WeLab raises $220 million in Series D funding, and behind this investment is not just a simple business transaction but also a sign of traditional financial institutions' changing attitude towards digital innovation. As one of Hong Kong's eight virtual banks, WeLab is also an initial member of the Hong Kong Web3 Association. Its business scope has expanded from online lending to digital banking services, and more recently, it has been deeply involved in blockchain applications and digital asset management.

The composition of investors in this round of funding is quite noteworthy: traditional financial institutions such as Prudential Hong Kong, Fubon Bank (Hong Kong), and HSBC led the investment, accounting for more than half, with the rest being followed by Hong Kong investment management firms, TOM Group, and Allianz Group. This is the largest single-round funding for WeLab since its founding and also sets a new record for digital bank financing in Asia by 2025.

From the perspective of the crypto ecosystem, the signals behind this phenomenon are worth pondering. Traditional banks no longer see blockchain and digital assets as threats; instead, they are actively allocating resources. Looking back at history, WeLab received $260 million in credit support from Citibank in 2023, and this Series D funding further strengthens this partnership. The digital transformation of the financial system has moved from concept to reality—major institutions are voting with real money.

This shift in capital flow may accelerate the development and marketization of applications like DeFi and NFTs. As Asia's crypto hub, Hong Kong's gradually friendly regulatory attitude provides a good testing ground for such innovations, which may attract more institutional capital to flow into related sectors in the future.