Man jailed six months, fined RM12,000 over insulting post on socks issue

PETALING JAYA: A 34-year-old man was fined RM12,000 and sentenced to six months in jail over an insulting Facebook post on the controversial socks issue. Chiok Wai Loong pleaded guilty to the charge under Section 233(1)(a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 after it was read out to him before Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court judge...

Socks issue: Rein in rabble-rousers in govt, urges Rafidah

KUALA LUMPUR: Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz has called on Putrajaya to rein in rabble-rousers within the government from stoking further tension on the socks issue. Although the former minister did not mention names, she appeared to be targeting Umno Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh over his hardline stance on the “Allah” socks controversy. Rafidah suggested that...

Binance mandates prime brokers to ramp up data collection, U.S. investors sidestepped

Binance has imposed stricter client screening procedures upon its prime brokers, such as Hidden Road and FalconX. According to a Bloomberg report on March 19, the strategy is designed to prevent U.S. investors from accessing its trading platform. The screening enhancements are tailored for prime brokers that primarily serve institutional investors. These brokers are now required to gather comprehensive...

Galaxy Asset Management hits $10 billion milestone; CEO expects Bitcoin correction

Galaxy Asset Management surpassed $10 billion in Assets under Management (AUM) for the first time on Feb. 29, 2024. Galaxy Digital Holdings’ institutional investing division credited the milestone to a growing enthusiasm among institutional investors for digital assets. Mike Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Digital, announced this accomplishment on March 19 on X, characterizing it as an...

Japan’s largest pension fund to explore Bitcoin investments

Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF), the largest pension fund in Japan and globally, is looking to explore investments in alternative assets such as Bitcoin (BTC) and gold. According to a Bloomberg report, GPIF revealed in a press release today that it plans to examine the possibility of accommodating Bitcoin and other commodities, including farmlands, forests and...

Bitcoin’s retreat from $70k sparks concerns among tradfi investors, Bitfinex notes

Bitcoin’s decline prompts caution among traditional investors, emphasizing the importance of forthcoming flow data to gauge market sentiment. Traditional investors (tradfi) are starting to exercise caution as Bitcoin’s (BTC) price experiences a decline pulling back over 12.5% from its recent all-time high reached on Mar. 14. In a recent research report Bitfinex notes that the latest retreat “was...

Analyst: Bitcoin could face sell off if ETF inflows slow

Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. saw record inflows last week, but 10x Research reports that analysts caution about possible price declines if demand falters. According to data from Farside Investors, the 10 ETFs collectively attracted $2.6 billion in new investments during the five days ending March 15. Most of these inflows occurred early in the week, with...

Standard Chartered: Bitcoin to reach $150k by end of 2024

Standard Chartered Bank has revised its forecast for Bitcoin’s price, anticipating a significant surge in value up to $150,000 by the end of 2024. Previously predicting a milestone of $120,000, this upward revision follows a period of “sharper-than-expected price gains” for Bitcoin (BTC). Furthermore, the bank envisions even more substantial gains in the following year, with a forecasted...

Crypto fund inflows hit new record, reaching $2.9b in week

Investment products based on digital assets attracted $2.9 billion in the week from March 11 to March 15. According to a report from CoinShares, capital inflows broke the previously set record of $2.7 billion. The latest week’s inflows take year-to-date inflows to $13.2 billion, topping 2021 total inflows of $10.6 billion. At the same time, trading volumes for...

India’s booming crypto market faces hurdles

Industry insiders have expressed concerns about the high crypto tax in India despite the notable surge in Bitcoin prices, which led to significantly increased demand on cryptocurrency exchanges and substantial rises in trading volumes. CoinDCX, a popular Indian cryptocurrency platform, saw its trading volumes multiply fivefold within the past month, escalating from $5 million at the...