Even with no physical headquarters and seemingly few regulations affecting its business practices, Binance could reportedly be worth three times as much as Coinbase if it were to go public today. According to a Nov. 11 report from the Wall Street Journal, former executives of the major cryptocurrency exchange estimated Binance could be worth up to $300 billion as a publicly traded company considering its current trading volume and transaction fees. Data from CoinMarketCap shows Binance with a trading volume of more than $46 billion in the last 24 hours, making it the top ranked exchange ahead of Coinbase at …

At its simplest form, blockchain technology offers individuals a basis for sharing information and transactions between other people, businesses and software. However, the technology is just as exciting and known as a buzzword as it is functional, with many possible applications to solve real-world problems in innovative ways. For example, the technology has already been known to disrupt industries including (but not limited to) healthcare, real estate, supply chain and insurance. Although disruptive, programming the technology to solve these problems is complex, as blockchain is not sufficiently adopted by programmers worldwide. As a result, disruptive innovation opportunities often never reach …

Bitcoin Suisse will use the Lightning Network to make Bitcoin (BTC) transactions both cheaper and faster. It will be the first cryptocurrency payment processor in Switzerland to integrate the technology, according to a press release dated Tuesday. Armin Schmid, head of Bitcoin Suisse Pay, praised the decision, noting that Lightning transactions will play a significant role in scaling crypto apps and driving mass adoption. “Lightning transactions enable higher throughput per second at the price of a fraction of a cent — making them a game-changing innovation for crypto applications.” With the launch of this cutting-edge second-layer Bitcoin technology, consumers and …

Huobi Global, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges by trading volumes, is winding down operations in Singapore shortly after exiting China. Huobi will shut down accounts of all Singapore-based users by the end of March next year, the company officially announced late Tuesday. All Huobi clients based in Singapore should close active positions and withdraw their digital assets before March 31, 2022, Huobi said. The exchange will also gradually halt access to Huobi services in Singapore before March, the announcement notes. The move is part of an effort to comply with relevant regulations by local financial authorities, the firm …

Visa’s head of crypto Cuy Sheffield said that investing in cryptocurrency has become a lot cooler thanks to an influx of creative types drawn in by the booming NFT sector. Sheffield was speaking on day one of the Singapore Fintech Festival on Nov. 8. He said that a “whole new class” of mainstream users are flocking to crypto and that NFTs ar attracting people with a broad range of interests such as music, art and culture who are “setting up crypto wallets in waves.” “Crypto is becoming cultural, it’s becoming cool,” Sheffield said, and added that: “It used to be …

Singaporean central bank Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has ramped up efforts to research and develop a central bank digital currency (CBDC) for retail use under the Project Orchid initiative. According to MAS managing director Ravi Menon, Singapore’s retail CBDC will be developed in partnership with private entities, which “would be the digital equivalent of today’s notes and coins.” Speaking at the Singapore FinTech Festival, Menon highlighted the benefits of retail CBDCs in aiding faster and secure online transactions and building an inclusive payment ecosystem. He also believes that building an in-house retail CBDC can reduce the inherent investment risks …

Amid the ongoing nonfungible tokens (NFT) boom, people in Asia-Pacific (APAC) countries appear to be the most curious about NFTs, according to Google Trends data. Google Trends data shows that China, Singapore and Hong Kong are the three top countries in the world in terms of the number of “NFT” searches on Google over the past year. According to the data, China has posted the highest number of such searches, with the Google search index amounting to 100 points. Singapore and Hong Kong follow with 67 and 62 points, respectively. Other major “NFT”-searching countries include Venezuela, Philippines, Cyprus, Canada, New …

The regulation of cryptocurrencies varies considerably across the globe: China has cracked down on significant amounts of crypto activity in recent months, while Japan only recently allowed specialized cryptocurrency investment funds. El Salvador on the other hand has accepted Bitcoin as legal currency. As financial centers throughout the world seek to regulate the sector, Singapore is aiming to establish itself as the globe's capital for crypto-related enterprises. According to Ravi Menon, the Managing Director of the Monetary Authority (MAS) of Singapore, the city-state might have been left behind had it not gotten a head start on how to deal with …

The Hedera Governing Council has welcomed Singapore's oldest bank, DBS Bank, as its newest member, becoming the first Southeast Asian lender to join the worldwide Hyperledger organization. DBS Bank, a member of the Advisory Council on Fintech, has joined the blockchain council alongside 39 other major technology, corporate and non-profit leaders including Google, IBM, Boeing, Deutsche Telekom, University of London, Dentons and LG Electronics, among others. The Asian lender may acquire value from Hadera's innovative enterprise blockchain platform while also influencing it by providing input on real-world business needs. Council members are allotted three years to serve, extendible for two …

With a reputation for being one of the most pro-crypto nations in the world, it comes as no surprise that a vast majority of Singaporeans have invested in cryptocurrency. According to a recent survey from the 2021 Independent Reserve Cryptocurrency Index, 66% of those polled between the ages of 26 to 45 said they owned cryptocurrencies. Coinhako, a Singapore-based crypto exchange, reported a 700% increase in the number of users trading on its platform during the first half of 2021. The platform reported seeing “a greater appetite for crypto from millennials” based on its active customer base, which mainly consists …

Hong Kong, one of the most significant and leading financial centers in the world, has played a large role in the development of cryptocurrencies. For instance, the Chinese territory has birthed some of the most established and successful crypto companies to date including the crypto derivatives exchange FTX, along with the digital asset platform Crypto.com. Yet, as trillions of dollars are traded regularly through crypto exchanges founded in Hong Kong, the “Vertical City” also contains an abundance of physical over-the-counter crypto shops as well. Henri Arslanian, PwC crypto lead and former chairman of the Fintech Association of Hong Kong, told …

The rapid growth of mainstream attention toward cryptocurrencies has forced the hands of numerous governments to create their digital alternatives. Over the past few years, interest from various jurisdictions has been pointed towards central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) — digital versions of government-issued fiat. Given their capacity to use blockchain technology to facilitate a simplified fiscal policy — not to mention calibrate privacy features and even provide cross-border banking services to the unbanked — CBDCs continue to gain even more attention from various governments worldwide. Already, surveys show more than 80% of central banks are researching CBDCs, with some working …