Investment

Tokenization is on the rise not only in the private sector. In Asia, governments are leading the charge to use this technology for the greater public good.

A year after the Merge made Ethereum even more popular, the network now faces the perils of a staking-fueled liquidity crunch. What are the alternatives?

Silicon Valley venture giant Andreessen Horowitz plants flag in London: fuels UK’s ascent as a Web3 innovator.

The move is part of SC Ventures’ expansion into the United Arab Emirates.

Tether extends US$610 million loan to boost Northern Data’s AI and Bitcoin mining operations.

The survey aimed to measure the public attitude towards virtual asset investments, following the JPEX incident.

The plight of the Philippines — which has a high rate of crypto adoption but is also plagued by fraud — offers a window into why the industry’s ‘do your own research’ mantra isn’t enough.

Inflows in cryptocurrency investment products reached US$78 million last week, the highest volume since July, according to crypto asset manager CoinShares.  See related article: Alameda had a US$65 bln line of credit, says FTX co-founder Gary Wang Fast Facts See related article: DOJ seeks to block Bankman-Fried from bringing up Anthropic fundraise in court

The amount of funds raised by cryptocurrency firms dropped to a three-year low of US$2.1 billion in the third quarter of 2023, according to a new report published by on-chain intelligence firm Messari. See related article: CMCC Global raises US$100 mln to launch Hong Kong Web3 fund Fast Facts See related article: HKEX to launch […]

CMCC Global, a Hong Kong-based blockchain-focused venture capital fund, announced Wednesday that it raised US$100 million to launch the “Titan Fund.” See related article: SFC to monitor illegal VATP activities with Hong Kong Police Force Fast Facts See related article: Valkyrie CIO expects US spot Bitcoin ETF approval in Q2 2024 (Update adds comment from […]

Europe’s first spot Bitcoin ETF ushers in an era where traditional finance and crypto are converging, setting the stage for digital assets to become mainstays in the economy.

The gates are opening for ordinary investors to buy into real-world assets like rare art and fancy real estate. But regulations and compliance hurdles remain.

Toncoin led gainers in the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, rising over 13% after the project announced its partnership with Telegram. Bitcoin and Ether were little changed during afternoon trading in Asia, but market analysts are looking at September as a period for strategic Bitcoin accumulation. See related article: Weekly Market Wrap: ETF developments […]

Web3 companies often focus on building their tech above all else, but poor public communications can undermine all the work they do.

The general public does not know this yet, but there is no longer any doubt that a Bitcoin spot ETF will come to the US market, writes Charlie McGlynn of XREX. It’s just a matter of when.

Solana led gainers in the top 10 cryptos, after the protocol announced a new partnership with payments giant Visa.

Fractionalizing assets on-chain can greatly increase liquidity, security and market efficiency, writes Hamilton Keats. Here are the key trends and challenges.

Bitcoin and Ether fell during Tuesday afternoon trading in Hong Kong, along with most of the top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. Long term investors continue accumulating Bitcoin, despite the asset’s recent price action, industry experts told Forkast.

Moves by big financial institutions into digital assets are worrisome to crypto purists, but it could be just what crypto needs to shake off its doldrums, writes Konstantin Horejsi of Blocktrade.

Tokenization is having a breakout year, but providers must learn from the past to prevent another FTX or Celsius-level crisis, writes Philipp Pieper of Swarm.

$1 trillion in capital is needed to fight climate change, but investment money is sitting on the sidelines, going unused. How can we close this funding gap?

Change won’t happen overnight, but tokenization is a trend that will trigger seismic shifts in the financial landscape, writes Hamilton Keats of Krayon Digital.

As the US is engulfed in regulatory strife, Asian countries are rolling out legal frameworks that attract crypto investment, protect consumers and encourage innovation.

Collaborative venture building involves pooling resources, expertise and ideas — a strategy ideal for Web3 startups to succeed, writes Katherine Ng.

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and others led to predictions of big shifts away from centralized finance. James Wo examines why that hasn’t happened yet.

For every PayPal or Google, countless other startups from the bubble days of yore took investor money down the toilet, writes Naveen Agnihotri. What makes this AI boom any different?

Fractionalizing assets on the blockchain opens up investment opportunities for the public and the capital market’s access to liquidity, writes Bob Ras. Here’s what’s holding it back.

Nothing in life is free. Be wary of crypto exchanges that offer ‘free trading,’ and ask hard questions about how they make money, writes Ben Caselin of MaskEX.

CoinShares data showed Ethereum-linked products saw little investment interest with inflows of around US$300,000 in the week ending April 14, accounting for a tiny portion of the total US$114 million weekly inflow into digital assets and despite the blockchain’s milestone upgrade last week.

MicroStrategy acquired 1,045 Bitcoin for around US$29.3 million, at an average price of US$28,016 per coin, between March 24 and April 4, 2023

MicroStrategy acquired 6,555 Bitcoin for around US$150 million, at an average price of US$23,238 per coin, between Feb. 16 and March 23

Despite the potential sell pressures after Ethereum’s upcoming hard fork, it’s more likely that ETH stakers will hold for the longer term, writes Bill Xing of Bybit.

The Bitcoin Fear & Greed index rose to a 16-month high of 68 points today, signaling that investors are becoming more greedy than fearful.

The collapse of Voyager and Celsius highlights the risks of crypto investing apps and underscores the need for tailored user education, writes Jackson Zeng of Caleb & Brown.

The recent spate of crypto exchanges freezing customer accounts should be a wake-up call to investors everywhere. What can you do to better protect yourself?

Digital asset investment products reached US$117 million in the week ending Jan. 27 — the highest since July 2022 — with nearly all of that going into Bitcoin.

The supply of Bitcoin owned by retail investors has reached an all-time high of around 17%, according to blockchain research firms Glassnode and IntoTheBlock.

Patrick Lee, who cofounded Rotten Tomatoes and PKO Investments, says the US$35 million investment company has slowed Web 3.0 investments significantly.

Several venture funds tell Forkast they have become conservative and are only investing in ‘true believers’ of Web 3.0

The majority (58.3%) of South Koreans with assets of 1 billion Korean won (US$760,000) said they don’t plan to invest in cryptocurrencies.

Amid the current crypto market carnage, Web3’s appeal for investors remains solid — and perhaps even stronger — says CVP NoLimit Holdings founder Gin Chao.

Daesung’s venture capital subsidiary recently established a fund worth 110 billion Korean won (US$84.5 million) for expanding investments into metaverse startups.

Cathie Wood’s Ark Investment Management has bought over 1.3 million shares of Coinbase Global since the start of November, and 450,000 shares of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC).

The Genesis brokerage arm of the Digital Currency Group is one of the latest cryptocurrency platforms to lock down withdrawals following the bankruptcy of crypto exchange FTX, and the freeze is spreading.

Panelists at Forkast’s livestreamed event ‘Crypto Rising: How Top VCs Are Investing Out of Crypto Winter’ shared their thoughts on the future of the industry following FTX.

Binance has confirmed its participation in Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition as an equity investor.

Cryptocurrency was created to be accessible to the masses. So why are retail investors getting shut out from the best analytical and trading tools?

A lack of regulations means anyone can say bad things about crypto to stir up fear — and push you to sell. Even if they stand to make money from your losses.

Fidelity Digital Assets will allow clients to trade Ether from Oct. 28, according to a company email shared by Fidelity’s customers via Twitter. See related article: Fidelity considers Bitcoin trading on brokerage platform: WSJ Fast facts Institutional investors will be able to buy, sell and trade ETH, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap. “With the […]

Binance Labs, the incubator and investment arm of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, said it invested an undisclosed amount in Salus Security, which provides blockchain smart contract audits and automated smart contract vulnerability detection. See related article: Binance’s US$7.5 billion woman sees plenty of promise in bear markets Fast facts Binance Labs said in a […]

Yi He, who manages the multibillion-dollar portfolio at Binance Labs, is looking to invest in Web 3.0 projects from infrastructure, application and data to analytics and security.

A slowdown in crypto investment — particularly in firms offering coins, tokens and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) — will continue in the second half of the current year, according to a new report by global audit and consulting firm KPMG.  See related article: Siloed regulatory efforts unlikely to help bring oversight to highly decentralized crypto industry […]

Real estate as an investment is not very liquid, composable or accessible, writes Joel Lin of CitaDAO. Can tokenization and DeFi transform this market?

BTC and ETH hit by volatility, while big players start investing in blockchain despite market wobbles.

Venture capital for two new investment funds from CoinFund and Shima Capital were announced, with amounts reaching US$300 million and US$200 million, respectively. See related article: New Investors and Investments Fast facts The Ventures I fund, announced Thursday by CoinFund, will focus on backing blockchain startups, including both existing portfolios and new startup teams. The […]

There’s growing interest from Australian self-managed super [retirement] funds (SMSF) to invest in crypto but are being let down by a lack of regulatory clarity, Caroline Bowler, chief executive officer of Australian exchange BTC Markets said at an industry panel on Wednesday. See related article: Australia’s Holon Global got ahead of BlackRock with funds shrugging […]

Australia’s retirement fund industry, the world’s fifth largest at US$2.3 trillion, is one future target for investment funds offering cryptocurrencies.

Something of a sea change? Financial institutions that once turned up their noses at cryptocurrencies are now figuring out ways to get access for their clients.

Venture capitalists (VCs) poured at least US$17.5 billion into the crypto and blockchain industry in the first half of this year, Reuters reported, citing PitchBook data.  See related article: Blockchain, crypto investment soars in H1 2021 Fast facts VC investments in blockchain and crypto startups topped US$26.9 billion in 2021. North American startups were at […]

Following a record first half last year, investments in startups focusing on the cryptocurrency industry are down amid the so-called crypto winter, data showed.  See related article: Polkadot is top crypto held by VCs and hedge funds in Q4 2021 Fast facts Venture capital funding in crypto startups fell nearly 26% to US$9.3 billion across […]

BTC remains a safe haven for investors for the long term amid this year’s soaring inflation and market volatility, writes Josef Tětek of SatoshiLabs.

Some of Animoca Brands’ most successful investments were made during the previous crypto winter, Gen Kanai, director of strategic partnerships at the Hong Kong-based blockchain gaming studio, told Forkast. See related article: Animoca Brands investments have crossed US$1.5B Fast facts In a sit-down interview with Forkast at the IVS Crypto 2022 event held in downtown […]

Jordan Belfort, the man who inspired Martin Scorsese’s film “Wolf of Wall Street” and a once-avowed crypto critic, said Bitcoin is a long play while speaking on Yahoo Finance’s show The Crypto Mile.  See related article: Bank of England calls for greater crypto regulation Fast facts The former convicted financial criminal turned famous consultant and […]

Asset manager Morgan Creek Digital is trying to raise US$250 million to counter crypto exchange FTX’s bailout of beleaguered crypto lender BlockFi, according to a report by CoinDesk. See related article: Sam Bankman-Fried steps in to bail out BlockFi Fast facts Morgan Creek is attempting to raise funds to purchase a majority stake in BlockFi, […]

With so-called stablecoins coming under a cloud from the multibillion-dollar collapse last month of the TerraUST stablecoin, Forkast spoke to Singapore-based investor and financial commentator Jim Rogers for his view on these types of coins as well as the relevance of short sellers in the cryptocurrency market. The former cofounder of the Quantum Fund and […]

Hong Kong-based Animoca Brands, which invests in non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and metaverse projects, has invested over US$1.5 billion across more than 340 investments as of April 30, according to its unaudited financial results released on Monday. See related article: Animoca Brands’ new Japan arm aims to connect fans in Web 3.0 world Fast facts Between […]

The downturn is forcing Web3 firms into a reset — and opening opportunities for Web2 entrepreneurs to enter the playing field, writes Lily Z. King of Cobo.

a16z crypto said its fourth fund raised US$4.5 billion, bringing the total amount of funds raised for investment in crypto and Web 3.0 startups by the famed Silicon Valley venture capital firm to more than US$7.6 billion. See related article: Binance, a16z among investors backing Musk’s Twitter bid with US$7B Fast facts Around US$1.5 billion […]

Terraform Labs backer Pantera Capital gradually withdrew nearly 80% of its Terra LUNA holdings over the past year, saving itself from significant damages from the de-pegging of TerraUSD (UST) and the network’s collapse last week, The Block reported. See related article: LUNA, UST investors in S.Korea want to seize Do Kwon’s properties: report Fast facts […]

Mike Novogratz, founder and CEO of crypto investment firm Galaxy Digital, broke his weeklong silence on the TerraUSD turmoil, claiming “the global macro backdrop has been brutal for all risk assets this year” and that the UST is “a big idea that failed.” See related article: Blood moon: Terra’s LUNA rescue plan panned by industry, […]

Top blockchain and crypto news: Terra puts down the fork. Bitcoin loses its shine in Singapore. China’s miners dig in.

The Bitcoin community got a lift last year when it was reported Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund had bought Bitcoin. The company told Forkast in an interview that they do not own BTC, but they are keen on blockchain investments.