HOUSTON (AP) — Jeremy Peña went 3 for 3 with a walk and scored twice, Jose Altuve drove in two runs and the Houston Astros held on Tuesday night for a 6-5 victory over the Texas Rangers.
Jesús Sánchez had a two-run single for the Astros, who nearly squandered a 6-0 lead. But they remained a half-game behind red-hot Seattle for first place in the AL West and moved a half-game ahead of Boston for the second of three American League wild cards.
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Houston Astros' Jeremy Pena scores his second run in front of umpire Cory Blaser, top, against the Texas Rangers during the third inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
Houston Astros's Victor Caratini, right, loses his bat on his swing in front of Texas Rangers catcher Kyle Higashioka, center, and umpire Cory Blaser, left, during the seventh inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
Houston Astros designated hitter Yainer Diaz, right, slides behind Texas Rangers catcher Kyle Higashioka, left, as he scores on the RBI single by Jesus Sanchez during the fourth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
Texas Rangers relief pitcher Danny Coulombe throws against the Houston Astros during the fifth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
Houston Astros' Victor Caratini (17) and Yainer Diaz (21) celebrate after the both scored on the RBI single by Jesus Sanchez against the Texas Rangers during the fourth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
Houston led by five when pinch-hitter Rowdy Tellez walked with two outs in the eighth inning. Jonah Heim’s pinch-hit homer off Enyel De Los Santos cut it to 6-3.
Kyle Higashioka singled before an RBI double by Josh Jung pulled Texas to 6-4 and chased De Los Santos.
Bryan Abreu took over and walked Alejandro Osuna before pinch-hitter Adolis García’s run-scoring single made it 6-5. Abreu retired Cody Freeman on a flyball to end the inning.
In the ninth, Abreu allowed a leadoff single to Josh Smith and a two-out single to Heim before striking out Higashioka for his seventh save.
Yainer Diaz hit an RBI double in a four-run Houston fourth that made it 6-0. Texas starter Merrill Kelly (12-8) yielded nine hits and six runs in three-plus innings.
Freeman hit a solo homer in the fifth for the Rangers, who have lost three straight. They are 3 1/2 games behind Boston for the AL's last postseason spot with 10 to play.
Houston starter AJ Blubaugh allowed two hits and struck out seven over three scoreless innings in his second major league start. Colton Gordon (5-4) gave up two hits and a run in three innings of relief for the win.
Abreu's strikeout of Higashioka to complete the four-out save.
The season series between the teams is tied 6-6.
Texas RHP Jacob deGrom (12-7, 2.82 ERA) opposes RHP Cristian Javier (1-3, 4.78) in the series finale Wednesday night.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Houston Astros' Jeremy Pena scores his second run in front of umpire Cory Blaser, top, against the Texas Rangers during the third inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
Houston Astros's Victor Caratini, right, loses his bat on his swing in front of Texas Rangers catcher Kyle Higashioka, center, and umpire Cory Blaser, left, during the seventh inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
Houston Astros designated hitter Yainer Diaz, right, slides behind Texas Rangers catcher Kyle Higashioka, left, as he scores on the RBI single by Jesus Sanchez during the fourth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
Texas Rangers relief pitcher Danny Coulombe throws against the Houston Astros during the fifth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
Houston Astros' Victor Caratini (17) and Yainer Diaz (21) celebrate after the both scored on the RBI single by Jesus Sanchez against the Texas Rangers during the fourth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 24, 2026--
Fasset, the AI-powered stablecoin neobanking platform, today announced it has raised $68 million in Series C funding at a $1 billion valuation. The financing was led by SBI Group and follows Fasset’s $51 million Series B earlier this year, which brought Speedinvest onto the cap table alongside a group of strategic investors.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260823503947/en/
The new capital will support the expansion of Own Network, Fasset’s regulated financial network that connects banks, telcos, payment and liquidity providers to enable settlement across international markets. Fasset will also increase investment in agentic AI-enabled systems supporting corridor banking, stablecoin settlement and tokenized asset infrastructure.
After raising Series B in May, Fasset has now raised a total of $119 million in 2026. The financing marks Fasset’s entry into the global fintech unicorn category.
"Fasset's vision of a world in which money moves across borders as easily as information does point in the same direction as the on-chain economic zone that the SBI Group seeks to realize through digital finance. Fasset has already built a strong business foundation and a robust regulatory framework in a number of emerging markets with significant long-term growth potential. It was therefore in the conviction that Fasset can serve as an important financial bridge connecting Japan with high-growth markets around the world that we decided to lead this round. Within the SBI Group's "SBI APAC Digital Economic Zone" concept as well, an international remittance and settlement infrastructure built on stablecoins is a core component. Together with Fasset, we will advance the development of the next generation of on-chain financial systems, extending from the Asia-Pacific region to the Middle East and Africa." said Yoshitaka Kitao, Representative Director, Chairman, President & CEO, SBI Holdings, Inc.
The investment expands Fasset’s relationship with SBI Group, one of Japan’s leading comprehensive financial groups, spanning banking, securities, asset management, and private equity, with investments in companies including Ripple, Circle, and Morpho, and in group companies including B2C2.
“The next phase is about any-to-any banking. Any person to any person. Any asset to any asset. Any rail to any rail, anywhere. We built Fasset to address a simple problem: access to financial opportunity still depends too heavily on where someone lives and the financial system available to them,” said Mohammad Raafi Hossain, Co-Founder and CEO of Fasset. “The banking system is broken. It’s not enough to build another financial front on current rails. We are investing deeper into the stack, from licenses in emerging markets to enabling agentic payments, to rebuild the way we do banking from the ground up.”
“Having SBI Group lead this round speeds up our ability to serve the world by having access to the wider SBI financial ecosystem and their partners, including our previously announced partnership with SBI Remit, enabling us to leverage an extensive network that supports bank account remittances to approximately 200 countries.”
“Fasset is building the regulated infrastructure that helps people and businesses in growth markets access stablecoins, global assets and cross-border rails. That access is still too often shaped by geography. Raafi, Daniel and the team are changing that, and we are proud to have continued backing Fasset as it scales globally,” said Stefan Klestil, General Partner at Speedinvest.
Building a Financial System Around Ownership
Fasset provides financial access that allows customers to receive, hold, move, spend and invest across currencies, markets and asset classes.
Underpinning those products is Own Network, Fasset’s financial infrastructure connecting local banking systems, payment providers, financial institutions, telcos, liquidity providers, custody partners and settlement networks across more than 100 banking corridors.
Stablecoins are used within parts of the network as settlement infrastructure, allowing value to move between markets more efficiently where appropriate. Customers interact with Fasset through financial products and accounts rather than needing to manage the underlying settlement infrastructure themselves.
The company uses AI to improve how transactions are routed across payment rails, currencies, liquidity providers, and settlement methods, based on factors including cost, speed, and availability.
Fasset is built around a simple conviction: where someone is born should not determine the quality of money they can hold, the markets they can access or the assets they can own. The company is not building another interface on top of the existing financial system. It is building the infrastructure intended to replace it.
Scaling Global Infrastructure: $40B Annualized Volume
Fasset now processes more than $40 billion in annualized transaction volume, serving more than 3 million wallets across 125 countries and over 1,000 enterprises globally.
Its consumer, business and institutional products are supported by a regulatory footprint across the GCC, Asia, Europe and other international markets.
The Series C will support Fasset’s continued development as a global, AI-powered stablecoin neobanking platform, combining regulated local infrastructure, modern settlement technology and access to global assets through a single financial account.
About Fasset
Fasset is an AI-powered stablecoin neobanking platform building a global financial system around ownership. Its financial account enables individuals, businesses and institutions to receive, hold, move, spend and invest across currencies, markets and asset classes from one place.
Founded in 2019 by Mohammad Raafi Hossain and Daniel Ahmed, Fasset has raised more than $150 million in funding and serves customers across more than 125 countries and operates through regulated entities and partnerships across the GCC, Asia, Europe and other international markets.
Fasset is powered by Own Network, its regulated financial infrastructure connecting banking, payments, liquidity, custody and settlement across markets. The company is building toward a financial system where access to stable money, global markets and ownership is no longer determined by geography.
Mohammad Raafi Hossain, Co-Founder and CEO, Fasset
