Asia-Pacific

After regulators intervened, Chinese fintech giant Ant Group will now return billions to investors over its withdrawn IPO. Did Jack Ma say something wrong?

Other top blockchain and cryptocurrency news: Bitcoin paper’s 12th anniversary. New Huawei phone has DCEP wallet. FDA on blockchain and food safety.

China’s DCEP digital yuan and new US interest in digital dollar are fueling sense of urgency on CBDCs — as blockchain firm ConsenSys paves the way.

Conflux Network enjoys special government status in some parts of China— and now it’s ready for mainnet launch.

India is now a vibrant cryptocurrency hub, but its future remains uncertain. Sathvik Viswanath of Unocoin explains what’s holding back the nation of 1.3 billion.

Other top crypto and blockchain news: USDC stablecoin coming to Solana blockchain. Investing in KYC/AML in India.

A blockchain-based health code system that can certify a visitor’s Covid-free status has reopened travel between Macau and mainland China

Other top news: OKEx cryptocurrency exchange freezes services amid police investigation. Investors bet $100 million on ‘neobank’ Razorpay in India

Blockchain has become a national priority in China’s public and private sectors, in contrast to many Western governments’ approach to cryptocurrency.

The ‘Time for Trust’ report downplays the growing impact that blockchain is having on China’s economy. Here’s what’s really going on with this technology.

Other top news: China accelerates digital currency testing with 50,000 e-RMB ‘red packets.’ Hong Kong as DCEP’s future sandbox. VC in India.

China advances its new e-RMB closer to launch after distributing to Shenzhen residents 10 million yuan in digital ‘red packets’ that will expire next week

Digital currency efforts now mirror global economic rivalries, with China’s DCEP leading the pack. Central banks would be wise to avoid these pitfalls.

Blockchain patent filings may not be indicative of China’s technological prowess or patent quality — especially when standards are questionable

Other top news: Filecoin’s mainnet set to launch. Chinese banks help DCEP digital currency get market-ready. NetEase to preserve email forevermore.

BitMEX’s CEO, who faces money-laundering charges, may be the beneficiary of Hong Kong’s political turmoil and current lack of an extradition treaty with US government

As Wild West DeFi surges to new heights with Chinese capital, China wants to build a separate digital finance network — in its own, tightly controlled image.

Other top news: Ant Group launches blockchain platform for cross-border trade. China makes Beijing, Hunan and Anhui into special free trade zones.

Anonymous critics take to social media to claim that Babel is recklessly speculating with investor and client funds. The company denies wrongdoing.

More top news: Wounded Unikr settles with SEC for $6.1 million. China’s nationwide blockchain service network launches ‘public permissioned’ chain.

China’s latest state-backed blockchain initiative’s official name proclaims that it is ‘public.’ But is it really? Forkast.News explains.

Being dodgy about office location and faking volume data are all part of Asian crypto exchanges’ Wild West ethos. What are the alternatives for investors?

Access to China’s cryptocurrency market will accelerate as long as the government can keep out criminal activity, writes James Gillingham of Finxflo.

Aside from cross-chain compatibility and scaling, the Shenzhen tech giant is also aiming to resolve data privacy and security issues in healthcare and finance.

More top news: OKLink offers free cryptocurrency tracker. Trade fair in China introduces blockchain ideas to 20,000 companies.

As China muscles DCEP to market and the U.S. enlists MIT for a future digital dollar, South Korea struggles to find its place in the crypto economy.

In other news: Public gets sneak peek at China’s digital currency DCEP in flash testing. US-China trade war threatens SMIC and bitcoin mining.

Caught in the US-China trade war crossfire, the semiconductor manufacturer’s shares tumbled alongside Beijing’s fading dreams of a domestic silicon supply.

Despite China’s bans on crypto and ICOs, the permissionless blockchain protocol has also done a ‘regulatory compliant fundraise.’ How is Conflux pulling it off?

Also: Japan’s deputy PM Taro Aso urges greater blockchain cooperation. Inner Mongolia raises bitcoin mining costs. Fintech investments in S. Korea.

Other top news: $50 billion in cryptocurrency leaves China. Severe flooding in Sichuan destroys bitcoin mining farms. DeFi in India.

Conflux wins rare endorsements from Shanghai and Hunan provincial governments as other blockchain firms struggle for a toehold on the mainland.

Can blockchain stop the paid trolls, bot armies and floods of fake news that are subverting democracy through sites like Facebook?

Other top news: USPS explores blockchain for voting. Coinbase offers crypto loans. Huobi launches Global DeFi Alliance.

As China’s digital currency begins large-scale testing, business giants like Didi and Meituan appear to be signing on. What does China’s central bank say?

Other top news: Teen accused of masterminding Twitter VIP hack heads to court. Huobi launches DeFi lab. Fintech VC in Singapore and Indonesia.

China’s CBDC — the world’s first major government-issued digital currency — could launch this year. Are we ready for its financial and geopolitical impact?

Australians can buy bitcoin from post offices and use cryptocurrency in soda vending machines. But are confusing tax policies discouraging wider adoption?

Other top news: China imposes standards for blockchain companies. Huobi launches digital asset custody business. Blockchain VC in the Middle East.

Other top news: China’s BSN blockchain network expands global reach. US lets major banks act as crypto custodians. VC in India and Singapore.

Regulatory uncertainties over crypto — coupled with Indians’ tendency not to rebel — have prevented decentralized finance from taking off in India despite the unbanked’s tremendous needs, says Siddharth Verma of Nuo Network.

Ripple recently laid out a framework for India to legalize crypto through regulations. But does the Indian government have the incentives and will to do so?

Other top news: InterContinental uses blockchain to prove hotel cleanliness. Beijing plans for blockchain in city services. VC in India and Israel.

Brian Behlendorf, a longtime open-source evangelist, discusses China’s adoption of Hyperledger Fabric for its Blockchain Service Network (BSN), blockchain trends to watch, and more.

Other top news: Alibaba to help Cosco deploy blockchain technology for Chinese shipping industry. Fintech investment in Saudi Arabia.

While Asia is united in masking up, US and Europe remain fractured over face mask use. A viral immunologist and face mask expert explains the deadly consequences.

India’s cryptocurrency market has vast potential — what’s holding it back? A continued lack of regulatory clarity as well as crypto education, says CoinDCX co-founder Neeraj Khandelwal.

In this chapter in the saga of the troubled mining company, ousted co-founder Micree Zhan establishes new online presence

Other top news: US still dominates blockchain patents globally. First court case in China litigated with blockchain. VC in Indonesia and Singapore.

SCMP’s China Internet Report 2020 shows healthy fundraising and investment activity in tech sector despite ravages of Covid and US-China trade war.

Mike Cagney, co-founder of Figure Technologies, explains how blockchain and digital assets are transforming consumer loans, banking, and more.

Will India ban crypto? Regulatory uncertainty is causing nation to miss out on economic benefits. Smart regulations, says Ripple, may provide a way forward.

While China is pushing more artificial intelligence surveillance technologies into law enforcement and everyday life, the US is having a rethink.

Other top news: Chainlink embraced by China’s blockchain network. Could Justin Sun’s infamy outshine TRON 4.0? Fintech in Thailand and Singapore.

India could reap greater economic growth, cut down on corruption and more if it adopts a more progressive stance on cryptocurrency. A leading role in Asia is New Delhi’s for the taking.

Other top news: China’s new blockchain cross-border payment platform for Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong. 5G for all in Shenzhen. Fintech VC in India.

What lies ahead for the global economy, US-China geopolitics, emerging markets and sectors like real estate in the next 5 years? GreaterX’s unique focus group — ‘from farmers to a billionaire’ — offers a crystal ball.

Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong have three legal and monetary systems. A new blockchain banking platform would unify the area into an economic hub.

White paper by global blockchain payment platform urges Indian lawmakers to make cryptocurrency legal while providing mechanisms to root out bad actors.

Other top news: Chinese high schoolers cram-studying bitcoin mining. Blockchain-powered lotteries in Cambodia. Startups in India, Singapore and UAE.

India and DeFi could be headed for a symbiotic relationship — unless the government cracks down on crypto again and forces a breakup.

10 million Chinese high schoolers will soon take the equivalent of the SAT or A-Levels, and it looks like they better study up on how crypto gets made.

Is it because Huobi has an in-house Communist Party relations office, while rival exchange Binance does not? Gather ’round for a Tale of the Two Cryptos.

The rest of the world may worry over the new e-RMB and what it could do to the US dollar. But inside China, will yet another digital payment system even matter? Forkast.News finds out what the laobaixing think.

Other top blockchain news: China sounds new warning against crypto. Brave browser brouhaha. Startups in Japan and Malaysia.

Game of Thrones at the world’s largest bitcoin mining rig maker culminates, in this week’s episode, with a once-exiled company founder storming and seizing back the corporate castle.

More top news: China exploring blockchain to cure gaming addiction. LG joins Hedera Hashgraph. Startups in Japan, Singapore and the Philippines.

Money is part of a nation’s financial infrastructure, and the dollar needs a digital upgrade for this changing world, says Giancarlo, former CFTC chair who now heads the Digital Dollar Project, in an exclusive interview with Forkast.News.

Digital Dollar Project’s new white paper proposes a ‘third format of currency’ that would be interchangeable with paper money while preserving privacy. Is America ready for a government crypto dollar?

Adam Traidman of BRD discusses CBDCs in an age of intensifying US-China rivalries, and bitcoin halving’s surprising impact on crypto mining and profits.

More top news: China pours billions into blockchain and other infrastructure. Ant Financial’s new smart contracts. VC in Singapore and India.

Digital currencies will become increasingly common in the economy, with CBDCs as an ‘organic gateway.’ Should we worry about user privacy?