HT-00 Due-diligence file, last reviewed
Hex Trust: digital asset custodian for institutions in Asia and the UAE
Hex Trust, founded in 2018, holds digital assets for institutions through Hex Trust MENA FZE (VARA custody licence VL/23/08/002) and Hex Technologies Pte. Ltd. (MAS Major Payment Institution licence PS20200664), and adds OTC execution through HT Markets MENA FZE (VL/23/08/003) and staking from custody where it is offered.
Risk warning. Not financial advice. Crypto is highly volatile and may drop in value significantly. You may lose the amounts you invest and your investments do not benefit from any form of financial protection.
File index
What Hex Trust does
Hex Trust sells three services to institutions. Custody is the core. OTC execution and staking run from the custody account, where the entity that serves you offers them.
Institutional custody
Client assets sit in segregated on-chain accounts, and private keys are kept in hardware security modules (HSMs). In Dubai the custodian is Hex Trust MENA FZE (VL/23/08/002); in Singapore it is Hex Technologies Pte. Ltd.
- Key storage
- FIPS 140-3 Level 3 HSMs
Segregation, key storage and insurance are set out on the institutional crypto custody page.
OTC execution and fiat ramping
A desk that works around the clock quotes block trades on request. The live markets page puts coverage at “1,000+ tokens” and settlement at “typically T+0 to T+2 business days”. In Dubai the broker-dealer is HT Markets MENA FZE (VL/23/08/003).
- Typical settlement
- T+0 to T+2
Order flow and currencies: the crypto OTC desk for institutions.
Staking from custody
Staked assets remain in custody. Rewards are set by each network: they are variable and not guaranteed, and staking carries slashing and lock-up risk.
- Singapore and Dubai
- Not offered
Options and risks: institutional staking from custody.
Licensed entities and what each one covers
Hex Trust is a group of companies, and each licence belongs to one of them. Check the company that will sign your agreement against its regulator's register.
Hex Trust MENA FZE, Dubai: custody
Hex Trust MENA FZE is licensed by the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) for Custody Services under VASP licence VL/23/08/002. It may serve Institutional Investors and Qualified Investors only.
HT Markets MENA FZE, Dubai: broker-dealer
HT Markets MENA FZE is licensed by VARA for Broker-Dealer Services under VASP licence VL/23/08/003, for the same two client classes. OTC execution for Dubai clients runs through this company.
Hex Technologies Pte. Ltd., Singapore: digital payment token services
Hex Technologies Pte. Ltd. (UEN 201924026H) is licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) as a Major Payment Institution under the Payment Services Act 2019, licence PS20200664. The MAS directory lists a Digital Payment Token Service and a Cross-border Money Transfer Service. The company does not serve retail consumers, and OTC execution is open only to verified Accredited and Institutional Investors.
Hong Kong: trust company and TCSP status
The live trust centre lists a trust company registration and a Trust or Company Service Provider (TCSP) licence in Hong Kong, without a licence number or the name of the company that holds them. Other pages of the live site name Hex Trust Limited as a custodian within the group; the pages read for this file do not say where that company is incorporated or which licence it holds. In plain terms: TCSP licence (AML), not an SFC-licensed platform.
| Entity | Regulator and licence | Number | Issued | Register |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hex Trust MENA FZE | VARA VASP Licence: Custody Services | VL/23/08/002 | 15 Nov 2023 | VARA: Hex Trust MENA FZE |
| HT Markets MENA FZE | VARA VASP Licence: Broker-Dealer Services | VL/23/08/003 | 31 May 2024 | VARA: HT Markets MENA FZE |
| Hex Technologies Pte. Ltd. | MAS Major Payment Institution licence | PS20200664 | Not published | MAS directory entry |
| Hong Kong company, not named on the live site | Companies Registry: trust company registration and TCSP licence (AML), not an SFC-licensed platform | Not published | Not published | TCSP register search |
Register entries opened on . Both VARA entries showed the status Active.
The global website describes services that two of the licensed companies do not provide. Each regional page says so in one sentence.
“Services such as Wealth Management (Aura), Token Wrapping, wXRP and DPT lending or staking that appear on the global Hex Trust website are not offered in Dubai and are not regulated under VARA.”
Live Dubai page, read 6 October 2026
“Services such as Wealth Management (Aura), Token Wrapping, wXRP and DPT lending or staking that appear on the global Hex Trust website are not offered in Singapore and are not regulated by MAS.”
Live Singapore page, read 6 October 2026
See the licence numbers and register entries for every company, and the risk disclosure for digital asset services.
Proof you can check
Each line names the issuer and the date, so that you can ask for the document itself.
- SOC 2 Type II
- December 2023, AssuranceLab
- SOC 1 Type I and Type II
- February 2023, Deloitte
- CSA STAR registry
- Hex Safe listed since 15 February 2022
- Hardware security modules
- FIPS 140-3 Level 3
From the live trust centre, read 6 October 2026, and the CSA STAR registry, opened 11 October 2026. Every report is listed under security and assurance reports.
- Limit across all clients
- US$25,000,000
The live insurance framework gives a “maximum coverage of US$25,000,000 across all clients”: one shared pool, not an amount per client. It names two insured events: dishonest or fraudulent acts or omissions of the custodian, and physical loss of or damage to private keys from natural disaster or violent acts.
The live custody page shows “up to $25M+” in its text and “up to $50M+” in its structured data: confirm the limit, the insurer and the policy period.
Leadership and accountable officers
The live team page names eleven executives, a board of six directors and an advisory board of five. These are the roles a due-diligence reviewer usually asks about first.
- CEO and Co-Founder
- Alessio Quaglini
- CISO and Co-Founder
- Rafal Czerniawski
- Head of Legal and Compliance
- Federico Fabiano
- Chief Risk Officer
- Marty Jetton
- Chairman of the Board
- Rajah Thiyagarajah
As listed on the live team page on 6 October 2026. The two Dubai companies also publish their responsible individuals and compliance officer. The about page gives the legal entities and leadership in full.
Hex Trust in numbers
These are the company's own statements, copied as printed. The live home page gives no as-at date and no audit reference for them.
| Statement | Figure |
|---|---|
| Founding date | 2018 |
| Assets under custody attained | $5bn |
| Monthly transaction volume | $500m+ |
| Clients onboarded | 450+ |
How pricing works
Hex Trust does not publish a fee schedule, and custody is quoted for each client. Three things are stated in public.
- No public fee schedule The live site has no pricing page and prints no basis-point range.
- Fiat ramping Pricing is described as “all-inclusive and volume-based with no hidden spread or banking surcharge”.
- Included with custody wallets Insurance cover “at no additional cost”, and Travel Rule and Chainalysis KYT screening “at no extra cost”.
What drives a quote, and what to ask for in one, is explained under how Hex Trust pricing works.
Networks in custody
The live custody page lists 34 networks. Six of them:
The site's own totals differ from page to page (30+, 35+ and 36+ blockchains, and “500+ tokens”), so this file counts only the networks that are named. All 34 are in the table of supported networks on the custody page.
Insights for custody buyers
Three guides for the people who select and review a custodian, each written by the Hex Trust Research Team and reviewed by the Head of Compliance.
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MPC vs HSM vs multisig custody compared
Where the key lives in each model, what can be certified, and what to ask a custodian about key management.
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Crypto custody due diligence checklist
Eight review areas, from the licensed entity to commercial terms, with the document or register entry to request in each.
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Crypto custody law in Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong
Who licenses custodians in each market, what a licence covers, and how to check a register entry yourself.
All guides are for information only and are not investment advice. The hub lists them: custody insights for institutions.
Talk to the right desk
Hex Trust publishes e-mail addresses by purpose. No general support telephone line is published; the one number below belongs to the Dubai complaints function.
New clients
[email protected]
Accounts are opened through institutional sales.
Existing clients
Phishing and security incidents
Complaints, Dubai companies
Complaints, Singapore company
Whistleblowing
Offices and official domains are on the page where you can contact institutional sales. The complaints procedure gives the steps for each company, and short answers are collected in the frequently asked questions about Hex Trust.