Asia

October 17, 2026 @ 6:24 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Southeast Asia’s fintech sector attracted $2.3 billion in funding in the first nine months of 2026, more than triple the amount raised a year earlier, according to a report by data intelligence firm Tracxn. The rise in fintech funding comes as a handful of large transactions… Read More

October 17, 2026 @ 1:50 pm By Michael Wong  |  

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has introduced a framework to guide the responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the banking sector. The move comes as as financial institutions explore AI systems capable of planning and executing tasks with greater autonomy. The “ART” Framework… Read More

October 17, 2026 @ 10:12 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The People’s Bank of China granted Visa (NYSE: V) approval to begin formal preparations for a bank card clearing institution through its local subsidiary, Visa Information Technology (Beijing) Co. Ltd. The decision allows the U.S. payments company to advance toward handling renminbi-denominated card transactions inside… Read More

October 17, 2026 @ 3:59 am By Omar Faridi  |  

HSBC (NYSE: HSBC) and Ant Digital Technologies announced the successful completion of a technical verification exercise exploring how artificial intelligence agents could handle both service interactions and payments in a single automated flow. The pilot demonstrated an end-to-end process in which software agents identified digital… Read More

October 17, 2026 @ 1:09 am By Michael Wong  |  

Canada’s development finance institution FinDev Canada has signed a $50 million loan to Mongolia’s Golomt Bank, with 30% of the proceeds earmarked for climate and nature-related projects and the remainder allocated to MSMEs. The financing marks FinDev Canada’s first transaction with a designated nature finance… Read More

October 17, 2026 @ 1:07 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Ripple has announced two significant developments that expand its role in institutional finance. On October 14, 2026, the company formed a partnership with DriveWealth, a brokerage-as-a-service platform that supplies infrastructure to more than 100 partners worldwide, including fintech firms, digital wallets, and financial institutions offering… Read More

October 15, 2026 @ 8:06 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Bitcoin (BTC) and broader cryptocurrency markets faced renewed selling pressure in mid-October 2026 after US inflation data came in hotter than anticipated, reviving concerns that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates again at its late-month meeting. September’s Consumer Price Index rose 0.6 percent month-over-month… Read More

October 15, 2026 @ 12:24 am By Omar Faridi  |  

United Overseas Bank (UOB) (SGX: U11) and Amazon Web Services (AWS) have entered a memorandum of understanding to jointly examine cloud and artificial intelligence technologies aimed at strengthening the Singapore-based lender’s operations across Southeast Asia. Announced in Singapore on 9 October 2026, the multi-year collaboration… Read More

October 14, 2026 @ 1:06 am By Omar Faridi  |  

China’s entrepreneurial ecosystem is undergoing a rapid transformation driven by artificial intelligence, as ultra-lean “one-person companies” (OPCs) gain institutional support through specialized communities. A survey report released by a research team led by Professor Yao Jianhua at Fudan University’s School of Journalism documents this shift,… Read More

October 13, 2026 @ 10:56 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

South Korea’s digital asset sector is seeing two contrasting developments in quick succession. On one side, a regulated bank has launched the country’s first won-denominated loans secured by bitcoin for corporate borrowers. On the other, financial authorities have expanded restrictions on unregistered virtual asset service… 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

October 12, 2026 @ 5:49 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Cryptocurrency markets are navigating a mix of tightening Bitcoin supply signals, selective altcoin strength tied to policy news, and broad volatility driven by escalating Middle East tensions. Over the past 365 days, roughly 700,000 Bitcoin have been withdrawn from centralized exchanges, according to data highlighted… Read More

October 12, 2026 @ 10:51 am By Michael Wong  |  

Singapore’s central bank will step up work on wholesale central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and stablecoin regulation as tokenised financial markets develop, with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)’s managing director saying central bank money will ultimately be needed to anchor monetary stability. Chia Der… Read More

October 12, 2026 @ 8:43 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Concerns over compromised Ledger hardware wallets have widened after a new claim that a device purchased from a major European retail chain contained unauthorized internal wiring consistent with earlier spy implants. The development, highlighted by the crypto media account Crypto Banter on October 11, 2026,… Read More

October 12, 2026 @ 1:42 am By Omar Faridi  |  

On October 9, 2026, the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and the State Council issued the “Opinions on Developing New Quality Productive Forces,” a policy document outlining 19 measures across areas including technological innovation, industrial upgrading, and institutional reform. Among the directives is… Read More

October 11, 2026 @ 9:41 pm By Michael Wong  |  

The Philippines will adopt international pricing conventions for peso-denominated government and corporate bonds from January 4, 2027, as financial regulators and market participants work to make the local bond market more accessible to international investors. The initiative is being led by the Bureau of the… Read More

October 11, 2026 @ 4:34 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Hong Kong’s exchange-traded product (ETP) market has expanded sharply, with daily turnover rising 3.6 times since 2023 to account for nearly one-fifth of trading on the stock exchange’s Main Board, Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) Chief Executive Julia Leung said. The growth reflects efforts to… Read More

October 11, 2026 @ 11:33 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Ledger, the maker of hardware wallets, is investigating a serious incident involving one of its official partners in Southeast Asia. The company has urged customers who bought devices from the Malaysian reseller CryptoBilis in the past three months not to set them up, and those… Read More

October 11, 2026 @ 9:57 am By Michael Wong  |  

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank’s private-sector investment arm, has proposed an equity investment of up to $10 million in a private equity fund targeting financial institutions that provide sustainable finance to small businesses and individuals in India. ECF Fund III LP is… Read More

October 9, 2026 @ 6:45 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Samsung is preparing to place dollar-linked stablecoin transfers inside the digital wallet already installed on eligible Galaxy phones in the United States. The company said the capability will open in the final week of October and will begin with USDC, letting qualifying users move funds… Read More