Cryptocurrencies

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. […]

Mining pools F2Pool, Poolin and Antpool have launched their ETHW (EthereumPoW) mining pools, according to their respective websites, while a few other large mining pools have also said they would support the mining of the fork token. See related article: Ethereum says Merge upgrade successfully completed, more to come Fast facts F2Pool said on Thursday […]

South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) governor Lee Bok-hyun says he disagrees with the view that crypto cannot be seen as financial investment products or securities, while revealing he assisted local prosecutors in designating Terra-LUNA tokens as securities, according to local media reports. See related article: Securities or not? South Korea to evaluate Terra’s LUNA […]

Bitcoin fell below the US$20,000 support line in Friday morning trading in Asia, while Ether saw a sell-off following the long-awaited network “Merge” on Thursday. The total cryptocurrency market capitalization fell below US$1 trillion as all top 10 tokens were trading down. See related article: Ethereum says Merge upgrade successfully completed, more to come Fast […]

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is preparing for the future of finance by exploring distributed ledger technology use cases, such as asset tokenization and cross-border payments, the city-state’s Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on Thursday at an event organized by the central bank.  See related article:  Filecoin service provider RRMine leaves China for […]

SBI Digital Markets Pte. Ltd. (SBI DM) has received a Capital Markets Services (CMS) license from Singapore’s central bank, which allows it to provide custodial services and offer capital markets products. See related article: Singapore’s MAS says needs to do better job explaining crypto policy Fast facts SBI DM plans to launch a digital asset […]

Welcome to The Daily Forkast – September 15, 2022 – presented by Megha Chaddah. Coming up on today’s show: Ethereum’s Merge is complete. Indian women start to plug into cryptocurrency trading. And finally, can the crypto world shrug off carbon footprint concerns? We’ll have more on those stories — and other news shaping the cryptocurrency […]

The bankrupt crypto lender Celsius Network’s native CEL token suddenly spiked to US$4.26, during Ethereum’s much-anticipated Merge, according to data from CoinGecko. See related article: Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky floats restructuring as custody business amid bankruptcy proceedings Fast facts CEL’s price has since dropped to US$1.94, making it the 61st largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, […]

The last block on the proof-of-work (PoW) Ethereum chain before The Merge was filled by a VanityBlocks non-fungible token (NFT) minted for 31.5 ETH, which was succeeded by the first NFT in the post-Merge proof-of-stake (PoS) chain minted for 36 ETH.  See related article: Fungible after all? Duplicates may disrupt NFT industry after Ethereum Merge […]

Crypto exchanges in India say the number of female investors isn’t huge, but it is growing even as prices slide and new taxes eat into revenue.

Cryptocurrency markets trended higher in Thursday afternoon trading in Asia, with global market capitalization up 0.4% in 24 hours, trading at US$995.9 billion, still under the US$1 trillion benchmark it dropped below last night. All cryptocurrencies in the top 10 by market cap, with the exception of Bitcoin, strengthened.  See related article: Markets: Bitcoin little […]

The Merge is a milestone in slashing electricity use on the Ethereum blockchain, but there are plenty more upgrades in the pipeline.

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 […]

Cryptocurrency advocacy group Chamber of Digital Commerce (CDC) has sought to be an amicus curiae (Latin for friend of court) in the lawsuit between the Securities and Exchange Commission and Ripple Labs. See related article: Ripple opposes SEC request to seal expert witness identities in XRP lawsuit Fast facts CDC Wednesday filed several documents in […]

Bitcoin was little changed while most of the crypto top ten by market capitalization rose, edging the entire crypto market cap back above US$1 trillion in Thursday morning trading in Asia. Ether and Cardano led the gains after Wednesday’s slump on inflation concerns in the U.S. See related article: Markets: Bitcoin, Ether drop on CPI […]

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 […]

Diamond Standard Co. has raised US$30 million in a Series A funding round led by Left Lane Capital and Horizon Kinetics, the company announced in a statement.  See related article: De Beers to use Tracr blockchain to assure sourcing of diamonds Fast facts The blockchain startup allows institutional and retail investors to trade tokenized counterparts […]

Welcome to The Daily Forkast – September 14, 2022 – presented by Megha Chaddah. Coming up on today’s show: Will the Merge solve the market’s woes? Regulators paying heed to crypto. We’ll have more on those stories — and other news shaping the cryptocurrency and blockchain world — in this episode of The Daily Forkast […]

Top blockchain and crypto news: Binance bets on Ethereum Merge. What does Terra’s sudden resurgence mean? China seeks to expand e-CNY ecosystem.

Cryptocurrency markets continued their skid in Wednesday afternoon trading in Asia, with the global market capitalization dipping to around US$997 billion, down 6% in the last 24 hours. All cryptocurrencies in the top 10 by market cap fell. Solana led the losers, with Bitcoin coming in second. Stock markets slumped. See related article: Markets: Bitcoin, […]

In a decision involving Litecoin, a Chinese court says there are no rules ‘that negate the protectability of cryptocurrency itself as virtual property.’

South Korean prosecutors investigating the collapse of Terra-LUNA have issued an arrest warrant for Terraform Labs cofounder and chief executive officer Kwon Do-hyung, also known as Do Kwon, the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office told Forkast. See related article: Securities or not? South Korea to evaluate Terra’s LUNA token Fast facts “Violation of the capital […]

Bitcoin mining difficulty rose by 3.45% on Wednesday, reaching an all-time high, according to data from BTC.com. See related article: Argentinian tax agency conducts first-ever raids on illegal crypto mining farms Fast facts The mining difficulty reading was at 32.05 trillion, as of block height 753,984, the data showed. The difficulty level, which changes about […]

Bitcoin fell almost 10% with Ether close behind in Wednesday morning trading in Asia as the August U.S. consumer price index, a key inflation indicator, came in higher than expected overnight, driving down equity markets and pointing to more agressive interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve. All cryptocurrencies in the top 10 by market […]

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, dropped over 4% at 9.40 p.m. Hong Kong time, after the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the consumer price index (CPI) had inched up 0.1% in August from July.  See related article: Markets: Bitcoin, Solana continue rally, Ether slips in anticipation of Merge Fast facts The […]

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

Tighter restrictions on cryptocurrency usage in China have prompted leading storage service platform RRMine Global to close its mainland China operations and move its headquarters to Singapore. See related article: China has seen blockchain’s future and it doesn’t include cryptocurrencies Fast facts “As Singapore has been one of the world’s most open economies for a […]

Identifying characteristics of securities in Terra’s tokens could help South Korea with new charges on Terraform Labs and CEO Do Kwon.

The Merge is the most anticipated event in the crypto industry in years, but could the multibillion dollar non-fungible token industry become an unexpected casualty?

Bitcoin and Solana continued their rallies in Tuesday afternoon trading in Asia, both up over 10% in the past week. However, Ether continued to slip as the market awaited the upcoming Etherium “Merge.”  See related article: Markets: Bitcoin, Solana lead gains in crypto top ten, Ether slips ahead of Merge Fast facts Bitcoin was up […]

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said it is unable to determine the proportion of cryptocurrency holdings by the general public in the city-state as these include transactions with both Singapore-based as well as overseas service providers.   See related article: Singapore’s MAS says needs to do better job explaining crypto policy Fast facts “Data on […]

Crypto exchange Huobi has ceased topping-up service for seven kinds of privacy-focused tokens on its exchange as it prepares to delist the tokens on Sept. 19, citing regulatory concerns. See related article: Privacy protocol Monero completes upgrade to make transactions more private Fast facts See related article: Huobi-incubated Chinese NFT platform iBox ends international operations

The most critical upgrade in Ethereum’s history is just around the corner, so what will it mean for prices of cryptocurrency?

Cryptocurrency firm Ripple Labs filed a letter of response on Monday to oppose the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s request to seal portions of legal filings that contain information identifying the SEC’s proposed expert witnesses, as the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple Labs drags on. See related article: SEC seeks to seal information exposing expert witness […]

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 financial services giant Fidelity Investments is considering a move that would allow its individual brokerage customers to trade Bitcoin (BTC), according to a Wall Street Journal report.  See related article: Fidelity’s crypto arm wants to add Ethereum trading, plans hiring spree Fast facts The WSJ cited “people familiar with the matter” and a statement […]

Bitcoin rose to hold its gains above US$22,000 in Tuesday morning trading in Asia, a price it crossed on Monday for the first time in three and half weeks. Ether slipped, while Solana posted the largest gains among the top ten tokens by market capitalization. See related article: Markets: Bitcoin sole gainer in crypto top […]

Bitcoin rose back above US$22,000 in Monday afternoon trading in Asia, while Ether slipped. Solana saw the second-biggest gain among the 10 largest coins by market capitalization after Bitcoin, while the rest of the top 10 were little changed. See related article: Markets: Bitcoin sole gainer in crypto top ten, Ether dips, Polkadot leads losers […]

Ethereum has long grappled with centralization, which the Merge will unlikely address in a meaningful way, writes Daniel Dizon of Swell Network.

Singapore-based crypto trader Alphalab Capital put together charts to show investors how different exchanges plan to handle Ether after the Merge. Note, some exchanges declined to comment.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a motion seeking to seal portions of the filings that contain information identifying the SEC’s expert witnesses in its lawsuit against Ripple Labs. See related article: SEC, Ripple take XRP lawsuit battle to media as well Fast facts The SEC wrote in the motion on Friday that […]

Bitcoin held weekend gains to move toward US$22,000 in Monday morning trading in Asia, while other tokens in the top 10 by market capitalization were flat to lower. Ether slipped, along with Polkadot and XRP. See related article: Markets: Bitcoin, Ether little changed; Polkadot leaps Dogecoin into crypto top ten Fast facts Bitcoin rose 0.3% […]

Bitcoin and Ether rallied in late Friday afternoon trading in Asia, helping drive up the global cryptocurrency market capitalization more than 5% to back above the US$1 trillion mark.  Solana led the gains among tokens in CoinMarketCap’s top 10 by market capitalization.  See related article: Markets: Bitcoin, Ether little changed; Polkadot leaps Dogecoin into crypto […]

White House says carbon footprint of crypto industry does not align with goals to decarbonize the economy.

Bitcoin and Ethereum were largely unchanged in Friday morning trading in Asia. Polkadot rose to leapfrog Dogecoin into the top 10 list by market capitalization, while Solana posted the biggest percentage gain on the list. See related article: Markets: Bitcoin climbs above $19,000, Ether bounces back, BNB gains on staking Fast facts Bitcoin rose less […]

The Bellatrix upgrade for Ethereum is now live, but what should we be expecting as the merge comes closer?

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) should lead the way in global regulation of crypto assets, India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has urged IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva at their meeting in New Delhi. See related article: Crypto regulation has to ‘take its time’: India FM Nirmala Sitharaman Fast facts At their meeting on Wednesday, they […]

WazirX, India’s largest crypto exchange by volume, has begun to publish data-driven reports for over 200 coins listed on its exchange, with data from  crypto intelligence firms Crebaco and IntoTheBlock.  See related article: TZ APAC, NUS join for blockchain, computing education Fast facts Research reports by Crebaco published on WazirX aim to help readers understand […]

Bitcoin held onto gains above US$19,000 in late afternoon trading in Asia. Ethereum also rallied to post the biggest gain among tokens in CoinMarketCap’s top 10 by market capitalization. Terra Luna Classic surged more than 50%. See related article: Markets: Bitcoin climbs above $19,000, Ether bounces back, BNB gains on staking Fast facts Bitcoin rose […]

The US$258 billion lawsuit filed against Tesla CEO Elon Musk by an American Dogecoin investor accusing him of running a Dogecoin cryptocurrency pyramid scheme is heating up as new players are summoned in the case. See related article: Markets: Dogecoin still in the dog house; Bitcoin, Ether make up some ground Fast facts First filed […]

Two U.S. Federal Reserve officials have called for new regulations specifically for stablecoins and reiterated the new asset class holds risks similar to traditional finance. See related article: Financial Stability Board calls for high regulatory standards for stablecoins Fast facts Michael Barr, the Fed’s vice chair for supervision, said on Wednesday at a Brookings Institution […]

Cryptocurrency lender Nexo has launched a spot, margin and futures trading platform for retail clients with the launch of Nexo Pro. See related article: Nexo and Fidelity Digital Assets expand institutional lending services Fast facts The London-based crypto platform aims to offer retail clients access to institutional-grade aggregated liquidity with no minimum funding requirements, the […]

Bitcoin is the most secure blockchain, and Ethereum’s proof-of-stake move will expose it to more security risks, writes Jagdeep Sidhu of Syscoin Network.

Bitcoin rose above US$19,000 on Thursday morning in Asia, recovering along with other tokens in the top 10 by market capitalization after a sharp sell off on Wednesday. Ether moved higher after the Binance exchange, the world’s biggest, said it would offer Ether staking, a move that boosted its own BNB token. See related article: […]

Switzerland-based SEBA Bank, a global cryptocurrency lender, has introduced Ethereum staking services aimed at enabling clients to earn staking rewards on Ethereum. See related article: Ethereum’s Bellatrix upgrade now live despite concerns Fast facts Ethereum staking services would enable clients to earn rewards on a monthly basis, with adjustable lock-up periods available post-Merge, SEBA Bank […]

Top blockchain and crypto news: USDC gets the boot from Binance. MicroStrategy looks for Lightning strikes. STEPN heads to Hong Kong.

Bitcoin fell further in Wednesday afternoon trading in Asia, while Ether lost the most ground among the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. Ethereum Classic fell more than 15%.   See related article: Markets: Bitcoin slumps below US$19,000, Ether drops despite Merge progress Fast facts Bitcoin dropped 5.6% in the past 24 hours to US$18,801.4 at […]

The second-last upgrade required ahead of “The Merge” has gone live, though some kinks may need to be ironed out before the main event.

The country’s growing ties to crypto could expose its financial sector to volatility and ‘damage its credibility,’ a researcher says.

India’s Reserve Bank of India has asked four state-run banks to test its central bank digital currency (CBDC), due for launch this financial year, even as the central bank seeks a ban on cryptocurrency trading in the country.  See related article: RBI is causing crypto hesitancy among Indian banks Fast facts RBI has chosen the […]

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 […]

With over 100 countries experimenting with the technology behind Central Bank Digital Currencies, the World Economic Forum of Davos fame lays out its views on the potential benefits and drawbacks of CBDCs.

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 […]

Crypto influencer Fatman Terra pitched his own fake investment scheme on Twitter — and found willing investors instantly — in an attempt to educate people about scams in the industry.  See related article: Terra’s Mirror Protocol fixes exploit that drained more than US$2 million Fast facts “In two hours, I received over one hundred DMs,” […]

Bitcoin dipped under US$19,000 to the lowest price since mid-June in an across-the-market slump for the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization in Wednesday morning trading in Asia. Ether also lost ground even though it began one of its last required upgrades on Tuesday before the network Merge expected later this month. See related article: […]

Crypto entrepreneur Mark Hopkins, also known as Doctor Bitcoin” or “Rizzn”, claimed on Twitter that he has been sentenced to six to 15 months in federal prison for allegedly participating in peer-to-peer Bitcoin sales without a federal license. See related article: Tornado Cash arrest heralds storm season for crypto mixers Fast facts P2P sale of […]

Binance puts it’s own stablecoin, BUSD, at the forefront. Meanwhile, inflation casts its own shadow across the crypto.

Prices of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano, XRP and Solana rose on Tuesday afternoon in Asia. See related article: Markets: Bitcoin rises slightly, Ether and Ethereum Classic gain amid price run for alternatives Fast facts Bitcoin rose 0.77% in the past 24 hours as of 4 p.m. in Hong Kong to US$19,906.86. Ethereum saw bigger gains today […]

The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange said the move was designed to “enhance liquidity and capital-efficiency for users.” 

Indian police in the state of Maharashtra have arrested a man on charges of cheating 1,441 investors in a fake cryptocurrency scam, according to a local media report.  See related article: Tax authorities recover US$9M from India’s biggest crypto exchanges Fast facts The scam may be in excess of 2.5 billion rupees (US$31.2 million) and […]

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 […]

Bitcoin rose slightly in Tuesday morning trading in Asia after falling below the key resistance line of US$20,000 on Monday morning. Ether posted the greatest gains in the crypto top ten by market cap as the rest of that list rose or fell by less than 1%. See related article: Markets: Bitcoin, Ether edge up; […]