Hata Secures $8M Series A Investment Led by Bybit for Malaysian Crypto Operations
The capital injection backs a dual-licensed cryptocurrency platform operating within Malaysia's evolving digital asset and tokenization regulatory landscape.
Malaysia-based digital asset exchange Hata has secured $8 million in Series A financing, with cryptocurrency platform Bybit serving as the lead investor. The funding round attracted additional capital from family offices around the world and represents Bybit's continued support following its participation in Hata's $4.2 million seed funding round.
The Monday announcement revealed that the newly raised capital will be allocated toward enhancing platform liquidity, growing the customer base and creating new digital asset product offerings.
The platform holds dual licensing from both the Securities Commission Malaysia and the Labuan Financial Services Authority, enabling Hata to provide trading and custody solutions for digital assets to users throughout the Southeast Asian nation.
The company, which began operations in 2023, has accumulated over 209,000 registered accounts and facilitated transactions totaling 1.04 billion Malaysian ringgits (approximately $225 million) throughout 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 asset adoption."
Data from CoinMarket positions Bybit as the fifth largest cryptocurrency exchange globally when measured by trading volume.
The exchange is simultaneously strengthening its presence beyond Southeast Asia, particularly in the Middle East. Bybit named Derek Dai as country manager for the MENA region in March, tasking him with overseeing expansion initiatives and partnership development despite persistent regional geopolitical challenges.
According to Dai, the Middle East represents an emerging hub for cryptocurrency activity, with Bybit intending to broaden UAE dirham accessibility and forge alliances with financial institutions and payment service providers in the months ahead.
Malaysia builds out digital asset regulatory framework
Bybit's strategic investment arrives during a period when Malaysia has been actively constructing its regulatory infrastructure for digital assets through multiple initiatives and experimental programs.
Malaysia introduced its Digital Asset Innovation Hub in June as a regulatory sandbox environment, providing fintech companies and digital asset businesses the opportunity to trial applications including programmable payment systems, ringgit-pegged stablecoins and supply chain financing solutions while operating under central bank supervision.
That same month saw a Malaysian telecommunications firm under the ownership of Crown Prince Ismail Ibrahim, son of Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, introduce RMJDT, a ringgit-backed stablecoin deployed on the Zetrix blockchain within the sandbox regulatory structure.
Bank Negara Malaysia unveiled a three-year strategic roadmap in November to investigate asset tokenization possibilities, incorporating pilot initiatives for tokenized deposits, stablecoins and cross-border payment settlement via its Digital Asset Innovation Hub. The monetary authority's strategy encompasses an industry working group jointly managed with the Securities Commission Malaysia to harmonize use cases and navigate regulatory and legal frameworks.
Most recently, the central banking institution announced it is conducting three sandbox pilot programs concentrating on ringgit-backed stablecoins and tokenized bank deposits designed for cross-border settlement applications, drawing participation from major financial institutions such as Standard Chartered, CIMB Group and Maybank.