Chinese Banks Interested in Offering Services to Hong Kong’s Crypto Firms

Chinese banks became more interested in tapping into the crypto sector by offering services to crypto firms in Hong Kong despite the crypto ban on China’s mainland, according to Cointelegraph.

People who are familiar with the matter said that Chinese state-owned banks in Hong Kong, such as Bank of China Ltd., Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, and the Bank of Communications Co., have already started offering banking services to crypto firms in Hong Kong or inquired with crypto companies.

According to one person, a sales representative from one Chinese bank even visited the office of a crypto firm to offer its banking services.

Cointelegraph asked Julia Pang, the head of banking relations at Hong Kong-based crypto trading platform OSL, who said that her company welcomes the growing interest of Chinese banks to foray into the crypto industry. Pang noted: “This development is encouraging for both the industry and the broader ecosystem, as it demonstrates a maturing understanding of the crypto sector by traditional financial institutions.”

Meanwhile, Sung Min Cho, the founder of the Web3-focused company Beoble, told Cryptopotato that the Chinese banks’ enthusiasm toward the crypto firms in Hong Kong means a lot in light of the Chinese government and central bank’s ban on all crypto-related activities in 2021.

Meantime, an official at a major Chinese bank in Hong Kong, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the positive stance from Beijing and the current uncertainty in the US banking sector provided an opportunity to explore the market.

The government of Hong Kong took steps toward its participation in the global crypto industry by introducing its own bill to regulate crypto in October 2022. On February 2023, Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission released a proposal for a licensing regime for cryptocurrency exchanges, which is set to take effect in June this year.