Bybit led an $8 million Series A financing round in Hata, a Malaysia-based dual-licensed digital asset exchange. The round also included participation from global family offices and follows Bybit’s earlier $4.2 million seed round investment in Hata.
According to Monday announcementthe funds will be used to improve liquidity, expand the user base and develop additional digital asset products.
Hata operates under licenses from the Securities Commission of Malaysia and the Labuan Financial Services Authority, which allows it to offer trading and custody services for digital assets in the Southeast Asian country.
Since its launch in 2023, the company has reported over 209,000 registered users and processed 1.04 billion Malaysian ringgit (approximately $225 million) in transaction volume in 2025.
Ben Zhou, co-founder and CEO, said Malaysia is “strategically important” and has “one of the most digitally engaged populations in Southeast Asia and strong long-term potential for digital adoption.”
According to data, Bybit is the fifth largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world in terms of trading volume data from CoinMarket.
Beyond the region, the exchange also deepens its involvement in the Middle East. In March, Bybit appointed Derek Dai as its fresh country manager for the MENA region, tasked with overseeing expansion and partnerships despite ongoing regional tensions.
Dai said the Middle East is emerging as a key cryptocurrency market and Bybit plans to expand access to UAE dirhams and build partnerships with banks and payment service providers in the coming months.
Related: Rwanda attacks the Bybit P2P platform offering Swiss franc trading for cryptocurrencies
Malaysia is creating a regulatory framework for digital assets
Bybit’s investment comes as Malaysia develops its regulatory framework for digital assets through a series of initiatives and pilot programs.
In June, Malaysia launched the Digital Asset Innovation Hub as a regulatory sandbox allowing fintechs and digital asset companies to test exploit cases such as programmable payments, ringgit-backed stablecoins and supply chain financing under central bank supervision.
In the same month, a Malaysian telecommunications company owned by Crown Prince Ismail Ibrahim, son of Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, launched a ringgit-backed stablecoin called RMJDT on the Zetrix blockchain in a sandbox.
In November, Bank Negara Malaysia outlined a three-year roadmap to explore asset tokenization, including pilot programs for tokenized deposits, stablecoins and cross-border settlements through its digital asset innovation hub. The central bank’s plan includes setting up an industry working group, chaired by the Securities Commission Malaysia, to coordinate exploit cases and address regulatory and legal issues.
The central bank recently said it is piloting three sandbox programs focusing on ringgit-backed stablecoins and tokenized bank deposits for cross-border settlements, with institutions including Standard Chartered, CIMB Group and Maybank.
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