Europe

Bitcoin dropped 1.25% and Ether fell 0.25% in Tuesday afternoon trade in Asia. All other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies also dropped.

Bitcoin, Ether fell in Monday afternoon trade in Asia, along with all other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. Polkadot and XRP led the losers in that list.

Bitcoin gained 2.18% in 24 hours while Ether rose 1.67%.

Bitcoin dropped 2.09% in Tuesday afternoon trade in Asia while Ether lost 0.81%. BNB fell 2.93% and Polkadot declined 2.66%.

The current US approach to regulating crypto flies against its history of supporting tech innovation and undermines its own national interest, writes Hamilton Keats of Krayon Digital.

Bitcoin and Ether rose during Asian trading hours on Thursday, while most top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization declined. Cardano’s ADA token saw the biggest gain.

Bitcoin and Ether rose on Wednesday trade in Asia, along with all top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies, with Solana and Cardano leading the way.

Bitcoin fell in Tuesday afternoon trade in Asia, along with all other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies. Polygon was the biggest loser followed by Solana.

Russia is now the second largest Bitcoin miner after the U.S., according to a report by Russian media Kommersant. 

Bitcoin extended losses in Monday afternoon trade in Asia, along with all top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, with Solana and Polygon as the biggest losers.

Do Kwon has been charged by Montenegrin authorities for attempting to travel with forged documents as the US and South Korea race to extradite him.

Welcome to The Daily Forkast – April 21, 2023 – presented by Megha Chaddah. The European Union has approved the passage of their Markets in Cryptoassets (MiCA) law, making it the first major jurisdiction in the world to introduce a comprehensive law for the crypto sphere. Meanwhile, the crypto markets have sailed on steadily for […]

The European Parliament has approved the Markets in Crypto-Assets Act (MiCA), a legislation aimed at standardizing regulations and establishing harmonized rules for crypto assets across the European Union

Welcome to The Daily Forkast – April 20, 2023 – presented by Megha Chaddah. Bitcoin is down more than 5% Thursday morning in Asia. Ethereum also fell to lose hold of the US$2,000 price support in a sell-off across all top 10 non-stablecoin tokens. In the multi-chain economy, the Forkast Labs indexes trade mixed.

Bitcoin rose and traded above US$30,000 on Wednesday afternoon in Asia, while Ether fell along with most top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. Solana lost the most, followed by Binance’s BNB token.

Bitcoin dropped on Tuesday afternoon in Asia but remained above US$29,000, while Ether and most top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies gained. Dogecoin and Solana fell on the day and rose on the week.

Bitcoin dropped on Monday afternoon in Asia and continued to trade below US$30,000. Cardano led losers among top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies in a mixed market. Solana led gains, followed by Binance’s BNB token and memecoin Dogecoin.

Bitcoin and Ether rose during Asian trading hours on Thursday, along with all of the top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. Ether rose the most, following the successful completion of the Shapella upgrade.

The French government announced a public consultation on “virtual immersive universes,” or the metaverse.

ECB President Christine Lagarde said the digital euro would have “limited control” in a prank call.

PostFinance, a Swiss government-owned retail bank, has partnered with Sygnum Bank to provide crypto-related services.

Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, recovered to trade above US$28,000 on Tuesday afternoon in Asia.

Bitcoin fell and traded below US$28,000 in Monday afternoon trade in Asia. Ether and most other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization also declined.

Bitcoin and Ether fell during Asian trading hours on Friday, while the rest of the top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization were mixed, amid mounting allegations against Binance

Bitcoin, the only gainer in the top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, rose during Asian trading hours on Thursday.

Russia has postponed the trial of a digital ruble originally scheduled for April 1, as it awaits a regulatory framework to be adopted before the pilot, according to a report by state-owned news agency TASS.

European lawmakers have adopted legislation imposing a €1,000 (US$1,084) cap on anonymous cryptocurrency transactions, as part of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) package.

Bitcoin and Ether fell in Tuesday afternoon trade in Asia after rallying through the past week, while financial authorities injected cash into markets to ease liquidity pressures and took other steps to address concerns over a banking sector crisis in the U.S. and Europe. 

Bitcoin and Ether declined by the end of Asian trading hours on Thursday afternoon, with all the top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies also falling, apart from Binance’s BNB.

Bitcoin and Ether gained in Wednesday afternoon trading in Asia, along with most other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. Asian equities mostly rose on Wednesday as investors digested economic recovery indications as Hong Kong ended its mask mandate.

Bitcoin and Ether fell in Tuesday afternoon trade in Asia, along with all other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, despite U.S. equities rising on Monday after last week’s selloff. Asian stock markets mostly rose on Tuesday as investors absorbed key economic indicators across the region.  

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has partnered France-based global payments giant Ingenico to offer in-store crypto payments in France using Binance Pay.

The European Commission (EC), has started a regulatory sandbox to test use cases of blockchain technologies and provide legal clarity for the industry.

The UK and Europe are following suit in trying to regulate crypto. Just how far along have they come and what more do they have in store?

European Union lawmakers have voted in favor of a draft bill that imposes stricter capital requirements on banks holding crypto assets.

EU’s new Digital Operational Resilience Act aims to help firms withstand cyberattacks. Monica Oravcova of Naoris Protocol explains why it doesn’t go far enough.

Climate action and Ukraine were key discussion points on the first day of the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos.

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has received regulatory approval from the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority to operate as a financial institution to manage and trade in virtual currency, as part of the exchange’s continuing expansion in Europe.

Crypto Council’s Sheila Warren hopes to see more of crypto’s real-world use cases emerging in the media next year.

In times of market volatility, regulation can restore confidence and public trust in crypto, writes Albert Isola, Gibraltar’s minister for digital and financial services.

The push to regulate DeFi is stronger than ever, and the sector would be wise not to fight but participate in that inevitability, writes Michael Shing of XREX.

Christine Lagarde of the European Central Bank said regulating cryptocurrency in the EU is an “absolute necessity” following the collapse of Bahamas-based exchange FTX.com.

Russian lawmakers aim to launch a national cryptocurrency exchange, supported by the country’s Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Russia.

As FTX victims and creditors sift through the pieces, how much of this blowup should regulators have seen coming — and could it happen again?

Huobi Global, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, plans to ramp up its investments in Southeast Asia and Europe as part of its global expansion, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

NFT platform laCollection has launched a series of collaborations with international artists to raise funds for Ukrainian cultural institutions.

Bitcoin and Ether rose on Wednesday morning in Asia amid reports of alleged Russian missile strikes on Poland while inflationary data out of the U.S. provided support.

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has launched a new project with the central banks of Singapore, France and Switzerland to study the possibility of integrating some decentralized finance (DeFi) features with central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). See related article: mBridge participants to end domestic payments of foreign CBDCs Fast facts The BIS announced on […]

The United Kingdom High Court has shut down PGI Global UK Ltd. for allegedly running a crypto scam and has appointed the official receiver as the company’s liquidator. 

Europe’s new MiCA framework for regulating crypto shows the good that can happen when government works with and not against the industry, writes Nick Saponaro of Divi Labs.

Lawmakers in the British Parliament’s lower house voted in favor of recognizing cryptocurrency assets as regulated financial instruments and products Tuesday.

Bitcoin was trading above US$20,000 for the first time in almost three weeks on Wednesday morning trading in Asia.

Rishi Sunak, who previously spearheaded the UK’s crypto hub ambitions as finance minister, has been elected by the Conservative Party on Monday following Liz Truss’ resignation last week. 

This isn’t the first time the bloc has examined cracking down on Bitcoin mining, and it comes amid a growing push from regulators to examine the industry’s carbon footprint.

Bitcoin and Ether both fell in Wednesday morning trading in Asia amid news the European Union is considering a bill to restrict the mining of energy-intensive cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin. Most of the rest of the cryptocurrency top 10 by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins, also declined, with the exception of Polygon. See related article: Bitcoin, […]

Fintech’s growth in the EU has been described as “unprecedented”, but a report warns of consolidation in the years to come.

Crypto.com said on Wednesday that the exchange will invest €150 million (US$145.5 million) in France to set up a European headquarters in Paris and expand operations in the region. See related article: Crypto.com enters South Korea market with two local startup acquisitions Fast facts The Singapore-based exchange said it will focus on compliance, business development […]

‘Risky or illicit’ transactions represent the highest rate of any region measured by the blockchain analytics firm.

The European Parliament passed a preliminary legal framework for the crypto space on Monday that aims to increase standards and requirements  for digital asset companies, ahead of a final vote expected soon.  See related article: Europe cancels AML amendment that would have forced identity verification for non-custodial wallets: report Fast facts EU lawmakers voted heavily […]

The European Council on Wednesday approved a proposal for cryptocurrency regulation known as the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA), in the first move towards establishing a licensing mechanism for crypto exchanges and assets in Europe.  See related article:  Bitcoin, proof-of-work ban removed from European Union’s MiCA Fast facts Lawmakers at the European Parliament are […]

Top blockchain and crypto news: Celsius founder in hot water. European bank woes cast crypto shadow. Will BSN’s Chinese roots thwart its global ambitions?

Members of European Parliament (MEPs) voted in favor of a resolution that called for the use of blockchain technology to fight tax evasion and urged member states to coordinate more on the taxing of crypto assets, according to a Tuesday statement.  See related article: How will the crypto tax debate play out in the UK? […]

Like many nations, the UK is formulating new rules and guidelines for crypto taxation. Will they help or hinder its crypto hub aspirations?

The crypto market has been down for months, but the industry’s long-term future is brighter than ever, writes Guilhem Chaumont of Flowdesk. Here’s why.

Top blockchain and crypto news: Digital dollar didgeridoos. Bitcoin softens as sterling sinks. ‘World’s dumbest’ crypto criminals nabbed in China.

Russia is planning to use its central bank digital currency (CBDC) in testing, the digital ruble, to carry out mutual settlements with China, Reuters reported on Monday, citing a senior Russian lawmaker. See related article: Is cryptocurrency a workaround for sanctions against Russia? Fast facts Anatoly Aksakov, head of the financial committee in Russia’s lower […]

Coinbase, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has obtained regulatory approval in the Netherlands, as the U.S.-based exchange looks to expand its presence globally. See related article: Coinbase hit with lawsuit over allegedly poor security Fast facts Coinbase said on Thursday in a statement that it has registered with De Nederlandsche Bank, the central […]

The United Kingdom has introduced a bill that would enable its law enforcement agencies to “seize, freeze and recover” crypto assets, to prevent cyber crime and money laundering.  See related article: UK watchdog: Crypto firms fall short on anti-money laundering rules Fast facts The reforms to the governmental Companies House, including issues beyond crypto, are […]

Tokyo-based financial services group Nomura Holdings, Inc., recently announced its new digital asset subsidiary named Laser Digital and respective holding company Laser Digital Holding, which will be active in Switzerland. See related article: Japan’s government approves policy to drive Web 3.0 adoption Fast facts Laser Digital will focus on secondary trading, venture capital and investor […]

Britain’s internal divisions could thwart its crypt ambitions, writes Nick Saponaro of Divi Labs. Will it be eclipsed by crypto-friendly Dubai?

Demand for non-fungible tokens connected to the late monarch surge along with prices.

Britain’s new Prime Minister Liz Truss has appointed Kwasi Kwarteng, former head of the U.K.’s department for business, energy and industrial strategy, as the new finance minister, charging him with decisions that will impact British and global crypto markets. See related article: Bank of England calls for greater crypto regulation Fast facts Former Finance Minister […]