Asia

October 28, 2026 @ 12:19 am By Omar Faridi  |  

A 44-year-old Chinese national, Zheng Zhao, appeared in federal court in the Central District of California on October 23, 2026, following his extradition from the Netherlands. Prosecutors allege he participated in a transnational cryptocurrency investment fraud operation run out of scam centers in Cambodia that… Read More

October 28, 2026 @ 12:11 am By Michael Wong  |  

Finance ministers from Asia-Pacific economies called for stronger regional cooperation to sustain trade and investment flows amid geopolitical tensions and uncertainty over trade policies, following a two-day meeting in Hong Kong. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Finance Ministers’ Meeting, held on October 20-21 for the… Read More

October 27, 2026 @ 8:48 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

SBI Holdings, Inc. (TYO: 8473) and Startale Group Pte. Ltd. announced that they had entered into a memorandum of understanding with BlackRock Financial Management, Inc. and BlackRock Japan Co., Ltd. The agreement focuses on examining the creation of a digital asset ecosystem that would connect… Read More

October 27, 2026 @ 8:44 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

A Thai partnership has introduced a new digital wallet application that lets visiting travelers convert popular stablecoins into local currency and settle everyday purchases through the country’s widely used QR PromptPay system. The service, called WORPT, became available under Thailand’s Tourist DigiPay regulatory sandbox after… 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 27, 2026 @ 7:16 am By Michael Wong  |  

Singapore’s wealthy investors are increasing their use of mutual funds, but cash and liquid deposits still account for more than 70% of their assets, highlighting the scope for greater investment diversification, according to a report by Citi Wealth and research firm RFI Global. Average assets… Read More

October 27, 2026 @ 4:14 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ: HOOD) has secured regulatory clearance from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) to introduce its retail brokerage platform across the Middle East, establishing operations inside the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). The approval covers both trading and custody services spanning all ten… Read More

October 27, 2026 @ 2:11 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Oracle network provider Chainlink and LG CNS, the information technology and AI transformation subsidiary of South Korea’s LG Group, announced a strategic partnership aimed at advancing the country’s regulated digital asset infrastructure. LG CNS serves as the primary technology contractor for the Bank of Korea’s… Read More

October 26, 2026 @ 3:49 am By Michael Wong  |  

The central banks of Malaysia and Thailand have joined the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) BLOOM initiative to develop common approaches for using digital money in cross-border transactions, according to an announcement. The development comes as financial institutions explore tokenised deposits and regulated stablecoins. The… Read More

October 26, 2026 @ 1:56 am By Omar Faridi  |  

On-chain investigator ZachXBT has raised fresh questions about the Indian cryptocurrency exchange CoinDCX, asserting that a deposit address previously linked to a 2025 security incident remained active for months afterward and continued handling user funds. In a post on X dated October 22, 2026, ZachXBT… Read More

October 26, 2026 @ 1:53 am By Omar Faridi  |  

South Korea’s top financial regulator has signaled that consultations on a comprehensive digital asset law are approaching their conclusion, even as lawmakers and market participants step up pressure over the timing of a long-postponed tax on cryptocurrency gains. On October 22, 2026, during a comprehensive… Read More

October 25, 2026 @ 10:19 pm By Michael Wong  |  

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is proposing to invest up to $30 million in a $500 million asset-backed securitisation programme to expand supply chain financing for small and medium-sized businesses across Asia Pacific. According to a project proposal seen by CrowdFund Insider, the investment,  would… Read More

October 25, 2026 @ 7:07 pm By Michael Wong  |  

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) will increase the liquidity available to banks participating in its offshore yuan market scheme to 22 billion yuan ($3.1 billion) from 20 billion yuan, appointing 12 banks as primary liquidity providers for a new two-year term. The designations will… Read More

October 25, 2026 @ 3:33 pm By Michael Wong  |  

British fintech Revolut is in active discussions with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) about securing a digital banking licence in the country, a senior central bank official said. Lyn I. Javier, BSP deputy governor and head of its Financial Supervision Sector, said talks with… 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 24, 2026 @ 6:45 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Moonshot AI, the Beijing-based artificial intelligence startup, has introduced Kimi K3.1 Pro as the opening model in its K3.1 series. The company positions the system as its most capable open-weight offering in the roughly three-trillion-parameter class to date. The release builds directly on the earlier… Read More

October 23, 2026 @ 5:29 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Payward, the parent entity of the cryptocurrency platform Kraken, has obtained preliminary regulatory clearance to establish operations in Kazakhstan. The Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA) granted in-principle approval for a license covering Payward Kazakhstan within the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC). The development, announced on… Read More

October 23, 2026 @ 1:18 pm By JD Alois  |  

Hong Kong has selected blockchain firm Solana (Nasdaq: HSDT) to establish or expand operations in the region. Solana is the only blockchain infrastructure company selected by the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES) in 2026, joining enterprises such as Pfizer, GSK, Roche, Dassault Systèmes, DiDi and… Read More

October 22, 2026 @ 2:55 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Chinese prosecutors have applied to seize roughly 61,896 Bitcoin and associated digital assets currently held by British authorities, linking them to a large-scale fundraising fraud. The Tianjin No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court accepted the application in late September and issued a public notice in mid-October,… Read More

October 22, 2026 @ 10:05 am By Gracy Chen  |  

Why exchanges must let professional capital choose how it is held, not just what it can trade For most of crypto’s history, institutional adoption was framed as a question of access. Could a fund get exposure at all? That question is largely answered. According to… Read More