Sept 8 (Reuters) - HashKey Group will launch its

inaugural Digital Asset Treasury (DAT) focused fund with an

initial target size of $500 million, the Hong Kong-based virtual

asset firm said on Monday.

The multi-currency fund's DAT strategy refers to public

companies accumulating cryptocurrency assets to capitalise on

higher token prices and a softening regulatory environment.

The strategy has surged in popularity this year as many

companies seek to replicate the success of U.S.-based Strategy

, a software company that began accumulating bitcoin in

2020 and held more than $63 billion in cryptocurrency as of

June.

Strategy copycats have increased their bitcoin holdings to

nearly 100,000 bitcoin collectively, according to Standard

Chartered.

The trend of DAT adoption is not happening only in the U.S.

but in Hong Kong, Japan and many other equity markets, Binance

founder Changpeng Zhao told a bitcoin conference in Hong Kong

last month.

Through investing in and operating top-tier DAT projects

globally, HashKey aims to advance crypto asset standardisation

and accelerate the development of a sustainable Web3 ecosystem,

it said in a statement. Web3 refers to a version of the internet

that is decentralised and operates on blockchain technology.

"HashKey will build a diversified portfolio by initiating

and investing in a range of DAT projects focused on mainstream

crypto assets, with an initial emphasis on Ethereum and Bitcoin

ecosystem projects," it said.

Founded in 2018, HashKey Group offers a wide range of

digital asset financial services including asset management,

brokerage, tokenization, as well as running Hong Kong's largest

licensed crypto exchange.