Asia

August 19, 2026 @ 10:47 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

China’s central bank has taken another significant step in advancing its state-backed digital currency by incorporating additional commercial lenders into the operational framework for the electronic yuan, commonly referred to as the e-CNY. On August 17, 2026, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) announced the… Read More

August 19, 2026 @ 9:46 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Shares of  surged nearly sixfold on their first day of trading in Shanghai, marking a key moment for China’s humanoid robotics industry. The Hangzhou-based company, widely regarded as the country’s leading maker of advanced robots, opened at 1,100 yuan on the technology-focused STAR Market—far above… Read More

August 19, 2026 @ 12:19 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Razorpay has introduced Vulcan, described as India’s transformer-based artificial intelligence foundation model purpose-built for payments. Developed in collaboration with NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Amazon Web Services, the system aims to enhance the reliability, security, and efficiency of digital transactions across the country’s complex payments landscape. Unlike… Read More

August 19, 2026 @ 12:12 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Xceptor, a provider of data automation tools tailored for capital markets, has expanded its cloud-based software delivery model by introducing sovereign-grade Software-as-a-Service options in Switzerland and Japan. This development addresses the heightened needs of financial organizations in these regulated environments, where strict rules govern data… Read More

August 19, 2026 @ 12:12 am By Omar Faridi  |  

South Korea’s regional banking landscape is taking a step forward in digital finance. Jeonbuk Bank has entered a partnership with Ripple to implement Ripple Payments for international remittances, positioning the lender as the first regional bank in the country to adopt the platform for this… Read More

August 18, 2026 @ 11:14 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

South Korea’s two largest cryptocurrency exchanges, Upbit and Bithumb, experienced substantial drops in overall revenue during the first half of 2026. These results highlight the ongoing pressure from a prolonged downturn in Bitcoin and the wider digital asset market, which has sharply reduced trading activity… Read More

August 18, 2026 @ 10:44 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Chinese manufacturers of humanoid robots have solidified a commanding position in the global market, with shipments in the first half of 2026 underscoring the scale of their lead over American competitors. Industry data indicates that firms based in China accounted for more than 97 percent… Read More

August 17, 2026 @ 7:54 am By Omar Faridi  |  

On August 17, 2026, Alipay hosted its inaugural AI ecosystem conference in Hangzhou, marking a significant step in advancing agent-driven commercial systems across China. The fintech platform, operated by Ant Group, introduced the country’s first comprehensive full-stack agent commercial foundation along with the AHA (Agent… Read More

August 16, 2026 @ 9:52 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Chinese robotics company Unitree is finalizing preparations for its initial public offering (IPO) on the Shanghai STAR Market. The firm has priced shares at 150.80 yuan each, or about $22.37, implying a company valuation of roughly $9 billion. Trading is expected to start between August… Read More

August 16, 2026 @ 1:30 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) is set to become a significant joint venture partner in Jio Credit Limited, the non-banking finance company subsidiary of Jio Financial Services, through an investment valued at up to ₹18,268 crore, or roughly $1.9 billion. The agreement, announced on August… Read More

August 16, 2026 @ 12:58 am By Michael Wong  |  

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the central bank of the Philippines, said lowering transaction costs could encourage greater use of digital payments in the Philippines, but stressed that affordability is only one of several barriers preventing Filipinos from participating fully in the formal financial… Read More

August 15, 2026 @ 12:48 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Banks, insurers, and takaful operators in Malaysia will get new guidance to support implementation of the National Sustainability Reporting Framework (NSRF), as regulators seek to make sustainability-related disclosures more robust, consistent, comparable, and purposeful. The Joint Committee on Climate Change (JC3), co-chaired by Bank Negara… Read More

August 15, 2026 @ 8:24 am By Michael Wong  |  

Funding for Southeast Asia’s native artificial intelligence startups has reached $4.1 billion so far in 2026, already more than double the amount raised for the whole of last year, although the surge was driven largely by a single $2.8-billion round, according to data intelligence platform… Read More

August 14, 2026 @ 8:39 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) (TYO: 8306) and several of its key subsidiaries have begun a proof-of-concept project exploring the use of distributed ledger technology to handle repurchase agreement transactions involving Japanese government bonds. The initiative, announced on August 13, 2026, seeks to bring elements… Read More

August 14, 2026 @ 1:35 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Tokyo-listed Bitcoin treasury firm Metaplanet has formally entered Japan’s domestic bond market by launching a new continuous corporate bond program known as BitBonds and completing its first issuance under the framework. On August 13, 2026, the company disclosed that it had established BitBonds as an… Read More

August 10, 2026 @ 11:08 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Thailand’s government has introduced a temporary tax relief measure designed to support cryptocurrency activity within its regulated financial system. The Finance Ministry confirmed that capital gains arising from crypto trading will be exempt from tax for a five-year period running from 1 January 2025 to… Read More

August 10, 2026 @ 5:38 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Cybersecurity researchers have uncovered evidence that the North Korean threat actor known as Kimsuky is weaving artificial intelligence more deeply into its operations. The group, long associated with intelligence gathering and revenue-generating cyber activity for the regime, now appears to be experimenting with local large… Read More

August 10, 2026 @ 9:00 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Bitkub Exchange continues to highlight its long-standing relationship with Coinbase Institutional, part of Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN), a collaboration that has been in place since August 2021. The Thai digital asset platform regards this arrangement as a key element of its approach to protecting customer holdings, relying… Read More

August 10, 2026 @ 1:13 am By Michael Wong  |  

Saudi Arabia’s planned expansion of data centre capacity could require between $28 billion and $42 billion in project capital as the Kingdom seeks to scale digital infrastructure to support artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and its broader economic transformation, according to a report by Alvarez &… Read More

August 9, 2026 @ 9:32 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit has filed a civil lawsuit against North Korea, its Reconnaissance General Bureau, and the Lazarus Group over a February 2025 cyberattack described by a U.S. court as “one of the largest cryptocurrency thefts in history.” The lawsuit was filed in the U.S…. Read More