DeFi – Decentralized Finance

Hong Kong’s first metaverse-themed exchange-traded fund (ETF), the CSOP Metaverse Concept ETF, is scheduled to be listed on Feb. 21 on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, according to a CSOP Asset Management disclosure document.  See related article: NFTs, metaverse listed as top ‘must watch’ security risks in Hong Kong Fast facts The metaverse ETF […]

DeFi can put investors at risk if they don’t understand how it works, writes Korapat Arunanondchai. Here’s how to improve user experience.

The rapidly growing crypto market could pose a threat to global financial stability, according to a Financial Stability Board (FSB) report published on Wednesday. Fast facts The FSB, an international body that monitors and makes recommendations about the global financial system, identified vulnerabilities related to unbacked assets such as Bitcoin, stablecoins such as USDT and […]

Binance has rebranded its two blockchains as one BNB Chain on Tuesday, in a push toward the metaverse and decentralized finance (DeFi), an ecosystem the company calls “MetaFi.”  Fast facts Binance has taken its name out of its two blockchains, the Binance Chain and Binance Smart Chain, which are now respectively called BNB Beacon Chain […]

2022 will see a flowering ecosystem of blockchains working together, writes Will Harborne of DeversiFi. Here’s what the multi-chain future will look like.

Vitalik Buterin’s advocacy of synthetic wombs misses the point, writes Izzy Howell of Cypher. Here’s why crypto can do more for gender equality.

Decentralized finance has not yet done much real-world good, writes Ben Sheppard. But putting it to work on small infrastructure projects can do just that.

Jump Crypto announced that it replaced 120,000 ETH Friday morning Asia time to its cross-chain bridge Wormhole after a US$325 million exploit left wrapped Ether (wETH) in the Solana ecosystem unbacked. Fast facts The hacker was able to exploit Solana’s verification system to mint 120,000 wETH, and use it to funnel at least 93,750 ETH […]

Top blockchain and crypto news: New Delhi’s crypto give and take. Malice in Wonderland? Hong Kong’s selective spot ETF rules.

Hong Kong’s financial regulators released new guidelines on Friday that restrict retail investor access to financial products that invest directly in digital assets. Fast facts In a joint circular released by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), the regulators placed sales restrictions on non-derivative products such as crypto […]

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is scrutinizing the cryptocurrency companies Celsius Network, Gemini Trust and Voyager Digital about their practice of paying interest on crypto token deposits, Bloomberg.com reported on Thursday. Fast facts The SEC has begun an enforcement review focused on whether these tokens are unregistered securities, the report states, citing unnamed sources […]

Mark Lamb of CoinFLEX takes a 20-year view of crypto and predicts ‘infinitely bigger’ growth than imagined today, with stablecoins leading the transformation.

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub announced on Tuesday that its Hong Kong Center will explore this year whether decentralized finance (DeFi) can improve financing for small and medium enterprises. Fast facts In Hong Kong, the BIS has been working with central banks of China, Hong Kong, United Arab Emirates and Thailand on […]

Fantom has overtaken Binance Smart Chain (BSC) to become the third-largest blockchain in decentralized finance (DeFi) as measured by total value locked (TVL), according to DeFiLlama. Fast facts Fantom’s TVL bucked the global crypto market downtrend and increased more than 60% to US$12.2 billion over the past week, as of publishing time. Fantom is an […]

If 2021 was a breakout year for crypto, this year may mark a similar advance for regulation of the industry, says Caroline Malcolm, Chainalysis’ new policy chief.

India may soon get its first Bitcoin and Ethereum futures exchange traded funds (ETFs) pending approval by a financial regulator.  Fast facts India INX, the international arm of BSE (formerly Bombay Stock Exchange) and Torus Kling Block Chain IFSC have jointly sought regulatory approval for a Bitcoin and an Ethereum Futures ETF, according to a […]

Traditional banks are not going away and decentralized finance is here to stay, writes Edan Yago of Sovryn. Here’s how an amalgam of the two can take shape.

The 2022 crypto market has had a tough start as Bitcoin and Ethereum dipped below significant price points. But crypto experts say it’s not all doom and gloom.

Traditional equities and global markets are due for a correction. Valkyrie CEO Leah Wald wonders whether Bitcoin would hold strong in a global sell-off.

Have you already made your first Bitcoin trade? Perhaps you already have and would like to know more about other digital assets. This Forkast.News video explainer explores what investors can hold in their portfolios as alternatives to cryptocurrency. What you’ll learn: What digital assets can you invest in other than Bitcoin and altcoins? What are […]

Cryptocurrency is fueling crimes like malicious mining and ransomware attacks, writes Andrew Brandt of Sophos. What can a company do to protect itself?

Today’s consumers are looking for more equitable financial services, writes Sean Rach of hi. Here’s how blockchain can offer a nonprofit banking alternative.

NFTs are finding novel uses across many sectors, from fashion to real estate. What industries stand to benefit most from this technology in the year ahead?

Aventus CEO Alan Vey also predicts the decentralized finance rally is just getting started. Which blockchains does he see growing massively in the new year?

Looking beyond this year’s headlines like El Salvador’s Bitcoin adoption, here are the key developments in blockchain technology that will have lasting impact in the new year and beyond.

Perianne Boring of the Chamber of Digital Commerce sees agencies elbowing each other to oversee the crypto industry while investors start to pay big taxes.

2021 will go down as the year the DeFi giant woke up, writes Derek Alia of Futureswap. What lies in store for decentralized finance in the year to come?

As 2021 draws to a close, what are this year’s milestones and trends to watch in the year ahead? Forkast.News consults experts to find out.

Alex Tapscott of Ninepoint Partners also shares with Forkast.News his predictions for stablecoins and NFTs in 2022.

Liquidity mining plays a unique role in the DeFi ecosystem. How does it work?

Crypto fall continues meanwhile, is DeFi really decentralized?

Investment banks’ hunger for a new revenue stream is likely to drive up the popularity and registration of crypto derivatives products.

Crypto ETFs make it easy to invest in digital assets without the complexities, writes Kevin Tai of Linear Finance. Imagine what a crypto index can do.

With suitable regulation in place, DeFi could yet play an important role in the financial system, BIS suggests.

One of the world’s largest asset managers sought SEC approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF in March and is still awaiting a response.

BadgerDAO, a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) focused on bringing Bitcoin to decentralized finance (DeFi), is the latest to suffer an exploit that was estimated to result in losses of US$120 million. Fast facts Crypto security firm PeckShield said in a Thursday tweet the total loss has amounted to at least 2,100 BTC and 151 ETH. […]

A new normal forced by the pandemic is bringing out a wave of creators and influencers for a decentralized economy, writes Alex Shkor of DEIP. Here’s what to expect in the year to come.

Arbitrum is leading the way in Ethereum scaling, according to a new report by Nansen, a blockchain analytics platform. What are the challenges that lie ahead?

Neon, an Ethereum virtual machine on the Solana blockchain, today announced that it is integrating Aleph.im, a cross-blockchain computing network and decentralized indexing provider, for on-chain data on Solana — a first step towards bringing cross-chain decentralized finance (DeFi) between Ethereum and Solana. Fast facts Ethereum is currently the dominant blockchain for general-use smart contracts, […]

Another e-CNY scam busted, meanwhile SCMP to tokenize history

The promise of financial democratization forms the bedrock of DeFi’s appeal. But who’s in charge — and who to hold responsible when things go south?

Acala, a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform built for the Polkadot ecosystem, this week won the first slot in the Polkadot parachain auction with over 32 million DOT (approximately US$1.3 billion) — the native cryptocurrency of Polkadot — contributed by over 81,000 stakeholders. Fast facts The highly-anticipated first Polkadot parachain auction saw a close fight between […]

Billions have been stolen through hacks from decentralized finance protocols, with Ethereum seeing the bulk of losses, according to a report by Elliptic.

Scams like the Squid Game Token rug pull are every investor’s nightmare. How to avoid hoaxes and not feel like a fool? Forkast.News explains.

Developing regulations for decentralized finance is easier said than done. Attorneys Victor Ho, Andre Da Roza and Saranpaal Calais discuss the many legal and practical hurdles.

First Digital Trust, a Hong Kong-regulated trust and custodian specializing in digital assets, has become the first official custodian of IX Swap, a security token and cryptocurrency exchange, according to a company announcement today. Fast facts IX Swap is a decentralized finance (DeFi) automated market maker and liquidity pool for security tokens and tokenized stocks. […]

Ethereum’s sprawling Web 3.0 ecosystem — which includes the majority of the decentralized finance (DeFi), stablecoins, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and blockchain gaming worlds — continues to expand and draw users, with 3.4 million Ethereum addresses interacting with DeFi protocols, according to ConsenSys’ Web 3 Q3 2021 report published this week. Led by Ethereum co-founder Joseph […]

Bitcoin & Beyond

From China’s crackdowns to El Salvador’s Bitcoin adoption, where is the world headed in how governments regard crypto? An expert panel explores the future of decentralized finance in the global economy.

What makes 2021’s roaring crypto market different from 2017’s are the banks and VCs piling in, writes Calvin Shen of Hex Trust. What’s behind their crypto adoption?

Speaking at the Singapore FinTech Festival, Ethereum’s creator discusses DeFi adoption and why he expects Ethereum’s ‘killer ecosystem’ to grow over the next few years.

Speaking at the Singapore FinTech Festival, Singapore central bank chief Ravi Menon announces the launch of Project Orchid, a digital dollar project.

The familiarity of centralized systems may feel comforting, but decentralized technologies like blockchain are the wave of the future, writes Corey Petty of Status.

Blockdata co-founder Jonathan Knegtel thinks so. Almost a teenager, Bitcoin is reaching a level of maturity that’s defying the predictions of its critics.

Project Serum, a decentralized exchange on the Solana blockchain, has seen its total value locked (TVL) more than double over the past month to US$2.468 billion, according to data from a new Serum Markets Analytics dashboard launched today. Fast facts Solana — a high performance blockchain and alternative to Ethereum — has been gaining ground […]

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 […]