Asia

October 19, 2025 @ 4:10 pm By Michael Wong  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) launched BLOOM, short for Borderless, Liquid, Open, Online, Multi-currency, a new industry initiative to extend settlement options for financial institutions using tokenised bank liabilities and well-regulated stablecoins while applying standardised risk controls. MAS said BLOOM will work with banks… Read More

October 19, 2025 @ 10:10 am By Michael Wong  |  

KLIQ, a Saudi-built influencer marketing platform powered by proprietary AI, said it raised $2.25 million in seed funding led by Sanabil Venture Studio, a subsidiary of Sanabil Investments, in partnership with corporate venture builder Stryber. The company said the funding will help it address common… Read More

October 17, 2025 @ 5:57 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

OBOOK Holdings (NASDAQ: OWLS), a blockchain technology company operating as the OwlTing Group, direct listed direct-list on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker symbol “OWLS.” OBOOK’s Class A common shares opened at $68.00 but closed down on the day. OwlTing is based in Taiwan… Read More

October 17, 2025 @ 8:15 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Sygnum Bank Middle East announces the launch of Sygnum Validators, a new service launched from Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) which includes operating institutional-grade validator nodes for select blockchain net​​works that enable non-custodial staking. The first validator to launch supports the Solana network, enabling eligible… Read More

October 16, 2025 @ 7:52 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Earlier this year, Kaspersky’s Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT) identified a campaign by the ‘Mysterious Elephant’ APT. The group mainly targets government entities as well as foreign affairs organizations across the APAC area, with a particular focus on Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka… Read More

October 16, 2025 @ 4:41 pm By JD Alois  |  

The US Department of the Treasury and the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) have jointly taken action to address a pig butchering operation in Cambodia. The online affinity scams frequently utilize crypto to steal funds from their targets. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets… Read More

October 15, 2025 @ 6:23 am By Omar Faridi  |  

HashKey Group, the operator of one Hong Kong’s largest licensed digital assets exchanges, confidentially filed for an initial public offering in the Asian financial center. This, according to source familiar with the matter and cited by Bloomberg. HashKey might now plan to list as soon… Read More

October 14, 2025 @ 11:14 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Authorities in South Korean have again commenced their ongoing review of Binance‘s planned acquisition of local digital currency exchange Gopax following a delay of more than two years. This, according to an update from Newsis. The move suggests that Binance, which remains the largest digital… Read More

October 14, 2025 @ 10:30 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Singapore High Court has reportedly approved crypto exchange WazirX‘s debt restructuring scheme on October 13, 2025. The announcement has come after the Indian digital currency exchange had been hacked in July of 2024. This court approval in Singapore enables the crypto platform to proceed… Read More

October 14, 2025 @ 12:30 pm By Blake Jeong  |  

The crypto discussion remains pinpoint-focused on U.S. enforcement squabbles and city-state experimentation, but no one seems to notice what’s going on in Japan and South Korea. Both of these countries have been building predictable rules, institutional-grade foundations, and establishing consumers who already spend on digital… Read More

October 14, 2025 @ 8:09 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Tabby, a financial services app, announced that it is now deploying NVIDIA HGX systems to start developing and testing its AI capabilities to serve a growing base of clients and merchants. The investment helps with establishing local AI factory infrastructure that supports tech advancements while… Read More

October 13, 2025 @ 6:22 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Regtech firm ComplyAdvantage, the enabler of AI-driven financial crime compliance solutions, announced the launch of its hosting region in India, highlighting the regulatory technology company’s ongoing commitment to enabling financial services advancements while supporting customer expansion in one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. In fact,… Read More

October 13, 2025 @ 3:41 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Foris DAX Middle East FZ-LLC (trading as Crypto.com) announced that it has received In-Principle Approval (IPA) from the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) for a Stored Value Facilities (SVF) license, claiming it becomes the “first” Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) in the… Read More

October 12, 2025 @ 8:12 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Banglalink and its sole shareholder VEON have written to Bangladesh Bank expressing interest in securing a digital bank licence, the companies said in an expression-of-interest (EoI) sent to Governor Ahsan H Mansur, according to people familiar with the matter. The approach follows earlier discussions with… Read More

October 12, 2025 @ 4:21 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Tax authorities in India are said to be investigating over 400 high-net-worth individuals that are using crypto exchange Binance. These accounts are being suspected of attempting to bypass India’s high taxes on crypto transactions, a report from The Economic Times has claimed. The traders could… Read More

October 11, 2025 @ 11:06 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Hong Kong’s de facto central bank published a tentative six-month issuance schedule for institutional government bonds under its Infrastructure Bond Programme and Government Sustainable Bond Programme, outlining planned offerings in both Hong Kong dollars and offshore yuan via competitive tenders from October 2025 to March… Read More

October 10, 2025 @ 11:18 am By Michael Wong  |  

Singapore-based YY Group Holding Limited said it will integrate enterprise-grade stablecoin payment infrastructure from Obita to power cross-border receivables, payables and treasury operations across its global gig-work platforms, under a memorandum of understanding. YY Group, a workforce solutions and integrated facilities management provider, said the… Read More

October 10, 2025 @ 1:51 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) demonstrated during Q3 2025 its commitment to upholding the integrity of the financial sector through a series of regulatory and enforcement measures. From July to September, MAS says that it has addressed critical issues ranging from licensing non-compliance and… Read More

October 9, 2025 @ 10:54 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Gulf Bank said it signed a partnership with the Institute of Banking Studies to deliver specialised training as the lender prepares to convert into a Sharia-compliant institution, after preliminary approval from the Central Bank of Kuwait in August. The agreement was signed by Bader Al-Ali,… Read More

October 9, 2025 @ 10:53 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), in collaboration with the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP), announced the launch of the IADS Developer Hackathon and held the Kick-off Ceremony, marking the beginning of a journey to foster tech breakthroughs and advancements for the… Read More