Cryptocurrencies

SEC says Ripple had plenty of ‘notice’ that XRP transactions could be violating the law via its many enforcement actions against other crypto companies.

Input Output Hong Kong, one of the companies behind the Cardano blockchain, today announced the launch of the first testnet for Cardano’s Alonzo upgrade.

Police in South Korea have arrested 14 individuals in a cryptocurrency fraud case estimated to have cost 69,000 investors a total of US$3.85 billion, taking the country’s losses to US$5 billion over the past five years.

Sanctions enforcement affecting the cryptocurrency industry has intensified rapidly in the past two years, according to a new report by crypto compliance consultancy Elliptic.

Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com has announced that it is committed to becoming carbon-negative within 18 months, following carbon-neutral initiatives launched by other Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchanges FTX and BitMEX.

Gary Gensler, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, has said he wants to see regulation to protect consumers built into the operations of cryptocurrency exchanges.

Consumer adoption of cryptocurrencies has grown, with 38% of respondents to a survey saying they have either invested in or bought a cryptocurrency, according to digital wallet provider Skrill, part of payments provider Paysafe.

Vitalik Buterin sets a green future for the Ethereum network while Bitdeer becomes the latest to block Chinese miners.

The U.S. dollar reigns supreme as the current world reserve currency. Could the USD’s status change with the rise of CBDCs like China’s DCEP digital yuan?

Breaking into occasional Mandarin at a Hong Kong conference, Ethereum’s visionary creator tells all — including why Ethereum 2.0 is taking so long.

BitDeer, one of China’s biggest crypto mining operators, blocked access to anyone using a mainland Chinese IP address last night.

Global payments giant PayPal plans to let its users move the cryptocurrency they hold on its platform into third-party wallets.

Cashless payment methods are on the rise as governments step up central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) initiatives.

Other top blockchain and crypto news: Australia signals progressive approach to crypto as Hong Kong moves closer to banning retail crypto trading.

Investors are turning to green alternatives to tackle Bitcoin’s impact on the environment as Indonesia gears up for a CBDC.

Fast-growing Ethereum scaling platform Polygon and decentralized storage network Aleph.im join forces to ‘supercharge’ Polygon’s NFT ecosystem.

Ripple is partnering with Bank Dhofar, Oman’s second largest bank, to facilitate cross border mobile payments through RippleNet.

SpaceChain, a Singapore-based startup that focuses on the integration of blockchain with space technology, will be launching two missions to space next month to deploy decentralized satellite infrastructure and multi-signature services for its corporate customers.

Indonesia is planning to launch a digital version of its national currency, central bank Governor Perry Warjiyo said on Tuesday.

Despite recent outflows from crypto, U.S. dollar-linked stablecoin Tether (USDT) has surpassed US$60 billion for the first time this week.

New and innovative lenders are taking advantage of DeFi’s low costs to offer savings account interest rates that Main Street banks simply can’t match.

China’s miners prepare for migration and Hong Kong reacts to possible retail ban. Meanwhile a South Korean governor becomes a crypto influencer.

Amid declines in Bitcoin and Ethereum, Cardano and its native cryptocurrency ADA saw US$10 million inflows as institutional investors switch to proof-of-stake coins.

Chinese authorities’ latest regulatory offensive against the crypto industry may not be as bad for the sector as it appears.

Marathon Digital Holdings has announced a deal with Compute North to host 73,000 of Marathon’s Bitcoin miners at a new data center in Texas.

Bitcoin has rallied to nearly US$40,000, boosted by tweets from Tesla founder Elon Musk and MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor announcing that they have met with North American miners of the cryptocurrency to promote a renewable energy initiative.

Hong Kong is poised to ban small investors from buying cryptocurrencies, while making exchanges get licences. Industry experts discuss how this might play out. 

The current dip aside, what are Bitcoin and Ethereum’s longer-term price forecasts? Finder’s brain trust of 35 crypto experts peers into a crystal ball.

As the crypto sell-off continued over the weekend, Bitcoin once again proved its resilience relative to other cryptocurrencies in not bleeding as much.

Bitcoin and altcoin prices take heavy hits and sell-off deepens as more bad news, including a blatant DeFi exit scam, continue battering crypto markets.

Crypto exchange Bybit is launching cloud mining to provide exposure to Ether. What happens when Ethereum moves from proof of work to proof of stake?

Kicking the digital won’s development into higher gear, Bank of Korea is calling for bids to be a technology supplier for its digital currency (CBDC) project.

Cryptocurrency exchanges in Hong Kong will have to obtain licenses from the territory’s markets regulator and limit their service offerings to “professional investors”, according to the results of a consultation published today.

The crypto market has rebounded after one of its biggest crashes. Bitcoin is a ‘safe haven’ for many investors.

Coinbase Pro adds Solana’s native token, opening the doors for US investors after SOL outperforms Bitcoin and most other cryptos amid market crash.

Diversification to allocate funds to Bitcoin is an “opportunity that (fiat) money cannot buy”, says DBS Bank’s chief investment officer.

Bithumb, one of South Korea’s biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, is attempting to disassociate itself from its former chairman amid fears that its links to him may pose a threat to its license to operate.

Hong Kong-listed beauty app Meitu and other companies that have invested in cryptocurrencies have seen millions of dollars wiped off the value of their stock following the huge global Bitcoin sell-off this week.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury is calling for business to report cryptocurrency transactions worth more than US$10,000 to the Internal Revenue Service.

The Booker Group announced that it now holds approximately US$35 million in crypto and plans to invest US$3 million into DeFi in Q2.

Other top blockchain and cryptocurrency news: BlockFi’s accidental BTC millionaires. China’s Inner Mongolia asks citizens to report illegal crypto mining.

Newly elected South Korean Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum appears to be leading an embrace of the cryptocurrency sector among lawmakers.

In a win for the SEC, a judge knocks back Ripple’s request to stop the SEC from asking foreign regulators for info on Ripple and XRP transactions overseas.

The Chinese region of Inner Mongolia is urging members of the public to report all cases of cryptocurrency mining, setting up a reporting hotline, an office address and an email address to solicit tips for law enforcement authorities.

Chinese cryptocurrency miner BIT Mining has signed a deal to build a data center in Texas.

DeFi project Maple Finance is launching a $17 million lending pool to provide crypto startups with capital. Is this the start of a DeFi credit underwriting trend?

The world’s biggest cryptocurrency may have found a new trading range after being battered yesterday following an apparent Chinese clampdown on cryptos, partly reversing losses of around 30% seen when investors dumped their coins on Wednesday.

Former CFTC chairman Chris Giancarlo and Accenture’s David Treat are not in a CBDC race, but a ‘contest’ to develop money that reflects societal values.

China’s newest warning against crypto sends market into nosedive and Bitcoin dips below US$40,000 for the first time since February.

Professional crypto traders appear to be taking the recent plunge in the price of Bitcoin in their stride as they look ahead to an upswing in the cryptocurrency’s fortunes.

Around US$1.5 billion of Bitcoin long positions were liquidated today across some of the world’s top crypto exchanges, including Binance and FTX, according to Bybt data.

In a paper released today by a Senate committee, the Australian government announced it is seeking help in establishing a crypto regulatory framework.

XRP’s price has slumped almost 7% in the past 24 hours after a so-called whale transferred US$93 million of the cryptocurrency to an unknown wallet on May 18, according to blockchain analytics platform WhaleAlert.

Qingdao-headquartered tech company SOS Ltd. has announced the launch of more than 6,000 ETH and BCT mining rigs, claiming 90% renewable energy sources.

Fan Long, a co-founder of Chinese public blockchain network Conflux, says China’s latest broadside against the use of cryptocurrencies in the financial sector should not be interpreted as a sign that Beijing is intent on shutting down digital currencies.

American Bitcoin miner Riot Blockchain’s mining revenue skyrocketed almost tenfold to US$23.2 million in the first quarter of 2021, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

China has slapped a ban on finance sector businesses, including payment firms, from offering cryptocurrency services.

As Singapore builds Project Dunbar, a cross-border multiple-CBDC platform, its government dives into DeFi learning and ponders a CBDC for the masses.

The final phase of Polkadot’s rollout — with parachains — just kicked off. Here’s what you need to know about Polkadot and parachains, and why it matters.

The appetite in the United Arab Emirates for cryptocurrency investment is growing, with younger Emiratis more bullish about digital assets than their Western counterparts, according to a study by financial services firm Holborn Assets.

In a new court filing, SEC tries to keep out 6 representatives of 17,100 XRP holders from joining as 3rd party defendants in the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple.

A group of cryptocurrency developers has launched a new coin named $STOPELON, aiming to limit Elon Musk’s influence over the cryptocurrency market.

Tesla founder Elon Musk has lost his position as the world’s second-richest person following a 2.2% decline in the electric carmaker’s share price.

Ripple rebuts SEC’s attempt to obtain Ripple’s confidential communications with lawyers over XRP’s legal status and seeks to bolster ‘fair notice’ defense.

FUD has taken over Bitcoin’s FOMO sentiment as iconic YouTube video ‘Charlie Bit Me’ gets immortalized as an NFT.

ADA price holds strong as investors shift to greener cryptocurrencies and Cardano smart contracts get set to launch blockchain into DeFi and NFTs.

A dispute over a Bitcoin mine’s environmental impact leads to a push to ban crypto mines in New York state. Will other places follow Albany’s lead?

It’s only a matter of time that digital currency ‘is going to overshadow all the other forms of money,’ says Neeraj Khandelwal of CoinDCX.

To improve public trust, South Korea is barring police officers from buying cryptocurrency. Could this presage a broader clampdown on crypto in the country?

The Asian crypto industry reacts to the US Department of Justice and Internal Revenue Service money laundering probe into Binance. In South Korea, the nation’s largest internet company plans to join Bank of Korea’s CBDC ventures. Over in Singapore, Southeast Asia’s largest lender DBS Bank expands its crypto services for its private bank clients by […]

What will happen to your Bitcoin keys and crypto wallets when you die? Southeast Asia’s largest bank will now take care of it all for the super wealthy.

An Australian computer scientist has become the latest person to claim to have developed Bitcoin, an assertion he hopes might bring him a £4 billion (US$5.6 billion) windfall. Craig Wright, who claims to have invented Bitcoin, and the identity behind the Satoshi Nakamoto pseudonym, has filed a lawsuit in a UK court to retrieve a […]