HSBC Hong Kong Debuts Cryptocurrency Services

Hong Kong’s biggest bank, the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC), announced it has launched its local cryptocurrency services.

A local journalist said that HSBC began to allow its clients to buy and sell Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds. The bank will offer cryptocurrency ETFs that are listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, which are CSOP Bitcoin Futures ETF, Samsung Bitcoin Futures Active ETF, and CSOP Ethereum Futures ETF, according to Cointelegraph.

HSBC’s move aims to expand its clients’ exposure to cryptocurrencies in Hong Kong. In March 2022, HSBC was reported as having 1.7 million active mobile customers with about 95% of the retail transactions of HSBC in Hong Kong reportedly processed online.

Earlier this month, the Financial Times reported that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the region’s central bank and regulator, asked major banks, including HSBC, Standard Chartered, and the Bank of China why they do not accept crypto exchanges as clients during a meeting in May.

At the end of April, HKMA issued a document in which it called on all banks to provide services to cryptocurrency firms. It also urged the banking institutions to draw attention to new developments in the market and encouraged them to adopt a more ambitious approach to new sectors, including the crypto market.

The document aims to help virtual asset service providers (VASPs) to gain access to banking services.

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.