As the price of Bitcoin is about to break through the $100,000 mark, the Hong Kong crypto market has also reached several historic milestones. Last year, when people thought about the relationship between Hong Kong banks and cryptocurrencies, they often thought of problems such as "difficulty in opening accounts" and "lack of channels".
But just one year later, banks not only support deposits and withdrawals with compliant exchanges, but also cooperate with compliant exchanges to "personally take action" to open up virtual asset trading channels. This is a big step forward, and it also gives us a glimpse into the booming development of Hong Kong's Web3 industry.
Today, HashKey Exchange, the largest licensed virtual asset exchange in Hong Kong, announced the release of HashKey Pro, helping ZA Bank become the first bank in Asia to provide retail virtual currency transactions. This move will trigger a "swarm effect" in Hong Kong's virtual asset market through the deep integration of virtual banks and virtual asset ecosystems - by linking virtual banks, securities firms and other institutions, it will continue to inject liquidity and trust into Hong Kong's virtual asset market. This model will provide a new paradigm for the reshaping of virtual asset industry rules and ecological development, and help Hong Kong occupy an important position in the competitive landscape of the global virtual asset market.
From "indirect channel" to "direct channel", a "big step" from traditional finance to virtual currency
It is no new news that traditional financial institutions are rushing into the market.
As early as 2021, more than 55% of the world's top 100 banks have been involved in virtual asset businesses, including Bitcoin trading, custody services and portfolio optimization. JPMorgan Chase's Onyx digital asset platform has processed more than US$50 billion in digital asset transactions; Goldman Sachs' virtual asset trading volume in the first quarter of 2024 increased by 42% year-on-year, further attracting the attention of institutional investors.
Hong Kong has also followed the international encryption trend and continuously optimized its regulatory policies. The implementation of the Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) Ordinance and the upgrade of the No. 9 financial license mark that Hong Kong has achieved a unique balance between compliance and innovation, providing a clear legal framework for the development of the virtual asset industry. Under the guidance of this policy, traditional financial institutions in Hong Kong are actively expanding their virtual asset businesses. Traditional brokerages represented by Tiger Securities and Victory Securities are the first to provide virtual asset investment services to professional investors; Hang Seng Bank and HSBC are exploring virtual asset custody functions.
However, it must be mentioned that traditional financial institutions usually rely on indirect methods such as ETFs to provide services when exploring this emerging field. In the early stages, this model can open the door to the virtual asset market for institutional clients, but as the market develops, its limitations become increasingly prominent. High management fees, transaction lags, and insufficient control over user assets make it difficult for such methods to meet the increasingly complex market needs. In addition, other traditional virtual asset services such as custody services and matchmaking transactions, although emphasizing security and compliance, are difficult to meet the higher requirements of institutional clients for efficiency and flexibility.
HashKey Pro, launched by HashKey Exchange, provides an efficient "direct channel" for financial participants such as virtual banks, securities firms and payment institutions.
With HashKey Pro, financial institutions do not need to redevelop complex systems. They can complete the custody, trading and settlement of user assets with one click through the licensed exchange HashKey Exchange.
The feasibility of this solution has been fully verified in the cooperation between HashKey Exchange and ZA Bank. As the first virtual bank in Asia to provide retail virtual asset trading services, ZA Bank successfully launched Bitcoin and Ethereum trading functions in its App with the help of HashKey Pro, and achieved seamless conversion with legal currency. This cooperation not only allows ZA Bank to expand the boundaries of its digital financial services, but also seizes the opportunity for its layout in the virtual asset market.
At the same time, HashKey Pro has also demonstrated its wider applicability in the securities sector. Hong Kong securities firms such as Victory Securities and Aide Securities are directly connecting to the virtual asset market through HashKey Pro, providing efficient trading solutions for high-net-worth clients and institutional users.
Connecting tens of millions of financial users, HashKey Pro's "bee colony effect" has taken effect
The roles of traditional financial institutions such as virtual banks and securities firms are undergoing profound changes. The core significance of HashKey Pro is not only a direct channel, but also to help link traditional financial institutions with the virtual asset market. Through technical standardization and service modularization, it helps virtual banks, securities firms and payment institutions quickly integrate virtual asset trading services, allowing these institutions to participate in this emerging market with lower technical and compliance costs. Behind this is not only the 4 million Hong Kong stock investors, but also tens of millions of people trading in banks.
At present, HashKey Pro has established cooperation with more than ten traditional financial institutions such as ZA Bank, Shengli Securities, and Aide Securities. The "swarm effect" of HashKey Pro is not only reflected in the scale of the cooperative institutions, but also in its far-reaching impact on the market. With the addition of each new institution, the market liquidity continues to grow. Through the demonstration effect, it will also attract more traditional financial institutions to overcome technical and compliance obstacles and accelerate their entry into the virtual asset field. This virtuous cycle will effectively break through the barriers between traditional financial institutions and the virtual asset industry, promote the deep integration of the two, and accelerate Hong Kong's financial construction and status.
The impact of this synergy has gone beyond the local Hong Kong market, and Hong Kong is becoming a benchmark for financial institutions in other regions.
From initially providing users with simple fiat currency deposit and withdrawal services to now directly entering the field of virtual asset trading, they are transforming from market supporters to deep participants. The successful cases of institutions such as ZA Bank and Shengli Securities show that the boundaries between traditional finance and the virtual asset market are gradually blurring, and this transformation is reshaping the ecology of the entire industry.
In fact, this trend is not unique to Hong Kong. Globally, traditional financial institutions represented by banks are promoting similar development paths through technological innovation. Europe's Revolut has attracted a large number of users in a short period of time and rapidly expanded its market share by simplifying the user experience and introducing a one-stop virtual asset trading function; South Korea's KakaoBank has built a complete digital financial service chain by integrating loan, payment and virtual asset trading services. These cases show that traditional financial institutions are increasingly aware that the improvement of the virtual asset service chain will be a key strategy to retain users in the future.
In this context, Hong Kong's practice is particularly exemplary. Compared with other regions that treat virtual asset services as a single additional function, Hong Kong is forming a comprehensive industry connection with virtual asset exchanges as the core and radiating to traditional financial institutions. Behind this transformation is Hong Kong's comprehensive exploration of the virtual asset compliance system: HashKey Exchange, as a licensed virtual asset exchange, strictly abides by the regulatory requirements of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and provides a safe, transparent and standardized service path for cooperative institutions; traditional financial institutions use HashKey Pro to not only reduce the technical and compliance costs of entering the virtual asset market, but also provide trust guarantees for entering this emerging field.
Through industry connections centered on virtual asset exchanges, Hong Kong can not only consolidate its position as a global leader in the virtual asset market, but also provide a feasible path for traditional financial institutions to explore digital transformation. This industry collaboration will drive the virtual asset market from regional practice to global consensus, injecting new impetus into the long-term healthy development of the industry. Among them, HashKey Pro, as a core solution, is changing the rules of participation in the virtual asset market - in an ever-changing financial world, whoever can quickly open up the virtual asset trading channel will be able to seize the initiative in the next wave of digital revolution.
