HONG KONG, 5 OCTOBER, 2021 - Hex Trust, Asia’s leading digital asset custodian, has raised US$10 million in an investment round led by Animoca Brands, a leader in digital entertainment, blockchain, and gamification. Other investors include Ripple Labs, Algorand Foundation, BCW Group, Tessera Capital Partners, Mind Fund, Double Peak Group, and Token Bay Capital. Several investors of the US$6 million Series A round closed earlier this year also participated, including QBN Capital, Kenetic Capital, MANTRA DAO, Borderless Capital, Radiant Tech Ventures, and Cell Rising Capital.
The funding comes at a time of rapid expansion for the company. With over 150 institutional clients, including banks, asset managers, exchanges, corporations and digital asset projects, Hex Trust has positioned itself as the leader in the region growing the business more than tenfold since the beginning of the year with assets under custody now exceeding US$2 billion.
Recent strategic partnerships and clients include Union Bank of the Philippines, Huobi Asset Management, Flare Network, Klaytn, Chainalysis, Qredo, Tezos, Hedera Hashgraph, Aave, Algorand, Celo, Wave Financial, and Terra.
Hex Trust has also been a pioneer in the NFT space as one of the first custodians to support NFTs in their custody offering in addition to the top emerging blockchain protocols and token standards covering over 250 coins and tokens.
The fresh capital will enable Hex Trust to further enhance the institutional-grade market infrastructure and sophisticated security frameworks underpinning the custody and other value-added services it provides through its proprietary bank-grade platform Hex Safe, and establish itself as the leading custodian in the NFT space. Hex Trust will also expand its operations across the Singapore and Vietnam offices, as well as establish its footprint in Europe and the Middle East.
Next to the Capital Markets Services (CMS) licence granted recently by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Hex Trust will use the capital raised to secure additional regulatory licences in line with its strategy to implement robust compliance standards and working closely with regulatory bodies across multiple jurisdictions.
“There has never been a stronger drive behind the adoption of digital assets, with institutional investors in particular eager to integrate and adopt this new asset class within secure and compliant frameworks. It is the perfect time to invest in scaling operations, hiring key talent, and building top-tier infrastructure to seize the opportunities in this rapidly evolving and growing market.” — Alessio Quaglini, CEO and Co-founder of Hex Trust
“The past few years have seen the rise of institutional-grade custody and infrastructure providers who are focused on bridging the gap between traditional and the digital asset ecosystems. We view Hex Trust as a trusted partner to institutional investors and digital asset companies, offering the full range of services required to operate in this dynamic market in a safe and compliant manner.” — Yat Siu, Chairman and Co-founder of Animoca Brands
As an early pioneer integrating entertainment and gamification with blockchain technologies, Animoca Brands serves as a strategic partner to Hex Trust as the custodian rolls out additional services covering the NFTs market.
Hex Trust is the leading fully-licensed and insured provider of bank-grade custody for digital assets in Asia. Led by veteran banking technologists and award-winning financial services experts, Hex Trust has built Hex Safe, a proprietary bank-grade platform that delivers custody, financing, and brokerage solutions for financial institutions, digital asset service providers, and private clients. Hex Trust has offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Vietnam and is expanding across Europe and the Middle East.
To learn more about Hex Trust, visit https://hextrust.com/ or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
