HashKey reaches unicorn valuation after raising US$100 million – South China Morning Post

HashKey Group, the company behind one of Hong Kongs two cryptocurrency exchanges approved to serve retail investors, said it raised nearly US$100 million in a funding round that valued it at more than US$1 billion, making it a so-called unicorn company.

OKX Ventures, the investment arm of OKX, one of the worlds largest cryptocurrency exchanges and an applicant for Hong Kongs virtual asset exchange license, is one of the lead investors in HashKeys funding round, Bloomberg reported. HashKey and OKX both declined to comment.

HashKey operates the licensed HashKey Exchange, the HashKey Capital venture capital and asset management arm and other blockchain technology services. It will use the funding to solidify its web3 ecosystem, diversify its licensed product offerings in Hong Kong and develop its business globally, it said.

Chinas back-door cryptocurrency traders look more important than ever to Binances future

The exchange attracted 15,500 registered users at the end of 2023, with daily trading volume exceeding US$630 million in December, HashKey said last month. Nearly 40 per cent of the value traded on its platform came from professional investors, it said.

What does Hong Kong mean by virtual assets?

HashKey Exchange handled US$15.3 million in trading volume over 24 hours through Tuesday, according to the market tracker CoinGecko. That is a trickle compared with the US$13.6 billion transacted over the same period on Binance, the worlds largest exchange for cryptocurrencies.

Twelve companies have so far submitted their applications for Hong Kongs licence for virtual asset trading platforms.

High costs cloud Hong Kongs crypto hub dream

Venture capital funding in the cryptocurrency industry plunged last year following a series of collapses in 2022. In the three months ending September 2023, cryptocurrency firms around the world raised US$1.8 billion across 309 deals, representing a 69.6 per cent decline in deal value and 55.9 per cent drop in deal numbers from the same period a year ago, according to data by PitchBook.

The market recently bounced back on the back of enthusiasm brought by the US approval of the first spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which allow investors to gain exposure to virtual assets without directly buying any cryptocurrency tokens.

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HashKey reaches unicorn valuation after raising US$100 million - South China Morning Post