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Smart Contract

59 articles

January 2024

BNB Chain Fusion may unify BEP-2 and BEP-20 by 2024

BNB Chain’s merger plans aims for a seamless and secure blockchain by April 2024

November 2023

Let’s use Web3 to grow projects that fight climate change

The most promising carbon offset programs can still wither and die from financing distress. Blockchain technology can help them survive and bear fruit.

October 2023

Neo sets sights on DeFi, unveils EVM-compatible sidechain

Neo’s new sidechain hopes to counter MEV attacks to mitigate exploits and manipulations.

HKEX to launch smart contract settlement platform

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) announced on Wednesday that it is implementing a smart contract upgrade to its Connect, a system that bridges Hong Kong and China’s stock markets, to enhance post-trade workflows and reduce settlement risk. See related article: SFC to monitor illegal VATP activities with Hong Kong Police Force Fast Facts […]

September 2023

Investing in a Monet painting is no longer just for the super-rich, thanks to blockchain

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.

Do you really trust the smart contracts in charge of your crypto?

Making sure the smart contracts behind DeFi platforms are thoroughly audited isn’t just a job for code developers — it’s also a must for ordinary investors.

August 2023

Why smart money is pushing the big idea of ‘purpose-bound money’: Opinion

Recently proposed by Singapore in collaboration with fintech heavy hitters, PBM can be a powerful tool for promoting accountability and efficiency, writes Anndy Lian. But it’s not without risks.

May 2023

How blockchain can shift electric car use into the fast lane

Electric vehicles remain rare in developing countries because of high costs and ‘range anxiety,’ writes George Cox of eTukTuk. Here’s how blockchain technology can remove those barriers.

How ChatGPT is propelling memecoins to a new stratosphere

Thanks to generative AI, a struggling artist with no coding skills created tokens now worth $70 million. What does this mean for the rest of the crypto world?

How standardized smart financial contracts could prevent crypto’s next black swan

Many tokenized platforms have grave shortcomings, but if better standards could be adopted, the improved transparency can avert future crises, writes Ralf Kubli of the Casper Assn.

April 2023

DeFi has a trust gap. What can rebuild its credibility?

Traditional institutions are testing crypto waters, but given last year’s market carnage, it’s not easy to gain their confidence, writes Simon Schaber of Spool.

February 2023

Why DeFi remains niche and what might get it out of its market rut

DeFi is still a Wild West, and many would-be users are wary of its lawlessness and anonymity. Could decentralized IDs foster greater trust and growth in the sector?

January 2023

Will Genesis meet its maker amid creditors closing in?

Top blockchain and crypto news: Genesis bankruptcy begins. FTX chief ponders a reboot. China’s CBDC gets a smart-contract upgrade.

November 2022

Blockchain is transforming capital markets, and Singapore is leading the way: Opinion

Asset tokenization and DeFi hold tremendous potential for the finance sector, writes Han Kwee Juan of DBS Bank. Here’s how the Singaporean government is at the forefront of change.

FTX failed because of humans, not crypto

Human greed and deception led to FTX’s fall. That’s why the antidote is not more regulations but could be found in blockchain’s original promises, writes Marieke Flament, CEO of NEAR Foundation.

Vitalik Buterin sounds warning over risks of DeFi

Ethereum cofounder Vitalik Buterin has sounded a warning against the pitfalls of decentralized finance (DeFi) and self-custody, namely of bugs in smart contract code.

Singapore lender DBS explains its DeFi experiments, plans

DBS, the largest bank in Southeast Asia, said it tested trading of foreign exchange and government bonds using permissioned decentralized finance (DeFi) liquidity pools on a public blockchain as part of the city-state’s Project Guardian exploration of blockchain in finance.

October 2022

Ripple devs push for Ethereum smart contract compatibility with XRPL sidechain

The first XRP Ledger (XRPL) Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible sidechain has gone live on the parallel test network, XRPL Devnet, Ripple developers announced on Monday.

September 2022

Could reversible crypto transactions tackle hacker crime? Stanford study sparks debate

What if you could hit the undo button on an Ethereum blockchain transaction after discovering you’ve been scammed?

July 2022

What are ecosystem DAOs and why will they be important to Web3?

Decentralized autonomous organizations are spinning off new ways to bring communities together. Will ecosystem DAOs be the wave of the future?

How blockchain technology can transform the mortgage industry

Bad mortgages once dragged the world into a financial crisis. Can smart contracts prevent the worst from happening again?

April 2022

US charges two Europeans with helping N.Korea evade sanctions with crypto

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) says it has charged Spaniard Alejandro Cao de Benos and U.K. citizen Christopher Emms with allegedly assisting former Ethereum developer Virgil Griffith in presenting the uses of crypto to avoid U.S. sanctions against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). See related article: Former Ethereum developer Virgil Griffith gets […]

Could CBDCs help banks make DeFi irrelevant?

Unregulated and fragmented, DeFi remains niche, writes John Mitchell of Episode Six. Here’s how programmable money can help banks do what decentralized finance is doing.

January 2022

Blockchain interoperability will take center stage in 2022, Aventus CEO predicts

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?

December 2021

Top 5 blockchain trends for 2022 and beyond

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.

Is Terra — whose LUNA coin is now at another all-time high — really where the smart money is?

LUNA is now the 12th largest crypto, and Terra’s platform has been called ‘Alipay on the blockchain.’ What are Terra’s investment risks? Forkast.News explains.

October 2021

As regulators circle above, how should the DeFi industry respond?

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?

September 2021

Cosmos price reaches for the stars as market remains firmly on the ground

As most of the crypto market stagnates, Cosmos has been on a tear over the weekend, gaining 35% since Saturday morning Asia time to reach an all-time high of US$44.54 this morning, according to CoinMarketCap.com. Fast facts Though it dropped slightly to US$41.72 just before press time, this jump marks the first time the ATOM […]

Why Cardano’s Charles Hoskinson says DeFi is ‘up for grabs’

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?

What are smart contracts and what are they used for?

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

Cardano set for Alonzo launch, smart contracts and NFTs to come

Cardano’s Alonzo hard fork will bring smart contracts and NFT support to the world’s third-largest blockchain. What will it mean for the crypto market?

August 2021

Cardano ADA breaks $2 for first time since May as Alonzo launch date announced

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 […]

Cardano ADA surges 20% with smart contracts on the horizon

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 […]

Cardano’s Alonzo Purple testnet begins onboarding users

Cardano’s much-anticipated Alonzo Purple upgrade has begun onboarding users to its testnet, according to a 12-part Twitter thread by developer Input Output Hong Kong. Fast facts Alonzo Purple is the third and final stage of the Alonzo upgrade, following Blue and White, and when complete will be the first fully public Cardano testnet to support […]

July 2021

China’s digital yuan moves a step closer with smart-contract technology

Central bank in apparent push for adoption ahead of Olympics as it doubles up on warning over non-state cryptocurrencies.
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How blockchain can transform social media | Part 2

Why is social media’s current centralization problematic, and what would a decentralized Twitter or Facebook look like?
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June 2021

How to assess the maturity of a network and DeFi ecosystem

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

What is Ethereum, and could it become the future of blockchain?

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.

How NFTs can increase efficiency in trade finance

Better known for uses in art and collectibles, non-fungible tokens can also improve supply chains and prevent fraud. Richard Crook of LAB577 explains how.

Input Output Hong Kong announces launch of AlonzoBlue2.0 testnet

Input Output Hong Kong has announced on Twitter that it has launched AlonzoBlue2.0 to the Cardano testnet.

What is yield farming in DeFi and how does it work?

One of DeFi’s hottest trends, yield farming can bring riches but is not for crypto beginners or those who can’t afford to lose. Forkast.News explains why.

Cardano to roll out smart-contract tools in new product suite

Cardano is set to provide tools for developers, end users and businesses to execute smart contracts in financial agreements through a new suite of products.

World Economic Forum offers DeFi ‘toolkit’ for policymakers

In collaboration with Wharton business school, WEF releases a toolkit for governments to consider the opportunities and risks of decentralized finance.

May 2021

Cardano rebounds 15% as Alonzo smart contact testnet launches

Following the launch of Cardano’s first testnet for its smart contract platform, Alonzo, ADA’s price rebounded by 15% on Monday morning to reach US$1.65.

Deutsche, STACS wrap up Singapore DLT test project for tokenized securities

Deutsche Bank Securities Services in Singapore and Singapore fintech firm Hashstacs, or STACS, today announced the completion of a tokenized securities proof-of-commercialization test named Project Benja.

How Uniswap V3 and smartBCH seek to streamline DeFi, save on gas

The days of ‘DeFi’ being an insider buzzword are over. But gas fees remain high and the road bumpy. Will Uniswap V3 and smartBCH change anything?

April 2021

Why more big investors are now seeking interest and yields in DeFi

As corporations plow billions into Bitcoin, a new business model involving decentralized finance is emerging for investors, says Alessio Quaglini of Hex Trust.

DeFi insurance: Why buy coverage for your digital assets?

Insurance policies for DeFi can cover losses from theft to smart contract issues. But do read the fine print — and know the industry is ‘self-regulated.’

March 2021

China writes blockchain and digital currency into nation’s future

China’s new five-year plan — its blueprint for development — pours resources into ‘new infrastructure’ like blockchain technology and DCEP’s digital yuan.

Guide to Cardano and ADA: What is Cardano, and why it matters

Cardano’s ADA, up by 7,400% since last year, is now the 3rd most popular cryptocurrency in the world. Why is it called a ‘Ethereum killer’? Let’s find out.

Cardano transitions to multi-asset blockchain amid ADA price surge

Cardano blockchain, a so-called ‘Ethereum killer,’ completes its Mary hard fork upgrade as ADA becomes 3rd largest cryptocurrency behind bitcoin and ether.

February 2021

Will new CasperLabs token take a bite out of high gas fees?

CasperLabs, a new smart contract blockchain network, announces its CSPR token sale — which CTO Medha Parlikar likens to a ‘gas futures market.’

CasperLabs wants to help “morph” China’s BSN into the AWS of blockchain

CEO of CasperLabs, part of the Blockchain Service Network’s China and international versions, gives an insider’s view of blockchain’s future on the mainland.

December 2020

DeFi explained: The guide to decentralized finance

What is DeFi and how does it work? What are its benefits and risks? Forkast.News explains everything you need to know about one of the hottest, most lucrative and controversial crypto trends.

November 2020

Why cybersecurity will be DeFi and blockchain’s next big challenge

DeFi’s explosive growth may be the cryptocurrency world’s biggest story in 2020. But is the industry ignoring risks and cybersecurity gaps?

October 2020

Blockchain and Space Law 3.0: How smart contracts can help govern the moon and outer space

As nations and private firms venture farther into the galaxy, blockchain and distributed ledger technology could help enforce rules and resolve conflicts.

September 2020

How smart contracts can help govern and mine resources in outer space

Blockchain and space expert Brian Israel of UC Berkeley Law discusses space regulations, carbon credit trading and more in this special Forkast.News interview.

Why blockchain is the trust-building technology our post-Covid world needs

By promoting transparency and data security, blockchain is poised to transform international trade. Dr. Geoff Jiang of Ant Group explains how.

Will Ethereum 2.0’s launch be blockchain’s iPhone moment?

Released this week after much anticipation, Eth2 could finally become “the world’s computer” that the original Ethereum aspired to be. What challenges lie ahead?