Asia

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

March 2, 2026 @ 8:48 am By Michael Wong  |  

South Korean police have launched an investigation into the alleged theft of cryptocurrency worth about $4.8 million that had been seized by the National Tax Service (NTS), after sensitive wallet information was inadvertently disclosed, the Korea JoongAng Daily reported. The National Police Agency (NPA) said… Read More

March 2, 2026 @ 3:43 am By Michael Wong  |  

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has put mastery of artificial intelligence on the same list as critical thinking and financial literacy in a new National Education Charter, as the government moves to align learning outcomes with fast-changing skills needs and strategic sectors of the economy…. Read More

March 1, 2026 @ 6:16 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Fintech investment in the Asia Pacific fell to levels not seen in more than a decade in 2025, as geopolitical tensions, uneven growth, and a cautious funding environment kept dealmaking subdued, according to a report by KPMG. Deal value and volume in the region slipped… Read More

February 28, 2026 @ 1:20 pm By Michael Wong  |  

RLWRLD, a South Korean “physical AI” startup building robotics foundation models trained inside live industrial sites, has raised about $26 million in a Seed 2 funding round, bringing its total seed financing to roughly $41 million, the company said. The Seed 2 round drew a… Read More

February 27, 2026 @ 1:40 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

As part of the ongoing movement that is gradually bridging traditional finance and blockchain technology, Japanese financial firm SBI Holdings has teamed up with Web3 infrastructure firm Startale Group to create a fully compliant stablecoin tied to the Japanese yen. This initiative, announced through a… Read More