Cryptocurrencies

Top blockchain and crypto news: FTX fallout spooks sector. Crypto.com’s $400 million ‘accident.’ Hong Kong’s new digital asset drive.

Circle, the issuer of U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin USDC, has said that stronger competition in the stablecoin market is likely to pressure Circle stablecoins, thereby slowing its growth and weighing on the financial outlook of the company. 

Daniel Shin’s Chai Corporation, which partnered with Terraform Labs in 2019, is accused of violating capital market rules in past dealings with Terra.

Bitcoin and Ether rose on Wednesday morning in Asia amid reports of alleged Russian missile strikes on Poland while inflationary data out of the U.S. provided support.

The address associated with the FTX hack swapped US$48.2 million worth of DAI stablecoins to 37,570 Ether and became the 35th largest holder of the world’s second-largest crypto.

U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has officially submitted its amicus brief to support Ripple in the lawsuit the U.S. SEC filed in 2020 against Ripple.

A rise in Bitcoin prices is the most important factor for a significant increase in the number of new investors, instead of distrust in public institutions, dislike for traditional banks, or search for a store of value, according to a report by the Bank for International Settlements. 

Panelists at Forkast’s livestreamed event ‘Crypto Rising: How Top VCs Are Investing Out of Crypto Winter’ shared their thoughts on the future of the industry following FTX.

Unlike the 2008 crash, the government won’t be bailing out FTX’s investors, writes Nick Saponaro of Divi Labs. Will regulators see this as a cue to crack down on exchanges?

DeFi remains unusable for all beyond a niche community, writes Dennis Jarvis of Bitcoin.com. ‘Should it stay like this, it will never attract a wide audience.’

The following is a running compilation of views and comments on the FTX bankruptcy and implications for the industry.

Daniel Shin has been summoned by South Korean prosecutors to attend an investigation as a suspect for allegedly earning ill-gotten profits with LUNA.

The collapse of one of the world’s biggest crypto exchanges last week has investors worried about the finances of other trading platforms. Cold wallet time?

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has partnered The New York Innovation Center of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, to study if wholesale central bank digital currencies (wCBDCs) can make cross-border payments more efficient.

Tron founder Justin Sun’s plans to save FTX include debt, equity investments and a full takeover, he told BloombergTV on Friday, Asia time.

Three more companies and organizations have requested to weigh in on the ongoing lawsuit the SEC filed in 2020 against Ripple.

The following is a running compilation of views and comments on the possible short- and long-term outcomes of FTX’s liquidity crunch.

Bitcoin rose on Friday in Asia along with Ether and most other major tokens, reversing  a three-day slump as the Consumer Price Index (CPI) released Thursday showed inflation in the U.S. slowed in October.

Bitcoin gained 5% after the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the consumer price index (CPI), a key inflation indicator, rose 0.4% in October from September. CPI was up 7.7% from a year earlier, less than the expected 7.9%, and down from 8.2% in September. October’s CPI recorded the smallest 12-month increase since January. 

The FTX.com unraveling has prompted crypto industry leaders to demand clearer rules of the road for trading digital assets.

Just over 24 hours after news of Binance’s planned acquisition of FTX shook the crypto market, a reversal of that decision sent prices even lower.

Binance may scrap its proposal to acquire cryptocurrency exchange FTX, after examining FTX’s “internal data and loan commitments,” according to an unnamed source “familiar with the matter” cited by CoinDesk on Wednesday. 

The sudden downfall of top cryptocurrency exchange FTX will bring in more regulatory scrutiny and raise the difficulty of obtaining licenses around the world, Binance founder and chief executive Changpeng Zhao said in an internal note, which he shared with the public via Twitter on Wednesday. 

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has raised its emergency insurance fund “SAFU” to US$1 billion equivalent in cryptocurrencies, founder Changpeng Zhao said in a Tweet on Wednesday. 

Bitcoin fell to a year’s low of US$17,603 in Tuesday morning trading in Asia as Binance Global Inc.’s takeover of the FTX exchange unnerved investors.

CBDCs are the latest fad amongst central banks around the world – but how can they change our lives?

The U.S. Department of Justice revealed on Monday that in 2021 it seized US$3.36 billion worth of stolen Bitcoin from Georgia real estate developer James Zhong.

Bitcoin dipped below US$21,000 in Tuesday morning trading in Asia as Ether and most other tokens in the cryptocurrency top ten by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins, lost ground.

Central bank digital currencies draw fire over inflation, privacy and threat to innovation, as questions raised over status of stablecoins in digital asset ecosystem.

How can collaboration help advance digital age and blockchain technologies?

The U.S. SEC has received approval from the court to extend the time for all parties to submit reply briefs, in the ongoing lawsuit the SEC filed in 2020 against Ripple.

WazirX, India’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trade volume, has introduced a profit and loss function for users to analyze and calculate their investments. 

Bitcoin mining difficulty nudged down 0.2% in Monday’s biweekly adjustment, according to data from BTC.com.

Bitcoin and Ether fell in Monday morning trading in Asia as the crypto market gave up some gains made on the weekend on the back of U.S. job numbers on Friday.

HashKey Capital Singapore, an investment arm of Hong Kong-based HashKey Group, said on Friday that it received an in-principle approval for the Capital Markets Services license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

After dabbling in cryptocurrency product offerings, Goldman Sachs is now offering a service to clients to help analyze tokens and market trends.

The South Korean founder of the collapsed Terra stablecoin faces multiple allegations of wrongdoing, the latest being price manipulation.

Bitcoin and Ether rose in Friday morning trading in Asia. Polygon’s Matic led gains in the top 10 tokens after Instagram said it would use Polygon to integrate NFTs into its platform.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) wants to build the city-state into a “crypto hub” fueled by instant settlements, tokenized assets and programmable money, not “speculating in cryptocurrencies,” Ravi Menon, the central bank’s managing director, said at the Singapore FinTech Festival on Thursday. 

The MAS launched Project Ubin+ on Thursday, a collaborative initiative with international partners to explore cross-border foreign exchange settlements using wholesale CBDC.

Digital wallet service provider Cryptillian Payment Systems has requested to file an amicus brief to support Ripple Labs Inc. in the latter’s ongoing court battle against the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC).

‘Bad actor’ or a ‘sliding market’? Blockchain industry leaders at Hong Kong FinTech Week offer insights into the Terra-LUNA crash.

The world’s largest crypto exchange seeks to become a bridge between traditional finance and cryptocurrencies.

Markets: Bitcoin and Ether fall with crypto top 10 as Fed raises rates 75 bps

Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has urged all Group of 20 (G20) nations, as well as international bodies like the International Monetary Fund and Financial Stability Board, to come together to help regulate crypto assets. See related article: India’s finance minister sees 46% growth in blockchain technology use in next few years Fast facts Sitharaman […]

Nasdaq’s Head of Asia Pacific and Japan, Ulf Carlsson, tells us how stock exchanges could learn from crypto exchange operations.

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has launched a new project with the central banks of Singapore, France and Switzerland to study the possibility of integrating some decentralized finance (DeFi) features with central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). See related article: mBridge participants to end domestic payments of foreign CBDCs Fast facts The BIS announced on […]

Singapore-based StraitsX, a payments infrastructure for digital assets, will pilot stablecoin applications at the ongoing Singapore Fintech Festival. 

Bitcoin and Ether dropped in Wednesday afternoon trading in Asia amid losses among all top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins, led by Shiba Inu.

NEAR Foundation is establishing a Web3 hub in South Korea to expand its allegiance with blockchain projects in Korea and Asia.

While October saw the emergence of two very popular NFT collections, sales failed to break US$500 million in the lowest figures since July 2021.

The issuer of the world’s second-largest stablecoin is joining a fleet of companies in the digital asset industry moving into Singapore. What’s the attraction?

Bitcoin and Ether were little changed in Wednesday morning trading in Asia along with most of the cryptocurrency top 10 by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins.

Bank of Thailand’s Vachira Arromdee said on Tuesday the four central banks in the mBridge CBDC trials agreed to end use of foreign CBDCs domestically.

Bitcoin and Ether traded up in Tuesday afternoon trading in Asia, while memecoins Dogecoin and Shiba Inu were the biggest gainers among the top 10 coins by market capitalization excluding stablecoins.

India’s Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC), responsible for policy formulation and collection of indirect taxes like the goods and services tax (GST), has asked major cryptocurrency exchanges to provide details on the type of digital coins and tokens being traded and their valuation. 

JPMorgan Chase and Standard Chartered execs were in disagreement at Hong Kong Fintech Week over how significant Bitcoin and the wider crypto industry are.

The country looks to pass an initial bill that focuses on protecting digital asset investors and preventing unfair trade acts, ahead of wider legislation.

Bitcoin and Ether prices fell in Tuesday morning trading time in Asia, while memecoin Dogecoin and Shiba Inu had the biggest gains among the top 10.

India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), will pilot the country’s first digital rupee in the wholesale segment (e₹-W) from Nov. 1 and has identified nine banks for participation in the trial. 

Hong Kong reveals digital asset policies to distinguish itself from China, where cryptocurrency trading was banned in September last year.

DBS Bank, the largest lender in Southeast Asia, has partnered the Singapore government’s Open Government Products (OGP) to pilot purpose-bound money-based vouchers (PBM) using tokenized Singapore dollars to facilitate live transactions with selected merchants. 

The Bitcoin white paper, published 14 years ago this day, launched an industry that is now subsidizing clean energy and turning waste into digital gold, writes Will Szamosszegi of Sazmining.

South Korea-based blockchain game developer Wemade is working on a fix for WEMIX after four major crypto exchanges in the country added the cryptocurrency to an “investment warning” list for inaccurately reporting circulation numbers.

The city is seeking to allow digital asset-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to be publicly listed and traded in the city.

A hearing is scheduled in Singapore on a lawsuit filed against Terraform Labs’ Do Kwon on behalf of investors who lost about US$57 million in the collapse of Terra-LUNA.

Bitcoin and Ether fell in Monday morning trading in Asia, along with most other top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins.

Visa International Service Association on Oct. 22 filed two trademark applications that hinted at plans of launching a crypto wallet.

Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the crypto exchange FTX, says he hopes FTX will soon join most other major exchanges in having launched a stablecoin.

When the Grim Reaper comes, will he take all your Bitcoins, too? Here’s how to ensure your crypto wealth will survive and live on for your heirs.

LooksRare is the latest NFT marketplace to make paying creator royalty fees optional as the industry struggles amid an ongoing slump in the NFT market.

Crypto exchange Huobi Global will delist its stablecoin HUSD on Friday, refund holders 1:1 with USDT.