What The FinTech #90: 3 Apr 2022
Happy Sunday & Ramadan Mubarak to our Muslim friends, May this Ramadan bring blessings, happiness and gratitude. #RamadanMubarak.
Welcome back to What The FinTech, your regular FinTech & Innovation Newsletter focusing on Hong Kong & Asia ! Here are the selection and the top headlines for this week.
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What was the FinTech this week in: 📰
BLOCKCHAIN - CRYPTO - DIGITAL ASSETS - DE FI
Abu Dhabi to launch world's first regulated carbon trading exchange and clearing house
AirCarbon Exchange (ACX) has been approved by Abu Dhabi Global Market to create the world’s first fully regulated carbon trading exchange and carbon clearing house, as it sets itself to become the first jurisdiction globally to regulate carbon credits and offsets as emission instruments, and to issue licenses for exchanges to operate both spot and derivative markets. Expected to launch in 2022, ACX will be established as a Recognised Investment Exchange (RIE), enabling corporates to trade and finance carbon credits like conventional financial assets together with a regulated Recognised Clearing House (RCH) for the purposes of custodising, clearing and settling commodities and commodity derivatives.
UAE crypto push sees Bybit, Crypto.com announce Dubai offices
Crypto exchange Bybit yesterday said it will open its global headquarters in Dubai and crypto platform Crypto.com said it would establish a regional hub there, the latest moves in the UAE's drive to become a centre for the virtual asset sector. Dubai, one of the UAE's 7 emirates and the region's trade hub, this month issued its first law governing virtual assets and formed the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) to oversee the sector. Dubai this month granted virtual asset licences to Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, and FTX Europe, a subsidiary of one of the largest crypto exchanges FTX. FTX will set up a regional headquarters in the city. The UAE has been pushing to develop the virtual asset sector and regulation to attract new forms of business as regional economic competition heats up.
Axie Infinity’s Ronin Network Suffers $625M Exploit
Gaming company Axie Infinity’s Ronin Network announced on Tuesday, 29 March that they suffered a loss of over $625 million in USDC and ether (ETH) in its latest and largest crypto hack in history yet. According to Ronin Network, the attacker used hacked private keys to forge fake withdrawals from the Ronin bridge across two transactions that were all captured on the Ethereum blockchain - Etherscan. While the Ronin sidechain has nine validators requiring five signatures for withdrawals that is meant to protect against attacks, the attacker found a backdoor through their node, which they abused to get the signature for the Axie DAO validator. A total of 173,600 ether and 25.5 million in USDC, currently worth more than $625 million has been lost from the event.
LG Electronics adds blockchain and crypto as new areas of business
South Korean tech giant LG Electronics has officially added blockchain and cryptocurrency as new business areas in its corporate charter. According to a local South Korean news report, LG added two distinct crypto-related objectives during its annual general meeting on 24 March. The objectives include “the development and selling of blockchain-based software” and “the sale and brokerage of cryptocurrency,” leading to conjecture whether LG would establish some form of crypto exchange. The tech manufacturer has been on a warpath of NFT adoption and integration, announcing earlier this month that it was working with blockchain tech company Kakao’s Ground X to introduce a line of smart TVs that are fully NFT-capable. LG also announced a partnership with Seoul Auction Blue, an online art auctioneer, to carry out further projects related to NFT-based artworks.
Articles that may interest you on this subject:
EU to revise regulation for crypto transfers => here
Visa launches NFT programme => here
How to save the Amazon? Brazil company says NFTs are the answer => here
MetaMask rolls out Apple Pay integration and other iOS updates => here
Coinbase teams up with Alviere for lineup of crypto offerings => here
SINGAPORE
MAS and BIS Innovation Hub develop analytics platform for supervision
Savills Ties Up With Singapore Payments Fintech
NTUC Income partners Plug and Play to create financial access within digital ecosystems in the region
Fomo Pay to integrate USDC stablecoin into its services
MAS and BIS Innovation Hub develop analytics platform for supervision
Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub Singapore Centre have developed a prototype analytics platform that could help regulatory authorities perform more effective supervision. The Project Ellipse platform enables regulatory and other data - such as articles and news - to be integrated into a single platform, which helps authorities identify potential risks to individual banks and the banking system. The integration of regulatory and other data, facilitated by advanced technology, could enhance the analytical capabilities of regulators to be more forward-looking and data driven. The new platform comes amid changes in the financial landscape, with a shift in volume, speed and variety of data driving the use of financial technology. Meanwhile, supervisory data collection is still largely unchanged, with infrequent submissions using fixed aggregated templates, Project Ellipse report noted.
Savills Ties Up With Singapore Payments Fintech
Savills and fintech Banco – a platform launched by RootAnt Group, plan to offer digital financing and payments services in the property industry. The tie-up will target payments between strata management stakeholders. It will also provide better access to supply-chain financing and early payment services for small to medium enterprises (SMEs) in the sector, offering lower cost cash and working capital management services.The collaboration will also work to create green financing to help local businesses reduce their carbon footprint using Banco’s sustainability assessment services.
Plug and Play said in a press release, the strategic partnership, which spans across Southeast Asia, will see Income working with regional insurers, start-ups and digital ecosystem partners within Plug and Play's network to scale its innovative products and services to serve consumers across the ASEAN region. The partnership will be the first regional collaboration between Plug and Play and Income that not only focuses on cross-vertical business collaborations but also enhances financial access and value-adds to the existing customer journeys of non-financial ecosystem partners. Over the last few years, Income has created and launched innovative insurance products such as lifestyle-based microinsurance propositions, Droplet and SNACK to fit the needs of increasingly digitally-savvy customers in Singapore.
Fomo Pay to integrate USDC stablecoin into its services
FOMO Pay will integrate USDC into its services, allowing its merchant, corporate and financial institution clients to seamlessly convert between USDC and fiat currency. This will take advantage of the inherent efficiency of dollar digital currencies in payments and commerce. FOMO Pay’s recognition by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on 1 September 2021 as the first Digital Payment Token (DPT) Service licensee in Singapore reinforces its collaboration with Circle – consistent with the firm’s strategy to introduce crypto payments to its suite of services.
CHINA
Alibaba leads $60 million funding into augmented reality glasses maker Nreal in metaverse play
Big Tech companies in Guangzhou heat up China’s metaverse race through new local government-backed industry alliance
Alibaba leads $60 million funding into augmented reality glasses maker Nreal in metaverse play
Alibaba led a $60 million investment round into augmented reality glasses maker Nreal as Chinese technology giants look for ways to get in on the metaverse theme. Users can wear Nreal’s two glasses products, the Light or the Air, to access AR applications such as games or movies. So far, Nreal has been selling its products in a handful of markets including South Korea, Japan, Spain and the U.S. Kuaishou and iQiyi are also investors in Nreal. Alibaba’s investment in Nreal could hint toward a collaboration between the two given the start-up’s work with its other investors. For example, Nreal and Nio last year announced AR glasses tailored for electric vehicles. Alibaba has already announced plans to launch augmented reality glasses this year for virtual meetings.
A group of technology companies in Guangzhou, capital of southern Guangdong province, has formed a new industry association focused on metaverse-related developments, as the frenzy continues over what some consider the next stage of the internet weeks after the concept emerged as an unlikely topic in China’s “two sessions”. Five tech companies in Guangzhou – including GrowthEase, a business technology services provider under video gaming giant NetEase, and browser game publisher 37Games – on 25 March established the Guangzhou Metaverse Innovation Association in the city’s tech-centric Nansha district. According to Wang Guilin, director of the city’s Science and Technology Bureau, the Guangzhou Metaverse Innovation Association sets an example on how private enterprises and local governments can collaborate in emerging technologies.
ASIA
PingPong Payments enters a partnership with India Sourcing Network (ISN) to enable international growth for U.S. buyers and Indian sellers
Indonesian FinTech Amartha Eyes Bank Purchase
Pine Labs raises $50M to expand BNPL offering in SEA
FinTech unicorn valued at $2bn, PingPong Payments - specialists in cross-border payments solutions, has partnered with India Sourcing Network (ISN), to make borderless e-commerce possible by helping Indian sellers receive funds from their international buyers. The move will bring greater opportunities for U.S. buyers and Indian sellers, by leveraging PingPong's same-day payments service to create faster payment corridors and enable more competitive pricing, addressing end-to-end sourcing and payments needs for small and medium-sized businesses. PingPong's all-in-one platform processes payments through their integrated automation platform. By partnering with India Sourcing Network, Indian sellers can receive funds in real-time, in their domestic currency.
Indonesian FinTech Amartha Eyes Bank Purchase
Indonesian peer-to-peer lender Amartha is in talks to acquire 70% of local bank PT Bank Victoria Syariah. The talks between Amartha and the bank come as the former is looking to launch a pre-initial public offering (IPO) funding round. Amartha remains focused on growing their services in Indonesia to help serve the unbanked women to empower them with capital to start their business and pursue their dreams, as the company states. This deal, if it comes to fruition, would continue the trend of digital banks adding a brick-and-mortar presence. Earlier this year, Singapore wealth management FinTech iFAST acquired a majority stake in a U.K. based BFC Bank, and Singapore based Singapura Finance partnered with FinTech MatchMove.
Pine Labs raises $50M to expand BNPL offering in SEA
Leading merchant commerce platform Pine Labs has raised $50 million from Vitruvian Partners, a London-headquartered international investment firm. Pine Labs serves large, mid-sized and small merchants across India and Southeast Asia, and is expanding its Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) offering in Southeast Asia. The company launched 'Mastercard Installments with Pine Labs' programme, with Mastercard and DBS Bank to empower the bank's two million customers in Singapore, Indonesia, and Hong Kong with Pay Later installment purchase options at the point of sale.
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