This Week in Fintech - China (12/4)

The PBOC reaffirmed its tough stance by vowing to intensify its crackdown on virtual currency activities. Meanwhile. China’s bitcoin mining industry has quietly rebounded despite an official ban since 2021.

Binance named co-founder Yi He as Co-CEO, launched "Binance Prestige" bespoke service targeting private wealth and asset allocators. They also launched a new controversial product "Binance Junior", which is designed to help parents manage cryptocurrency for children.

RedotPay has teamed up with Ripple to enable verified users to convert crypto and stablecoins into near-instant, low-cost Nigerian naira payouts via Ripple Payments.

OSL Group has obtained an approval to roll out stablecoin payment services for wholesale customers in Australia.

INDODAX,Indonesia’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has signed an MoU with Hong Kong–licensed HashKey Exchange to enhance Southeast Asia’s crypto infrastructure.

UAE and China executed their first cross‑border CBDC payment.

Bank Indonesia plans to enable digital payments in China and South Korea by 2026.

UnionPay and Vietnam launched a pilot program for cross-border QR payments connecting China and Vietnam.

Ant International's Antom upgraded AI Copilot to automate merchant payment workflows. Its WorldFirst also introduced an AI-powered API-based enterprise solution designed to help large businesses expand globally by providing a unified financial infrastructure.

Ant International launched Alipay+ in Bahrain.

Macau Pass partnered with Alipay to its MPay Tap! service across Macao.

OCBC plans to let Singapore customers use its app to pay Chinese merchants via WeChatPayQR codes from early 2026.