I. HashKey Group in 2022: Year in Review

2022 will be remembered as an annus horribilis in digital assets. From the fall of the algorithmic stablecoin UST to the bankruptcy of various crypto firms – while it has not been a great year for crypto in general, 2022 has been nothing short of a breakthrough year for HashKey Group. Let's look back and reflect on all that we have accomplished and how we have contributed to the ecosystem and helped drive the industry forward.

Building and advancing the next-generation infrastructure
HashKey Group is a technology firm at heart. For Web 3.0 and the digital asset economy to truly thrive and reach global adoption, its foundation, i.e. the infrastructure underpinning the technology, has to be solid and impeccable, and over the past year we've been developing and introducing various solutions to improve and enhance the Web 3.0 user experience.

For example, NFT enthusiasts, or anyone really, can now create their own NFTs within seconds on the HashKey Me wallet app with its new one-stop mint portal, simplifying the process of creating an NFT from scratch using a photo or picture. 

Identity verification has been a hotbed for discussion among Web 3.0 projects and communities, and teams behind these dApps have long been debating the need for competent KYC services while not compromising on its users' data privacy - a huge criticism of Web 2.0. HashKey DID, HashKey's identity data aggregator and Web 3.0 identifier, was built for exactly this purpose, where it only stores users' KYC results instead of their personal data. What's more, with its Credentials and Credit Score functions, it can also act as a user's on-chain Web 3.0 passport!

In September, HashKey supported the launch of EPotter, one of the first institutional-grade proof-of-stake liquid node validation solutions in the world. With EPotter, users can benefit from secure, flexible and stable ETH validation services, which puts it in stark contrast to traditional ETH node validation, in which users can access their locked ETH only after withdrawal functionality is enabled on the Ethereum blockchain.

A regulatory-first approach commitment
Since our inception in 2018, HashKey has always been committed to a regulatory-first approach, adhering to and embracing the highest standards of compliance of different jurisdictions. In light of happened with the fall of various exchanges and crypto platforms throughout the year, the importance of proper regulatory oversight cannot be understated, as this can and will help and protect consumers and industry participants.

In November 2022, the Group, through our subsidiary Hash Blockchain Limited (also called HashKey PRO), was granted the full Type 1 (dealing in securities) and Type 7 (providing automated trading services) licences from the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong (SFC). Having the licence means we can provide regulated automated trading services of virtual assets to professional investors in Hong Kong, and users of our exchange platform can also clearly know and expect from HashKey that segregation of client assets is a must under Hong Kong's Security and Futures Ordinance, and that any conflicts of interest are either avoided or fully disclosed under the SFC's Code of Conduct.

HashKey is also licensed in Japan (since 2021) and has already applied for a licence under the Payment Services Act in Singapore to provide digital payment token services (currently operating under an exemption).

Investing in the technology of the future
Since its initial investment in the Ethereum Foundation way back in 2015, HashKey Capital has over the past 7 years continued to actively invest across the digital asset landscape, supporting and incubating companies that are building disruptive technology and services turbocharging the blockchain and Web3 ecosystem. Its portfolio currently encompasses more than 500 companies in 17 regions, with projects spanning across public chains, layer-2 protocols, metaverse, NFTs, GameFi etc., all of which are crucial building blocks of the blockchain ecosystem. Some of HashKey's key investments in 2022 include game developer Xterio, content distribution platform ReadON, multi-chain DeFi protocol Izumi Finance and data warehouse Space and Time.

Other Highlights
• US$360 million fund: HashKey's asset management subsidiary closed a US$360 million fund in January 2022. The newly raised capital was used to fund entrepreneurs and start-ups leading the new wave of blockchain and digital asset innovation. 

• Event Sponsors: HashKey has been an active supporter and participant in the region's vibrant FinTech and blockchain communities. This year, we were once again proud and major sponsors of Hong Kong FinTech Week and Singapore FinTech Festival, two of the largest conferences of their kind in Asia. 

• "Content is King": For a nascent and sometimes misunderstood market like cryptocurrency, education and research play an essential role in dispelling market myths and increasing digital asset literacy. Over the past year, we have bolstered our education initiatives with the launch of a new course on HashKey Academy, a brand-new short video initiative called HashKey Learn, as well as sector deep-dives into the Ethereum Upgrades and privacy networks.  

II. HashKey Brings in New CTO and CFO

This week, HashKey Group announced the appointments of Jeff Lu as Chief Technology Officer (right) and Eric Zhu as Chief Financial Officer (left).

Jeff most recently served as Group CTO for VipShop (唯品会), and prior to that was CTO at YY Inc (欢聚集团); He also worked at Baidu and Google. As HashKey's CTO, Jeff will focus on overseeing and leading the Group’s technology and IT security teams to facilitate the company’s tech and business development strategies.

Eric joins HashKey on the back of nearly two decades of experience in finance management and leadership at numerous market-leading technology and internet businesses. He was Vice President of Finance at Meituan, and prior to that held senior positions at Baidu, Amazon China, Dell Computers and Motorola. 

Welcome Jeff and Eric to the HashKey team!

III. Best of HashKey: Crypto Cotnent Highlights from 2022

As the year draws to close, the HashKey team has handpicked some of the best content and editorial pieces from across 2022, including a selection of our most popular and comprehensive research pieces, webinars, educational videos, podcast episodes and articles. 

2022 DeFi Ecosystem Report by HashKey Capital
The research team at HashKey Capital recently wrote and published its annual DeFi Ecosystem Landscape Report, digging into the current state, rising trends and future outlook of decentralised finance.

Decentralised Identifiers: A Key Component of Web3
In the current Web 2.0 paradigm, users whose data exist on centralised platforms like Google and Facebook actually have very limited control over their personal information and data. Web 3.0, dubbed the "read-write-own" web, is trying to resolve this fundamental problem, and DID (decentralised identifiers) is poised to play a critical role. Learn more about how DID can complement Web 3.0 and HashKey's very own HashKey DID, which has recently passed the 1 million user mark!

Podcast: Crypto Portfolio Construction and Risk Management
Were you thinking about how to appropriately allocate digital assets to your portfolio? In one of our more recent Crypto Savvy Podcast episodes this year, guest Aleksey Mironenko defines what a "well-constructed" portfolio is, and which category of digital assets he is most bullish about under the current macro environment. 

NFTs, Soulbound Tokens, Web 3.0 and Ethereum
Although the popularity of digital assets has arguably dwindled comparing to its peak in 2021, what can't be overlooked and denied is the fact that industry professionals and blockchain gurus have continued to "buidl", innovate and empower the ecosystem. NFTs have seen new use cases, Vitalik Buterin came up with "Soulbound Tokens", publicly listed companies have been venturing into Web3, and who can forget the landmark Ethereum Merge! Revisit all of the major narratives, trends and topics of crypto in this HashKey Learn Playlist. 


IV. Key Weekly Data
Market Data (as of 22 December 2022)
• Total market value: US$810.9 billion (Source: CoinMarketCap)
• Daily exchange volume (7DMA): US$12.53 billion (Source: The Block Research)
• Total exchange volume of Bitcoin and Ethereum (7DMA): Bitcoin - US$6.83 billion; Ether - US$1.66 billion (Source: The Block Research)
• DEX 7-day growth: US$7 billion (-6.18% compared to last week) (Source: Dune Analytics)


And that's a wrap, folks! This is the final HashKey newsletter of 2022. We wholeheartedly thank you for your support throughout the year, and we wish you a festive season and a Happy New Year. See you in 2023!

Contact:
Jason Li 
Marketing and Client Strategy Manager
jason.li@hashkey.com