Technology

AEON Expands to Bolivia, Deploying OpenBCB National QR Rails to Anchor Global Agentic Commerce

Published

2 months ago

July 9, 2026

HONG KONG, July 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — AEON, the settlement layer built for the agentic economy, has expanded its payment infrastructure into Bolivia with support for the country’s national QR payment standard, OpenBCB.

The integration enables users to scan merchant-displayed QR codes and complete purchases using crypto assets, while merchants receive seamless settlement in Bolivian Bolivianos (BOB). By connecting crypto-native payments to Bolivia’s interoperable QR payment ecosystem, AEON continues expanding the localized settlement rails that bridge digital assets, local commerce, and AI-powered economic activity.

Connecting Crypto to Bolivia’s Fast-Growing QR Payment Economy

Bolivia has emerged as one of Latin America’s fastest-growing digital payment markets, driven largely by the adoption of interoperable QR payments under the OpenBCB framework.

Launched by the Banco Central de Bolivia (BCB), OpenBCB was designed to unify the country’s financial ecosystem through a single interoperable QR payment standard, allowing users to pay merchants using any participating banking application or digital wallet.

According to data released by the Central Bank of Bolivia, QR transactions have grown by more than 4,700% in less than three years from 2021 to 2024, making QR payments one of the country’s most rapidly adopted payment methods. Meanwhile, industry data shows that QR-based payments account for the vast majority of electronic transfer activity across the banking system.

By integrating OpenBCB into AEON’s settlement network, crypto-powered transactions can now interact directly with these established local payment habits. When users make a payment, AEON automatically handles crypto conversion and local settlement, allowing merchants to receive BOB while preserving a familiar checkout experience.

Multi-Wallet and Multi-Asset Support

To drive maximum retail adoption, the updated AEON Pay platform incorporates comprehensive multi-channel compatibility:

Scan-to-Pay Simplicity: Users can scan any standard terminal displaying the OpenBCB layout at local points of sale, checking out using direct non-custodial crypto transfers or the asset balance securely maintained in their AEON wallet.

Top-Tier Ecosystem Integrations: Immediate cross-network processing is natively supported via partner integrations, including Binance Wallet, OKX Wallet, Solana Pay, Bitget Wallet, TokenPocket, KuCoin, and Bybit.

Zero Merchant Friction: While the shopper utilizes digital currencies, AEON’s backend protocol coordinates the underlying liquidity path, liquidating the asset and automatically crediting the merchant’s account in Bolivian Bolivianos (BOB) in real time.

Accessible via Telegram MiniApps, wallet dApps, and direct exchange integrations, AEON Pay currently bridges consumer access to over 50 million merchants and 10,000+ global brands, powering operational payments for multinational franchises like McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, and UNIQLO. Alongside this South American expansion, AEON has kept pace with a strategic growth trajectory aimed at deploying deeply integrated localized rails across Africa, LATAM, and Southeast Asia.

Expanding the Real-World Reach of Agentic Commerce

Bolivia represents the latest anchor point in AEON’s aggressive territorial expansion across emerging economies. While empowering human consumers remains critical, the primary long-term architectural mandate of AEON’s network expansion is to supply the structural plumbing for the agentic commerce economy.

To interact with the real world, AI agents require access to localized payment infrastructure that merchants already use and trust. Through its settlement network, AEON enables crypto-native payments to be converted into local merchant settlements across different countries and payment ecosystems. As new local payment rails are integrated, AI agents gain access to broader real-world economic environments without requiring merchants to change their existing payment behavior.

The addition of Bolivia strengthens AEON’s settlement coverage across Latin America and expands the localized infrastructure available to wallets, exchanges, AI applications, and autonomous agents. By connecting crypto assets, local payment systems, merchants, and autonomous agents through a unified settlement layer, AEON is building the infrastructure that enables the agentic economy to operate in the real world.

About AEON

AEON is building a native settlement infrastructure for the agentic economy, specifically designed to eliminate three major friction points traditional finance networks pose for agent collaboration: fee overhead, programmability gap, and settlement lag.

Leveraging leading agentic protocols such as x402, ERC-8004, Google A2A, and MCP, AEON enables autonomous, verifiable AI agent transactions at scale and bridges Agent-to-Agent (A2A) interactions with real-world settlement and continuous value flows.

Serving more than 2 million users and processing 30M monthly transactions, AEON is backed by YZi Labs and IDG Capital, with participation from investors including HashKey Capital, Stanford Blockchain Builders Fund, etc.

Website | X | Telegram | Medium | AEON Pay

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SOURCE AEON

Technology

The SBB Research Group Foundation Sponsors Women United of Lake County

Published

17 minutes ago

August 26, 2026

CHICAGO, Aug. 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Women United of Lake County collaborated in a volunteer initiative alongside the SBB Research Group Foundation, which partners with local nonprofits through its Champion A Charity Program.

Volunteers gathered to assemble 60 early learning and nutrition kits for families with children under five years old. The dual-purpose kits combined shelf-stable food items with early learning activities and were prepared for Family First Center of Lake County, which provides early learning programs within the PADS shelter at a hotel in Mundelein, Illinois.

Volunteers worked together to organize and package supplies in preparation for the event. “I’m always amazed by the way our team members come together throughout the year to make these projects a success,” said Sonia Munoz, a volunteer with the SBBRG Foundation. “It is truly inspiring to see everyone’s willingness to pitch in, help one another, and make a meaningful difference in our community.”

The completed kits will provide children and families with engaging educational activities along with nutritious, shelf-stable food to support both learning and well-being. Program funding will also assist Women United of Lake County’s HUGS program, which brings members together to provide hands-on help for local schools, projects, and community initiatives, including the Early Learning Club and its young learners.

To learn more about Women United of Lake County and its work in the community, please visit Women United of Lake County.

About the SBB Research Group Foundation

The SBB Research Group Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that furthers the philanthropic mission of SBB Research Group LLC (SBBRG), a Chicago-based investment management firm led by Sam Barnett, Ph.D., and Matt Aven. The Foundation provides grants to support ambitious organizations solving unmet needs with thoughtful, long-term strategies. In addition, the Foundation sponsors the SBBRG STEM Scholarship, which supports students pursuing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics degrees.

Contact: Erin Noonan
Organization: SBB Research Group Foundation
Email: grants@sbbrg.org
Address: 450 Skokie Blvd, Building 600, Northbrook, IL 60062 United States
Phone: 1-847-656-1111
Website: https://www.sbbrg.com

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Technology

Antaisolar Joins United Nations Global Compact and Releases 2025 ESG Report

Published

17 minutes ago

August 26, 2026

XIAMEN, China, Aug. 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Antaisolar, a leading expert in digital and intelligent PV mounting system solutions, announced its official participation in the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and the release of its 2025 ESG Report, marking two key milestones in the company’s ongoing sustainability efforts.

As a UNGC participant, Antaisolar will incorporate the UNGC Ten Principles into its RAISE sustainability strategy, which is structured around five pillars: Sound Governance, Premium Products, Equity & Inclusion, Ecological Co-existence and Shared Prosperity. Aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the strategy focuses on supply-chain compliance, carbon data management and core competency stewardship, integrating sustainability considerations into business operations and value-chain management.

The 2025 ESG Report details Antaisolar’s performance across environmental, social and governance priorities. According to the report, green power accounted for 15.54% of Antaisolar’s energy consumption, while its self-built solar power plant generated 4,641,057 kWh of electricity annually. The report also highlights continued improvements in energy and emissions management, occupational health and safety, employee development, diversity and inclusion, community engagement, business ethics, risk management and information security, reflecting a more systematic approach to ESG management across the organization. It also links responsible product development and quality management with the company’s broader sustainability objectives, extending ESG considerations from internal operations to the wider industrial value chain. Key ESG data and practices disclosed in the report were independently assured by TÜV SÜD, enhancing the transparency, credibility and reliability of the disclosures.

Antaisolar also unveiled its 2026–2027 action plans for EcoRaise, its global ecological co-building initiative, covering four areas: environmental protection, biodiversity conservation, green energy development and sustainable lifestyles. In 2026, the company partnered with the Xiang’an Animal Protection Association to support the conservation of six national protected bird species through a dedicated donation, expanding its biodiversity efforts from plant conservation to wildlife protection.

Looking ahead, Antaisolar will continue to align its sustainability practices with the UNGC Ten Principles, advance the implementation of its RAISE strategy, and work with global partners to support the global transition toward green energy.

SOURCE Antaisolar

Technology

Growhill Wealth Launches AI Workforce to Power Independent Advisors Across Asia

Published

17 minutes ago

August 26, 2026

The rebranded Hong Kong platform, formerly GROW Digital Wealth, rolls out an AI-powered workforce across its network of 200 advisors as it accelerates expansion in the world’s leading wealth hub

HONG KONG, Aug. 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Growhill Wealth, an AI-native and licensed wealth platform, today announced the launch of its agentic AI workforce designed for independent financial advisors (IFAs) across Asia, capturing a tech-driven transformation as AI boosts advisor productivity and reshapes wealth management economics globally.

Built to introduce an AI workforce into daily practice with total human oversight, this infrastructure update marks Growhill Wealth’s rebranding from GROW Digital Wealth, maintaining full continuity across platform operations and leadership. The company previously received investments from Julius Baer-backed GROW Investment Group and Animoca Brands.

Growhill Wealth, distinguishing itself through robust IFA enablement, is accelerating its expansion in Hong Kong’s US$2.9 trillion* wealth market. As the city surpasses Switzerland as the world’s top wealth hub, the firm will open a new location at One Peking Road this year, followed by a Central office in the first quarter of 2027.

“Asia’s wealth expansion marks a structural shift for independent advisory. By equipping every advisor with secure agentic AI at a fraction of traditional platform costs, Growhill Wealth frees professionals to focus on high-touch advice and client relationships—delivering a caliber of service on par with major private banks,” said Alan Lau, Executive Chairman of Growhill Wealth.

“Hong Kong serves as the ideal launchpad to bring agentic AI to global wealth management,” Lau added.

Growhill Wealth offers advisors an open, institutional-grade multi-asset product shelf, and agentic AI support across core advisory workflows, elevating independent advisory to private-bank standards under strict human supervision. Regulated services across the platform are delivered by Growhill Wealth and its group affiliates under Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission Type 1, 4, and 9 licenses, as well as an Abu Dhabi Global Market Category 3C license.

The platform, which has reached 200 advisors and US$800 million in assets under management and advice, is positioned for its next phase by empowering Asia’s wealth professionals with secure, compliant, and efficient agentic AI capabilities. Growhill Wealth’s human advisors are supported by an always-on AI workforce that monitors client portfolios around the clock and flags what needs attention, prepares research and portfolio reviews, drafts client proposals and updates, and handles routine operations and paperwork.

William Ma, Chief Investment Officer of Growhill Wealth, said, “The future of wealth management will be won on technology, operations and service. Growhill Wealth is built to give independent advisors that infrastructure on an open, AI-native platform, so they can serve clients efficiently and to a higher standard. This is the direction we are committed to leading in Asia.”

As part of this step, the group is bringing its licensed businesses together under the Growhill Wealth brand, a process being completed in line with the relevant regulatory approvals.

About Growhill Wealth

Growhill Wealth, formerly GROW Digital Wealth, is an AI-native wealth management platform built for independent financial advisors (IFAs) across Asia. The company previously received investments from Julius Baer-backed GROW Investment Group and Animoca Brands. Operating an open-architecture model, the platform pairs an institutional-grade, multi-asset product shelf with secure agentic AI capabilities, enabling advisors to deliver private-bank-caliber service with full human oversight. Growhill Wealth supports a network of 200 advisors managing US$800 million in assets under management and advice. Regulated financial services across the platform are delivered by Growhill Wealth and its group affiliates under Hong Kong SFC Type 1, 4, and 9 licenses, alongside an ADGM Category 3C license. The platform and its affiliates were recognized as Best Wealth Manager, Digital Innovation at the Asian Private Banker China Wealth Awards 2025.

Notes to journalist and editors: *As of end-2025, according to a report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

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SOURCE Growhill Wealth