Asia

March 18, 2026 @ 1:15 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Crypto.com has forged a new alliance with KG Inicis, South Korea’s payment gateway and value-added network operator, marking a key development in the integration of digital assets into everyday commerce. Announced on March 17, 2026, the partnership focuses on embedding Crypto.com’s Pay solution within KG… Read More

March 15, 2026 @ 6:37 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Bursa Malaysia launched a public consultation on proposed rule changes to allow the listing and trading of digital currency exchange-traded funds, marking another step in Malaysia’s push to widen regulated access to digital assets through mainstream capital market products. The exchange said the proposed amendments… Read More

March 15, 2026 @ 5:00 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Singapore-based venture capital firm Empyrean Sky Partners said it has secured $90 million in the first close of its Global Technology Fund, marking what the firm described as the fastest initial close of 2026 as it targets $200 million for investments in next-generation industrial technologies…. Read More

March 15, 2026 @ 1:15 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Saudi artificial intelligence startup Infobrim has secured its first strategic angel investment at a $3.5 million valuation, as the Riyadh-based company looks to expand its software platform for enterprise data analytics and ride growing demand for AI tools in the kingdom. Financial details of the… Read More

March 14, 2026 @ 4:39 pm By Michael Wong  |  

The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed lifting a moratorium on new online lending platforms, reopening the market to new digital lenders while imposing tougher capital, disclosure, and consumer-protection rules on financing and lending companies. The draft circular, published for comment on March… Read More

March 14, 2026 @ 10:33 am By Michael Wong  |  

Singapore-based MetaComp has completed a Pre-A+ funding round backed by Alibaba, taking the fintech group’s total capital raised to $35 million across two rounds in three months, as it pushes to expand a platform that combines stablecoin payments with tokenised and traditional wealth products. MetaComp… Read More

March 13, 2026 @ 3:03 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Chainalysis has noted that in a significant escalation of efforts to curb illicit funding for weapons programs, the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed fresh sanctions on individuals and companies tied to North Korean IT worker schemes that rely heavily on… Read More

March 12, 2026 @ 1:55 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) shared that the research arm of Hong Kong’s financial academy has launched an analysis shedding light on the transformative potential within the family office segment of the wealth industry. Released this month, the Applied Research publication from the Hong… Read More

March 12, 2026 @ 12:14 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Southeast Asia’s economic resilience is gaining ground, yet private capital activity tells a more nuanced story. According to PitchBook’s latest analysis, the Asian Development Bank has lifted regional growth projections to 4.5% for 2025 and 4.4% for 2026, citing robust performances in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore,… Read More

March 11, 2026 @ 3:53 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Global financial technology provider Airwallex has posted another year of explosive growth in Singapore, reporting 107 percent revenue expansion for fiscal year 2025. This now reportedly marks the second straight year of triple-digit increases, underscoring the city-state’s role as a strategic hub for the company’s… Read More

March 11, 2026 @ 12:25 am By Michael Wong  |  

Singapore’s central bank issued new supervisory guidelines requiring banks, insurers and asset managers to strengthen how they assess and manage risks tied to climate change, as regulators sharpen their focus on the financial sector’s readiness for both physical and transition threats. The Monetary Authority of… Read More

March 9, 2026 @ 9:55 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

In a development raising fresh alarms about artificial intelligence autonomy, scientists connected to Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) have documented an experimental AI system that independently commandeered graphics processing units (GPUs) to perform unauthorized cryptocurrency mining. The incident, detailed in a recent technical paper, illustrates how advanced AI… Read More

March 9, 2026 @ 1:05 am By Michael Wong  |  

Hong Kong’s financial regulators have widened a regulatory sandbox for generative artificial intelligence, extending the programme beyond banking to cover securities, asset and wealth management, insurance, pensions and stored-value facilities as authorities push to position the city as a hub for responsible AI use in… Read More

March 8, 2026 @ 6:05 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Chainalysis has shared that a fresh analysis of blockchain data shows a dramatic rise in cryptocurrency transfers leaving Iranian exchanges in the immediate aftermath of joint US-Israeli airstrikes on February 28, 2026. Between that date and March 2, roughly $10.3 million in digital assets flowed… Read More

March 8, 2026 @ 4:02 pm By Michael Wong  |  

South Korea’s ruling party and financial regulators have agreed to cap the stake that major shareholders can hold in cryptocurrency exchanges at 20%, a move that could force some of the country’s biggest trading platforms to restructure their ownership as Seoul pushes ahead with a… Read More

March 7, 2026 @ 6:13 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

UQPAY, a Singapore-headquartered global fintech company, has launched a dual-rail full-stack payment platform, purpose-built to help businesses operate across traditional finance and stablecoin-based payment ecosystems. Supporting 200-plus markets and more than 140 currencies, the platform integrates global acquiring, global accounts, card issuing, and stablecoin accounts… Read More

March 6, 2026 @ 4:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Blockchain security firm CertiK announced on March 5, 2026, that it has finished a proof-of-reserves verification for Gate Technology FZE, the Dubai arm of the Gate Group. The exchange, which operates under a license from the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), demonstrated full backing of… Read More

March 4, 2026 @ 8:11 am By Omar Faridi  |  

In the wake of recent US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran, blockchain analytics firm Elliptic has reported a dramatic 700% increase in cryptocurrency outflows from Nobitex, the country’s leading digital asset exchange. This spike, occurring mere minutes after the initial attacks, underscores how crypto assets are increasingly… Read More

March 3, 2026 @ 6:26 am By Michael Wong  |  

South Korea-based venture capital firm The Invention Lab has completed a seed investment in Singapore artificial intelligence computing startup RIDM, backing a technology it says could ease a key performance bottleneck in AI and high-performance computing systems. The Invention Lab said the round was made… Read More

March 2, 2026 @ 8:34 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Southeast Asian governments have endorsed a Malaysia-led regional framework aimed at smoothing cross-border cloud computing and data hosting, as ASEAN steps up efforts to reduce regulatory frictions that have complicated regional digital trade and the scaling of data-driven services. Malaysia’s Ministry of Digital, working through… Read More