Hata Receives Initial Approval From Malaysian Securities Authority To Become A Digital Asset Exchange

Hata, based in Malaysia, has received initial approval from Malaysia's Securities Commission (SC) to register as a Recognized Market Operator (RMO) as a digital asset exchange and digital broker. This approval means that Hata can launch its service within the next six to nine months in the neighboring country.

Hata will be the 5th regulated digital asset exchange in Malaysia and the first legal entity to get approval as a digital broker, allowing them to display trade orders from other regulated exchanges.

Hata also received a currency broker license from the Labuan Financial Services Authority in June, allowing them to make exchanges in USD currency. Labuan International Business and Financial Center is a special economic zone.

Hata was founded by David Low, who left Luno, Malaysia's largest crypto exchange in April. Low oversees Luno when he first became Malaysia's first digital asset exchange in 2019.

"We plan to facilitate investment in digital assets for high-financial institutional, business and individual investors in Malaysia," Low said, quoted by Cointelegraph.

Other crypto exchanges have also tried to enter the Malaysian market. SC ordered Binance to halt its operations in the country in July 2020 due to a lack of RMO status, although the exchange was not actually closed until a year later.

Binance returned to Malaysia in March, when they bought shares on RMO MX Global. Huobi Global (now HTX) was asked to close its operations in Malaysia in May, also for not registering with SC.

Malaysians also have the option to trade crypto through an application offered by Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad. The large private bank partnered with Ant Group China in August 2022 to launch wallets and trading applications.