Cryptocurrencies

Accounting and consultancy giant Accenture has become the latest major victim of a ransomware attack. After Accenture initially reported that it had repelled a hacker group named Lockbit, encrypted files belonging to Accenture began to be published today, according to a report by Decrypt. Fast facts An Accenture spokesperson said in a statement: “Through our […]

Poly Network hackers have returned stolen assets worth around US$340 million so far.

San Francisco-based payments technology company Ripple this week announced that South Korean money transfer company, Global Money Express Co. Ltd (GME Remittance), has joined RippleNet to expand remittances between South Korea and Thailand. Fast facts Some 184,000 Thai nationals live in South Korea, and they account for the third largest group of foreign nationals in […]

The total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies has just broken the milestone of US$2 trillion for the first time since May, reflecting a bullish trend since earlier this month. Fast facts On Wednesday night Hong Kong time, the total crypto market cap reached US$2.007 trillion and stood at US$2.002 trillion on Thursday at noon, according to […]

In a much-anticipated reply, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler has written to Sen. Elizabeth Warren saying “crypto investors are not adequately protected.” Fast facts “In my view, the legislative priority should center on crypto trading, lending, and [decentralized finance] platforms. Regulators would benefit from additional plenary authority to write rules for and […]

Amid a surge in the price of Dogecoin, Seychelles-based crypto and derivatives exchange OKEx has listed Baby Doge Coin — a new cryptocurrency “created by fans of of the widely popular Dogecoin” — for spot trading, according to a company news release. Fast facts OKEx’s listing had a brief positive impact on Baby Doge’s price […]

With Ethereum 2.0 still in development, rival blockchains like Cardano, Binance Smart Chain, Solana and Polkadot are hot on Eth’s tail. Who might prevail, and why?

Top blockchain and crypto news: NFT wave buoys OpenSea. Are dollars and sense a lifeline for Tether? Tencent gets a target on its back.

Poolin, a major mining pool in China, has set sail for America. ‘Large players are all over the U.S. now looking for deals.’

Impact of one of the biggest heists in the industry looks set to be mitigated as hackers agree to return funds.

As Cardano’s Alonzo Purple upgrade launches and the full roll-out of smart contract support is teased, the price of ADA — the native cryptocurrency of the Cardano blockchain network — surged more than 20% in the past 24 hours. ADA was trading at US$1.71 at press time — its highest in over two months, according to […]

The US Securities and Exchange Commission wants to review ‘terabytes’ of Ripple’s Slack chats for evidence of XRP-related wrongdoing. How much is too much?

Despite a recent recovery in crypto prices, digital asset investment products last week saw outflows of US$26 million, according to CoinShares, Europe’s largest digital asset fund manager. It was the fifth consecutive week in which institutional money flowed out of cryptocurrencies, mainly Bitcoin. Fast facts Bitcoin — the largest cryptocurrency by market value — bore […]

Amid a period of increasing regulatory interest in stablecoins, Circle, the digital payment company that issues USDC, the world’s second-largest stablecoin , has announced plans to become a full-reserve national digital currency bank in the U.S. Fast facts In a company blog post, CEO and co-founder Jeremy Allaire said the company was prepared to operate […]

After hovering aroud the US$35,000 mark through most of June and July, Bitcoin’s price has started rising again this past month. In the past 24 hours, Bitcoin’s price broke US$45,000 for the first time since mid-May amid the market-wide crash from the historic highs in April, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Fast facts Conversely, gold […]

Several cryptocurrency payment methods exist around the world, but new service is the first major one of its kind in India.

A landmark US$1 trillion infrastructure bill moved one step closer to becoming law on Sunday, notably without carve-outs for cryptocurrency miners and network validators. What does it mean for the industry?

Axie Infinity’s founder has announced that the company’s non-fungible token market trading volume hit US$1 billion this morning, having already announced that it had more than 1 million daily active players last Friday. Fast facts DappRadar shows the Axie NFT market now has a trading volume of US$1.126 billion, ranking first among all markets. It […]

Cardano’s much-anticipated Alonzo Purple upgrade has begun onboarding users to its testnet, according to a 12-part Twitter thread by developer Input Output Hong Kong. Fast facts Alonzo Purple is the third and final stage of the Alonzo upgrade, following Blue and White, and when complete will be the first fully public Cardano testnet to support […]

Binance bans derivatives in Hong Kong while Ethereum fork boosts trading

E-commerce company’s tie-up with government-owned lender suggests hybrid private-state future for central bank digital currency.

The Business Administration Department at China’s central bank has said it will push forward pilots of the e-CNY digital currency in the Winter Olympics area to cover all payment scenarios. Fast facts To promote the digital yuan for the Winter Games, two batches of e-CNY red packets were distributed in Beijing in February and June, totaling 50,000,000 yuan […]

Since its launch in October 2020, Cambodia’s central bank digital currency project, Bakong, has reached 5.9 million users across the country, according to a report by Nikkei Asia. Fast facts The figure includes users of member bank mobile apps, with the number of Bakong electronic wallet addresses doubling in June from three months before to […]

As court grants CEO request to obtain info from Binance to bolster defense in SEC lawsuit, Ripple seeks to expand use cases for XRP Ledger.

Indian athletes who have won medals at the Tokyo Olympics have been promised free cryptocurrencies by Indian crypto exchange Bitbns, according to a report by the Economic Times. Fast facts Bitbns will create systematic investment plans denominated in Bitcoin and Ethereum worth around US$2,695 for gold medalists, US$1,348 for silver medalists and US$674 for bronze […]

A revealing feature article on the hidden world of “hypecoins” was published by the New York Times yesterday, in which journalist David Segal recounted the process of creating and then selling his own hypecoin, which he called IdoitCoin. Fast facts Hypecoins, otherwise known as memecoins, are tokens with little or no intrinsic value, created only […]

Ethereum’s London hard fork sees a smooth launch as the crypto market sends Ether’s price soaring.

In an effort to curb runaway inflation, Venezuela’s central bank is removing six zeros from its currency and putting a digital bolivar into circulation on Oct. 1, according to reporting by Bloomberg. Fast facts An example of a central bank digital currency, the digital bolivar was announced by the Venezuelan central bank’s Twitter account yesterday […]

Will Google greenlighting US crypto ads, Ethereum’s London upgrade and clearer regulations pave the way for another Ether price rally?

In a long-awaited reversal of a 2018 policy decision, Google will allow crypto exchanges and wallets to advertise on its platform in the U.S. But not everyone’s happy.

Cryptocurrency miners are front-running Ethereum transactions to make profits called MEV that critics decry as unfair. What can be done about it?

Ethereum upgrade closely watched also India launches e-RUPI voucher

Top blockchain and crypto news: Is Ethereum’s price flatlining on eve of revolution? Uncle Sam wants pay to play. China’s Big Tech toes the line with NFTs.

ETH rose in a historic run in anticipation of ‘Ethereum halving’ — but dipped on the eve of the London hard fork. Forkast.News asks top cryptocurrency analysts to find out why.

In a further move towards cryptocurrency adoption, Mastercard has partnered with one of Australia’s oldest crypto exchanges, CoinJar, to launch one of the country’s first crypto payment cards. Fast facts The card became available on Tuesday in a digital form through integration with Apple Pay and Google Pay, and will be available in a physical […]

The Ethereum ecosystem is continuing to see strong growth, with institutional capital ‘flooding’ into decentralized finance and decentralized autonomous organizations flourishing.

Hong Kong crypto crime surges as Tencent launches NFT platform.

The DigitalArt4Climate NFT initiative aims to promote art via blockchain technology to inspire environmental activism around the world.

The next half decade will see mass adoption of decentralized technology, writes Max Kordek of Lisk. Here are the leading uses.

Nasdaq-listed Marathon Digital Holdings, one of the biggest Bitcoin mining companies in North America, has announced a deal to buy an additional 30,000 mining machines from Bitmain to boost its mining capacity. Fast facts Marathon has entered into a contract with Bitmain to purchase 30,000 Antminer S19j Pros worth a total of US$120.7 million, the […]

The city of Miami is set to launch its own cryptocurrency, MiamiCoin, tomorrow. The token will allow people to invest in the city to fund infrastructure projects and events, according to a report by Decrypt. Fast facts The token is being released in partnership with CityCoin, a project that facilitates cities releasing their own tokens […]

Global payments giant Square — which recently made moves into decentralized finance — is acquiring Australian “buy now pay later” fintech company Afterpay for US$29 billion (AU$39 billion) to expand its range of services, according to a recent company press release. Fast facts The purchase will enable Square’s CashApp and Seller business units to offer […]

Crypto-related crime has hit record levels in Hong Kong for the first six months of this year, with one victim losing HK$124 million (US$15.95 million) to fraudsters, according to the South China Morning Post. Fast facts Hong Kong police recorded 496 such cases totaling HK$214.4 million (US$27.58 million) in just the first half of this […]

People’s Bank of China vows to keep sector under ‘heavy pressure’ as it pushes digital yuan.

A provision in an infrastructure bill being debated by the U.S. Senate has prompted concerns in the crypto industry as it boosts Internal Revenue Service reporting requirements for investors and brokers. Fast facts According to the New York Times, the provision is an effort to help fund a US$ 1 trillion bipartisan bill and could […]

Celsius Network CEO says crypto lenders are using Wall Street’s ‘safest’ business tactic to provide high interest rates to customers. What are the risks?

The global Bitcoin hashrate is now on an uptrend as miners pushed out by China resettle on friendlier shores and resume investing big money in mining equipment.

Despite China’s crackdowns on Bitcoin mining and growing consternation about crypto mining’s carbon footprint, some miners are betting big on a rosy future.

The fee-free trading platform’s initial public offering promises plenty of action for retail investors, but pitfalls may lie in wait amid trading volatility and wider adoption of business model.

Top blockchain and crypto news: Is Amazon taking up BTC? Robinhood’s share sale deserves scrutiny. Did Huobi jump or was it pushed?

San Francisco-based payments technology company Ripple has partnered with SBI Remit, Japan’s largest money transfer provider, mobile payments service Coins.ph and digital asset exchange platform SBI VC Trade to use XRP for remittances between Japan and the Philippines, according to a company statement. Fast facts The partnership — Ripple’s first on-demand liquidity service implementation in […]

EthSign — a Singapore-based electronic signing platform built on the Ethereum blockchain — today announced additional seed round funding from Silicon Valley venture capital firm Draper Associates. Fast facts EthSign is a decentralized application that allows users to comment on, edit and access each version of an electronic agreement securely. Built on the Ethereum blockchain, […]

Ethereum’s future is top of mind for a group of fintech experts polled by Finders. Where do they think Ethereum prices are headed, and will Ethereum overtake Bitcoin?

OKG Technology Holdings, the parent company of crypto exchange OKEx, suffered an 89.8% year-on-year slump in revenue from operating Ethereum stablecoin USDK, its FY 2021 annual report shows. Fast facts Its USDK revenue was just HK$159,000 (US$20,470). Currently, USDK, which launched in 2019, has a market cap of US$28.68 million and a circulating supply of […]

Jasmine Telecom Systems, a publicly-listed unit of Thai telecoms operator Jasmine International, is set to ride the Bitcoin mining wave, with plans to install tens of thousands of mining machines over the next few years. Fast facts JTS is kicking off plans to deploy 500 mining machines in a data center in the third quarter […]

Electric carmaker Tesla on Monday reported that it held US$1.3 billion of Bitcoin, according to the company’s Q2 2021 financial results update. Fast facts There was no change to Tesla’s Bitcoin holdings from the previous quarter, but the company took a Bitcoin-related impairment hit of US$23 million due to the fall in Bitcoin prices, according […]

For the third consecutive week, digital asset investment products last week saw outflows — this time, to the tune of US$28 million, according to CoinShares, Europe’s largest digital assets fund manager. Bitcoin saw the majority of outflows, but multi-asset investment products remained positive with inflows of US$3.1 million. Fast facts Bitcoin investment products saw US$24 […]

Bit Mining pivots overseas as Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin joins animated crypto series ‘Stoned Cats’ cast.

Blockchain technology can make a big impact on the world we live in, according to authors Kosrow Dehnad and Joe Duncan. A prime example: Tesla’s driverless vehicles.

Led by traders in Asia, Bitcoin saw its biggest one-day gain in over a month amid speculation that Amazon is getting into crypto.

US Securities and Exchange Commission staffers say their appointed leaders’ views do not reflect the agency’s stance on Ripple and XRP.

A digital yuan wallet app launched by China’s central bank will include an electricity bill payment feature designed by the country’s State Grid, according to Economic Information Daily, a local financial media outlet.  Fast facts Users will be able to pay their electricity bills through the digital yuan app directly and do not need to […]

China’s trial of e-CNY, the digital version of the national currency, the yuan, has extended to the insurance industry, with conglomerate Ping An encouraging medical staff in the southern city of Shenzhen to pay premiums for a Covid-19 insurance plan using the new currency. Fast facts One Ping An branch in Shenzhen is offering insurance […]

China’s largest telecommunications company, China Mobile, has disclosed a patent on a virtual currency management system that can prevent the theft of hot-wallet keys. Fast facts The system achieves theft-prevention by separating the hot-wallet server interacting directly with a public data server via a system wallet server. The patent disclosure shows that China Mobile filed […]

As Bitcoin’s carbon footprint continues to make ESG investors uneasy, a new clean-energy crypto mining ETF aims to allay their environmental concerns.

Privacy concerns prompt call for Americans to avoid e-CNY as lawmakers point to use of WeChat app to ‘surveil, threaten and arrest Chinese citizens.’

Cryptocurrency investment manager Grayscale has started a fund focused on decentralized finance tokens and based on CoinDesk’s new DeFi-specific index, the company has said in an announcement.  Fast facts The fund offers investors a selection of leading DeFi protocols through a market capitalization-weighted portfolio designed to track the index. It allows investors to allocate funds […]

In a special Q&A, Yale-NUS College professor Andrew Bailey says the world’s oldest cryptocurrency has untapped potential to promote liberty, equality and justice around the world.

Central bank in apparent push for adoption ahead of Olympics as it doubles up on warning over non-state cryptocurrencies.

Britain’s financial crimes enforcement agency is set to launch a campaign costing £11 million (US$15.2 million) to warn young people about the risks of investing in cryptocurrencies.  Fast facts Financial Conduct Authority CEO Nikhil Rathi said social media users aged 18 to 30 would be the target audience. “As with the GameStop episode, more people see investment as […]

CEO Jack Dorsey announced that his mobile payments company Square has created a new division dedicated to decentralized finance (DeFi) on Bitcoin. For now, Dorsey is referring to the new Square Bitcoin DeFi platform as TBD, having not yet decided on an official name.  Fast facts The DeFi space, which has grown exponentially over last […]

Tether stablecoins linked to funds funneled to banks in Singapore and elsewhere amid worldwide cryptocurrency crime increase.