Hata obtains in-principle approval from Securities Commission Malaysia to operate as a digital asset exchange, eyes partnerships in Singapore and broader Asia next

SINGAPORE, Oct. 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) has conditionally approved Hata's application as a Digital Asset Exchange (DAX) and Digital Broker (DB) under the Recognised Market Operator framework. Hata is notably the only player that has received the in-conditional players following the re-opening of DAX application in Malaysia in November 2022, and will become the 5th regulated DAX - operating alongside existing players such as Luno. Hata has also recently obtained a Money Broker licence from the Labuan Financial Services Authority in June 2023 to operate its US Dollar exchange.

With both licences, Hata plans to become the one-stop digital asset platform for institutional investors, businesses and high-net-worth individuals in Southeast Asia. Hata will be working towards obtaining full approvals from the SC before it opens its platform to customers in Malaysia by early-2024.

Hata (www.hata.io) - founded in Malaysia - is led by David Low, former APAC General Manager of Luno. David left Luno in April 2023, and notably led Luno's DAX application and launched Luno as Malaysia's first DAX in 2019 before expanding Luno to other markets within Southeast Asia. Luno is currently Malaysia's market leader in the digital assets space.

Hata is also in discussions with various potential partners and funding / investor interests in the APAC region, notably Singapore - which recently saw significant regulatory and business milestones in the digital asset space despite market setbacks in end-2023, such as the introduction of the Stablecoin Regulatory Framework, the set-up of global R&D hub in Singapore by crypto.com, and the recent conclusion of TOKEN2049 which saw more than 10,000 attendees.

Official press announcement in Malaysia can be found here.

SOURCE Hata