Samsung’s Bitcoin ETF, $700M bust, Coinbase exits Japan: Asia Express
Our weekly roundup of news from East Asia curates the industry’s most important developments. Samsung’s new Bitcoin ETF On Jan. 13, Samsung Asset Management, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the namesake South Korean conglomerate, successfully listed the Samsung Bitcoin Futures Active ETF on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. According to local news outlet Edaily, the ETF […]
How to prevent AI from ‘annihilating humanity’ using blockchain
When he’s not working on hastening humanity’s rush toward the Singularity by creating an artificial general intelligence (AGI), Ben Goertzel plays in a jazz-rock band called Jam Galaxy fronted by a robot named Desdemona. It’s one of his many side projects, which naturally led him to try and tokenize the music business by reaching out […]
Crypto Mason’s death threats from maxis: Hall of Flame
Name: Mason Versluis — aka “Crypto Mason” Anonymous: No Twitter followers: 146.2K Known for: Garnering over 1 million followers on social media before he could legally drink in the United States Who is this guy anyway? Mason Versluis may only be 22 years old, but he’s already a full-time crypto influencer thanks to his wise […]
How to resurrect the ‘Metaverse dream’ in 2023
2022 was the year the wheels fell off the metaverse bandwagon, which had been the most hyped narrative as the year began. By far the worst-performing sector in blockchain, the average drawdown was 89%. Even Facebook’s grand plans to dominate the metaverse are in disarray; it’s losing more than $1 billion a month, while the […]
SBF denies stealing FTX assets, SEC charges Gemini and Genesis, and more: Hodler’s Digest: Jan. 8-14
Top Stories This Week Sam Bankman-Fried: ‘I didn’t steal funds, and I certainly didn’t stash billions away.’ In a “pre-mortem overview” of FTX’s bankruptcy, Sam Bankman-Fried denied allegations of improper use of customer funds stored with the crypto exchange, attributing responsibility for the company’s dramatic fall to the market crash of 2022 and Binance CEO […]
Huobi employees revolt, GameFi lives, Antminer on steroids: Asia Express
Our weekly roundup of news from East Asia curates the industry’s most important developments. Huobi’s disgruntled employees According to local media reports, cryptocurrency exchange Huobi Global has terminated all year-end employee bonuses and benefits, as well as axed its entire core development staff located in mainland China. The laid-off staff will be instead switched to […]
‘Deflation’ is a dumb way to approach tokenomics… and other sacred cows
Having taught and studied token economics at the University of Nicosia, I’ve found that students often have some decidedly muddled beliefs about how what tokens are and how business and token economies work. Unlike microeconomics and macroeconomics — which are based on decades of research, debate and inquiry that have produced some commonly accepted principles […]
Your guide to crypto in Toronto: Crypto City
Toronto embraced digital assets sooner than most and is home to more crypto projects than anywhere else in Canada. Contents OverviewCrypto culture in TorontoWhere can I spend crypto in Toronto?Crypto projects and companies in TorontoToronto’s crypto controversiesToronto crypto education and communityNotable crypto figures from Toronto Overview The city lies at the center of the so-called […]
SBF pleads not guilty, crypto layoffs, and bank run on Silvergate: Hodler’s Digest, Jan. 1-7
Top Stories This Week Sam Bankman-Fried enters not guilty plea for all counts in federal court Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (has pleaded not guilty to all charges related to the collapse of the crypto exchange, including wire fraud and securities fraud. He faces eight criminal counts, which could result in 115 years in prison […]
Asia Express: China’s NFT market, Moutai metaverse popular but buggy…
After a one-year hiatus, Our Man in Shanghai returns, but he’s no longer based in Shanghai (the crypto crackdown was a factor in the column’s retirement), so a rebranding is in order. This space is now called “Asia Express,” and it’s a weekly roundup of news from mainland China and Taiwan and the rest of […]