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Cryptocurrencies

1498 articles

January 2023

Markets: Bitcoin, Ether prices little changed; Polkadot gains as Solana gives up ground

Bitcoin and Ether were little changed in a muted morning of trading on Wednesday in Asia, as few top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies moved by more than 1% in either direction.

IPFS to demonstrate long distance communications in space aboard LM 400 spacecraft

IPFS will be heading to space this year to reduce latency between nodes communicating in orbit for blockchain applications, Marta Belcher of the Filecoin Foundation told Forkast.

Markets: Bitcoin inches up, Ether slips; China posts 3% GDP growth for 2022

Bitcoin inched up and Ether slipped in Tuesday afternoon trading in Asia, with most other top 10 cryptocurrencies trading lower on the day.

Crypto’s data problem: Rebuilding trust in a trustless environment

Price is the wrong measure of Web3’s true value, writes Angie Lau, editor-in-chief of Forkast. To recover from Crypto Winter, we need metrics that are less prone to whims and manipulation.

Markets: Bitcoin holds above US$21,000 as crypto market cap briefly tops US$1 trillion

Bitcoin held above US$21,000 in Tuesday morning trading in Asia with the total cryptocurrency market capitalization also briefly breaching the US$1 trillion-dollar mark in the last 24 hours for the first time since mid-November.

It’s Ethereum forking time

Although investors fear the Shanghai upgrade brings selling pressure to Ethereum, Amber’s Justin D’Anethan shares why this can be a bull case for Ethereum.

What does the future hold for digital assets in 2023?

NFTs, tokenization and blockchain-based cross-border payments will see big paradigm shifts, but their success will depend on regulation, investment and adoption, writes Stephen Richardson of Fireblocks.

Markets: Bitcoin, Ether rises; Solana is biggest gainer among top 10

Bitcoin and Ether gained in Monday afternoon trading in Asia, along with all other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin miners return from winter storms, difficulty at an all-time high

The Bitcoin mining difficulty level jumped 10.26% on Monday morning in Hong Kong, hitting an all-time high reading of 37.59 trillion, as several U.S-based miners came back online from recent winter storms that forced them to unplug, according to data from BTC.com. See related article: Bitcoin hashrate drops nearly 40% as deadly U.S. storm unplugs […]

Markets: Bitcoin, Ether little changed after weekend surge; Solana, XRP give back some gains

Bitcoin and Ether prices were little changed in Monday morning trading in Asia. Several of the top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies took a breather after strong gains over the weekend on the back of signs inflation may have peaked in the U.S.

Asset Segregation

FTX’s collapse has led to many thinking about how to safeguard their digital assets.

Weekly Market Wrap: Bitcoin rebounds above US$18,000, Ether gains over 13%

Bitcoin rallied above the US$18,000 mark for the first time in nearly a month. Is this the start of a bull run or just another relief rally on the back of easing inflation pressure?

Why is it harder to arrest Terra-Luna founder Do Kwon than FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried?

South Korea’s attempts to extradite the founder of the collapsed Terra-Luna stablecoin will remain hamstrung while the courts in Seoul dispute the charges against him.

Markets: Bitcoin, Ether trade higher; Solana biggest weekly gainer among top 10 cryptos

Bitcoin and Ether rose in Friday afternoon trading in Asia, along with all other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies, after the U.S. posted a 6.5% year-on-year increase in the Consumer Price Index for December, which came in lower than inflation readings in previous months.

Markets: Bitcoin, Ether prices jump as U.S. indicator shows inflation pressure is easing

Bitcoin and Ether prices jumped in Friday morning trading in Asia after the December U.S. Consumer Price Index released overnight rose 6.5%.

Bitcoin price rebounds as U.S. inflation cools

Bitcoin rebounded above US$18,000 on Friday as the U.S. consumer price index, rose 6.5% in December, matching expectations and continuing a downtrend from previous months.  

El Salvador establishes legal framework for all cryptocurrencies

El Salvador has passed landmark legislation that establishes a legal framework for all cryptocurrencies to build on the country’s “first-mover advantage.”

Markets: Bitcoin, Ether rise as investors await US inflation data; Polkadot gains

Bitcoin and Ether rose in Thursday afternoon trading in Asia, along with all other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies, as investors anticipate signs of slower inflation in the upcoming Thursday release of the U.S. Consumer Price Index for December.

How DeFi can overcome the stench of shitcoins and ponzinomics

DeFi Summer has cooled into Crypto Winter, but with a silver lining — investors are finally asking sensible questions like: ‘Where does the yield come from?’ writes Julian Koh of Ribbon Finance.

Markets: Bitcoin, Ether continue run up ahead of U.S. inflation report; Avalanche surges

Bitcoin and Ether prices rose in Thursday morning trading in Asia along with most other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies, continuing almost a week’s run of price gains on signs of slower inflation in the U.S.

CBDCs may drive more funds into DeFi protocols, says Immunefi’s Mitchell Amador

Immunefi founder Mitchell Amador believes the future security risks of CBDCs will highlight the benefits of DeFi.

India’s WazirX crypto exchange releases proof of reserves, says 90% of user assets in Binance wallets

Some 90% of user assets at WazirX, India’s largest crypto exchange by volume, are held in wallets at Binance while the remaining 10% are stored in hot and warm wallets, revealed WazirX’s proof of reserves that the company released on Wednesday.

Thai regulator probes Zipmex crypto exchange amid acquisition: report

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has written to cryptocurrency exchange Zipmex Thailand seeking clarification on whether it has been operating as a digital-asset fund manager without permission, according to a Bloomberg report. 

Digital Currency Group in spotlight over suspicious fund transfers

Top blockchain and crypto news: DCG under investigation. Lido DAO surges as Ethereum’s Shanghai upgrade looms. Hong Kong burnishes crypto credentials.

Markets: Bitcoin, Ether strengthen; XRP leads gains in top 10 cryptos

Bitcoin and Ethereum prices rose in Wednesday afternoon trading in Asia along with all other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies, with XRP leading gains.

India’s CoinSwitch exchange to add non-crypto products amid punishing taxes on digital asset trading

Indian cryptocurrency exchanges faced a flurry of taxes on trading last year that saw volumes across most platforms drop as much as 90%, slashing income from trading fees. What’s a crypto exchange to do? Maybe sell mutual funds?

Binance’s BUSD-peg stablecoin has not always been fully collateralized: report

Binance Global, the world’s largest crypto exchange, has acknowledged flaws in its systems that allowed its BNB Smart Chain-based BUSD stablecoin to be under-collateralized by up to US$1 billion on at least three occasions, according to a Wednesday report from Bloomberg.

MetaMask developer ConsenSys to slash 100 or more staffers: report

ConsenSys, the Ethereum software firm behind cryptocurrency wallet MetaMask, is reportedly planning to lay off at least 100 employees.

Markets: Bitcoin, Ether follow U.S. equities higher on view inflation starting to ease despite hawkish Fed

Bitcoin and Ether prices rose in Wednesday morning trading in Asia along with most other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies, continuing a strong start to the year on signs inflation is slowing in the U.S.

Coinbase to cut 20% of its remaining workforce

Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S., will be letting go of about 950 employees, or about 20% of its current workforce, as part of “a further restructuring plan,” which is expected to be “substantially complete” by the second quarter of 2023. 

Markets: Bitcoin slips, Cardano leads losses in top 10 cryptos

Bitcoin dropped in afternoon trading on Tuesday along with most other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. Ethereum rose further while Dogecoin led gains. 

Paycoin seeks reapproval after S.Korea suspends the payments token: report

PayProtocol, the South Korean issuer of payments-focused cryptocurrency Paycoin (PCI), will reapply for a local license to stay in business.

Markets: Bitcoin, Ether rise with most of crypto market, Solana posts best start to the year for major token, BNB retreats amid Binance probe

Bitcoin and Ether gained in Tuesday trading in Asia along with most other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies, helped by signs inflation pressure is easing in the U.S.

Crypto payments firm Wyre limits withdrawals as it mulls ‘strategic options’ amid market downturn

Wyre Payments, a San Francisco-based crypto payments firm, will implement withdrawal limits for user accounts, it said in a Twitter statement on Jan.7.

Trust and Compliance

Many crypto exchanges are implementing proof of reserves as trust and confidence are becoming two of the biggest watch words in the crypto space, but traditional institutions are also trying to bring the crypto sphere back to health.

Markets: Bitcoin, Ether extend rise; Cardano leads gains in top 10 cryptos

Bitcoin, Ethereum extended gains in afternoon trade in Asia on Monday along with the top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. Cardano rose the most in the last 24 hours, followed by Polygon, BNB and Dogecoin.

Where is the stablecoin market heading in 2023?

FTX’s collapse triggered a stablecoin sell-off, but we will need them to survive the Crypto Winter, writes Vladimir Gorbunov of Choise.com.

Markets: Bitcoin back above US$17,000; Ether, crypto market extend weekend gains

Bitcoin and Ether rose in Monday morning trading in Asia, rising with the rest of the top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, with Cardano and BNB changing the most.

Will crypto’s decentralized application layer boost mass adoption in 2023? 

ChainSafe’s Aidan Hyman believes that crypto’s fully decentralized application layer may finally be complete in 2023.

Markets: Bitcoin, Ether slip; Cardano extends gains

Bitcoin and Ether dipped in Friday afternoon trading in Asia, with nearly all other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies slipping. Dogecoin was the biggest loser, while Cardano’s ADA was the sole gainer in the top 10 cryptos.

Hong Kong lawmaker says e-HKD has potential to be a stablecoin

Hong Kong should make efforts to encourage the establishment of virtual assets rating agencies, and consider developing the e-HKD, the city’s central bank digital currency in the works, into a stablecoin, a Hong Kong lawmaker said in a recent media interview.

Markets: Bitcoin, Ether little changed; Polygon, XRP lead losers; Cardano holds onto gains

Bitcoin and Ether traded little changed Friday morning in Asia, with most other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies losing ground.

NFT December sales surge to highest since June amid ‘tax-loss harvesting’

Slump in prices of some non-fungible tokens and other digital assets allows U.S. holders to take advantage of a loophole to reduce capital gains taxes.

Silvergate cuts 40% of staff after facing US$8.1B in withdrawals amid FTX collapse

Cryptocurrency bank Silvergate Capital has laid off 40% of its staff, or about 200 employees, after the collapse of FTX.com, which sparked mass withdrawals of around US$8.1 billion.

Will crypto’s real-world impact become more evident in 2023?

Crypto Council’s Sheila Warren hopes to see more of crypto’s real-world use cases emerging in the media next year.

Markets: Bitcoin slips, Ether unchanged, Dogecoin gains most among top 10 coins

Bitcoin edged down and Ether remained unchanged on the day, in Thursday afternoon trading in Asia. Dogecoin was the biggest gainer among the top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies, while Litecoin recorded the largest loss.

MoneyGram seeks to seal parts of its filings in the XRP lawsuit between Ripple, SEC

MoneyGram has requested the court to seal certain portions of summary judgment materials in Ripple Labs’ ongoing lawsuit against the SEC.

Markets: Bitcoin, Ether rise with most other tokens amid mixed signals on U.S. economic outlook

Bitcoin and Ether rose in Thursday morning trading in Asia along with most other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies. Cardano led the gainers, while Litecoin and Tron were the only ones on that list to fall.

Indian crypto exchanges may lose US$1.2 trillion of trade volume in next four years: research

India’s current cryptocurrency tax structure “may lead to a loss of approximately US$1.2 trillion of local exchange trade volume in the next four years,” according to research by Esya Centre, a technology policy think tank in India.

Blockchain in Davos

Welcome to The Daily Forkast – January 4, 2022 – presented by Angie Lau. As the bells rang in the new year, many said goodbye and good riddance to a year of headline grabbing failures in the blockchain space. From Ronin’s bridge hack, the collapse of Terra Luna, to the bankruptcy of FTX, 2022 was […]

Crypto payments firm Wyre reportedly shutting down amid market downturn

Cryptocurrency payments company Wyre is reportedly shutting down operations by the end of January, amid the broader crypto market downturn following the fall of FTX

Indonesia to set up crypto stock exchange this year: report

Indonesia plans to set up a crypto stock exchange in 2023, ahead of moving regulatory powers to securities authorities from a commodities jurisdiction.

Markets: Bitcoin, Ether rise; Solana surges 18% as new dog coin spikes interest

Bitcoin and Ether rose in Wednesday afternoon trading in Asia, along with all other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies. Solana led gains with an 18% surge, followed by Cardano and BNB.

Ripple expects SEC ruling in first half, clearer global regulations for digital assets in 2023 

Ripple Labs Inc. expects a court decision in the first six-months of this year in the case filed against the company by the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission. The SEC sued Ripple in December 2020 for allegedly selling US$1.3 billion in unregistered securities.

U.S. banking regulators warn against cryptocurrency fraud, contagion risks

The U.S. Federal Reserve, FDIC and the OCC have issued a joint statement to warn banks of the risks with crypto assets.

Magic Eden NFTs display explicit content, ‘Big Bang Theory’ images

Images on Magic Eden, the largest Solana-based non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace, displayed pornographic content and popular sitcom series “The Big Bang Theory” on Tuesday Asia time instead of users’ NFTs.

Markets: Bitcoin price dips, Ether little changed, Litecoin adds to gains, Dogecoin biggest loser

Bitcoin slipped back, while Ether was little changed in mixed Wednesday morning trading in Asia for the top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies.

Markets: Bitcoin, Ether inch up, XRP leads gains in top 10 cryptos

Bitcoin and Ethereum prices inched up in Tuesday afternoon trading in Asia, along with most other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. XRP led gains at 3.22%, followed by Polygon at 1.76% and Litecoin at 1.74%.

Bitcoin mining difficulty drops 3.6% in latest adjustment

The Bitcoin mining difficulty level fell 3.59% on Tuesday morning in Asia, after some U.S. mining firms unplugged due to deadly winter storms over the holiday season on top of continued cash shortages mainly caused by low Bitcoin prices and high energy costs. 

Bitcoin ATM rush Down Under: Australia leapfrogs El Salvador, Poland

Australia had a total of 225 Bitcoin ATMs by the end of 2022 after installing around 150 machines in the final four months of the year, overtaking El Salvador and Poland to become home to the fourth-highest number of crypto ATMs in the world, according to data from CoinATMRadar.com.

Happy birthday to Bitcoin! What will it become when it’s all grown up?

It takes a village to raise a child, and Bitcoin is no different — we must support its growth but also set firm boundaries, writes Justin d’Anethan of Amber Group.

Markets: Bitcoin, Ether edge higher with crypto top 10; Litecoin surges after record transactions in 2022

Bitcoin and Ether prices rose in Tuesday morning trading in Asia, along with all the non-stablecoin top ten cryptocurrencies.

Hong Kong financial service providers gear up for retail crypto traders

Hong Kong’s financial services providers, including local brokers and fund managers, are seeking advice to prepare for new licensing requirements which will allow them to provide services to retail traders, according to a media report.

How crypto custodians can help centralized exchanges win back public trust

In the post-FTX world, crypto exchanges must offer stronger protection for investors’ assets, writes Colin Brooks, chairman of the advisory board of Hex Trust.

OKX’s OKB, OKT tokens surge at least 13% each after 85% quarter

OKB, the utility token of OKX, jumped by up to 15% during Asia trading hours on Monday. OKT, the native token of the OKX Chain, was up 13%.

December 2022

‘Tis the season for crypto tax-loss harvesting: IRS, regulators remain silent on crypto tax loophole ahead of new year

The past year has been tumultuous for crypto investors, with a bear market wiping out over half of Bitcoin’s market capitalization. However, with the end of the American tax year just days ahead, taxpayers could get some money back.

Markets: Bitcoin, Ether slip; Dogecoin biggest loser among top 10 cryptos

Bitcoin and Ether inched down during Asia trading hours on Friday afternoon, with Dogecoin leading losses among the top 10 largest non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies.

Markets: Bitcoin, Ether inch up; XRP biggest loser among top 10

Bitcoin and Ether prices gained on Friday morning in Asia, while other top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization were mixed.

Markets: Bitcoin, Ether little changed; XRP leads losses in top 10 cryptos

Bitcoin and Ether dropped slightly during Asian trading hours on Thursday afternoon, with XRP leading losses across the top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.

How crypto crimes are evolving, and what to expect in 2023

Ponzi schemes, investment scams and rug pulls have drained billions from crypto users in recent years. What new kinds of crypto crimes are on the horizon?

Markets: Bitcoin, Ether fall; Solana, Cardano show bigger losses

Bitcoin and Ether fell on Thursday morning in Asia. Solana lost 11% of its value, the steepest drop among top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies.

Kraken to shut Japan operations

Kraken announced on Wednesday that it will “cease its operations” in Japan and deregister from the Financial Services Agency.