Guangdong and Hong Kong Join Forces: HashKey Group Signs MOU with Guangzhou Data Exchange

Hong Kong, June 19, 2025 – HashKey Group ("HashKey" or "the Group"), a leading digital asset financial services group in Asia, announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Guangzhou Data Exchange on June 17. Backed by the governments of both Guangdong province and Hong Kong SAR, the two parties will collaborate to establish a cross-border digital asset innovation pilot zone in Nansha district, Guangzhou. The initiative aims to develop a compliant investor mechanism and explore regulatory pathways for data circulation and innovative digital asset trading services in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), supporting the region’s efforts to become a hub for digital economic development.

 (Dr. Xiao Feng, Chairman and CEO of HashKey Group, and Xu Jingjing, Chairwoman of Guangzhou Data Exchange, officiated the signing ceremony.)

Recently, the People’s Bank of China, the National Financial Regulatory Administration, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, and the People's Government of Guangdong Province jointly issued the Opinions on Financial Support for Deepening Comprehensive Cooperation between Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao iin Nansha District of Guangzhou ("the Opinions"). The document calls for enhanced collaboration between the Guangzhou Data Exchange and licensed digital asset trading platforms in Hong Kong, and encourages innovation in digital asset trading services.

This MOU marks a critical step in implementing the Opinions and aligning with China’s broader strategic agenda. It reflects both parties’ commitment to deep integration within the Greater Bay Area through collaborative development in the digital asset sector. The partnership aims to deeply integrate Hong Kong's robust financial ecosystem with the Mainland’s technological and industrial strengths. By leveraging the mainland Chinese real economy resources and Hong Kong’s role as an international financial center—characterized by global capital access and professional financial services—the collaboration is expected to create strong synergies and complementary advantages. The two sides will begin by piloting concrete use cases, jointly establishing a full-process and closed-loop framework for digital asset trading rules across Hong Kong and Guangdong. Together, they will formulate standards for data circulation and innovative digital asset trading services, and cultivate a compliant digital asset services ecosystem.

Through deep cooperation between exchanges in Hong Kong and Guangdong, the partnership aims to clarify the development path for a compliant digital asset ecosystem and enable safe, iterative innovation. Grounded in clearly defined compliance and risk boundaries, the initiative will anchor on-chain real-world assets and accelerate digital asset innovation services in the GBA. Ultimately, it seeks to drive the full-cycle development of digital asset projects—from conceptualization to industrial deployment—and build a globally competitive digital asset innovation ecosystem, significantly enhancing the region’s strategic positioning in the global digital economy landscape.

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About HashKey Group

HashKey Group is a leading digital asset financial services group in Asia with global operations in regions such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Ireland and Bermuda.

Since 2018, HashKey Group has built a global Web3 ecosystem within a high-compliance regulatory framework, including HashKey Exchange, the largest* licensed virtual asset exchange regulated by the Hong Kong SFC; HashKey Global, the global flagship digital asset exchange; HashKey Capital, a global asset manager investing exclusively in blockchain technology and digital assets; HashKey OTC, the compliant over-the-counter (OTC) trading arm of HashKey Group, HashKey Cloud, a leading provider of global Web3 infrastructure; and HashKey Tokenisation, a tokenisation services provider.

HashKey Group also possesses a rich on-chain ecosystem, having developed the Ethereum Layer 2, HashKey Chain, and has listed the HashKey platform token HSK. HashKey Group is committed to driving the mass application of blockchain technology, aiming to provide trustworthy and accessible digital asset services to one billion global users.

*As of January 31, 2025, HashKey Exchange ranks 7 on CoinGecko’s global exchange list and is the highest-ranked licensed virtual asset exchange in Hong Kong.

Disclaimer

About Guangzhou Data Exchange

Guangzhou Data Exchange positions itself as “rooted in Guangdong, serving the Greater Bay Area, and reaching across the nation.” Since its official launch in Nansha in September 2022, it has built a comprehensive, full-chain data circulation and trading ecosystem that spans both geographic regions and industry sectors. Its operations currently cover 25 industries, including intelligent manufacturing, finance, and healthcare, with 14 data integration service bases established across China.

As a key hub for data element circulation in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the Exchange actively explores mechanisms for two-way cross-border data flows. Leveraging its role as a “special data zone,” it has promoted the cross-border movement of data elements and facilitated the “offshore trading” of cross-border data products, successfully completing the on-balance-sheet registration of data assets—a first for Guangzhou. Additionally, it enabled the trading of ESG rating data with a partner based in Hong Kong, marking the successful completion of the first cross-border ESG data transaction in China.