Asia

June 18, 2019 @ 9:49 am By JD Alois  |  

Securitize and the Japan Security Token Association (JSTA), an association advocating for a compliant digital securities industry, have partnered to accelerate the adoption of digital securities in Japan. According to a release, Securitize and JSTA will work closely with financial institutions and businesses to educate… Read More

June 18, 2019 @ 3:02 am By JD Alois  |  

MobiKwik has partnered with DT One (formerly TransferTo) to expand internationally. MobiKwik is an India-based Fintech in the payments space. DT One One is a global B2B network for “mobile top-ups/recharge, rewards and airtime credit services.” Indian users will now be able to add money… Read More

June 17, 2019 @ 6:25 pm By JD Alois  |  

Hong Kong’s First Regulated Investment Crowdfunding Platform. In April of this year, AngelHub became the first investment crowdfunding platform to receive a license from a Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) in Hong Kong. In the past couple of years, Hong Kong has moved quickly to… Read More

June 17, 2019 @ 1:01 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Vice Premier of China, Hu Chunnhua, is visiting UK government officials this week. As part of the tour, the UK government has announced a series of deals designed to boost trade with China including financial services. The new business deals were agreed to by… Read More

June 17, 2019 @ 8:57 am By JD Alois  |  

Security token issuance platform Polymath has formed a partnership with Regtech Blockpass. According to a release, Hong Kong-based Blockpass will now provide client onboarding services surrounding customer identification or KYC. Globally, having a solid KYC process is vital for any digital asset issuer. The two… Read More

June 17, 2019 @ 8:02 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Online payment processing provider Allied Wallet announced on Monday it has acquired Epayment, a Hong Kong-based fintech. The acquisition comes just a couple of weeks after Allied Wallet reported it has increased merchant revenue by as much as 60% for some merchants with its new… Read More

June 16, 2019 @ 5:00 pm By X.Y. Ng  |  

The Fintech space has seen significant investment growth in recent years. Out of 310 private companies valued at over US$1 billion globally, 10 percent are in the Fintech sector, according to CB Insights. Only two other sectors claim a larger share of the unicorn pie,… Read More

June 15, 2019 @ 2:00 pm By Xu Gao  |  

Insurtech Platform Shuidi Completes RMB 1 billion C Round of Financing led by Boyu Capital On June 12th, China’s leading Insurtech platform Shuidi (meaning waterdrop in English) was reported to secure RMB 1 billion in C round of financing. The investment was led by Boyu… Read More

June 14, 2019 @ 11:54 am By JD Alois  |  

PeopleFund, a South Korea based online lender, has raised $35 million as part of an extension of a Series B funding round which was announced in October 2018.  PeopleFund is a marketplace lending platform which means it accepts investments from both individuals and institutions. PeopleFund… Read More

June 14, 2019 @ 11:09 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Germany-based global provider of digital payments and commerce solutions Wirecard announced this week it is now enabling the e-commerce channel for the IKEA Thailand’s online store. Wirecard reported that through the partnership, it ensures “smooth” digital payment transactions for IKEA Thailand and enables customers to conveniently… Read More

June 12, 2019 @ 3:26 pm By JD Alois  |  

Beijing-based BabelFinance, formerly doing business as BabelBank, has issued a release stating crypto backed loans are booming. Since opening in 2018, BabelFinance has originated more than $124 million in crypto backed loans. According to a note from the company, BabelFinance expects to hit “$1 billion… Read More

June 11, 2019 @ 5:43 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Philippine Central Bank (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas or BSP) personnel urged caution regarding the use of cryptocurrencies this week and promised to continue to address the risks posed by them, The Philippine Star reports. Governor Benjamin Diokno said he is wary of cryptocurrencies given that they… Read More

June 10, 2019 @ 11:42 pm By JD Alois  |  

BDO Australia has formed a partnership with Decentralised Capital to provide auditing and assurance services to the blockchain and crypto asset sector. The move was described as likely to boost institutional interest in the emerging sector of Fintech. Decentralised Capital is a specialist blockchain firm… Read More

June 10, 2019 @ 2:57 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Finance Ministers from the world’s 20 most powerful economies have “…reaffirm(ed) (their) commitment to applying the recently amended FATF Standards to virtual assets and related providers for AML (anti-money laundering) and CFT (anti-terrorist finance),” in a communique issued from a meeting they held this weekend… Read More

June 10, 2019 @ 9:45 am By JD Alois  |  

Aspiring Ethereum replacement Zilliqa has launched smart contract functionality on its blockchain platform. Zilliqa is one of a handful of blockchain platforms seeking to address shortcomings in the sector. Zilliqa using sharding to speed up its transactional rate – a priority for many potential blockchain… Read More

June 8, 2019 @ 5:40 pm By JD Alois  |  

Invest Hong Kong Appoints New Head of Fintech King Leung has been appointed Head of Fintech at InvestHK which took effect in early May. Leung will lead a specialist Fintech team with the objective of attracting top innovativeFfintech companies, entrepreneurs, investors, accelerators and R&D institutions… Read More

June 8, 2019 @ 9:03 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) has approved three digital asset exchanges as “Recognized Market Operators” (RMOs) to establish and operate digital asset exchanges (DAX) in Malaysia. Malaysia is known for its support of Fintech innovation in general and recently updated online capital formation rules to… Read More

June 8, 2019 @ 8:45 am By Cali Haan  |  

Details emerging about a proposed bill to ban cryptocurrencies indicate that things have gone from bad to worse for the cryptocurrency sector in India. According to Bloomberg Quint, if passed, new proposed legislation to cover the crypto sector will impose 10-year sentences on individuals possessing,… Read More

June 7, 2019 @ 1:46 am By Cali Haan  |  

Leaders from the 20 most powerful economies in the world may discuss creating a global regulatory framework for “crypto assets” at their forthcoming meeting in Osaka in June (G20 2019 Japan), and “Virtual Asset Service Providers” (VASPSs) are holding their own concurrent meeting (V20), “…to deliver… Read More

June 7, 2019 @ 12:05 am By JD Alois  |  

The Algorand Foundation has announced its Dutch Auction will take place on June 19th. The Foundation said this will be the first of a series of auctions for the Algo the native token of the Algorand platform. The Algorand Foundation has a vision of a… Read More