defenses.

Forty top corporations invested about US$6 billion into blockchain startups between September 2021 and June 2022, according to an analysis by blockchain data platform Blockdata. As some investments involved participation from multiple investors, Blockdata said it was not clear how much each company invested in one particular project. See related article: Korea Blockchain Week points […]

Jump Crypto, the crypto arm of high-frequency trading firm Jump Trading Group, announced on Tuesday plans to develop a new open source validator client for the Solana network to boost throughput and reliability. See related article: Solana validators complete restart; Laos ends crypto ban Fast facts Jump Crypto will “propose a major upgrade to Solana’s […]

Monero completed its hard fork for a network upgrade on Saturday in an attempt to add more privacy to transactions on the protocol. See related article: Ransomware attacks are growing in sophistication. What can stop them? Fast facts Monero Sunday said that the network is “now more private and efficient with ringsize 16, Bulletproofs+, and […]

Follow the money? Korea Blockchain Week concludes this weekend in Seoul and one of the overarching themes is enthusiasm for blockchain-based gaming as the key to opening up a Web3 world to a broader audience.

Can blockchain technology help starstruck little guys profit from being superfans of popular e-girls? Joel Stein joins Irene Zhao’s IreneDAO to find out.

Today’s special episode of The Daily Forkast, we take a deeper on location in Seoul, at the sold-out Korea Blockchain Week.

Pantera Capital-backed Injective Labs has raised US$40 million to be used to create blockchain optimized for financial applications, it said in a statement.  See related article: Singapore DeFi derivatives exchange SynFutures closes US$14M fund raise Fast facts The funding round was led by Jump Crypto and BH Digital, the crypto arm of hedge fund manager […]

After high-profile cyberattacks on decentralized apps, the blockchain industry is in a hurry to ramp up security. Sam Sangmin Seo, head of Klaytn, tells Forkast that minimizing human error may be the key.

Binance will support Ethereum’s “Merge,” expected in September, and will evaluate if it would list any newly forked tokens, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume said on Wednesday. See related article: USDC, Tether announce support for Ethereum proof-of-stake Fast facts Binance said it is closely monitoring the development of the merge, which could […]

Crypto’s volatility may be top of mind right now, but blockchain’s practical uses will be the industry’s future, writes Johannes Schweifer of CoreLedger.

Indian crypto exchange CoinSwitch has introduced a Web3 Discovery Fund with initial capital of US$10 million to back early stage startups. See related article:  CoinSwitch Kuber launches rupee index for Indian crypto market Fast facts The Web3 Discovery Fund will curate portfolio startups and provide single-window access to marquee investor partners, such as Tiger Global, […]

Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis says cross-chain bridges that allow transfer of assets between independent blockchains are among the highest risk protocols in the blockchain industry for scams and bad actors. Chainalysis in a new report estimates that US$2 billion worth of cryptocurrency has been stolen from cross-chain bridges across 13 attacks so far this year, […]

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 […]

How does a centralized internet browser plan for a decentralized future? Reinvention, and finding a receptive audience. First stop, Southeast Asia.

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.  […]

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 […]

Forkast x CryptoSlam! are proud to present Moments in NFT History — an explainer video series hosted by Forkast’s Joel Flynn that gives you a front-row seat to history-in-the-making. The business of music is a painfully difficult thing to pursue, especially for those trying to parlay passion into profit.  But blockchain technology might just be […]

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?

Nomad loses US$200 million after over 300 suspected of participating in the hack. Meanwhile, Michael Saylor moves from CEO to Chairman of Microstrategy.

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Chiliz (CHZ) cryptocurrency jumped as much as 25% on Monday evening in Asia after announcing a US$100 million investment in FC Barcelona’s Barça Studios for a 24.5% stake in the soccer club’s digital content and distribution hub. See related article: South Korea’s Ifland metaverse dives into play-to-earn Fast facts Under the partnership, Socios.com and Chiliz […]

As the once febrile crypto market cools, it’s time to look again at the enterprise capabilities of blockchain, says the Hyperledger Foundation’s Daniela Barbosa

A lack of certainty over future regulation and a long lockdown in Shanghai are pushing some Chinese Web3 companies to set up shop in Singapore.

Forkast x CryptoSlam! are proud to present Moments in NFT History — an explainer video series hosted by Forkast’s Joel Flynn that gives you a front-row seat to history-in-the-making. We’ve talked about NFTs being turned into sports memorabilia, but what comes after? Well, in this episode, we are quite literally talking about epic sports moments. […]

Venture capitalists (VCs) poured at least US$17.5 billion into the crypto and blockchain industry in the first half of this year, Reuters reported, citing PitchBook data.  See related article: Blockchain, crypto investment soars in H1 2021 Fast facts VC investments in blockchain and crypto startups topped US$26.9 billion in 2021. North American startups were at […]

Male-dominated workplaces, lack of proper educational resources, challenge women and act as barriers for them to engage in Web3.0, according to a survey by KuCoin.  See related article: NEAR Foundation, Forkast partner to showcase talented, socially mindful women in Web3 Fast facts Despite challenges, 60% of female professionals recognize their unique value in facilitating better […]

FOMO Pay will partner with Ripple, the San Francisco-based blockchain payments company, to utilize its XRP-based tool that enables instant low cost settlement without the need to hold pre-funded capital in a destination market, the Singapore based company said. See related article: CrossTower in pact with Ripple to offer NFTs on XRP Ledger Fast facts […]

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMBC Group), which runs one of Japan’s largest banks, said Friday it will work together with blockchain startup HashPort to develop non-fungible token (NFT) and Web3 projects. See related article: PSG sells US$220,000 NFT tickets for first Japan tour in 27 years Fast facts SMBC and HashPort plan to set up […]