hong kong

Ex-Meta employees’ Aptos tests Hong Kong’s crypto appetite

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

Lightspeed backs Markato, a marketplace that helps independent brands break into Asia

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 mar

Crypto lender Maple Finance raises $5M to enter Asia amid regulatory clarity

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 se

Rice Robotics picks up $7M, powers SoftBank’s office delivery

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 come from

Brinc launches new program for climate tech startups

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 a

Hong Kong eyes stablecoin regulatory regime by 2024

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

NFT spinoff from newspaper SCMP gets funded to tokenize historical artifacts

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 potential of t

As the US cracks down on crypto, Hong Kong extends a warm welcome

On a balmy day in mid-April, thousands of people queued in line to enter the Hong Kong Convention Center where the city’s inaugural web3 festival was underway. Most had flown in from mainland Ch

Hong Kong’s ZA Bank wants to be the go-to bank for crypto startups

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 now allowed

Hong Kong is charting its own web3 path despite China’s anti-crypto stance

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 thriv

KuCoin and Circle back Chinese yuan-pegged stablecoin in $10M round

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

Founder of troubled crypto asset unicorn Babel launches new DeFi project, stablecoin

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 avoid some

Hong Kong shows desire to be crypto hub with new regulation

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 proposed rules t

Hong Kong to explore legalizing retail crypto trades in reversal of previous proposal

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 its status as

WATI, a CRM tool built for WhatsApp, raises $23M led by Tiger Global

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 not be able to keep up with their

Tiger Global backs SaaS omnichannel social commerce platform SleekFlow in $8M funding

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 consumer

Singapore-based healthcare startup Ordinary Folk gets $5M to fight stigma

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 fo

Peeba raises $4.2M to digitize Asia’s B2B wholesale market  

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 pandemic lockdowns.

Hong Kong accelerator Brinc raises $30M Series B

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 primary t

Ex-Microsoft exec Harry Shum leads ‘digital economy’ research center in Shenzhen

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
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