Digital

• GXS Bank and MariBank, Singapore's digital banks, posted increased interest income for FY2025 ended in 2025, driven by sustained lending activities. • Both banks are leaning on South-east Asia markets to fuel profitability, expanding beyond Singapore into regional operations. • The growth highlights lending as a core strategy amid competitive digital banking landscape in ASEAN.

• Echelon Singapore 2026, set for June 3-4, features exhibitors in AI-powered sustainability, cybersecurity, and HR platforms across ASEAN. • Leaders from Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam will highlight digital transformation initiatives amid regional tech growth. • The event underscores Southeast Asia's rising role in global AI and green tech innovation, drawing investors and startups.

Rural dwellers reveal failings in backup plans, as campaigners call for deadline to be extended from 2027 to 2030“Every time there is a power failure I lose all means of communication with the outside world,” says Robert Dewar of life in a remote village in the Scottish Highlands since the landlines were transferred from the old copper cable network to broadband connections.Blackouts also knock out the village’s mobile phone signal. “Our most recent power cut lasted for 42 hours,” Dewar says. The interruption outlasted his five-hour emergency backup battery. “If I had had a heart attack there is damn all I could have done about it, except compose myself, say my prayers, and await the outcome.” Continue reading...

• Blocks, an AI startup, secured $20 million in Series A funding led by Entrée Capital to develop autonomous digital workforces. • The funding will support deployment of AI agents capable of handling complex tasks independently. • This investment highlights growing VC interest in agentic AI technologies amid enterprise automation demands.

US president accuses UK of thinking it can ‘make an easy buck’ from US tech companies, weeks after warning that UK–US trade deal can be changedDonald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on the UK if it does not drop its digital services tax on US social media firms.The digital services tax, introduced in 2020, imposes a 2% levy on the revenues of several major US tech companies. Continue reading...

Justin Sun alleges World Liberty Financial installed tools to prevent sale of his tokens after they became tradeableBillionaire crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun on Tuesday sued World Liberty Financial, the digital currency venture co-founded by Donald Trump and his sons, alleging that World Liberty illegally froze his holdings of tokens issued by the company.Sun, the largest investor in World Liberty, alleged in the lawsuit, filed in a federal court in California, that the company secretly installed tools to prevent the sale of his tokens after they became tradeable in September 2025. The lawsuit also alleges that World Liberty threatened to “burn” – or permanently delete – his holdings, even while they were in Sun’s digital wallet. Continue reading...

A huge rise in internet users under the age of 30 has fuelled an increase in online violence against women and girls with devastating real-life effects, activists sayActivists and lawyers in Africa are calling for urgent action to protect women, girls and boys as digital violence surges across the continent.A massive rise in internet users, coupled with huge numbers of people aged under 30, has fuelled an increase in gendered online violence across the continent, according to experts, by giving perpetrators new tools to control and silence women and girls, and influence boys. Continue reading...

• House Republicans argue that financial regulators must adapt governance frameworks to keep pace with innovations in artificial intelligence, digital assets, and real-time payment systems. • Congressional financial services leaders contend that regulatory evolution is essential as these technologies reshape how Americans save, invest, and conduct transactions. • The statement reflects broader debates about regulatory modernization in response to rapid technological change in the financial sector.

• The U.S. Department of the Treasury issued its March 2026 congressional report under the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act of 2025, addressing innovative technologies to counter illicit finance in digital assets. • The report covers mixers, obfuscation services, and stablecoin transactions on distributed ledgers, aligning with Trump Administration priorities for privacy protection and reduced regulatory burden. • It outlines the Bank Secrecy Act framework, AML programs, and updates from the 2020 Anti-Money Laundering Act to strengthen regulations against money laundering and terrorism financing.

• U.S. Treasury issued its March 2026 congressional report under the 2025 GENIUS Act on innovative technologies countering illicit finance in digital assets and stablecoins. • Report addresses mixers, tumblers, and obfuscation services on distributed ledgers, proposing frameworks aligned with administration priorities on privacy and regulatory burden. • Builds on 2021 AML Act and BSA authorities for AML/CFT programs, information sharing among financial institutions, and modernizing rules against money laundering and terrorism financing.