Bybit leads $8M Series A in Malaysia’s Hata exchange

Bybit led an $8 million Series A in Hata, a Kuala Lumpur-based digital-asset exchange holding licenses from the Securities Commission Malaysia and the Labuan Financial Services Authority. The round, disclosed Monday, included participation from global family offices and follows Bybit’s earlier backing of Hata’s $4.2 million seed round.

The funding will be used to deepen market liquidity on Hata, increase customer acquisition and support the rollout of new trading and custody services. Hata launched in 2023 and reports more than 209,000 registered users. The exchange recorded about 1.04 billion Malaysian ringgits in transaction volume in 2025, roughly $225 million.

Ben Zhou, co-founder and chief executive of Bybit, described Malaysia as “strategically important,” noting the country has “one of the most digitally engaged populations in Southeast Asia” and long-term potential for digital asset adoption.

Bybit ranks among the largest global cryptocurrency exchanges by trading volume. The company has expanded beyond Southeast Asia; in March it appointed Derek Dai as country manager for the Middle East and North Africa to oversee partnerships and market growth. Dai has outlined plans to increase UAE dirham access and strengthen ties with regional banks and payment providers.

The investment coincides with a series of regulatory initiatives in Malaysia. In June authorities launched the Digital Asset Innovation Hub, a regulatory sandbox that allows firms to test use cases such as programmable payments, ringgit-backed stablecoins and supply chain finance under central bank oversight.

Under the sandbox, a Malaysian telecom company owned by Crown Prince Ismail Ibrahim issued a ringgit-backed stablecoin called RMJDT on the Zetrix blockchain. In November, Bank Negara Malaysia published a three-year roadmap to explore asset tokenization, proposing pilots for tokenized deposits, stablecoins and cross-border settlement and an industry working group co-led with the Securities Commission Malaysia to coordinate pilots and legal issues.

More recently, the central bank said it is running three sandbox pilots focused on ringgit-backed stablecoins and tokenized bank deposits for cross-border settlement, with participation from institutions including Standard Chartered, CIMB Group and Maybank.

Hata’s dual licensing permits it to offer trading and custody services within Malaysia’s regulatory framework. The new capital is intended to support product development and customer growth as local pilots and regulatory initiatives proceed.