Bybit led an $8 million Series A funding round at Hata, a dual-licensed digital asset exchange operating in Malaysia. The round also included participation from global family offices and follows Bybit’s earlier investment in Hata’s $4.2 million seed round.
According to Monday announcementthe funding will be used to improve liquidity, expand the user base and develop additional digital asset products.
Hata operates under licenses from the Securities Commission Malaysia and the Labuan Financial Services Authority, allowing it to offer digital asset trading and custody services 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 adoption of digital assets”.
Bybit is the fifth largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world by trading volume, according to data from CoinMarket.
Beyond the region, the exchange is also strengthen its commitment to the Middle East. In March, Bybit appointed Derek Dai as its new country manager for the MENA region, responsible for overseeing expansion and partnerships despite ongoing regional tensions.
Dai said the Middle East is emerging as a key crypto market, with Bybit planning to expand access to the UAE dirham and partner with banks and payment providers in the coming months.
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Malaysia develops regulatory framework on 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 its Digital Asset Innovation Hub as a regulatory sandboxenabling fintech and digital asset companies to test use cases such as programmable payments, ringgit-backed stablecoins, and supply chain finance under central bank oversight.
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 under the sandbox framework.
In November, Bank Negara Malaysia presented a three-year roadmap to explore asset tokenization, including pilots for tokenized deposits, stablecoins and cross-border settlement through its Digital Asset Innovation Hub. The central bank’s plan includes a sector working group co-led with the Securities Commission of Malaysia to coordinate use cases and address regulatory and legal considerations.
More recently, the central bank declared that it drive three sandbox programs focused on ringgit-backed stablecoins and tokenized bank deposits for cross-border settlement, with participation from institutions such as Standard Chartered, CIMB Group and Maybank.
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