July 12, 2023 By Sharan Kaur Phillora In a recent development, China has announced its plans to expand the reach of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) while Malaysia emerges as a potential rival to Hong Kong in the cryptocurrency sector.  Here’s what we know: President Xi Jinping addressed the 2023 Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit […]

July 12, 2023 y Anjali Kochhar In a stark contrast to the regulatory battles taking place in the United States, several Asian countries have begun rolling out new rules for cryptocurrency exchanges, focusing on clarity rather than resorting to legal action. South Korea, Singapore, and Thailand have all recently clarified their regulatory frameworks, aimed at

July 11, 2023 By Sharan Kaur Phillora In a recent development, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has responded to Coinbase’s assertion that the regulatory body lacks jurisdiction to prosecute the popular cryptocurrency exchange.  Here’s what we know:  The SEC’s letter, sent to a district judge on July 7, claims that Coinbase was well

July 11, 2023 By Sharan Kaur Phillora Blockchain pioneer Neo is breaking new ground with the unveiling of the highly anticipated APAC Hackathon. This event, organized in partnership with OKX, promises to be a crucible of innovation, featuring a remarkable $120,000 prize pool and a $1 million post-hackathon grant fund supported by the Neo Foundation. Here’s

July 10, 2023 By Anjali Kochhar BlackRock CEO Larry Fink expressed his belief that cryptocurrencies, particularly Bitcoin (BTC), have the potential to revolutionise the financial system. In an interview with Fox Business on Wednesday, Fink stated that the tokenisation of assets and securities, exemplified by Bitcoin, could bring significant changes to the world of finance. Fink, previously

July 10, 2023 By Sharan Kaur Phillora Cardano, a blockchain platform often referred to as the “ghost chain” due to its declining number of non-fungible token (NFT) traders, has surprisingly outperformed some of the top blockchains in the NFT market. Despite its nickname, data from Forkast Labs reveals that Cardano’s NFT market performance in June

July 7, 2023 By Sharan Kaur Phillora DBS Group China, a subsidiary of DBS Bank, Southeast Asia’s largest bank, announced that they’re expanding services with the introduction of a new platform that will facilitate transactions in China’s digital yuan, or e-CNY.  This initiative positions DBS as a pioneer in providing innovative solutions that align with Beijing’s

July 7, 2023 By Anjali Kochhar In a move echoing Singapore’s recent decision, Thailand has become the second Southeast Asian country to announce a ban on cryptocurrency exchanges offering lending services. The Thai regulators have placed investor protection at the forefront of their crypto policy approach. The announcement was made by the country’s Securities and

July 7, 2023 By Anjali Kochhar  The UK’s Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill, aimed at assisting law enforcement agencies in seizing and freezing cryptocurrencies used in criminal activities, has taken a significant step towards becoming law. The bill successfully passed through the upper chamber of Parliament, the House of Lords, on Tuesday, bringing it closer

July 6, 2023 By Sharan Kaur Phillora A research paper authored by academics from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, in collaboration with Web3 industry stakeholders, has called for government backing for a Hong Kong Dollar (HKD)-backed stablecoin named HKDG.  Here’s what we know: The paper posits that a privately issued HKDG would