Bitget exchange launches new Web3 fund as it eyes Hong Kong license

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Digital currency exchange Bitget has announced the creation of a new Web3 fund to stimulate growth in the industry, the fallout from a successful financial year.

Bitget’s managing director Gracy Chen disclosed details of the $100 million fund to Forkast on May 2, saying that the move is proof of a “healthy financial status.” Chen stated that the fund is particularly keen on investing in projects with credible founders that have proper real-world use cases.

“We don’t have any other stakeholder in this fund. We’re debt-free and we have pretty good cash flow and that’s why we want to contribute to this fast-growing business so that we can grow together,” Chen said.

Among the blockchain technology firms on the radar, Bitget’s managing director confirmed that it would be giving special attention to ‘social fi’ and ‘game fi’ projects. Chen believes focusing on this class of projects is key to larger consumer engagement rather than regular decentralized finance (DeFi) projects.

When quizzed on the exchange’s sources of income, Chen stated that transaction and trading fees made up the bulk of the revenue, enough to provide adequate cash surplus. As proof of healthy financials, the firm created a separate $200 million protection fund, which increased to $300 million in the wake of FTX’s collapse.

Bitget unveiled plans to bolster its ranks with an array of new talent to support its expansionist goals. At the moment, the exchange has 1,300 staff and hopes to fill 100 more roles before the end of the year despite the long-drawn bear market.

“We think a bear market or a crypto winter is a golden opportunity to grow. So we want to accumulate enough talent and we also want to make sure that our product is developing well,” Chen stated.

Armed with overflowing pockets, Bitget became the largest shareholder in digital wallet BitKeep following a $30 million investment. There are plans to rebrand BitKeep to Bitget wallet in the coming weeks amid plans to launch exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and improve its copy trading feature.

Solving regulatory challenges

Bitget has been at the center of a regulatory whirlpool after it received a warning from Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) for offering services in the country without seeking registration. The firm stated that it is working hard to ensure regulatory compliance in line with local authorities.

Ahead of Hong Kong’s Securities Futures Commission (SFC) plans to publish operational guidelines for service providers, Bitget announced it would be reining its operations in the region. Chen announced that the firm had hired a compliance team to liaise with Hong Kong regulators to secure a license before the end of the year.

CoinGeek Conversations with Somi Arian: Could BSV be the Microsoft of Web3?