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Why the crypto industry is unhappy about Hong Kong’s stablecoin issuance licenses
In fairness to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), it is rare that the digital assets industry is satisfied with regulations. Crypto firms want regulations that provide them with the legal and safety benefits enjoyed by the rest of the financial industry without slowing down their preferred breakneck speed of development or putting them at
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Are Malaysia’s digital banks in trouble?
Malaysia decided to greenlight digital banks amid a wave of investor excitement and regulatory acquiescence in early 2020. Led by Hong Kong and Singapore, many East Asian economies sought to introduce more competition to their staid banking sectors. The backers of digital banks – venture capitalists, large tech firms, telecoms giants and even incumbent lenders
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TikTok steps up its fintech foray
Chinese social media giant TikTok is borrowing a page out of the book of Alibaba and Tencent with its push into digital financial services. The ByteDance-owned company has super app ambitions. Fintech is a logical progression for the massively popular short video app, which generated an estimated US$23 billion in annual revenue in 2024. It is the
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Why is Monzo leaving the U.S.?
UK neobank Monzo can’t seem to make up its mind about the U.S. market. The company first launched in the U.S. in June 2019 but withdrew its application for a banking charter in October 2021. Monzo remained in the U.S. market, though, operating through its partner bank, Sutton. Then on April 1, the UK online lender abruptly
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Vietnam advances crypto licensing while fighting scammers
Vietnam is discovering that developing a cryptocurrency industry is harder than it looks. After all, how many other segments of financial services are regularly rocked by massive scams in which victims have little recourse? To that end, in late March, Vietnamese police busted a multi-billion-dollar scam that focused on selling fake crypto to victims on a large
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Is the U.S. having second thoughts about stablecoins?
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It was only a matter of time before the United States had second thoughts about rapidly adopting stablecoins. Even if the White House remains supportive of fast adoption, powerful regulators are less sanguine about the fiat currency-backed cryptocurrencies. In a speech to the Federalist Society on March 31, Federal Reserve Bank Governor Michael S. Barr noted
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How Ualá hit a US$3.2 billion valuation
In about nine years’ time, Ualá has become one of the most valuable and competitive fintech startups in Argentina. The company reached a US$3.2 billion valuation following a $195 million funding round led by Allianz X – the venture capital division of Germany’s insurance behemoth Allianz SE – in March. Only weeks after the Argentinian firm introduced
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Revolut doubles down on India expansion
Revolut has long had its eyes on India, the world’s largest remittances market and the country in Asia where its growth prospects are most promising. The UK fintech unicorn first entered India five years ago and has been gradually beefing up local operations. Revolut’s India foray now looks set to kick into high gear—but not
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Is Plaid worth $8 billion?
American fintech startup Plaid secured an US$8 billion valuation in a February 2026 funding round/share sale, representing a 31% increase from its US$6.1 billion valuation in April 2025. Plaid used this round to provide liquidity for employees while still remaining 40% below its 2021 peak of $13.4 billion. Plaid’s valuation is unlikely to ever again
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How Korean digital banks are taking divergent paths
Korean digital banks are among the most consistently successful in Asia and internationally. In fact, Kakao Bank was one of the first major digital lenders to reach profitability in 2019, and it did so just two years after its founding. Recently IPO’d K Bank and soon-to-IPO Toss Bank (under its Viva Republica parent) have also consistently posted
