Tagged: asia

November 5, 2026 @ 6:54 am By Omar Faridi  |  

South Korea’s central bank has begun its inaugural systematic examination of how traditional financial institutions are entering the virtual asset sector and the vulnerabilities this creates for the broader financial system. The Bank of Korea started circulating a questionnaire titled “Survey on Financial Institutions’ Entry… Read More

November 4, 2026 @ 8:04 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party has formally asked the government to postpone the planned taxation of income from cryptocurrency and other virtual assets, which is currently scheduled to begin on January 1, 2027. Party leader Kim Min-seok announced the decision on Wednesday following a meeting… Read More

November 3, 2026 @ 6:41 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Crypto.com is preparing to stop offering its consumer-facing mobile application to users in Hong Kong starting February 1, 2027, in a phased wind-down of retail services in the territory. The Singapore-based exchange confirmed the move in statements provided to Bloomberg, framing the decision as part… Read More

October 27, 2026 @ 8:20 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

China’s Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission has outlined a target for the national blockchain network to reach a largely completed state by 2030. This objective appears in the National Informatization Plan for the 15th Five-Year Period, a document that maps priorities for digital development across the… Read More

October 25, 2026 @ 12:16 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Chinese artificial intelligence company DeepSeek has completed a major capital raise totaling roughly 100 billion yuan, equivalent to about $15 billion, according to a Bloomberg report citing people familiar with the matter. The Hangzhou-based startup increased its fundraising goal more than once during investor discussions,… Read More

October 20, 2026 @ 11:35 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The US Department of Homeland Security has directed civilian federal agencies to purge Chinese artificial intelligence firm DeepSeek from their information technology environments and to halt all related purchasing. The action, detailed in a Federal Register notice published on October 20, 2026, implements Exclusion and… Read More

October 20, 2026 @ 9:33 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Thai immigration authorities have taken a 37-year-old Chinese national into custody in Bangkok following a multi-year search linked to an alleged transnational criminal operation. Officers from Immigration Division 3 located and detained the man, identified in Thai media reports as Wu Chaoshuai, at a luxury… Read More

October 19, 2026 @ 8:09 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Multilateral development banks (MDBs) are stepping up efforts to attract private investment into emerging markets and increase their lending capacity as developing economies face mounting debt pressures, economic uncertainty, and climate-related disasters. The heads of the world’s major multilateral lenders met at the Asian Development… Read More

October 19, 2026 @ 8:30 am By Omar Faridi  |  

A Seoul court has cleared a prominent South Korean cryptocurrency influencer of major fraud charges tied to two digital tokens that allegedly involved roughly 340 billion won in investor funds. On October 15, 2026, the 13th Criminal Division of the Seoul Southern District Court, led… Read More

October 19, 2026 @ 6:57 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Risk assets across cryptocurrency markets, Asian equities and US index futures advanced on Monday as China’s latest economic figures came in stronger than anticipated and oil prices eased. The combination helped restore investor confidence after the prior week’s technology-driven declines. Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency by… Read More

October 19, 2026 @ 2:44 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) is preparing to introduce its inaugural digital asset offering within weeks, beginning with cryptocurrency custody services for institutional clients before rolling the platform out to major financial centers across Asia the following year. Gerald Podobnik, co-head of Deutsche Bank’s corporate bank… Read More

October 19, 2026 @ 1:22 am By Omar Faridi  |  

India’s digital payments ecosystem is confronting an unexpected test as authorities introduce fees on larger transactions through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). The shift has revived demand for physical currency, particularly within the country’s substantial informal economy, raising questions about whether the zero-cost model that… Read More

October 13, 2026 @ 10:22 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Asian semiconductor stocks tumbled early this week, triggering roughly $800 million in leveraged crypto liquidations, with perpetual futures on SanDisk recording more forced closures than those on XRP. The selloff, concentrated in South Korean names, illustrated how crypto venues have become venues for leveraged bets… Read More

August 7, 2026 @ 11:05 am By Omar Faridi  |  

FIS (NYSE: FIS), a global provider of financial technology solutions, has introduced its Digital One Commercial platform in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. This move finalizes the solution’s worldwide availability, extending it to financial institutions in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA),… Read More

August 1, 2026 @ 12:33 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Private equity (PE) investment in Southeast Asia declined sharply in the second quarter of 2026, as investors remained selective amid geopolitical uncertainty and a subdued dealmaking environment, according to EY-Parthenon. The region recorded 10 private equity deals worth $935.5 million during the quarter, compared with… Read More

July 4, 2026 @ 9:53 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Companies across Asia-Pacific are accelerating investments in artificial intelligence, but many are doing so with limited evaluation of returns as competitive pressure and fear of falling behind outweigh proven business outcomes, according to an IDC InfoBrief commissioned by Expereo. The survey of 800 technology leaders… Read More

July 2, 2026 @ 2:05 am By Omar Faridi  |  

PitchBook’s research team released its June 2026 Global Markets Snapshot on June 30, providing a clear view of performance across public equities, private capital, debt, real estate, and commodities. The report captures a month of solid equity gains amid regional differences, continued deployment in private… Read More

July 1, 2026 @ 12:51 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Tencent Holdings, the Chinese technology firm behind the widely used WeChat ecosystem, has started limited internal testing of a new mobile application called TenPayGo. The move comes as international tourism to China continues to rebound strongly, creating fresh demand for user-friendly financial tools tailored to… Read More

June 29, 2026 @ 3:35 am By Omar Faridi  |  

SBI Holdings has agreed to acquire bitbank, one of Japan’s cryptocurrency exchanges, in a deal valued at approximately ¥46.7 billion (around $289 million). The transaction, announced on June 25, 2026, positions the financial services giant to significantly expand its footprint in the domestic digital asset… Read More

June 26, 2026 @ 5:27 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Hamilton Lane, a key player in private markets investing, has broadened its collaboration with fintech firm iCapital. The expanded agreement will bring additional evergreen strategies from Hamilton Lane to wealth managers worldwide through iCapital’s digital Marketplace platform. The development builds on an existing U.S. relationship… Read More