Gaorong Ventures, an early backer of major Chinese internet firms like Meituan and PDD Holdings Inc., has made a $30 million investment in HashKey Group, a licensed crypto exchange operator in Hong Kong, according to a Bloomberg report on 14 February 2025.

The Gaorong Ventures HashKey investment values the latter at a post-money valuation above $1 billion, marking a continued interest in crypto-related ventures despite China’s 2021 ban on the asset class.

HashKey Group, founded in 2018, operates one of Hong Kong’s first two licensed crypto exchanges and offers services such as crypto trading, venture funding, and asset management. The group has actively expanded its presence, with operations in Singapore, Japan, and Bermuda.

Just this year, HashKey Group announced that its subsidiary in UAE, HashKey MENA FZE, obtained an in-principal approval for a Virtual Asset Service Provider from the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA).

The group’s subsidiary in Europe, HashKey Europe Limited, also received a Virtual Asset Service Provider nod in Ireland, becoming the group’s first VASP license secured that complies with the EU’s Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD5).

This Gaorong Ventures HashKey investment highlights a growing interest among Chinese investors in blockchain and crypto technology, even within a challenging regulatory environment.

Bloomberg also reported that Tencent Holdings Ltd. has recently made an investment in crypto market maker Wintermute Trading Ltd., signalling its interest in the growing digital asset space. Meanwhile, Hongshan, formerly operating as Sequoia China, continues to back web3 ventures, including notable names like Animoca Brands.

Source of image: edited from Freepik