Interactive Brokers, one of the world’s largest brokerage firms, has launched cryptocurrency trading for retail clients in Hong Kong.
According to a November 28 announcement, the service comes with OSL, one of the first cryptocurrency exchanges to receive a virtual asset service provider (VASP) in Hong Kong. “Retail investors at Interactive Brokers in Hong Kong now have instant access to digital asset trading through a single, integrated platform powered by OSL,” the developers wrote.
According to the website, Interactive Brokers’ Hong Kong clients can hold Bitcoin (BTC) or Ethereum (ETH) in their personal accounts along with stocks, derivatives, commodities, forex and other assets. Each transaction is subject to a fee of 0.20% to 0.30% of the transaction value.
Last week, Cointelegraph reported that Interactive Brokers received a retail virtual asset trading license in Hong Kong. However, the license currently only grants the company the ability to broker Bitcoin and Ethereum transactions.
On November 14, BC Technology Group, owned by OSL exchange, announced that it had received a $90 million equity investment from blockchain company BGX. The company previously considered selling OSL Exchange for 1 billion Hong Kong dollars, or $128 million.
Hong Kong was one of the first jurisdictions to issue licenses for cryptocurrency exchanges, but a series of exchange scandals have dampened momentum somewhat. Last September, JPEX, one of the region’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, went bankrupt, resulting in 66 arrests and losses of about HK$1.6 billion ($205 million). On November 25, Hounax, another unlicensed cryptocurrency exchange in Hong Kong, allegedly defrauded 145 residents out of HKD 148 million ($18.9 million) through an alleged Ponzi scheme.
Related: Hong Kong authorities say Hounax scam resulted in 145 victims and $18.9 million in losses.