DeFi – Decentralized Finance

DeFi is here to stay, but regulations are still lacking. Jason Blick of EQIBank explores the challenges and how authorities can move forward.

One of Asia’s largest fintech events returns for its sixth year with a hybrid format of live and virtual sessions. Regulators, corporations and experts share what’s important now in crypto.

Wrapped XRP (wXRP) will be supported on the Ethereum blockchain from December, according to an Oct. 31 announcement by Wrapped.com, a cross-chain wrapped assets provider. Fast facts Wrapped XRP will be backed 1:1 with XRP — the native cryptocurrency of the XRP Ledger (XRPL) — and held in custody with Hong Kong-based licensed digital asset […]

The hacked DeFi platform called China’s cyber police first thing as most users appear to be in China.

This follows an attack on Cream Finance that also resulted in a $130M hack.

Behind this year’s giddy markets, evil and tragedies abound. Just in time for Halloween, Forkast.News shakes out the skeletons in crypto’s closet.

Even the most reliable media can report wildly different crypto numbers. Forkast.News dives into DeFi math and crypto exchange economics to find out who’s right.

This appears to be the third hack for the protocol this year — yet the biggest one so far.

DeFi is a real-world experiment testing out a new model for finance, writes Alex Grebnev of Oxygen. What is the future of banking without Wall Street?

Money, culture and community are now converging in NFTs and the token economy, writes Lily Z. King. Welcome to a new world where ‘money Lego’ meets ‘culture Lego.’

After iron-fisted regulations closed down many exchanges, remaining trading platforms look for alternatives to transaction fees.

Traditional finance evolved over centuries while DeFi is coming into its own in a few years, writes Adi Ben-Ari of Applied Blockchain. Are its risks inevitable?

Nervos, a public blockchain backed by China Merchants Bank International and Sequoia China, today announced the mainnet launch of its cross-chain “Force Bridge,” according to a company statement shared with Forkast.News. Fast facts The Force Bridge enables cross-chain transactions between Nervos and Ethereum, with support for ETH and whitelisted ERC-20 tokens, including Dai (DAI), Tether […]

Decentralized finance may look like it’s consuming TradFi, writes Will Hamilton of TCM Capital. But here’s why one won’t survive without the other.

As South Korea’s ongoing efforts at regulating cryptocurrency continues, a top financial services official said DeFi (decentralized finance) businesses need legal review before they are officially recognized as providers of financial services such as loan-for-consumption. Fast facts At the National Assembly’s annual review, lawmaker Oh Gi-hyoung, member of the National Policy Committee, asked Jeong Eun-bo, Korea’s Financial […]

Sky Mavis, the company behind leading non-fungible token game Axie Infinity, has raised US$152 million in a Series B funding round with a valuation of nearly US$3 billion, according to news outlet The Information. Fast facts Led by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, Sky Mavis said it will use the funds to improve its blockchain […]

MetaMask Institutional (MMI), the version of the MetaMask decentralized finance (DeFi) wallet for institutions, today announced its partnership with digital assets custodians U.S.-based BitGo, British Virgin Islands-headquartered Qredo, and Hong Kong-based Cactus Custody to facilitate companies seeking access to DeFi. Fast facts The partnership comes amid growing institutional interest in DeFi and aims to address […]

It’s been quite a run for the world’s leading play-to-earn game, but as its monthly revenue takes a hit, what’s in store for the future of the game?

Much of the growth in the region is driven by strong grassroots adoption rates led by Vietnam, India and Pakistan, new data from Chainalysis shows

China’s telecom giants to bring digital yuan transactions to mobile chatting boxes.

Technical woes continue to beset decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Compound this week as a hack resulted in 202,472 COMP, or US$68 million at the time, being transferred from its reservoir to its Comptroller where the funds remain vulnerable to being drained by subsequent transactions. Fast facts Yearn.Finance developer Banteg tweeted about the hack late Sunday […]

DeFi benefits from China ban while Gamevil increases Coinone stake

Decentralized wallet imToken is restricting access to some of the services it offers for users in China, in the wake of the latest ban imposed by top Chinese authorities last Friday. Fast facts The company has restricted users in China from accessing and using third-party financial applications, including those from decentralized crypto exchanges, stake mining […]

DeFi tokens like dYdX soared after China’s latest move to throttle crypto. Is this a short-term spurt or decentralized finance shifting into high gear?

Is China’s influence over Bitcoin and the global crypto market waning? Chinese exchanges get a thrashing as decentralized exchanges get happy on clampdown news.

A profound shift is underway in online culture, writes Anndy Lian of BigOne Exchange. Here’s how decentralized finance might one day power the NFT and metaverse economy.

Until recently, most Southeast Asians had no internet. Now the region is abloom with blockchain innovation. How did they do it?

Cobo, a Singapore-based crypto custody and asset management platform, today announced the completion of its US$40 million Series B fundraise to accelerate the rollout of its decentralized finance (DeFi) as a service (DaaS) product. Fast facts In an interview, Cobo Chief Operating Officer Lily Zhuo told Forkast.News that Cobo’s DeFi as a service (DaaS) product, […]

AVAX — the native token of the Avalanche blockchain — today surged to a new all-time high of US$68.34, according to CoinGecko data, boosted by news of a US$230 million investment into the Avalanche ecosystem. AVAX has increased by 60% over the past seven days. Fast facts Launched in September 2020, Avalanche is an open, […]

Blockchain research firm sees explosive growth in smart contract-based products that can replace existing financial services.

As Cardano’s Alonzo upgrade goes live, founder Charles Hoskinson of IOHK calls DeFi a ‘bubble.’ How does he think the regulation that is sure to come will reshape DeFi in the future?

Huobi Ventures, the investment arm of cryptocurrency exchange Huobi, today announced the launch of a US$10 million “GameFi” fund to invest in early-stage projects that integrate blockchain gaming and decentralized finance (DeFi). Fast facts Huobi’s new GameFi fund follows the launch of its US$100 million DeFi fund in May and comes amid increasing mainstream interest […]

In this Forkast.News explainer, learn why blockchains with smart contract capability are surging in popularity and the new darlings of investors.

Algorand’s ALGO cryptocurrency prices have surged by 90% over the past seven days, crossing the US$2 mark and hit a two-year high of US$2.44 today, according to CoinGecko data. ALGO, ranked the 17th largest cryptocurrency by market value, has not seen such price heights since its launch in 2019. Fast facts Algorand is an open-source, […]

C.R.E.A.M. Finance, a Taipei-based decentralized finance (DeFi) lending platform, on Sept. 8 announced its support of six metaverse and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that will allow users to borrow and lend against the assets. Fast facts NFTs, unique digital assets whose authenticity and ownership are tracked on a blockchain, have seen exponential growth over the past […]

Have DeFi exploits on BSC hindered the blockchain’s success? NFTs and gaming offer a boost.

Gajesh Naik and Laya Mathikshara, two Indian 13-year-olds, are getting global recognition — and making astronomical sums — through their ventures in crypto and NFTs.

As the blockchain industry shifts to ‘proof of stake,’ staking’s bonding period can lock up capital. What are the alternatives?

Deadline looms for Korean exchanges as Doge meme valuation explodes

OKEx, the world’s second-largest crypto derivatives exchange by trading volume, is amplifying its decentralized finance (DeFi) efforts by launching its DeFi Hub, along with a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace. Fast facts OKEx has launched DeFi Hub, a platform that offers users the ability to view and manage decentralized assets across major blockchain networks and DeFi […]

C.R.E.A.M. Finance suffered a flash loan exploit that was much larger than earlier estimates

Donkey, launched Sept. 1, aims to become a DeFi service that brings more South Korean investors into decentralized finance by making their favorite cryptos more scalable and available. Fast facts Donkey is a virtual asset deposit and lending protocol that runs on the Ethereum blockchain where anyone can deposit crypto as collateral and borrow other […]

The United States, Vietnam, Thailand, China and the United Kingdom lead global adoption in decentralized finance (DeFi), according to Chainalysis’ Global DeFi Adoption Index published this month. Fast facts “While grassroots cryptocurrency adoption generally is highest in emerging markets, DeFi adoption is strongest in high-income countries that already had substantial cryptocurrency usage, especially amongst traders […]

C.R.E.A.M. Finance, a Taipei-based decentralized lending platform for individuals, institutions and protocols to access financial services, has suffered a flash loan exploit that led to a loss of about US$28 million, underlining the potential vulnerabilities of decentralized finance mechanisms. Fast facts C.R.E.A.M. tweeted on Monday that its market on Ethereum suffered an exploit, “resulting in […]

Jack Dorsey, CEO of tech giants Square and Twitter, announced on Friday that Square’s new decentralized finance division, TBD, plans to build a decentralized Bitcoin exchange. Fast facts “We’ve determined TBD’s direction: help us build an open platform to create a decentralized exchange for Bitcoin,” he tweeted. Project lead for TBD Mike Brock also tweeted […]

Decentralized finance (DeFi) is attracting a lot of attention from traditional banks and venture capital, but many institutions remain firmly on the sidelines. Forkast.News explores why.

Korea reveals crypto exchange ‘Death Note’: DeFi investment booms

While DeFi has historically moved with the Ethereum price, the latest all-time high in total value locked in can largely be attributed to new blockchains purpose-built for the sector and institutional interest.

In another sign of decentralized finance’s continued growth, Celsius Network has just announced it now has more than US$20 billion in assets under management – making it one of the largest DeFi platforms in the world. Fast facts These figures came from Celsius’ most recent quarterly internal audit, according to a company press release, which […]

Much of traditional finance still believes DeFi is too risky and not worth the bother, writes Ilia Maksimenka of PlasmaFinance. Are these perceptions accurate?

The hunt for hackers who stole an estimated US$97 million from the Japanese crypto exchange Liquid last week has hit some snags as the cybercriminals have been actively hiding their tracks with a crypto mixing tool as they move to transfer their loot into other wallets. Fast facts According to public blockchain information on Etherscan, […]

Poly Network wants to hire the hacker who stole over US$600 million worth of tokens from the platform last week — as its chief security advisor, according to a tweet by the company. Fast facts In response to the job offer, the hacker posted a joke on the Ethereum blockchain that was shared in a […]

Notwithstanding Iron Finance’s collapse, stablecoins can play important roles for consumers and the economy, writes Julian Hosp of Cake DeFi.

A new report by DappRadar shows that interest in NFTs has come mainly from the United States and Indonesia, and that Russia and India have a presence in the market as well. Fast facts DappRadar, an NFT and decentralized finance and decentralized app store and a data provider, revealed this month in its user behavior […]

Cardano breached the US$2 mark for the first time in almost three months as key developers announced a release date for the planned “Alonzo” hard fork on Friday, which will allow full smart contract functionality on the network. Fast facts Slated for full release on September 12, the upgrade to Cardano’s mainnet completes the Alonzo […]

Largest hack in DeFi history while ADA hits two month high

Are DAOs and decentralization always beneficial for the group or the user? Antoni Trenchev of Nexo urges you to think again.

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 U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has taken its first regulatory action involving decentralized finance in a case involving the “unregistered sales of more than US$30 million in securities,” according to an agency press release. Fast facts Gregory Keough and Derek Acree were charged along with their Cayman Islands-based company, Blockchain Credit Partners, over allegedly […]

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.

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

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

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 […]

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?

Oracle platform Band Protocol is aiming to enable data providers like Google Cloud and Bloomberg to work better with decentralized applications.

What does a fully functioning network with DeFi applications look like, and why is it important to assess? Garrette Furo of Cosmos explains.

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

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.

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?

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

Singapore-based decentralized exchange SynFutures has closed a $14 million series A round to bring crypto derivatives to new users around the world.