Ripple will pour $50m into R&D at 17 academic institutions, including institutions in the US, UK, India and Brazil.

The ride hailing firm has launched Grab Ventures, which is set to make eight to 10 investments over the next two years, and established an accelerator called Velocity.

SoftBank Ventures Korea has led a series A round for the co-working spaces provider, while Line, Naver and Sinar Mas Land also contributed cash.

Kuaishou has acquired AcFun, which was reported earlier this year to have wound down but had in fact experienced a major server crash.

Huobi and Kiwoom Securities have joined forces with NewMargin Capital to launch a blockchain-focused investment fund.

Sina has co-led a $103m funding round for Pintec, which focuses on retail financial services.

Alibaba has purchased a 10% stake in Babytree that valued the e-commerce platform at $2.2bn.

Xinhu Zhongbao has contributed to a series B round for Hyperchain Technologies, which is developing blockchain technology aimed at sectors such as healthcare and energy.

The smartphone manufacturer, which filed for a $10bn initial public offering in May, is planning to raise up to 30% of the amount in mainland China and the remainder in Hong Kong.

Hironao Kunimitsu, founder and CEO of Gumi, and Miko Matsumura, founder of virtual currency exchange Evercoin, are leading Gumi Cryptos.