The investment banking firm has provided $133m in debt and equity financing for Neyber, which offers loans that are paid back directly through borrowers' salaries.

Mark Radcliffe and John McKinlay, partners at DLA Piper, discuss the potential of blockchain and distributed ledger technology.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group has formed an innovation hub in Tokyo as well as a partnership with Work-Bench and Stanford StartX.

Infoteria and Jafco have combined to invest $14.6m in cryptocurrency technology developer Tech Bureau, reportedly bringing its overall funding to $24m.

Financial services firms Iccrea, Banca Etica and Banca Sella have put their weight behind mobile payment service Satispay in a $21.5m series C round.

The Tencent, Alibaba and Ping An-backed online insurance provider has secured approval to float in Hong Kong, two years after raising cash at an $8bn valuation.

Sistema Asia Fund has joined existing shareholders for an initial $10.5m tranche, which is set to be followed by a final close of $50m to $80m within six months.