Futu Securities International, a major Hong Kong online brokerage, began offering cryptocurrency trading services to retail customers on Thursday as the company looks to expand into the cryptocurrency sector.
Futu said in a statement that it will allow Hong Kong investors to trade bitcoin and ether directly in Hong Kong dollars or U.S. dollars. “The market response has been relatively positive on the first day of the cryptocurrency trading service launch,” Steve Zeng, managing director of Futu Group, told The Block on Friday.
The company claims to be the first online brokerage in Hong Kong to offer commission-free cryptocurrency trading. It also plans to incentivize users by offering bitcoin and Alibaba and Nvidia shares to certain users who open an account and hold the assets for a sufficient period of time.
In order to provide cryptocurrency services, Futu has received a license upgrade from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, which allows the company to provide cryptocurrency services to qualified retail investors. The SFC requires institutions such as Futu to route their services through two licensed cryptocurrency trading platforms, HashKey and OSL. Futu is currently working with HashKey to facilitate cryptocurrency trading.
Meanwhile, Futu is applying for an SFC license to operate as a virtual asset trading platform through its wholly-owned subsidiary PantherTrade. The SFC has included PantherTrade on the regulator’s list of applicants who are “deemed to be seeking a license.” Website.
Founded in 2012, Futu Holdings was listed on Nasdaq in March 2019 and has expanded its services globally. Its Singapore subsidiary, Moomoo, formally obtained a major payment institution license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore earlier this year, allowing it to offer cryptocurrency trading services to local investors.
In contrast to the widespread crackdown on cryptocurrency trading and mining in neighboring mainland China, Hong Kong rolled out the welcome mat for crypto companies last year. In June 2023, Hong Kong officially launched a cryptocurrency licensing regime for cryptocurrency trading platforms, allowing licensed exchanges to offer retail trading services.
However, Duncan Chiu, a Hong Kong lawmaker, said: Raise a concern Critics have criticized the “overly stringent” licensing regulations, saying they have kept major global exchanges out of Hong Kong. Many global exchanges, including: OKX, Gate.io and Cooperative — Withdraw your license application in Hong Kong.
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