U-topia Launches Public Beta as Global Builders Gather for U-Hackathon

Financial technology company opens its app in more than 50 countries during FLOW Summit as 500-plus builders develop AI and Web3 products

BANGKOK, Oct. 17, 2026, ZEX PR WIRE  — U-topia, a financial technology company building a self-custody app for everyday money movement, has opened its public beta in more than 50 countries. The company announced the launch at FLOW Summit 2026, held Oct. 15-16 at Avani Sukhumvit Bangkok, five years after U-topia was founded.

More than 700 people attended the two-day launch, including technology entrepreneurs, developers and community members from several countries. The program combined U-topia product demonstrations and company updates with U-Hackathon, a global build program focused on practical AI and Web3 products.

“Five years ago, I set a simple standard: if my mother could not use the product without calling me for help, it was not ready,” said Emmanuel Quezada, founder and CEO of U-topia. “Opening the beta with people from around the world, while hundreds of builders were creating new tools beside us, brought that idea to life. Our goal is to make moving money as simple as sending a message while keeping people in control.”

A public beta designed around everyday use

U-topia is designed to let eligible users hold, send, spend, convert and withdraw digital and everyday currencies through one mobile app. Users can send funds to another U-topia user through a U-Tag, a simple @name that replaces a long wallet address. The company says funds remain under the user’s control rather than being held by U-topia.

The public beta follows private alpha and closed beta testing with community members and ambassadors. Feature availability varies by country. Account opening, card issuance and transactions remain subject to age requirements, identity verification, partner rules and local law. U-topia is not a bank or card issuer; card and local currency services are provided through licensed partners where available.

U-Hackathon brings global builders to Bangkok

FLOW Summit also hosted U-Hackathon on Oct. 15-16. Organizers said the event attracted more than 500 hackers and builders from around the world. Teams worked through a 24-hour build period with product, engineering and design mentors before presenting working prototypes in two tracks: artificial intelligence and Web3. The program extended the app launch into a working forum for new products, technical collaboration and international builder participation.

The competition recognized three teams in each track. Organizers valued the combined awards at more than 2.5 million Thai baht, including the advertised THB 1 million core prize pool, partner bounties and technology credits. UBotPay, an AI-powered payment agent built for Web3, won first place in the Web3 track. U-Reach, an AI-powered marketing, sales and customer relationship management platform, took first place in the AI track.

U-Hackathon was sponsored by ElevenLabs, Tokenomist AI and DTC Group, in association with Avalanche, Team1 Thailand, Yellow.com, ContributionDAO, CUBS Chula and Hooray. Judges selected projects on merit, and members of the U-Center DAO community voted live for the grand prize.

The summit also included a preview of U.bot, a related AI venture from members of U-topia’s founding team. U.bot is being developed as a user-controlled orchestration layer that can select among AI models and coordinate specialized agents. Its long-term roadmap aims to create a more capable personal AI experience with characteristics the team associates with superintelligence; those advanced capabilities are planned and are not currently available.

About U-topia

Founded on Oct. 16, 2021, U-topia is a financial technology company building a self-custody mobile app intended to help people hold, send, spend, convert and withdraw digital and everyday currencies while retaining control of their funds. U-topia is not a bank and does not issue cards. Availability and features vary by country and are subject to partner requirements and local law. Learn more at www.u-topia.com.

Disclaimer: The views, suggestions, and opinions expressed here are the sole responsibility of the experts. No Economics Bot journalist was involved in the writing and production of this article.

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