South Korea’s Jeonbuk Bank has entered a partnership with Ripple to implement the latter’s cross-border payment solution for business customers, including import-export firms, technology startups, and online content creators. The collaboration aims to streamline international transactions, reflecting growing adoption of blockchain-based financial infrastructure in the region.
The move follows a series of regulatory and industry developments in South Korea, including the introduction of a bill to expand the Financial Intelligence Unit’s (FIU) authority over unregistered cryptocurrency firms. The legislation, proposed by People Power Party lawmaker Eom Tae-young, seeks to strengthen oversight of virtual asset activities.
Separately, BitGo Korea secured approval for its Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) registration, enabling institutional-grade crypto custody services. Meanwhile, South Korea’s Korea Media and Communications Commission blocked Polymarket, a decentralised prediction platform, citing gambling-related risks.
In parallel, Bitdeer AI, a division of a Bitcoin mining firm, signed a $400 million AI cloud computing deal, targeting 350 megawatts of data centre capacity by early 2028. SBI Group led a $68 million Series C funding round for Fasset, valuing the firm at $1 billion.
Toyota Finance also announced plans to issue a 1 billion yen tokenized bond, accessible via a mobile payment app, while Standard Chartered began distributing Hong Kong’s new regulated stablecoin, HKDAP. Meanwhile, Alibaba raised $10.2 billion through share sales to fund its AI initiatives.
Written by Oliver Grant
Markets Desk
