Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin’s hashrate fell to 58.7971 exa hashes per second on Sunday — the lowest point since August 2019.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore is inviting proposals for retail central bank digital currency innovations to improve payment services.

How China’s deployment of the digital yuan intertwines economics with geopolitics and concrete with virtual infrastructure, from Cambodia to the Caribbean.

Kazakhstan is quickly becoming a mining hotspot as China’s mining exodus settles down. In Hong Kong, and update on the e-HKD.

Hong Kong’s financial secretary has reiterated the city’s determination to develop digital versions of the Hong Kong dollar and the mainland Chinese yuan.

Lawmaker Carlos Rejala tamped down speculation that Paraguay might follow El Savador’s footsteps in making Bitcoin legal tender.

Elon Musk set off a new SHIB price rally after tweeting that he would name his Shiba Inu—the dog breed that the joke meme coin is named after—’Floki.’

Long before most governments, the Asian superpower saw the potential in Bitcoin’s technology to spawn the next internet and a new form of money.

Bitcoin was recovered by the FBI from the Colonial Pipeline ransomware cyber criminals DarkSide, sparking privacy concerns around cryptocurrencies.

SEC does not want its former head of Corporation Finance to testify or answer question about XRP. Who is William Hinman — and what might he tell Ripple?

A major Ethereum upgrade via London hard fork — which experts call a ‘seismic shift’ for the industry — is coming soon. Are ‘Ethereum killers’ doomed?

Urged on by the authorities, banks have wasted little time in putting e-CNY infrastructure in place, but now comes the hard part — getting people to use it.

Crypto exchange Gemini has bought US$4 million in carbon credits to offset the environmental impact of its Bitcoin holdings

Following Israel’s recent tests of a digital shekel, the Palestinian Monetary Authority is looking to launch its own central bank digital currency.

Swiss-based Digital Assets AG, a firm focused on the design of tokenized stock infrastructure, has launched over 50 tokenized stocks on the Solana public blockchain.

QR Capital’s Bitcoin exchange-traded fund — the first Bitcoin ETF in Latin America — has been listed on Brazil’s stock exchange.

The Bank of Israel is testing its central bank digital currency, the digital Shekel, in a private permissioned ecosystem using Ethereum.

Nearly one in three novice traders reported making no traditional investments outside crypto over the past year, according to a survey published today by Overbit, a Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange. In contrast, 85.3% of professional traders reported diversifying their investment portfolios to stock, real estate or other traditional assets. Fast facts: The survey of 3,000 traders […]

Auction house Lloyds Auctions Australia has begun accepting cryptocurrency for all purchases on its marketplace.

A judge has granted Ripple’s request to force the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to reveal its non-public policies regarding whether agency employees may buy and sell XRP and other cryptocurrencies, according to a screenshot of a new legal filing shared by the lawyer representing XRP holders. Fast facts: Earlier this month, Ripple sought the […]

Top blockchain and cryptocurrency news: Bitcoin’s still winning. Titan’s troubles as a teachable moment. Beijing creates a crypto mining diaspora.

In a new report, Bank for International Settlements extols central bank digital currency (CBDC) as the future of money. Will CBDCs replace Bitcoin someday?

Canaan, one of the world’s biggest crypto mining rig makers, has launched its own crypto mining business in Kazakhstan.

After a spate of bad news, Bitcoin’s price tumbled to its lowest level this year before climbing back up to $34,000. Where are BTC prices likely to go next?

Crypto-related crime in the US increased an average of over 300% per year from 2017 to 2020with a total of 82,135 cases last year alone.

Decentralized finance hub Acala Network’s sister network, Karura, has won the first parachain lease auction on Kusama, Polkadot’s pre-production network, and is now successfully producing blocks, according to an announcement today. Fast facts: The successful completion of Kusama’s first parachain slot auction and Karura’s launch brings Polkdot ever closer to its rollout. Karura raised more […]

Ethereum is much more than a cryptocurrency, and it has already attracted huge interest among investors. What’s all the fuss about? Forkast.News explains.

The next generation of mining hot spots are shaping out in the aftermath of China’s mining exodus as Upbit’s delisting generates new enemies.

France’s central bank has successfully completed a central bank digital currency experiment involving the settlement of listed securities with Switzerland’s SEBA Bank.

Bitcoin is in its sixth consecutive week of institutional outflows, with US$89 million exiting the coin, according to a weekly fund flows report.

Iron Finance, once a DeFi darling, went from billions to bust in a day. Should investors have seen the crash coming? How stable are algorithmic stablecoins?

Sotheby’s has announced it will be accepting cryptocurrency as payment in an upcoming auction for a 101.38-carat diamond with flawless clarity.

CBDC ATMs appear around Beijing and Hong Kong-based Amber Group is Asia’s billion dollar unicorn after raising US$100 million in its Series B.

Against a backdrop of El Salvador’s BTC boosts, famed investor Michael Burry warns about a crypto price bubble and China intensifies its crypto clampdown.

Iran’s interior ministry has suspended the Iran Blockchain Association over alleged breaches of government regulations.

Two of China’s largest state-owned banks, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), are now offering two-way exchange between fiat cash yuan and e-CNY digital currency through more than 3,000 ATMs in Beijing, according to reports in local media.  Over 3,000 ATMs in Beijing managed by ICBC […]

European digital asset manager CoinShares hasannounced a partnership with German financial news portal Finanzen.net to bring crypto exchange traded products to investors with no trading fees.

The Bitcoin hashrate plunged over the weekend following a clampdown on cryptocurrency mining by the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan.

Following El Salvador’s move to become the first country in the world to recognize Bitcoin as legal tender, a Paraguayan congressman has announced plans to do the same in the South American nation next month.

Money may be easy to part with when it’s free, but as Shanghai’s first experimental e-CNY giveaway shows, it’s not so easy finding shops to take it.

Dashing hopes of greater regulatory clarity for the cryptocurrency industry, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s recently released annual regulatory agenda does not mention Bitcoin or cryptocurrency regulations.

Global securities index MSCI plans to launch a cryptocurrency index, according to CEO Henry Fernandez.

Institutional digital asset manager Grayscale announced today that it is exploring 13 more assets for its trusts, mainly related to decentralized finance.

Australian investors adversely impacted by repeated system failures on Binance are considering taking a class action lawsuit to recoup their losses.

The National Republican Congressional Committee in the US will begin accepting donations in cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin sheds 4% but BTC’s share of the total crypto market grows after US Fed projects higher inflation and plans interest hikes earlier than expected.

In a recent conference, central bankers from Cambodia and Singapore discuss how digital currencies are transforming existing payment systems for the better.

The El Salvadorean Department of Labor and Social Welfare has had to clarify it is not within its purview to determine whether salaries can be paid in Bitcoin.

50 crypto exchanges apply for ISMS in South Korea while Hong Kong sees the birth of a blockchain passport for Covid vaccinations.

Top blockchain and crypto news: Bitcoin finds fresh favor in Global South. Why would hackers demand a Bitcoin ransom? Chinese miners eye Yunnan probe.

The Indian government and leading industry stakeholders are reviewing elements of legislation that proposed a ban on cryptocurrencies.

The ASEAN Financial Innovation Network (AFIN) is partnering with enterprise software firm R3 on a central bank digital currency (CBDC) sandbox.

Coinbase will add Shiba Inu, Chiliz and Keep Network to its professional trading platform with full trading beginning at 9am PT if liquidity conditions are met.

A judge has denied the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s request for documents related to Ripple’s XRP transactions and lobbying efforts that took place after the SEC filed its lawsuit last December, according to a new legal filing. Fast facts: “As discussed in the Court’s earlier Opinion and Order denying access to Ripple’s privileged communications, […]

The Chinese University of Hong Kong and Ethereum software company ConsenSys today announced the launch of a Covid-19 digital health passport.

Input Output Hong Kong has announced on Twitter that it has launched AlonzoBlue2.0 to the Cardano testnet.

Ethereum saw its largest institutional outflows on record last week as outflows from Bitcoin eased, according to a report by CoinShares.

On June 14, the difficulty of Bitcoin mining fell 5.3%, the first time this year that there have been two consecutive downward adjustments.

Africa has emerged as the region with the highest growth in P2P Bitcoin trading volume over the past six months.

A judge overseeing discovery in the U.S. Securities and Exchanges Commission’s lawsuit against Ripple Labs has granted the SEC’s request to extend deadlines by 60 days as well as a request by co-defendants Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and executive chairman Chris Larsen to obtain information from 16 cryptocurrency exchanges outside the United States. Fast facts: […]

Bitcoin transactions in El Salvador during May increased by more than four times compared to a year ago, yet fiat remittances still represent the vast majority of transactions in the country.

China’s central bank has unveiled four specifications of digital wallets for the country’s state-issued digital currency, the e-CNY.

One of DeFi’s hottest trends, yield farming can bring riches but is not for crypto beginners or those who can’t afford to lose. Forkast.News explains why.

Blockchain provides greater data transparency and security than ever before, but the technology is not immune to cyber attacks and data breaches.

South Korean government is holding on-site visits to help crypto exchanges get regulated while an Aussie business wants crypto for rent.

With Kusama slot parachain auctions underway, the first starting next week, Plasm and Shiden networks prepare for a multi-chain future with Polkadot.

While the world waits for Eth 2, blockchain developers like Enya.ai and OMG Network are trying to solve Ethereum’s scalability issues via layer 2.

Twitter’s founder and CEO says the integration of Bitcoin layer-2 payments — the Lightning Network — into the social media platform may be on the horizon.

Despite regulatory uncertainty over cryptocurrency trading in India, some of the world’s largest crypto exchanges are looking to enter the market.

Australian serviced office firm Business Hub will accept cryptocurrency as payment for rent on serviced office space and other business services as of July 1.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will meet with El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele to finalize discussions around a pandemic relief loan to support the Central American nation. In a Thursday press briefing, IMF spokesman Garry Rice also implied that El Salvador’s decision to make Bitcoin a national currency will be a focus of the meeting for the IMF team.

Unique Network, an NFT chain for Polkadot, and NFT protocol RMRK announced today that they are partnering on expanding the functionalities of NFTs across blockchains.