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M2 Capital Invests $20M in Ethena to Expand Digital Assets in Middle East

by admin September 25, 2025

M2 Capital Limited, the investment arm of UAE-based M2 Holdings, has invested $20 million in Ethena’s governance token, ENA. The move underscores a push to connect Middle Eastern investors with new digital asset infrastructure at a time when the region is seeking a larger role in global finance.

Ethena is best known for its crypto-native synthetic dollar, USDe, and its reward-bearing version, sUSDe. Both are backed by crypto collateral and maintained through hedging strategies designed to reduce volatility.

The protocol has attracted more than $14 billion in deposits since launching in 2024, reflecting appetite for stablecoin-like products that also generate yield.

M2 Global Wealth, an affiliate of M2 Holdings, will integrate Ethena into its wealth management offerings. The group says this adds a regulated way for clients to access returns from emerging digital assets. Kim Wong, M2’s head of treasury, said the deal sets a new standard for trust and security in the region’s market.

The investment follows M2’s participation in a funding initiative for the Sui blockchain ecosystem earlier this year. It also comes as the UAE continues to strengthen its regulatory framework to attract crypto firms and investors.

By aligning with Ethena, M2 aims to offer custody, yield, and liquidity services while accelerating adoption of new digital finance tools in the Middle East.

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September 25, 2025 0 comments

Esports

Yankees clinch playoff spot with walk-off win, close gap in AL East

by admin September 24, 2025

Jorge CastilloSep 24, 2025, 12:59 AM ET
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NEW YORK — José Caballero, a Yankee for all of 54 days, proudly carried a championship belt — given to the player of the game after every New York victory — around his left shoulder as alcohol-soaked chaos raged around him in the home clubhouse Tuesday night.

Acquired at the trade deadline to provide a versatile spark off the bench, the utility infielder fulfilled his duties to the max for the distinction: An inning after entering the game as a pinch-runner, Caballero swatted a two-out, walk-off single on the ninth pitch of his at-bat to lift the Yankees to a 2-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox and clinch the 60th postseason berth in franchise history.

“This is the best time to have the belt,” Caballero said, “and I’m not letting it go.”

Coupled with the Toronto Blue Jays’ loss to the Boston Red Sox, the Yankees moved within a game of first place in the American League East with five games remaining. Toronto, however, holds the tiebreaker over New York. The Yankees would have to surpass the Blue Jays in the standings by the end of Sunday to claim their 22nd division title and earn a bye into the ALDS to begin their pursuit of a second consecutive AL pennant after falling to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series last season.

“This is the best time to have the belt,” José Caballero, acquired by the Yankees at the trade deadline, said after delivering a two-out, walk-off single Tuesday night to clinch the 60th postseason berth in franchise history, “and I’m not letting it go.” Al Bello/Getty Images

“This October we’re coming to prove a point,” Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. said.

For now, the Yankees are guaranteed their eighth postseason appearance over the past nine years and their 26th trip in the 32 seasons since the playoffs were expanded to eight teams in 1994. Their magic number to clinch the top AL wild card spot — and guarantee home-field advantage in a three-game wild-card series — is three. The Yankees have not played in a wild-card series since it was first implemented in 2022.

“The ultimate goal is to win our division,” Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge said as teammates bathed him with MVP chants and showered him with alcohol. “It’s still right there for us. So, we’re excited about getting in, but we got bigger things ahead of us.”

The Yankees, despite boasting the third-most expensive roster in baseball, entered the season with pressing questions after losing Juan Soto to the Mets in free agency and Gerrit Cole to a season-ending UCL tear in spring training.

What followed has, so far, been a three-chapter tale. Their 42-25 record to start the season through June 12 was third best in the majors. From there, they went 22-31 through Aug. 12, tied for the seventh-worst mark in baseball. They then went 25-12 since Aug. 13, the best record in the majors, to ignite Tuesday’s celebration and cut the Blue Jays’ division lead by five games.

Challenges surfaced throughout the season. Oswaldo Cabrera’s gruesome season-ending knee injury in May opened a gaping hole at third base that wasn’t addressed until the trade deadline. Giancarlo Stanton didn’t make his season debut until mid-June as he dealt with tendon injuries in both elbows. Clarke Schmidt, another rotation stalwart, joined Cole on the list of Tommy John surgery recipients in July. Luis Gil missed the season’s first four months with a lat injury.

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Anthony Volpe’s struggles at shortstop and in the batter’s box drew consistent boos all summer and, eventually, a dip in playing time. Devin Williams, acquired over the winter, lost his job as closer twice. Veterans DJ LeMahieu and Marcus Stroman were designated for assignment.

And, finally, the latest major blow: The flexor strain Judge suffered in his right arm in late July, which forced a 10-day trip to the injured list to interrupt his MVP-level campaign, limited him to designated hitter for a month upon his return, and has cast doubt over his ability to unleash full-effort throws from right field.

“It’s been a challenging year, no question about it,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “But, at my core, and especially as we got here to the final couple months and then we got to the final month, I’m looking around in there and knowing that we’re pretty healthy and getting guys back … I [felt] like our best baseball was absolutely ahead of us and, hopefully, even still is ahead of us.

“But I think we’re a really good club. It doesn’t guarantee anything, but I’ll certainly take our chances up against anyone.”

The Yankees overcame the obstacles with a combination of internal development and external additions.

“This October we’re coming to prove a point,” said second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. The Yankees are in pursuit of a second consecutive AL pennant after falling to the Dodgers in the World Series last year. John Jones/Imagn Images

Trent Grisham emerged as the everyday center fielder with a career year. Cody Bellinger, acquired over the offseason to compensate for Soto’s departure, gave the Yankees the left-handed bat they needed behind Judge while providing elite defense at four positions. Ben Rice solidified himself as a potent power hitter and a catcher the Yankees can trust. Rookie Cam Schlittler joined the rotation in July, just before the All-Star break, and didn’t relinquish his rotation spot. Chisholm became the third Yankee to ever post a 30/30 season.

And at the deadline, general manager Brian Cashman, recognizing the roster was clunky and short on relievers, acquired three position players for more roster versatility and four right-handers to overhaul the bullpen.

“The depth is very impressive,” Bellinger said. “Just the type of guys we got here, man. The culture here is very impressive, is very fun to be a part of. And we just believe in each other.”

One of those position players added on the final day in July starred when it mattered most Tuesday night, putting together the kind of at-bat that wins games in October to send the Yankees to the postseason again for another chance at World Series title No. 28.

“We are coming for the big thing,” Caballero said.

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September 24, 2025 0 comments

Photo: ANDER GILLENEA/AFP via Getty Images

Gaming Gear

Internet Access in the Middle East Disrupted After Undersea Cables Are Mysteriously Cut

by admin September 8, 2025

Over the weekend, crucial undersea cables providing internet access to parts of Asia were mysteriously cut, leading to internet outages in certain parts of the Middle East and Asia.

The initial news seems to have originated from a Microsoft announcement published on Sunday. The announcement reads, in part: “Starting at 05:45 UTC on 06 September 2025, network traffic traversing through the Middle East may experience increased latency due to undersea fiber cuts in the Red Sea.” Gizmodo reached out to the company for more information.

From the available reporting, much of which comes from the Associated Press, it’s still unclear who has actually been impacted. Netblocks, the internet monitoring service, claims that the cable cuts led to “degraded internet connectivity in multiple countries, including #Pakistan and #India; the incident is attributed to failures affecting the SMW4 and IMEWE cable systems near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.”

The AP report notes that the Saudi government hasn’t acknowledged the outages, although Kuwait did announce damage to the FALCON GCX cable, which runs through the Red Sea. Internet access outside of that geographic region isn’t expected to be impacted, Microsoft said.

Some suspicion has apparently been thrown on Houthi rebel groups who have operated in the Red Sea for months, although AP notes that such groups have denied attacking the cables in the past. In March, three cables in the Red Sea were cut, and suspicion was cast on the Houthis. We still don’t know who was responsible for that incident. The Houthis say their military efforts are intended to disrupt Israel’s violent military campaign in Gaza.

In recent years, there’s been rising concern about damage to cables, and some onlookers see evidence of geopolitical sabotage. The International Cable Protection Committee (yes, there is such a thing) meets annually to discuss political and technical solutions to better bolster protections for the aquatic network of vital internet infrastructure.

Earlier this year, cable disruptions near the Baltics and Taiwan inspired accusations of intervention by America’s foes, NBC previously reported. That said, it’s also possible that cables are frequently being damaged unintentionally, sometimes by large ocean freighters or other environmental disturbances.

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September 8, 2025 0 comments

Crypto Trends

The Future Of Crypto In Asia-Middle East

by admin August 24, 2025

Opinion by: Dipendra Jain, co-founder of TCX

Regulation has become the baseline for crypto. From the United States’ regulatory enforcement to Dubai’s comprehensive crypto rulebook and India’s renewed debate on formalizing Bitcoin reserves, governments are rewriting the rules of digital finance. As listed institutions, retailers and social networks weigh in on digital asset rails, stablecoins and yield mechanisms, the real story is no longer what’s next, but who is building what comes next.

Speculation once drove adoption, but structured compliance catalyzes scale across the Asia-Middle East corridor. Hubs like the United Arab Emirates and India represent the treatment of regulation as the backbone of innovation. The UAE is pushing a unified virtual asset service providers (VASP) framework to accelerate global crypto ambitions. At the same time, India is opening the door for offshore crypto exchanges to return, with approvals now subject to the review of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).

As regulatory frameworks formalize, platforms must align with new taxation, data governance and licensing rules to access expanding markets without friction. The global center of gravity is tilting eastward, and the question is: Who will master the age of “permissioned scale,” where sustainable growth comes from thriving within regulation, not skirting them?

Jurisdictional intelligence and the demographic interplay

Once sufficient for market entry, understanding jurisdictional rules is no longer enough. The Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) has issued 36 full licenses and supports over 400 registered companies. VARA is also piloting tokenized gold and DeFi products, which promise growing enthusiasm to experiment with real-world assets beyond established solutions within a controlled environment.

But regulation alone renders platforms powerless if they fail to meet users where they are. With over 1.12 billion cellular mobile connections in India, 55.3% have internet access, and only 27% of adults meet basic financial literacy requirements. Platforms must recognize the need to bridge the knowledge gap through education-embedded user journeys. Crypto platforms can offer far more efficient, blockchain-based fintech solutions in remittance-heavy Cambodia and the Philippines, where such transactions make up 9% of GDP, by leveraging stablecoins to simplify transfers, reduce costs, and enhance transparency.

Financial sovereignty will remain aspirational for underbanked populations and emerging markets without contextualized features and user-oriented solutions. Platforms that embed jurisdictional intelligence at their core and localize products with compliance and cultural relevance will set the standard for future adoption. This ultimately differentiates between short-term participation and long-term leadership.

Compliance as a competitive moat

The industry is at a juncture where compliance has become the ultimate competitive moat. Low-cost, government-backed payment rails are displacing traditional payment flows, challenging global card networks like Mastercard and Visa. Today, regulated fiat-crypto integration carries similar potential to displace legacy infrastructure, which can only be unlocked by those actively building trusted access by working within regulatory parameters.

Related: The rise of Money2: The next financial system has already begun

When there is regulatory clarity, progress and adoption will follow. The UAE attracted $34 billion in crypto inflows in the Middle East last year. India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is another example of how regulation can boost fraud indicators in safeguarding user funds. Collective efforts across borders can encourage crypto platforms to integrate automated compliance and risk monitoring at the protocol level.

A regulated foundation also makes cross-border capital flow more viable. This allows them to meet institutional demands for transparent, scalable access to diversified liquidity and global capital markets. Permissioned scale is underway, where regulation, payments and liquidity infrastructure extend in sync. Stablecoin developments further complement this infrastructure, providing a strong, programmable medium for cross-border settlements that bridge traditional finance and crypto ecosystems.

AI and RWA as financial democratisation enablers

AI introduces three indispensable elements: real-time regulatory interpretation, fraud detection and parity-based trading. Platforms can navigate jurisdictional requirements by injecting regulatory intelligence directly into trading mechanisms while optimizing user experience.

Real-world assets (RWAs) further expand that opportunity. Tokenized real estate, sovereign bonds, and commodities such as gold are gaining traction, with a projection to grow into a $10 trillion market by 2030, particularly in economies seeking to diversify wealth pools and investment options. In ESG sectors like agriculture, carbon credits and trade receivables, tokenization removes friction, reduces reliance on intermediaries and accelerates settlement timelines. It creates liquidity for underserved participants, including small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs), while offering institutional investors new, risk-adjusted, diversified returns.

Partnerships across capital markets and crypto companies also lay the groundwork for tokenized private equity and other frontier assets. While still deemed mainly uncharted waters, clarity is poised to catch up as giants like BlackRock, eToro, Robinhood and Coinbase call for RWA representation in mainstream portfolios.

An AI-native approach that can price, route and settle RWA trades must integrate compliance throughout the stack, from onboarding and identity verification to transaction monitoring and regulatory reporting. This compliant, AI-powered core will become a definitive innovation for the next generation of financial infrastructure.

Victorious platforms are those that scale by design

The payoff from speculative surges has faded. Today’s growth comes from platforms designed to scale with the rules. When regulation is a given, the true differentiator lies in those who will build trust, liquidity, and utility that endures across jurisdictions.

Leadership in this emerging reality will come from platforms fluent in regulatory nuance, grounded in user behavior and equipped with the technology to unlock compliant access to global capital and real-world assets. As the Asia-Middle East corridor sets the pace, the platforms that master permissioned scale will write crypto’s next playbook.

Opinion by: Dipendra Jain, co-founder of TCX.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

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August 24, 2025 0 comments