China

Several crypto firms join forces to set up a humanitarian fund amid ongoing war and star witness in Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial gives testimony.

Bitcoin and Ether have struggled to gain traction since the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) postponed its decision on seven Bitcoin ETF proposals.

Virtual assets remain legal property protected by law in China, said a Friday report from People’s Court Daily.

Bitcoin, Ether and most other top 10 cryptos dropped on Thursday after a Wednesday rally on news of Grayscale receiving a favorable ruling against the SEC.

Top blockchain and crypto news: China’s economic woes could spell trouble for crypto. Real fear in NFT markets. Can Friend.tech revive SocialFi?

Welcome to Forkast IQ, presented by Angie Lau, where we look beyond the headlines to get you insights that power smarter decisions. Coming up on today’s show:

Binance users in China traded about US$90 billion worth of cryptocurrency-related assets in May despite the crypto ban since 2021.

Shanghai plans to build a blockchain infrastructure by the end of 2025 and establish links with Hong Kong and Singapore.

Shanghai on Tuesday published a set of guidelines to promote use of blockchain, the digital yuan, and the metaverse in the city’s legacy industries.

Bitcoin and Ether rose during Wednesday afternoon trading in Hong Kong, along with all other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.

Police in China’s Shanxi Province made 21 arrests in relation to an alleged USDT money laundering scheme amounting to over US$54 million.

China’s Zhejiang province, the home province of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group,has established a metaverse industrial association.

Beijing municipal government plans to train 10,000 engineering talents each year in emerging technologies including blockchain, AI and big data.

China Mobile, a leading telecommunication company of China, launched a metaverse alliance on Wednesday, whose members include Huawei, Xiaomi and Unity China. 

Shanghai on Wednesday released a three-year plan to build its culture and tourism metaverse.

Bitcoin prices drop 1.04% to US$30,416 in 24 hours, while Ether fell 0.98% to US$1,893.

The Shanghai Clearing House started digital yuan clearing and settlement services for trading in commodities on Monday.

In this week’s Forkast IQ with Megha Chaddah, we dive into the U.S. SEC’s crypto crackdown and the state of the East Asian metaverses.

The final story in a three-part series on Asia metaverse developments looks at China’s national strategy, which has seen dozens of cities and provinces release spending plans and training schemes to adopt this digital world in real-world industries. China’s initiatives, however, face challenges from regulation and global competition.

Jiangning, a district in China’s Nanjing city, released a metaverse plan on Saturday that includes training thousands of professionals for the industry.

AliExpress, the global online platform of China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, will launch NFTs on June 25 working with NFT project “the Moment3!”.

CCTV, China’s largest national TV broadcaster, ran about a minute-long segment on Tuesday flagging SEC’s lawsuit against Binance and its founder Changpeng Zhao.

Welcome to Forkast IQ, presented by Forkast Editor-in-Chief Angie Lau, where we look beyond the headlines to get you insights that power smarter decisions.

Top blockchain and crypto news: Miners dodge tax bullet. Blur, Binance heat up NFT lending. Chinese cities’ plans reveal nationwide Web3 ambition.

Virtual assets will receive the same regulatory clarity in Hong Kong as their real-world counterparts, says former Hong Kong SFC regulator Angelina Kwan.

Beijing’s local government on Saturday released a white paper outlining plans and challenges for development of the city’s Web 3.0 industry.

China’s Zhengzhou city issued a set of policy proposals Wednesday to support metaverse companies, including a 10 billion yuan (US$1.42 billion) metaverse fund.

Top blockchain and crypto news: Asia’s crypto hub race. Is US debt ceiling fight a boon or a bane for crypto? China’s red carpet for metaverse investment.

Analysts say the move could signal a bull run in cryptocurrencies.

China’s Nanjing City launched a state-backed organization on Monday to promote and enhance metaverse studies throughout the nation.

Top blockchain and crypto news: Fighting words over USDT erupt on Twitter. Litecoin surges amid memecoin fever. Chinese city bids for blockchain business.

Conflux Network and China Telecom on Tuesday unveiled their first blockchain-based SIM card, which will be piloted in Hong Kong.

China’s top legal authority issued a commentary on Monday about the risks and potential in NFTs, highlighting the need for legislation.

China’s Jiangsu Province plans to expand the use of digital yuan to its public education system, as the province seeks to spearhead the country’s CBDC pilot.

China’s Fuzhou City on Friday unveiled a raft of policies to attract investment by blockchain-related companies, including rent subsidies and cash awards.

Welcome to Forkast IQ, presented by Megha Chaddah, where we look beyond the headlines to get you insights that power smarter decisions. Coming up on today’s show:

Top blockchain and crypto news: Memecoin fever strains BTC network. Binance slams brakes on Bitcoin withdrawals. Chinese court allows crypto for repaying debt.

China’s national blockchain research center was launched in Beijing on Wednesday and plans to train over 500,000 blockchain professionals for the country.

Cryptocurrencies in China can be legally used to settle basic relations debts such as exchange and labor, according to the Supreme People’s Court of China.

Henan Cultural Tourism Investment Group, a state-owned investment enterprise in Central China’s Henan province, has set up a 150 million yuan private equity investment fund to finance metaverse ventures.

Arthur Yuen, Deputy Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, urged local lenders to provide banking services to regulated crypto firms.

Top blockchain and crypto news: Coinbase in court to force SEC’s hand. PEPE surge lifts memecoin mood. China paves CBDC path with payroll.

State employees in China’s Changshu City will receive their salaries in digital yuan from May, as China’s CBDC expands in daily uses.

Bitcoin and Ether fell by the end of Asian trading hours on Friday afternoon, together with all top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization apart from the BNB token. Asian equities declined along with U.S. futures, amid mounting political pressure between China and the U.S. Fast facts See related article: EU green lights MICA but […]

Bitcoin continued its rally to near the US$31,000 mark in Friday afternoon trading in Asia. All other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptos gained, led by Ethereum.

Bitcoin rose higher in the US$30,000 band on Friday morning in Asia amid strong gains among the top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies. Ether led the winners.

ZA Bank, the largest virtual bank in Hong Kong, has started offering cryptocurrency conversion services through licensed crypto exchanges.

China has fined Bitmain, one of the world’s biggest producers of cryptocurrency mining rigs, nearly US$3.6 million for alleged tax violations, according to the Beijing tax authorities.

Bitcoin continued to rally past US$30,000, with Ether and all other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies gaining in Tuesday afternoon trade in Asia. Solana was the biggest gainer at 11.09%.

Hong Kong has established the Institute of Web 3.0 to facilitate the development of the crypto ecosystem in the city, directed by a former head of HKMA.

A major state-owned firm in China is launching two cryptocurrency funds in partnership with investment firm Waterdrip Capital. 

Top blockchain and crypto news: Arbitrum to segment AIP-1. DeGods NFT collection moves to Ethereum. Crypto on the agenda at ‘China’s Davos.’

Government officials from Hong Kong and mainland China talked about cryptocurrencies at the Boao Forum in China, as both chase Web3 ambitions.

The Binance comments came in response to a Financial Times article that cited internal documents and said the company had close ties with China despite claims it had left the country in 2017 following a government crackdown.

Binance reportedly hid ties to China for years despite claiming to have left the country following Beijing’s regulatory clampdown in 2017.

Top blockchain and crypto news: Banking woes boost Bitcoin. Arbitrum counts down to launch. Chinese billionaire faces US crypto scam charges.

Guo Wengui, an exiled Chinese billionaire, was arrested in New York on Wednesday for allegedly orchestrating a more than US$1 billion fraud conspiracy that included cryptocurrency, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). See related article: U.S. banking regulators warn against cryptocurrency fraud, contagion risks Fast facts […]

Top blockchain and crypto news: USDC stabilizes after SVB collapse. Silvergate closes shop. China tightens financial supervision.

Amid the NFT hype in 2022, Chinese buyers’ complaints about NFT scams and price manipulations surged 30,000% to 59,700 from 198 in the year before.

Crypto markets slammed by Fed, Silvergate, lawsuits.

NFTs have entered China’s Two Sessions, with a delegate to propose an NFT regulatory framework.

Top blockchain and crypto news: Silvergate woes spark bankruptcy talk. LDO dips on false enforcement rumors. Chinese leaders push digital development.

Bitcoin and Ether gained in Tuesday afternoon trade in Asia, along with most other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies. Polygon’s Matic token led gains followed by XRP and Dogecoin.

WeChat, China’s leading social networking and payment app, has integrated the digital yuan into its payment network, which may help adoption of the CBDC.

The Chinese “Two Sessions” meetings began over the weekend, and blockchain technology could be at the forefront of Beijing’s vision for growth

Bitcoin gained in Monday afternoon trade in Asia while all other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization posted losses.

Look for blockchain, self-reliance in technology discussions in China’s biggest political meetings of the year as China’s President Xi Jinping’s aims to build a digital economy.

China is promoting digital yuan to Hong Kong visitors, but has not received much enthusiasm so far.

Chinese smartphone maker Huawei partnered with multiple overseas Web3 firms, as part of the company’s blockchain and metaverse venture.

Shenzhen is adopting blockchain technology to safeguard data ownership, as China seeks to build a regulated data economy.

What makes Web3 compelling to many is its promise to shift power from centralized players to individual users, but China is doing the opposite, writes Lily King.

China technology giant Tencent said its reshuffling staff in its metaverse unit, but denied it was being disbanded, as reported by local media.