November 3, 2025 @ 6:29 am By Michael Wong  |  

Switzerland-based QAI Ventures has partnered with Enterprise Singapore to launch a venture-backed accelerator and an IP-led venture builder targeting QuantumAI startups and advanced computing. The partnership expands a model QAI Ventures has run in Europe and North America, according to an announcement. The initiative adds… Read More

November 2, 2025 @ 12:38 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Global law-enforcement officials and financial-crime experts said authorities must move faster and set clearer, common rules to curb crypto-enabled crime, as the 9th Global Conference on Criminal Finances and Crypto-assets closed in Vienna this week. The two-day meeting, co-organised by Europol, the UN Office on… Read More

November 2, 2025 @ 12:35 pm By Michael Wong  |  

International boxing champion Manny Pacquiao has launched a new payments platform under 7th Pillar Integration Systems Corp., moving to compete in the Philippines’ fast-growing but crowded digital finance market. The service, branded Manny Pay, is starting as a payment gateway and aims to expand into… Read More

November 1, 2025 @ 11:25 am By Michael Wong  |  

Vietnam is leaning on digital finance to lift productivity and widen access to credit as it chases high-income status by 2045, with regulators and lenders turning sandboxes and open-banking trials into near-term policy tools rather than distant ambitions. The two-day Digital Finance Inclusion Conference 2025,… Read More

November 1, 2025 @ 11:02 am By Michael Wong  |  

HSBC’s push into startup banking in Asia is gathering pace, adding competition for venture lenders in a market where funding has tightened and founders are leaning more on non-dilutive capital. The bank launched “HSBC Innovation Banking” in Singapore, earmarking a $1.5 billion pool to finance… Read More

November 1, 2025 @ 5:21 am By Michael Wong  |  

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) moved to streamline the shift to central clearing of Treasuries, launching a one-stop page with updates, staff statements and guidance for brokers and buy-side firms. The initiative builds on rule changes adopted in December 2023 and subsequent extensions… Read More

October 26, 2025 @ 11:46 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Al Baraka Bank Egypt said it signed a final agreement to acquire full ownership of Amlak Finance Egypt SAE from Amlak Finance PJSC of the United Arab Emirates, as the lender moves to expand in real estate mortgage finance and non-bank financial services after receiving… Read More

October 26, 2025 @ 7:51 pm By Michael Wong  |  

An Egyptian–Saudi partnership has launched a platform in Cairo to back property technology startups, aiming to speed digital adoption across Egypt’s real estate sector as the market undergoes major structural shifts, the companies said. Coldwell Banker Commercial Advantage and Modern Solutions, a subsidiary of Prime… Read More

October 26, 2025 @ 7:44 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Open source startup Chainguard said it raised $280 million in growth financing from General Catalyst’s Customer Value Fund, adding to a rapid funding pace that includes an April Series D and brings its total secured in the past six months to $636 million, or $892… Read More

October 25, 2025 @ 6:26 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Nigeria’s central bank convened a strategic fintech roundtable on the sidelines of the IMF–World Bank Annual Meetings in Washington this week, reaffirming a collaborative, innovation-driven approach to developing the country’s financial system while pledging to preserve stability and confidence. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)… Read More

October 25, 2025 @ 4:33 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Thai authorities raided a Worldcoin-linked iris-scanning site and arrested suspects on allegations they operated unlicensed exchange services for the project’s WLD token, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said after a joint operation with the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB). The move is part of… Read More

October 25, 2025 @ 11:41 am By Michael Wong  |  

MultiBank Group said it has entered an exclusive worldwide joint venture with former UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov to build a regulated ecosystem at the intersection of finance, sport and technology, as the derivatives broker seeks to extend its brand beyond trading into real-world assets and… Read More

October 25, 2025 @ 11:37 am By Michael Wong  |  

Pave Bank, a fully licensed commercial bank built for this new financial architecture, said it has raised more than $39 million in a round led by Accel. The fresh funding will help scale what it calls the world’s first programmable commercial bank built to operate… Read More

October 24, 2025 @ 1:23 am By Michael Wong  |  

Merak Capital, a Saudi investment firm licensed by the Capital Market Authority, has made a SAR 100 million (USD 26.7 million) strategic investment in Arsann, the Kingdom’s leading operator of smart parking and mobility infrastructure. The move, according to an announcement, is aimed at advancing… Read More

October 23, 2025 @ 6:39 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Singapore-based wealth advisory and investment platform Endowus said it had closed a funding round of more than $70 million led by fintech specialist Illuminate Financial, with participation from existing backers Prosus Ventures, Citi Ventures, and Asian family offices. The raise includes $20 million in fresh… Read More

October 23, 2025 @ 6:37 pm By Michael Wong  |  

South Africa-based Bitget Wallet launched the Bitget Wallet Card in selected Asia-Pacific markets, including Malaysia, expanding the crypto firm’s payments reach in a region it says is the world’s fastest-growing for digital assets. The self-custodial card connects users’ crypto balances to Mastercard’s network of more… Read More

October 22, 2025 @ 1:10 pm By Michael Wong  |  

FalconX, an institutional digital asset prime brokerage, said on Wednesday it has agreed to acquire 21shares, the world’s largest provider of cryptocurrency exchange-traded products (ETPs), in a deal that underscores the growing convergence between digital assets and mainstream finance. The acquisition unites FalconX’s prime brokerage… Read More

October 22, 2025 @ 1:08 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Canada’s anti-money laundering regulator has imposed a record administrative monetary penalty of C$176.96 million ($130 million) on Xeltox Enterprises Ltd., the operator of cryptocurrency platform Cryptomus, for “egregious and systemic” violations of the country’s financial crime laws. The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of… Read More

October 21, 2025 @ 10:26 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Six national payment networks from five Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries have signed a memorandum of understanding to form a common standards body for non-card instant retail payments, aiming to make cross-border transactions faster and safer while preserving national control. The George Town… Read More

October 19, 2025 @ 11:09 pm By Michael Wong  |  

UAE-headquartered M2 Capital said it invested $21 million in AVAX One, a Nasdaq-listed digital asset treasury created to accumulate AVAX, the native token of the Avalanche blockchain. The move is part of a push to support the network’s growth and the Middle East’s adoption of… Read More