Major Brazilian investment bank BTG Pactual is acquiring cryptocurrency-friendly brokerage Orama as part of its strategy to expand the bank’s digital platforms. BTG Pactual has signed an agreement to buy 100% of Orama’s shares for 500 million Brazilian reais ($98.7 million). Announcing the news on Oct. 2, BTG Pactual said that the acquisition is part of the bank’s digital expansion strategy and offers more investment opportunities. “We are very excited about the acquisition, which will...

Global payment giant Visa is raising its bet on artificial intelligence (AI) in commerce and settlements by setting up a new fund to invest in generative AI ventures. Visa on Oct. 2 announced a new $100-million generative AI initiative to invest in companies focused on developing generative AI technologies and applications related to commerce and payments. The investment will be curated by Visa’s global corporate investment arm, Visa Ventures, which has been working on supporting innovation...

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has rolled out a crypto lending service for institutional investors in the United States, reportedly aiming to capitalize on massive failures in the crypto lending market. Coinbase has quietly launched an institutional-grade crypto lending platform, Coinbase Prime, to U.S. investors, according to a Bloomberg report on Sept. 5. Coinbase Prime is a full-service prime brokerage platform that lets institutions execute trades and custody assets. “With this service,...

Hong Kong is expanding cryptocurrency trading exposure to individual investors, with at least one exchange getting the regulatory green light to offer the services. Local digital asset firm HashKey has successfully obtained all necessary licensing to expand its business from serving professional investors to taking on retail users, the firm announced on Aug. 3. HashKey’s new regulatory milestone has been enabled by upgrading two major licenses issued by Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures...

Hong Kong is expanding its financial collaboration with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, targeting tokenization and payments infrastructure agreements. On July 26, the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) held a bilateral meeting to strengthen the integration of financial services between the two countries. As part of the meeting agenda, the HKMA and the SAMA discussed initiatives such as financial infrastructure development, open market operations, market...