Singapore's Gulf Bank is seeking to raise at least $50 million in a funding round and plans to buy a stablecoin payments company next year, according to people familiar with the matter. The start-up bank, founded by Singapore family office Whampoa Group and licensed in Bahrain since February, is in talks with Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds and other investors to sell a stake of less than 10 percent by early 2025, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter is being done privately. The funds raised will primarily be used to accelerate product development, enhance the bank's payment network, and hire more employees; the bank plans to acquire a stablecoin payment company in the Middle East or Europe in Quarter 1.