Gaorong Ventures Invests $30 Million in Hong Kong's HashKey

HashKey, a Hong Kong-registered cryptocurrency exchange, has secured a $30 million investment from Gaorong Ventures, a China-based venture capital firm backed by tech giants like Tencent, Alibaba, and Xiaomi. This investment, which reportedly values HashKey at nearly $1.5 billion pre-money, reinforces the exchange's position in Hong Kong's regulated crypto market.

HashKey achieved unicorn status in January after a Series A funding round raised nearly $100 million at a $1.2 billion valuation. Licensed in Hong Kong since 2022 to deal in securities and offer automated trading services, HashKey received its virtual asset trading license on May 30, 2024, under Hong Kong's Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Ordinance (AMLO).  Despite this, authorities have identified over 30 scam platforms misusing the HashKey brand.  HashKey has actively pursued regulatory approvals, obtaining crypto-related licenses in Singapore, Japan, and Bermuda.

In 2023, HashKey Exchange became one of the first platforms licensed under Hong Kong's new regime to offer retail crypto trading. The firm also received "Virtual Asset Service Provider" (VASP) registration approval from the Central Bank of Ireland, enabling its Eu

ropean unit, HashKey Europe, to provide cryptocurrency trading and custodian wallet services. Furthermore, HashKey DX partnered with Ripple and SBI Ripple Asia to promote XRPL enterprise solutions in Japan, focusing on supply chain finance. While overall crypto venture capital funding saw a slight rebound in Q4 2024, it remained below the previous year's levels, according to PitchBook data.

Hong Kong has continued to expand its regulatory framework, recently licensing PantherTrade and YAX, bringing the total number of licensed exchanges under AMLO to 10 since 2020.