HashKey's three major license layouts are complete: an in-depth analysis of its globalization strategy

Author: ChainCatcher

On January 20, Trump returned to the White House and launched the TRUMP super Memecoin before taking office. Within two days, its FDV surpassed $80 billion, stirring the entire crypto industry and even the global financial market. This historic moment will also mark a turning point in crypto regulation, ushering in a new landscape for the global cryptocurrency market.

Meanwhile, at the beginning of 2025, HashKey Global received a series of good news regarding compliance licenses. Following the acquisition of the MVP operating license issued by the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) on January 8, HashKey quickly obtained the virtual asset service provider (VASP) registration license from the Central Bank of Ireland.

The acquisition of these two important licenses complements its previous layout in the Bermuda market, forming a complete global strategic map. Against the backdrop of Trump's second term in the White House, this diversified market layout strategy is particularly important, as it not only diversifies geopolitical risks but also provides global users with diverse choices.

Three Major Market Strategic Layouts

Bermuda is the most important offshore financial center in the world, far surpassing other offshore markets like the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands, mainly due to Bermuda's comprehensive financial regulatory framework. The Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) has strict regulatory standards and clear policies that enable many top financial institutions to establish professional and compliant operational systems to serve users in the Americas and surrounding regions. Compared to other offshore financial centers, Bermuda is more friendly to the crypto industry, making it a battleground for leading compliant exchanges.

Coinbase was the first to obtain a license from the Bermuda Monetary Authority on April 19, 2023, becoming the first cryptocurrency exchange allowed to operate in Bermuda. In April 2024, HashKey Global obtained an F-class license issued by the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA), allowing it to provide licensed virtual asset trading services, including but not limited to LaunchPad, contract trading, leveraged trading, and other mainstream trading and service products.

In October 2024, Kraken obtained an F-class digital business license from the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA), allowing it to conduct derivatives trading in Bermuda, including providing wallet services and digital asset lending, enabling Kraken to expand its derivatives market in the region.

Dubai offers a unique environment for blockchain companies, with a strong legal infrastructure, a friendly business environment, and robust leadership and forward-looking regulatory frameworks, rapidly growing into an important hub for the global cryptocurrency market. HashKey Global has always placed great importance on the Middle Eastern market, and the acquisition of the Dubai VARA license marks HashKey's official entry into the Middle Eastern market, opening the door to serve high-net-worth users in the region while providing ample space for business innovation in that area.

The Irish VASP license was obtained under the EU MiCA regulatory framework. According to regulations, all cryptocurrency service providers must complete the licensing requirements under the MiCA framework by December 30, 2024. The acquisition of the Irish VASP license holds special strategic significance, opening the door for HashKey to enter the entire EU market.

Ambition for Global Strategy

After obtaining regulatory licenses in various regions around the world, a grand business map spanning "onshore + offshore" markets is beginning to emerge:

• Hong Kong, as HashKey's base, radiates to the Chinese and Asia-Pacific markets; the Hong Kong dollar's banking deposit and withdrawal services serve as a hallmark, with its capital security advantages being self-evident.
• Dubai, as the financial center of the Middle East, meets the demands for trading and capital flow in the region. Its vaguely visible fiat channel services even target the broader future market for stablecoins and cross-border payments in the Middle East.
• Ireland, as a springboard into the EU market, will directly compete with established compliant exchanges like Kraken. At this critical moment of global compliance transition, obtaining the EU MiCA license, the "strongest" license on the surface, further ensures HashKey's stability and security.
• Bermuda, as an important offshore financial center connecting global markets, will help HashKey serve all emerging markets.

Tim, a director at HashKey Global, recently stated in an interview with Taiwanese media: "HashKey will start from Hong Kong and ultimately provide complete services to users around the world, becoming the Coinbase of the East." This statement fully demonstrates HashKey's ambition for globalization. To some extent, if its global licensing layout can be successfully realized, its development potential and imagination may far exceed that of Coinbase.

Coinbase's main service market remains centered on the United States, and its international strategy is essentially more of a "backup" plan to diversify risks—an emergency option in the face of tightening regulatory environments and even enforcement pressures in the U.S. In contrast, HashKey's greatest advantage lies in its deep cultivation of the Asian market, allowing it to leverage its in-depth understanding and resource advantages in the region to gain a head start in the globalization process. Asia, as one of the most growth-potential virtual asset markets globally, not only has a broad user base but also increasingly mature policy support and a technological innovation ecosystem, providing a solid starting point for HashKey's globalization.

At the same time, HashKey's strategy is more proactive, genuinely user-oriented, planning around global needs in terms of technical architecture, product design, and compliance systems. With the strong support of the Asian market, HashKey has the capability to further break through regional boundaries and expand into the crypto ecosystem in Europe, America, emerging markets, and even globally. This bottom-up, regional-to-global strategic layout not only enhances HashKey's flexibility and risk resistance but also lays the foundation for building a diversified and robust virtual asset service ecosystem on a global scale.

For this reason, HashKey's globalization strategy is not merely a "defensive" choice but a blueprint for proactive offense and long-term layout. As its licensing map continues to expand, its potential lies not only in becoming the "Coinbase of the East" but also in possibly becoming a true global leader in the virtual asset industry in the future.

Regional Market Characteristic Development

In the Bermuda market, HashKey will fully leverage its advantages as a mature offshore financial center to provide professional and compliant digital asset services to institutional clients. Bermuda, as a leading offshore financial hub, is known not only for its stable policy environment and highly transparent regulatory system but also as an important experimental ground for the virtual asset industry. HashKey plans to use this platform to integrate global resources and provide institutional clients with comprehensive services covering asset custody, trading matching, investment management, and more, while assisting corporate clients in optimizing cross-border settlement and payment processes to enhance the efficiency of global operations. Additionally, relying on Bermuda's unique policy advantages, HashKey will explore more innovative financial products to further consolidate its core competitiveness in the international market.

In the Dubai market, HashKey will seize the historical opportunity of the digital economy transformation in the Middle East to provide tailored digital asset management services for high-net-worth clients. As the commercial and financial center of the Middle East, Dubai has attracted the attention of global blockchain companies in recent years by introducing a series of virtual asset-friendly policies. HashKey will not only build an efficient and secure service platform in Dubai but will also work closely with local institutions and governments to jointly promote the construction of the digital asset ecosystem. Furthermore, HashKey plans to explore more innovative business models in the Dubai market, such as tokenization schemes that combine virtual assets with physical assets and cryptocurrency products that incorporate Islamic finance features to meet the diverse needs of local users.

In the European market, HashKey will focus on Ireland as its core platform, steadily developing compliant business under the MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets) regulatory framework. As a member of the EU, Ireland has a sound financial system and an open business environment, along with significant advantages in technology, providing an ideal starting point for HashKey's European layout. Under the compliance guidance of MiCA, HashKey will focus on providing transparent and secure digital asset services, including exchange operations, asset management, and enterprise-level solutions. Additionally, HashKey will enhance the EU market's acceptance of blockchain technology and digital assets through continuous market education and ecosystem cooperation, gradually expanding its influence in Europe.

By deeply cultivating the Bermuda, Dubai, and European markets, HashKey is steadily advancing its globalization layout with a "point, line, surface" strategy. Under the leadership of these three key regional markets, HashKey will gradually form a global digital asset service network, providing more professional and diversified solutions for global users while promoting the further development and maturity of the virtual asset industry.

Compliance Construction and Risk Management

HashKey will continue to improve its global compliance system to ensure it meets the regulatory requirements of the three major markets: Bermuda, the Middle East, and Europe, laying a solid compliance foundation for its global expansion. This multi-regional compliance experience not only demonstrates HashKey's deep understanding of the legal and policy environments of different markets but will also become an important advantage in fierce competition. In the international digital asset industry, compliance has become a key factor for companies to gain user trust and government support, and HashKey is setting an industry benchmark through multi-market compliance practices, showcasing its capability and determination for long-term development.

During the expansion process, HashKey is actively building a robust cross-regional risk management system by introducing advanced risk monitoring technologies and establishing strict compliance processes to ensure that its business operations worldwide remain under control. At the same time, HashKey will strengthen collaboration between teams in different regions, combining global perspectives with localized depth to ensure rapid adaptation to diverse market demands during the expansion process.

To support rapid growth, HashKey also plans to quickly establish localized operational teams in the short term. By forming specialized teams, the company can more efficiently identify and respond to local user needs while building a comprehensive product and service system covering core areas such as trading, asset management, and custody services.

Industry Impact and Outlook

HashKey's globalization layout sets a benchmark for the entire cryptocurrency industry. Through a path of compliance and professionalism, it demonstrates the ideal development model for cryptocurrency platforms. As the global cryptocurrency market matures further, HashKey is expected to occupy an important position in international competition due to its unique market layout and compliance advantages. The company will continue to deepen its presence in various regional markets, expand its market share, establish global brand influence, promote business innovation, and improve its cross-regional operational system.

HashKey's rapid completion of layouts in three major markets showcases its strong execution capabilities and strategic vision. This comprehensive international layout not only creates favorable conditions for its own development but also makes a positive contribution to the standardized development of the entire cryptocurrency industry. In the context of increasingly fierce competition in the global cryptocurrency market, HashKey's development model is worthy of attention and emulation within the industry.