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Top blockchain and crypto news: Binance BNB slips amid allegations. STEPN marches through attacks. Is China’s slowdown straining crypto prices?

High taxes and lack of support from traditional finance make it difficult for smaller crypto operators to survive in India, a senior executive at one of the country’s largest crypto exchanges said.

Nine cryptocurrency and blockchain companies, including crypto exchange FTX, made it to the 2022 list of the Forbes Fintech 50 released Tuesday, with all nine raising a total of US$6.5 billion in venture capital, according to the business magazine. See related article: FTX.US forays into stock trading Fast facts The latest list features private companies […]

Leading crypto exchange Binance swats away double-helping of allegations. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s regulator scrutinises NFTs.

In hosting one of Asia’s largest outdoor NFT art exhibitions, the city — battered by lengthy quarantines and protests — is seeking to revolutionize the way art is presented.

Hong Kong-based Animoca Brands, which invests in non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and metaverse projects, has invested over US$1.5 billion across more than 340 investments as of April 30, according to its unaudited financial results released on Monday. See related article: Animoca Brands’ new Japan arm aims to connect fans in Web 3.0 world Fast facts Between […]

Binance has fought back on a Reuters investigation that accused the crypto exchange of serving as a conduit for at least US$2.3 billion worth of illicit funds, calling the report a “breathless pearl clutching” piece. See related article: SEC probes Binance’s BNB for initial coin offering in 2017: report Fast facts “We’re aware of Angus […]

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is reportedly looking into whether Binance violated any rules regarding the sale of securities when its BNB token was sold through an initial coin offering (ICO) in 2017. See related article: Binance’s venture arm raises US$500 mln to invest in Web3, blockchain Fast facts The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange […]

IRA Financial Trust announced a lawsuit against cryptocurrency exchange Gemini Trust Company on Monday for alleged failures in safeguarding IRA’s crypto assets in the exchange. See related article: Binance users burned by outage band together to take legal action Fast facts IRA manages self-directed retirement accounts in non-traditional assets such as Bitcoin which were held […]

The prospect of tighter codes for the crypto industry has given some players the jitters. Others, such as Crypto.com’s Eric Anziani, see it as an opportunity.

The industry should fasten its seat belt, an industry watcher told Forkast, as the largest of crypto firms headline widespread layoffs amid the 2022 market crunch.

Indian cryptocurrency exchange CoinSwitch Kuber launched CRE8 on Thursday, a rupee index tracking the Indian crypto market. See related article: India gets second crypto unicorn within two months Fast facts CRE8 claims to give traders real-time information on the Indian rupee-based crypto market, based on trades on the CoinSwitch exchange. “Until now, investors in India […]

Binance Labs’ fundraise comes as venture capital investments face headwinds from expectations of interest rate increases. See related article: Binance’s investment in Forbes is a wake-up call for the crypto industry Fast facts See related article: Binance, a16z among investors backing Musk’s Twitter bid with US$7B

Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat cautioned retail investors to steer clear of investments in cryptocurrencies, saying the nascent asset class “is a highly risky area.”  See related article: Singapore wants to bring some adult supervision to crypto Fast facts Many investors suffered losses and even lost their life savings in the recent meltdown […]

Singapore announces plans for a digital assets initiative. Meanwhile, Shanghai’s lockdown finally ends, but markets remain hesitant.

Dunamu, the South Korean fintech company and operator of the country’s largest crypto exchange Upbit, rebutted claims that it profited by over 130 billion Korean won (US$105 million) off of LUNA Classic last year. See related article: S.Korea eyes restraints on crypto unicorn Dunamu over monopoly concerns Fast facts Last week, multiple local media reports […]

BNB Chain’s roadmap for the year will prioritize faster transactions and enhanced support for decentralized applications (dApps), the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume said. See related article: Binance rebrands blockchains for metaverse, DeFi expansions Fast facts In its 2022 technical roadmap released Tuesday, BNB Chain said it is working to offer end users more […]

South Korea’s smart contract auditing firm Sooho.io is partnering with Lambda256, the blockchain subsidiary of Upbit operator Dunamu, to develop a bridge layer connecting the country’s fragmented decentralized finance (DeFi) and Web 3.0 ecosystem. See related article: Two crypto exchanges reach unicorn status in South Korea Fast facts The new bridge will work as a […]

Mirror Protocol’s price match error nearly led to another crisis for Terra. Meanwhile, Ethereum rises back up after nearly a week below US$2,000.

Wall Street did it! At least that is one of the theories about the cause of the nearly US$50 billion meltdown of Terraform Labs stablecoin and LUNA cryptocurrency. How does that stand up?

The Indian government is studying how other countries have regulated the asset class before drafting laws for the industry, the secretary for economic affairs Ajay Seth told local media.  See related article: Crypto regulation has to ‘take its time’: India FM Nirmala Sitharaman Fast facts “Our consultation paper is fairly ready. We have gone into […]

The Reserve Bank of India explores digital rupee options. Meanwhile, Terra’s new Luna coin drops significantly since launch.

Advocates for central bank digital currencies argue their inherent stability supersedes any benefits so-called stablecoins, algorithmic or otherwise, could offer.     

The new LUNA was trading under US$6 on Monday morning Asia time, after peaking at US$18.87 shortly following the launch of the Terra 2.0 blockchain on Saturday, according to data from CoinGecko. See related article: Winning back the trust of the Terra community a tall order for Do Kwon: Experts Fast facts LUNA Classic (LUNC) […]

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) featuring Chinese late Qing dynasty painter Wu Changshuo’s artwork debuted on Tencent’s Huanhe NFT platform on Thursday with all 28,000 copies selling out immediately after the drop, reflecting a still robust market for such assets in China. See related article: Chinese stock image agency VCG tests NFT marketplace Fast facts The Wu […]

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is aligning its central bank digital currency (CBDC) design with monetary policy objectives and financial stability, the central bank said in its annual report.  See related article: Report: Stablecoins, CBDCs may not resolve financial inclusion, international remittance challenges Fast facts Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced in February the RBI […]

The world’s second-largest stablecoin USDC and ERC-20 IAG tokens can now be bridged from Ethereum to the Cardano network through Iagon’s cross-chain bridge powered by the Milkomeda sidechain. See related article: Wormhole to bridge Polkadot, Kusama to Ethereum, Solana Fast facts A cross-chain bridge allows for crypto assets of one blockchain to be converted for […]

The Singapore-based banking behemoth may have found its reach constrained in retail crypto markets, but it still has big plans, CEO Piyush Gupta tells Forkast.

StepN limits their services in China. Meanwhile, Terra 2.0 poses questions relating to investor trust.

Do Kwon’s proposal to create a new Terra network chain is set to go live this weekend — what does Terra 2.0 entail and will it successfully win back its following?

The Terra governance system has given a 99.39% approval on Friday Asia time to burn about 1.38 billion TerraClassicUSD (USTC), or approximately 11% of the total supply of the stablecoin’s supply. See related article: Terra, LUNA vote ends in favor of Do Kwon’s new chain proposal Fast facts There is a total of about 11.2 […]

The world’s third-largest cryptocurrency exchange in terms of trading volume Thursday said it acquired Latin American crypto exchange Bitex to expand its footprint in the region. See related article: Huobi Group poised to establish regional hub in Singapore Fast facts Though terms of the deal were not disclosed, Huobi said it plans to integrate Bitex’s […]

The operator of the Indian cryptocurrency exchange is working with large institutional borrowers, third-party lending partners and staking platforms to generate yield on cryptocurrency and digital assets, CoinDCX said in a statement. See related article: CoinDCX investment arm to invest US$13 mln in Web3 startups Fast facts The yield program doesn’t come with lock-in periods […]

A JPMorgan strategist said digital assets are the bank’s preferred alternative asset class while placing Bitcoin’s fair price value at 28% higher than its current price of about US$29,000. See related article: JPMorgan predicts $150,000 Bitcoin price in the long run Fast facts “Going forward, we see upside for Bitcoin and crypto markets more generally,” […]

Governments around the world are racing to develop their own digital currencies, but an e-HKD may not make sense for Hong Kong’s people. John Mitchell of Episode Six explains why Hong Kong is unique.

A hydropower plant in China has been fined for illegally powering crypto mines. Meanwhile, South Korean auditors plan on auditing Terra and other crypto exchanges.

Terra’s governance vote closed on Wednesday evening Asia time with 65.50% of governance voters in favor of Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon’s proposal to create a new blockchain. See related article: Terra raises aUST initial token float to 30% in revival plan amendment Fast facts Kwon’s “Terra Ecosystem Revival Plan 2” ditches the algorithmic stablecoin […]

Top blockchain and crypto news: Billions cut ties with Tether. Are Terra’s UST troubles just beginning? China’s miners stay one step ahead.

The crypto community is still dealing with the fallout from the multibillion-dollar collapse of Terra-LUNA. At a Davos event organized by Forkast, we asked what caused the crash and if it was foreseeable.

If buying a home is the American Dream and key to building wealth, what is that like in the metaverse? Crypto newcomer Joel Stein finds out.

Nasdaq-listed Coinbase Global, Inc. became the first cryptocurrency company to make it to the Fortune 500 list of the biggest U.S. corporations on Monday.  See related article: Coinbase blames India’s central bank for exit Fast facts Coinbase’s 2021 revenue of US$7.8 billion brought the company to the 437th rank in Fortune’s annual list. The top […]

The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) of South Korea will perform an on-site inspection of Terraform Labs and financial services linked to TerraUSD (UST) or LUNA. See related article: Are we heading for a post-Terra crypto winter? Fast facts The FSS said at an emergency National Assembly meeting on Tuesday that the audit aims to prevent […]

A Terra employee has been accused of embezzlement. Meanwhile, a crypto mining farm has been found in Russia’s oldest prison.

China’s state-backed infrastructure Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN) announced on Tuesday that it is preparing the launch of BSN Spartan on Aug. 31, a new international network for non-cryptocurrency public chains. See related article: Resist the temptation on NFTs, Chinese state-backed developer says Fast facts “We’re not against public chains, but we’re against crypto,” BSN developer […]

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Shaktikanta Das said in a local media interview that the central bank has rightly been cautioning against cryptocurrencies, following the collapse of Terra’s UST and LUNA.  See related article: RBI calls for crypto ban in India, again Fast facts Das told CNBC TV18 on Monday that if crypto had […]

Hang Seng Index Company launched the China Metaverse Index on Monday to track the performance of 30 metaverse-related listed businesses in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Shenzhen.  See related article: Asian Games set for digital yuan, metaverse pilots, tech firm claims Fast facts Hang Seng Index Company is a subsidiary of major Hong Kong bank Hang […]

Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Cyber Crimes Investigations Unit revealed on Monday that it has received a report alleging a Terraform Labs employee was involved in embezzling corporate funds, according to local media reports. See related article: Terra’s S.Korean office closure ‘purely coincidental’: Do Kwon Fast facts The police are currently investigating the validity of the […]

Terra co-founder responds to office closure allegations. Meanwhile, China re-emerges as a crypto mining hub despite 2021 ban.

The Twitter account of non-fungible token (NFT) artist Mike Winkelmann, widely known as Beeple, was briefly hacked on Sunday and used to promote a phishing scam to drain over US$72,000 from Ether wallets of victims.   See related article: Twitter hacker takes over verified accounts to promote fake Azuki NFT drop Fast facts The hacker shared […]

Terraform Labs CEO and cofounder Do Kwon claimed on Saturday that the closure of two offices in South Korea was “purely coincidental,” and not a response to the national tax authorities’ investigation. See related article: LKB, 5 clients file lawsuit against Terra, Do Kwon to ‘Grim Reaper’ Fast facts Terraform Labs closed its two offices […]

Tether, the operator of the world’s largest stablecoin USDT, has seen US$10 billion of its market capitalization shaved off since TerraUSD’s (UST) collapse.  See related article: Nearly half of Tether reserves are now in US Treasury bills Fast facts USDT’s market capitalization was at US$73.35 billion at the time of publishing, following an all-time high […]

South Korean LUNA investors file lawsuit against Terra. Meanwhile, Singapore’s High Court blocks sale of a Bored Ape NFT.

Crypto exchange FTX.US has introduced FTX Stocks for select U.S. customers to allow stock trading and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) through its app. See related article: FTX reaches US$32B valuation after closing $400M series C Fast facts FTX.US will provide commission-free stock market trading where orders will be routed to Nasdaq through its clearing firm Embed, […]

Five South Korean Terra (LUNA) investors with an accumulated loss of around 1.4 billion Korean won (US$1.1 million) represented by local law firm LKB & Partners have filed a complaint against Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon and co-founder Shin Hyun-seung for two charges including fraud, according to local media reports. See related article: Knock, knock […]

Chinese crypto mining rig maker Canaan booked robust revenue growth in Q1 2022 despite logistical issues and supply chains disruptions from the pandemic, the company said on Thursday. See related article: SEC places Chinese crypto mining rig maker Canaan on pre-delisting list Fast facts Canaan recorded 1.36 billion yuan (US$214 million) in revenue in the […]

Blockchain-based payments network Ripple announced its plans to invest US$100 million in climate-focused fintechs and carbon removal technology for the modernization of carbon markets, the company said in a press release.  See related article: How blockchain is solving the climate crisis Fast facts The funding will also continue to support new functionality and developer tools […]

Indian crypto traders may soon be able to pay the crypto tax using foreign exchanges. Meanwhile, the Terra revival plan vote finally goes live.

The man at the center of one of crypto’s biggest flops is trying to resurrect the Terra-LUNA project as his tribe of followers and out-of-pocket investors want to know what went wrong.

Terraform Labs backer Pantera Capital gradually withdrew nearly 80% of its Terra LUNA holdings over the past year, saving itself from significant damages from the de-pegging of TerraUSD (UST) and the network’s collapse last week, The Block reported. See related article: LUNA, UST investors in S.Korea want to seize Do Kwon’s properties: report Fast facts […]

South Korean investors that have been financially damaged by the TerraUSD (UST) and LUNA fiasco are reportedly seeking legal action and applying for property seizure from Terraform Labs CEO Kwon Do-hyung. See related article: S.Korean lawmaker proposes summoning Do Kwon to the National Assembly  Fast facts Local law firm LKB & Partners has made a […]

Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle, which issues the second-largest stablecoin USDC, claims to have foreseen Terra and algorithmic stablecoin UST’s collapse six months ago because it was “a house of cards.” See related article: Terra shuts down indefinitely after coming back online; LUNA, UST still on life support Fast facts “There were two things that […]

A vote pertaining to Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon’s “updated and final” Terra revival plan was posted at 7:17 p.m. Wednesday Hong Kong time, with the majority favoring the proposal, while a preliminary vote was rejected in a landslide. See related article: No hard fork, governance vote in Kwon’s updated Terra revival proposal Fast facts […]

Mike Novogratz, founder and CEO of crypto investment firm Galaxy Digital, broke his weeklong silence on the TerraUSD turmoil, claiming “the global macro backdrop has been brutal for all risk assets this year” and that the UST is “a big idea that failed.” See related article: Blood moon: Terra’s LUNA rescue plan panned by industry, […]

Binance is looking to win a cryptocurrency license in Germany after becoming a regulated digital asset service provider in fellow G7 nation France, CEO Changpeng Zhao said.  See related story: Binance wants to play ball with regulators Fast facts Zhao said at an event in Germany on Wednesday that the cryptocurrency exchange is expanding its […]

China’s nationwide ban on crypto mining has not affected it’s high mining hashrate. Meanwhile, Terra’s community become frustrated as they struggle to find answers.

Top blockchain and crypto news: Terra puts down the fork. Bitcoin loses its shine in Singapore. China’s miners dig in.

Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon posted an update to his proposal to revive Terra and LUNA at 4:55 p.m. Hong Kong time, which omitted the notice of putting the plan up for a governance vote. See related article: Do Kwon proposes Terra fork to ditch UST and ‘LUNA Classic’ Fast facts Kwon’s updated “Terra Ecosystem […]

Forkast sat down with Singapore’s biggest bank for insights into crypto regulations in the city-state. Singapore has a reputation for planning far ahead, so what’s in store for cryptocurrencies?

The Sandbox metaverse has partnered with Studio Dragon, a Korean drama production company behind titles Crash Landing on You, Sweet Home and Kingdom: Ashin of the North, to build a K-drama metaverse. See related article: South Korea wants to be the physical home of the metaverse Fast facts The Sandbox said on Tuesday the pair […]

As Terra continues to crash, Do Kwon proposes a hard fork solution, Meanwhile, Singapore’s Temasek gets ready for tokenized assets.

South Korea’s ruling party lawmaker Yun Chang-hyun said Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon should be called in for a parliamentary hearing on the collapse of the company’s stablecoin and cryptocurrency. See related article: News of LUNA’s demise greatly exaggerated Fast facts Yun at Tuesday’s National Assembly session said investors had been damaged by the debacle […]

The Bitcoin community got a lift last year when it was reported Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund had bought Bitcoin. The company told Forkast in an interview that they do not own BTC, but they are keen on blockchain investments.