Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 21st October 2024 – Hata.io, one of the trailblazing digital asset brokerage and exchange in Asia Pacific, has announced $4.2 million in seed fundraise. The company will use the capital to expand into new products and acquire users in the Asia region.
Hata is regulated by both the Securities Commission Malaysia and the Labuan Financial Services Authority, making it the only dual-licensed digital asset exchange in Malaysia that serves both Malaysians and global digital asset investors. Malaysia is reported to have more than 840,000 digital asset investors with more than RM21 billion of trading volume traded annually on local exchanges.
Hata is founded by an experienced team of exchange operators and compliance experts, including David Low as CEO (a qualified lawyer and formerly the General Manager of Luno’s Asia Pacific businesses), KK Chong as CTO (a former university lecturer and cofounder of a blockchain solutions company) and Darien Ng as CRO (cofounder of a blockchain solutions company with 15 years of experience in the tech industry). Hata aims to serve the retail and institutional users in Asia who prefer to trade in fiat currencies such as the MYR and USD.
The seed fundraise is led by prominent US-based institutional investors. Castle Island Ventures and Cadenza Ventures led the fundraise as lead investors, alongside other participating investors such as Bybit, AP Capital, Plug and Play Tech Centre, and Alliance.xyz.
“We are thrilled to have the backing of such esteemed institutional investors,” said David Low, CEO of Hata. “With their support and our innovative offerings, we are committed to creating a robust platform that empowers users in Malaysia and in the Asia region to navigate the digital asset market with confidence.”
Both lead investors Castle Island Ventures and Cadenza Ventures bring a wealth of expertise to the table and will join Hata’s Board as Directors.
Castle Island Ventures is a digital asset firm that was founded by Fidelity alums Nic Carter and Matt Walsh. Castle Island Ventures primarily invests in startups in the monetary network, financial services and internet architecture spaces including Web 3. The firm’s portfolio includes a number of infrastructure businesses, including Yellowcard, BlockFi, Matrixport, River Financial, Talos, Bitwise and Casa. Notably, Castle Island Ventures is also an early investor in Pintu, Indonesia’s third largest digital asset exchange.
Nic Carter, Founding Partner of Castle Island Ventures, expressed enthusiasm about the investment. Nick Carter said:
“Malaysia and the broader SE Asia region is the global epicenter of blockchain adoption and we are excited to support the talented team at Hata in their support of this market. We believe Hata is well-positioned to win due to their differentiated product focus and regulatory approach.”
Meanwhile, Cadenza Ventures is led by managing partners Kumar Dandapani, who was formerly the data science head at Norwest Venture Partners, and Max Shapiro, a veteran of Blue Line Advisors. With a focus on transformative and decentralised technologies, Cadenza has raised a $50 million blockchain and fintech focused venture fund to invest in early-stage digital finance and blockchain technology companies. Van Eck Associates anchored the fund with participation from Solana, Dapper Labs and WorldQuant Ventures, among others. Cadenza has recently launched its third early stage blockchain fund where it has a focus on emerging markets.
Cadenza has previously invested in seed and Series A funding rounds of fintech companies including CoinDCX (India’s largest digital asset exchange), VALR (South Africa’s leading digital asset exchange), Rain (leading exchange in Middle East), FalconX, and Lemon (leading exchange in Latin America).
Max Shapiro, Managing Partner at Cadenza Ventures, added:
“We believe that Hata’s innovative approach and commitment to user engagement will drive the next wave of growth in Malaysia’s digital asset market. We are looking forward to working closely with the team as they navigate this evolving landscape.”
Hata previously secured MYR 3 million in pre-seed funding from a group of reputable angel investors in the fintech community, including 1337 Ventures and Raja Hamzah.
About Hata
Hata seamlessly connects the traditional financial system with the evolving world of digital assets, enabling anyone to easily buy, sell, and access digital assets using fiat currencies like the US Dollar and Malaysian Ringgit.
Hata is regulated by both the Securities Commission Malaysia and the Labuan Financial Services Authority, making it the only dual-licensed exchange in Malaysia which ensures the highest standards of safety and oversight. As the exchange with the lowest trading fees and most number of digital assets offerings in Malaysia, Hata aims to make digital assets trading accessible and cost-effective for all users.
In a move to further enhance user engagement, Hata has introduced a unique affiliate program that rewards users with a 30% share of the trading fees generated from their referrals. This initiative not only incentivizes community participation but also fosters a collaborative trading environment.
For press inquiries, contact Hata at [email protected].
Information on other institutional investors
Bybit is one of the world’s top-three cryptocurrency exchanges by volume with more than 20 million users. The exchange offers a multitude of products such as spot and derivative trading, staking, and other cutting-edge features such as copy trading.
Plug and Play Tech Center (PNP) is an American venture capital firm headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. It focuses on deploying capital to early-stage technology companies. According to CB Insights from 2020 to 2022, it was the most active startup accelerator in the world with an average deal count of 929 per year.
Alliance DAO is a leading Web3 accelerator and a global investor in the Web3 space. Founded in 2020, Alliance DAO is an accelerator based in Chicago, Illinois. The firm invests actively with backing from reputable investors including Founders Fund, Brevan Howard Digital, Galaxy Digital, Mark Cuban, Jump Capital, Solana Labs co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko and Visa head of crypto Cuy Sheffield.
AP Capital is a diversified investment firm with headquarters in Singapore and offices across major global cities including New York, London, Seoul, Tokyo, and Hong Kong. Founded in 2014, AP Capital started as a liquidity provider in traditional finance and has since expanded aggressively into the cryptocurrency industry with multiple distinctive business lines involved including in equities, commodities, FX, fixed income and others.
Market insights
According to data from Chainalysis, the Central and Southern Asia (CSAO) region accounted for more than $750 billion in digital asset inflows between July 2023 and June 2024, representing more than 16.6% of global value received in digital assets. CSAO is also the third largest digital asset region in the world.
In Malaysia, the Securities Commission Malaysia has reported that more than 840,000 digital asset investors with more than RM21 billion of trading volume traded annually on local exchanges. According to a survey conducted by Statista, it estimated that approximately 30% of Malaysians overall population owns digital asset.