hong kong

With U.S. regulators continuing to ramp up their scrutiny of crypto, startups and founders in the space are looking overseas to find friendlier climates to support their growth. One such…

Ever since Hong Kong legalized cryptocurrency trading last June, blockchain projects from the West have been paying more attention to the Asian financial hub. Aptos, the a16z- and Tiger Global-backed…

During the pandemic, almost all retailers in Asia established an e-commerce presence and adopted digital payments. But one thing that didn’t change was sourcing, say the founders of cross-border marketplace…

Maple Finance, an on-chain, institutional credit marketplace that’s aspiring to fill a gap left behind by the collapses of crypto lending heavyweights like BlockFi and Celsius, has its sights set…

In the crowded enterprise robotics space, the ability to secure key clients is a crucial differentiator for companies. In the case of Hong Kong���based Rice Robotics, the important order has…

Brinc, the Hong Kong–based accelerator backed by investors like Animoca Brands, is launching a new program for fledgling climate tech startups. The three-month program is tailored for founders who are…

While the Western world debates how to regulate stablecoins, Hong Kong is forging ahead with a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies pegged to traditional financial assets. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority…

When an NFT series commemorating the handover of Hong Kong from the U.K. to China generated $260,000 in sales, Artifact Labs, the startup that launched the collection, saw the long-term…

As the collapses of Signature Bank and Silvergate sent crypto companies scrambling, a virtual bank from Hong Kong is extending a warm welcome to web3 startups. Hong Kong-based ZA Bank is…

While these developments are encouraging signs to some, others question whether the semi-autonomous region has the right conditions for building all forms of web3 organizations and businesses to thrive.

Circle Ventures, the venture arm of the USDC issuer Circle, has invested in an offshore Chinese yuan-backed stablecoin project, CNHC. It’s hard to overlook the timing and strategic significance of…

Flex Yang, the former CEO and founder of Babel Finance, is leading efforts to restructure the now embattled crypto asset unicorn while introducing a new decentralized project with hopes to…

As the U.S. government continues to rein in the crypto industry with a spate of regulations, other places are emerging as new hubs for the virtual asset industry. On Monday,…

Hong Kong has proposed allowing retail investors to trade in cryptocurrencies and crypto exchange-traded funds and plans to conduct pilots in NFT issuance and CBDC as it looks to regain…

WhatsApp is used by more than two billion around the world and is an important tool for many small businesses. But as they scale up, even WhatsApp for Business might…

Social commerce — the process of buying and selling products or services directly through social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok — is becoming the most natural way for…

Ordinary Folk, a Singapore-based telehealth startup dedicated to men and women’s health issues, has raised $5 million in pre-Series A funding from Monk’s Hill Ventures. The funding will be used…

Over the past two years, Asia’s retailers were forced to do virtual meetings instead of visiting in-person trade shows or conferences to source new brands and products due to the…

I’ve visited Brinc’s headquarters the last few times I’ve been to Hong Kong, and been impressed with the range of different startups the accelerator works with. I knew the organization…

The International Digital Economy Academy (IDEA) quietly opened last year, perched among ultramodern office buildings on Shenzhen’s side of the river border with Hong Kong. While geographically separated from Hong…

Singapore-based Deskimo, the on-demand app that lets people find co-working spaces and pay by the minute, announced today it has raised a $3 million seed round. It is also soft…

Entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) often struggle to deal with several siloed functions, such as company secretary, bookkeeping, banking, tax, payroll, employment services, insurance and more. French entrepreneurs…

After a challenging year for location-based virtual reality startups due to COVID-19, Sandbox VR, a location-based VR startup, is making a comeback with a plan to expand its operations further across…

FunNow is a booking app for spontaneous people. For example, you can reserve a manicure or restaurant seat and head right over. As people start to spend more time outside…

Based in Hong Kong, Finverse’s ambitious goal is to enable open banking throughout the Asia-Pacific region. The startup recently came out of stealth mode with $1.8 million in seed funding…

XanPool, a payment infrastructure provider that facilitates faster crypto and fiat settlements, announced today it has raised a $27 million Series A led by Valar Ventures. The round included participation…

Cobo, a Singapore-based crypto asset management platform, raised a $40 million Series B to accelerate the development of decentralized finance as a service (DFaaS). The round was co-led by DST…

There is a physical activity deficit in our world. Three-fourths of adults say staying in shape is very important for health benefits. Yet, one in four adults and 81% of…