Asia

October 28, 2025 @ 8:17 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Jeel, the tech subsidiary of Riyad Bank, has teamed up with Mambu, the cloud-native core banking platform, to enhance the ecosystem powered by the recently launched Jeel Sandbox, Saudi Arabia’s fintech sandbox accelerator – developed by Jeel in collaboration with Fintech Saudi. The Jeel Sandbox… Read More

October 28, 2025 @ 8:14 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Despite Standard Chartered analysts incorrectly forecasting this past week a BTC price drop below $100,000 being “inevitable” over the weekend, Bitcoin surged to over $113,800 on October 24, 2025 following the announcement that the US and China have formally committed to a framework agreement made… Read More

October 28, 2025 @ 1:37 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Gotrade, an investment app in Malaysia, announced recently the roll-out of options trading for its users across Southeast Asia. This expansion is powered in partnership with Alpaca, a brokerage infrastructure API offering access to options, stocks, ETFs, fixed income, as well as crypto. Investors residing… Read More

October 27, 2025 @ 11:06 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Japanese fintech JPYC Inc. recently revealed that it has introduced the nation’s legally recognized yen-denominated stablecoin, called JPYC (with trading starting this Monday). JPYC Inc. stated that it began offering the JPYC token this Monday along with introducing its issuance and redemption service, JPYC EX…. Read More

October 27, 2025 @ 8:28 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Defunct cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox announced that it will be further delaying its repayment deadline by yet another year to October 2026. This seemingly abrupt update from Mt. Gox has come just four days prior to its deadline that was initially set for October 31,… Read More

October 25, 2025 @ 11:22 am By Omar Faridi  |  

May Mobility, Inc., an autonomous vehicle tech firm, and Grab Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: GRAB), Southeast Asia’s superapp, announced their partnership with intentions to introduce autonomous vehicle services in Southeast Asia. This latest partnership reportedly includes an investment by Grab into May Mobility, backing the AV… Read More

October 24, 2025 @ 2:47 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Crypto.com announced it has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Travel Wallet, a South Korean fintech company specializing in digital payments and currency exchange for global travelers. As part of the partnership, Travel Wallet, which enables users to hold, exchange, and spend more… 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 24, 2025 @ 1:18 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

DriveWealth, a financial technology platform providing Brokerage-as-a-Service, this week announced its partnership with BtcTurk | Hisse, Turkey’s first Bitcoin and cryptocurrency trading platform. This collaboration marks BtcTurk’s move beyond digital assets and into traditional finance since starting in 2023 with Turkish stocks. With this launch,… 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 23, 2025 @ 2:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Crypto exchange WazirX is reportedly planning to resume its trading operations this coming Friday (October 24, 2025) following 16 long months of closure. As widely reported, WazirX had been forced to suspend trading activity after a massive hack / security breach that resulted in a… Read More

October 22, 2025 @ 7:10 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Tamara recently announced that it has officially received a restricted finance license from the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE). As a financial technology platform operating across the United Arab Emirates, Tamara claims that it has cemented its position as a key financial partner. Achieving… Read More

October 22, 2025 @ 9:49 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Abyan Capital, a robo-advisory1 investment platform in Saudi Arabia, announced the launch of their new self-directed trading service. The service will reportedly enable users to trade US equities as well as open high-yield savings accounts in compliance with Shariah law. Supporting this offering is Alpaca,… Read More

October 22, 2025 @ 8:57 am By Omar Faridi  |  

In yet another powerful reminder of China’s unyielding control over financial tech innovation, two of its technology firms—Alibaba (NYSE:BABA)-affiliated Ant Group and online retail behemoth JD.com—have abruptly suspended their plans to launch stablecoins in Hong Kong. This development, revealed over the weekend, underscores Beijing’s deepening… 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 21, 2025 @ 5:07 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Sony Bank‘s wholly owned subsidiary, Connectia Trust, has submitted a formal request to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for a national trust bank charter. This application, submitted earlier this month, signals Sony Group’s commitment to blockchain tech advancements and breakthroughs, aiming… Read More

October 20, 2025 @ 11:25 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA), the regulatory body overseeing the nation’s financial sector, is reportedly exploring significant reforms that could permit banks to acquire and hold digital assets, including Bitcoin, for investment purposes. According to a recent report from Livedoor, these proposed changes mark a… Read More

October 19, 2025 @ 10:07 pm By Michael Wong  |  

HitPay, a Singapore-based payments platform, said it partnered with licensed crypto payments firm Triple-A to enable more than 20,000 merchants to accept stablecoin payments at online and in-store checkouts while receiving instant settlements in fiat currency. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)-regulated arrangement targets small… Read More

October 19, 2025 @ 9:59 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Abu Dhabi’s International Holding Company (IHC) said it has acquired a majority stake in state-owned First Women Bank Ltd (FWBL) after Pakistan completed a government-to-government privatisation under its Inter-Governmental Commercial Transactions Act of 2022. The announcement, at a ceremony attended by Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan… Read More