AntChain instigates rules to prevent NFT hype.
Crypto market takes a plunge.
South Korean banks jump on the metaverse bandwagon.
We’ll have more on those stories — and other news shaping the cryptocurrency and blockchain world — in this episode of The Daily Forkast November 19.
Transcript
Bitcoin seeing red has got us talking today.
Welcome to The Daily Forkast November 19 2021. I’m Megha Chaddah of Forkast.News covering all things blockchain.
Amid a sea of red in the crypto top 10, Bitcoin has fallen around 18% in eight days. We’ll take a look at what’s driving markets down and a whole lot more coming up.
Let’s get you up to speed from Asia to the world.
Let’s kick off with some of the top stories out of Asia today.
Alibaba’s blockchain arm, AntChain is continuing its fight over malicious hype of NFTs.
Amid ongoing criticism from Chinese state media, AntChain made a vow to resist the hype three weeks ago and rebranded NFTs as digital collectibles. And now it’s announced new rules on their transfer.
The first holder must wait 180 days before it can be transferred, while a second holder has to wait a full two years before they can do the same. All buyers will need to be mainland residents over the age of 14.
And South Korea’s CBDC development is well underway, with the Bank of Korea’s deputy governor Bae Joon Suk saying that progress is not one step behind that of other countries.
The research project began testing the CBDCs issuance and circulation in August and plans to finish by June 2022. The deputy governor says although it’s hard to affirm exactly when the CBDC will be adopted, the technology will be ready to issue it as soon as that decision is made.
You can find more on those stories at Forkast.News.
And it’s been a bad week for the crypto market. After breaking the US$3 trillion mark 10 days ago, the global crypto market cap has taken a plunge, losing around US$400 billion by Friday midday Asia time.
Forkast.News, Carolyn Wright more on the market fall:
After hitting an all time high of US$69,044 on November 10, Bitcoin has slumped sharply since Monday, falling below the US$56,000 mark Friday lunchtime in Asia, according to data from CoinGecko.
And Bitcoin isn’t the only casualty.
Ethereum, Binance Coin and Solana all saw double digit losses, which contributed to the global cryptocurrency market cap, dropping more than 15%.
But one expert told Forkast.News she believes Bitcoin’s long term outlook is healthy.
“From my perspective, this is a market correction, actually driven by tons of IDOs which we witnessed for the previous crypto bull run. People take profit from Bitcoin and invested in unfounded and untested projects. We’ve seen this phenomenon in 2017, the ICOs, and 2020 the IEOs, and now it repeats itself. But the market is more mature now with the institutions participation, so it’s it’s unlikely to make a huge dent.”
Despite the overall drop, Avalanche surged to an all time high after Deloitte announced a strategic alliance with Ava Labs this week.
And Crypto.com Coin also hit an all time high after Crypto.com’s blockbuster deal for naming rights to Los Angeles iconic Staples Center Arena.
Both have since fallen back from those highs.
But momentum in the metaverse is on a roll. Decentraland’s virtual currency MANA, rose 50% in the seven days to Friday, and the Sandbox utility token SAND reached an all time high of US$4.64 on Thursday.
For Forkast.News, I’m Carolyn Wright.
Meanwhile, it seems South Korea can’t get enough of the metaverse now.
A number of banks are joining in on the craze. But what could a trip to the bank in the metaverse offer?
Forkast.News Danny Park Reports.
The Industrial Bank of Korea has announced a memorandum of understanding with Cyworld Z, an original social media platform in South Korea revamped as a metaverse.
IBK plans to open a metaverse bank called IBK Dotori Bank. Dotori, which means acorn in Korean, is a cyber currency that was used on Cyworld in its heyday, in the early to mid 2000s.
IBK says it will launch financial products streamlined for Cyworld users, including a bank book that will reward users for the amount of Dotori they purchase.
And KB Kookmin Bank says it is getting ready to launch a branch office in the Metaverse. Earlier this year, it has said it was looking into Roblox.
Meanwhile, NH Nonghyup Bank, which has partnered with crypto exchanges Bithumb and CoinOne, is to open “NH Dokdoverse” next year where its clients can spend time away on the island of Dokdo on the metaverse.
While it’s difficult to travel to in real life, NH users will be able to play games and buy properties on a virtual replica of Dokdo Island.
Not to be left out, Hana Bank has formed a task force for digital innovation, which includes the metaverse.
It seems we may soon not have to wait in line at the bank ever again.
For Forkast.News, I’m Danny Park.
And that’s The Daily Forkast from our vantage point right here in Asia.
Hit like, hit subscribe, appreciated always. Help us reach our goal to reach more of you. For more visit Forkast.News, I’m Megha Chaddah. Until the next time.