Citing sources from Bloomberg, Fireblocks Inc., a cryptocurrency company supported by Sequoia Capital and Coatue Management, has acquired BlockFold, a Melbourne-based startup that helps financial institutions build blockchain-based systems. An anonymous source stated that Fireblocks paid about $10 million for the acquisition of BlockFold. <br>

RestakeFi, a modular liquidity restaking platform supported by EigenLayer, announced the completion of a $500,000 seed round of financing, with participation from AlfaDAO, DCD, Yields and More, Moni, and others.

On September 27th, Sui announced the Demo Day finalists for the Sui Liquid Stake hackathon, which includes the following protocols for liquid staking: Aftermath Finance, DegenHive, Haedal Protocol, Interest Protocol, SUISA, Volo; the LST DeFi and tool finalists include: Aftermath Finance, Bucket Protocol, Desig, kanalabs, Legato, Wisp Swap.

On September 27th, Stellar announced the launch of its latest wallet software development kit, the Stellar Wallet SDK. The aim is to make it easier to build native wallets on the blockchain and access payment channels and use cases on the network. Financial technology companies can build a wallet that supports Stellar network technology standards without needing to master blockchain details.

Hong Kong's Acting Financial Secretary, Paul Chan Mo-po, said at the Hong Kong Bankers' Summit that there are now over 800 fintech companies in Hong Kong, up from about 180 five years ago. The Hong Kong government will continue to cultivate a large number of talents to support the development of fintech and green finance, and will also promote projects such as central bank digital currencies. <br>

Allied Bank has partnered with Synapsify Systems and Fasset to advance its Metaverse and Web3.0 initiatives, aiming to provide an enhanced virtual interface for its customers. The virtual touchpoint will allow users to personalize their avatars and gain insights into the bank's offerings.

The recent finance and fintech news has caused uncertainty for some financial institutions and digital assets skeptics, but it has also led to a shift from blind confidence to educated optimism regarding cutting-edge financial technologies, particularly DLT. Institutional investors are increasingly recognizing the potential of blockchain technology, with a large majority believing in its potential for finance and planning to increase their allocations to the digital asset sector in the coming year.

KPMG stated that due to macroeconomic concerns, investment in Canadian fintech companies in the first half of 2023 has decreased by three times. There were a total of 57 transactions (including venture capital, private equity, and merger and acquisition activities), with a total amount of US $353.7 million. This is lower than the investment amount of US $1.09 billion from 87 transactions in the second half of 2022 and the investment amount of US $834.1 million from 109 transactions in the first half of 2022. <br>

Global funding in the fintech space decreased by almost half to $7.8 billion in Q2 2022, the lowest level since 2017, according to CB Insights' State of Fintech report. However, Latin America experienced a surge in investor interest, with VC investors deploying $7.8 billion across a record 1,114 deals in 2022, down from $15.9 billion in 2021.

While India has been a leader in fintech in South Asia, Pakistan and Bangladesh have significant potential for growth in the payments and digital banking sectors. Pakistan's fintech sector had a record year in 2022, with digital banks being approved to serve the unbanked population. Bangladesh, with a large population lacking bank accounts, is also a prime candidate for digital banks, with the government aiming for 75% of local transactions to be conducted digitally by 2027. Ant, a major player in the fintech industry, has a stake in bKash, Bangladesh's leading e-wallet, and a strong presence in Pakistan's fintech through its partnership with Telenor.