Asia

December 9, 2018 @ 11:40 am By Cali Haan  |  

An “Internet court” in Hangzhou in Eastern China will soon allow evidence logged on blockchains (or distributed ledgers) to be admitted in cases of alleged infringement on a writer’s copyright, China.org reports. The Hangzhou court is one of three Internet courts recently established in China to… Read More

December 8, 2018 @ 5:00 pm By Xu Gao  |  

Financial Authorities Ban STOs in Beijing On December 1st, at the 2018 Global Wealth Management Forum, Huo Xuewen, director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Financial Work, warned that STO activities in Beijing would be seen as illegal. He said: “A new concept called STO… Read More

December 7, 2018 @ 7:47 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Cornell University and Tsinghua University (清华大学) announced this week they have joined forces to host the International Workshop on Blockchain, which is set to take place in Xi’an, China.  According to the learning institutions, the event was made possible by a $150,000 grant from not-for-profit platform Social… Read More

December 5, 2018 @ 11:57 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

HonestFund, a Korean fintech startup, announced on Wednesday it secured $12 million through its Series B funding round, which featured investments from Dunamu & Partners, MurexPartners, KB investment, TL Asset Management, Bass Investment, and HB Investment. HonestFund total investment amount is now $21 million. Founded… Read More

December 4, 2018 @ 2:18 am By Cali Haan  |  

“One of the most formidable hacking armies in the world,” is now believed to be targeting the crypto holdings of individuals, particularly wealthy ones, The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reports. North Korean hackers have been identified by Group IB and others as the likely culprits behind… Read More

December 3, 2018 @ 9:17 pm By Cali Haan  |  

At the end of a long speech about cultivating an honest and effective wealth management industry in China’s political and financial capital, Beijing, Huo Xuewen, nixed the idea ICOs (initial coin offerings) will be allowed to quickly morph into security tokens (STOs) anytime soon. According… Read More

December 3, 2018 @ 3:45 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

OKEx, a Malta-based digital assets exchange, announced on Monday the launch of its new product, Perpetual Swap, as part of its crypto-based financial product suites. According to OKEx, users may now perform perpetual swap, futures contract, and spot trading with margin and leverage at one stop. OKEx… Read More

December 3, 2018 @ 11:07 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced on Monday the launch of a new S$30 million Cybersecurity Capabilities Grant to strengthen the cyber resilience of the financial sector in Singapore and help financial institutions develop local talent in cybersecurity. According to MAS, the Grant was… Read More

December 2, 2018 @ 9:50 pm By JD Alois  |  

HBUS, the digital currency exchange that is a sister company to Huobi – one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world, has launched an interesting promotional campaign that strives to highlight the fast-evolving securities markets with a jab towards Coinbase. As part of the campaign, HBUS… Read More

December 1, 2018 @ 9:00 am By Xu Gao  |  

Sesame Credit Accepted for Canadian Visa Application This week, the Canadian Immigration Department (IRCC) announced that Chinese tourists can choose to submit his/her Sesame Credit Visa report (≥750 points) as financial proof for Canadian visa application. Sesame Credit is credit-assessment service offered by Ant Financial,… Read More

November 30, 2018 @ 5:05 pm By JD Alois  |  

Zilliqa, a blockchain project that is on a mission to provide a scalable, enterprise iteration of distributed ledger technology, has announced smart contract sharding with Testnet V3. This is the final testing phase before the mainnet is released, an event that is scheduled for January 31, 2019…. Read More

November 30, 2018 @ 9:36 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Huawei Cloud, a global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices, announced on Thursday it officially launched its Blockchain Service (BCS) for global use earlier this month, after launching the service for commercial use in China earlier this fall.  The company reported that the… Read More

November 30, 2018 @ 9:05 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Oriente, the Hong Kong-based financial services and technology company, announced earlier this week it secured $105 million through its initial funding round. The round included investment from the founders and a group of family offices such as members of the Berjaya Group, JG Summit Holdings, Inc., and Sinar Mas. The round ranks as one… Read More

November 30, 2018 @ 8:47 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

KuCoin, a Singapore-based international cryptocurrency exchange, announced on Thursday it has formed a new partnership today with Simplex, an EU financial institution providing fraud-free payment processing solutions. According to KuCoin, the partnership will enable new as well as current KuCoin users worldwide to purchase crypto using their… Read More

November 29, 2018 @ 11:11 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Digital bank Revolut has acquired licenses to expand in Japan and Singapore. The launch in the Asian countries comes just after the fintech reportedly is planning to raise $500 million through its upcoming Series D funding round. According to CNBC, Revolut reported it received a remittance license… Read More

November 29, 2018 @ 8:23 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Pundi X announced on Wednesday at Consensus: Invest 2018 in New York it has partnered with Quantum Energy Asset Management (QEAM). The new fund, QEX Fund SP (QEX), is described as a hybrid fund that is open to accredited investors. The QEX fund is described as a hybrid… Read More

November 29, 2018 @ 8:04 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

CreditEase announced on Thursday it was the winner the Star of Innovation award at Global Finance Magazine’s 2018 Stars of China Awards.   CreditEase reported that it has been actively using financial technology to drive inclusive finance and wealth management, serving a large base of high-growth groups,… Read More

November 28, 2018 @ 8:43 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) is out with their 3rd Asia Pacific Region Alternative Finance Industry Report. According to CCAF, the alternative finance sector in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region increased to $358 billion in 2017 but overall growth has slowed. As in previous… Read More

November 28, 2018 @ 12:32 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

UnionPay International (UPI), announced last week it has reached QR code payment service cooperation with Hong Kong’s Mass Transit Railway (MTR). UnionPay reported that in the future cardholders will be able to scan QR code via the UnionPay app or the MTR app after binding… Read More

November 28, 2018 @ 11:54 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

DBS Bank announced earlier this week it has signed an MOU with UnionPay International,a wholly owned subsidiary of China UnionPay, will enable more than one million DBS PayLah! users to use their mobile wallet overseas for cross-border QR code payments. According to DBS, DBS PayLah! users… Read More