Partnerships & Ecosystem

Startale Group is expanding into Abu Dhabi after joining the Hub71+ Digital Assets cohort, enhancing blockchain infrastructure and connections within the region's growing crypto ecosystem, following a $63 million funding round.

A leading exchange announced that its crypto lending service is now available to users in the UK, allowing users to borrow USDC by pledging BTC, ETH, or cbETH, up to $5 million. Morpho, as the back-end infrastructure, provides the service. At present, the collateral available to UK users is limited, while US users can use more crypto assets. This expansion takes place amid intensifying challenges in the crypto lending market, yet Morpho remains in a strong market position.

Singapore Gulf Bank has launched USDC minting and redemption services on the Solana network for institutional clients, enhancing transaction efficiency and addressing challenges in transferring large sums between traditional and crypto markets.

Solana's Chief Product Officer bought $10,000 in XRP to showcase wXRP's utility, driving $1 million in liquidity within 24 hours. This highlights growing interoperability in DeFi and signals a shift in liquidity flows as ecosystems merge.

AINFT has integrated with Trust Wallet, allowing users to easily connect to AI models across TRON and EVM networks. This enhances Web3 identity interactions and offers new users a welcome bonus of 10,000 AINFT points.

A major centralized exchange is negotiating with another to explore tokenization and custody for U.S.-listed stocks. The second exchange aims to enter the U.S. market via a separate entity, assisted by a local partner for compliance.

On April 1, the Hack Seasons Conference held its latest edition in Cannes, bringing together senior voices from crypto, payments, and institutional finance to examine how digital assets are moving into mainstream financial infrastructure. A standout session, "Stablecoins as the New Financial

OpenAssets partnered with Chainlink to enhance institutional asset tokenization, integrating their technologies for advanced solutions. This collaboration could enable the tokenization of over $68 trillion in assets.

Hong Kong's SFC launched a pilot framework for secondary trading of tokenised investment products on licensed platforms, enhancing retail access and blockchain settlement. The framework includes investor protection measures and aims to expand the tokenised products market.

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission will issue two guidance circulars for tokenized products in 2026, covering primary-market subscription and redemption and secondary-market trading requirements, respectively. The circulars will clearly define the responsibilities of product providers, liquidity requirements, and fair pricing mechanisms. The new regulatory framework will affect how the industry operates and will create new business opportunities for compliance lawyers, forming a template for tokenized finance regulation in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission will publish a framework in April 2026 that will allow licensed virtual asset trading platforms to conduct secondary-market transactions of tokenized assets, with the first batch including money market funds and future expansion to stocks, bonds, and more. This will make Hong Kong the first market to use Web3 infrastructure, and it will advance in step with the regulatory technology “CrypTech” to establish a regulatory template for tokenized finance. The move is intended to secure Hong Kong’s position as an Asia-Pacific digital-asset hub and to create competitive pressure on Taiwan-based industry players.

Mizuho, Nomura, JSCC, and Digital Asset are launching a blockchain pilot to enhance collateral management with Japanese Government Bonds, focusing on real-time transactions and regulatory compliance, as part of Japan's Payment Innovation Project.

At the 2026 Hong Kong Web3 Carnival, Lennix discussed the impact of AI Agents on trading and the need for a comprehensive onchain operating system. He emphasized the importance of integrating security and efficiency to facilitate autonomous decision-making and promote collaborative market interactions.

A centralized exchange launched crypto-backed lending services in the UK, allowing instant USDC loans using BTC, ETH, and cbETH as collateral, powered by Morpho. Total loans issued surpassed $2.17 billion since the service's US debut in January 2025.

OCBC and Lion Global Investors are launching a physical gold fund token, GOLDX Token, on Ethereum and Solana blockchains, with OCBC handling design and Lion Global managing investment and governance.

Solana introduced WXRP, a bridged token equal to XRP, on April 18. Issued by Hex Trust and supported by LayerZero, WXRP allows XRP holders to engage in Solana's DeFi ecosystem while retaining their original assets. It is backed 1:1 by XRP and can be redeemed anytime.

SGB enables instant USDC minting and redemption on Solana, improving cross-border payments with real-time settlement. Service targets institutions, removing intermediaries and supporting 24/7 liquidity and treasury management. Expansion plans include more stablecoins and retail access, li

MEET48 is holding a Hong Kong Web3 Carnival Side Event focusing on Real World Assets in entertainment. The COO will speak at the main venue on April 21.

Hong Kong officials announced that they are studying the rules for the secondary market of tokenized products, and plan to release details in the first half of 2026. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has issued the first batch of two stablecoin licenses, driving the development of digital assets, while Hong Kong is also actively expanding the use of tokenized money market funds and green bonds. In addition, the flow of funds between Hong Kong and the Middle East has been increasing as well.

Hana Financial Investment has partnered with Canton Network to explore collaboration in the financial sector. The blockchain network facilitates asset transfers and data exchanges among major financial institutions, enhancing interoperability and privacy.