Mr. Zeng Yuchao, Managing Director of Futu Group, mentioned the virtual license for compliant operations when commenting on the hot topics in the market. In July 2024, the first license held by Futu Securities, a subsidiary of Futu Group, successfully upgraded and will provide virtual asset trading services to Hong Kong investors, including retail investors. In August 2024, Futu Securities officially obtained a license and compliance to provide qualified Hong Kong individual investors with four spot trading pairs, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USD, HKD, and will gradually expand to include more trading pairs such as LINK and AVAX, as well as additional functionalities like deposit and withdrawal of cryptocurrencies. In January 2025, Panthertrade, a subsidiary of Futu Group, officially obtained the Virtual Asset Trading Platform License (VATP) issued by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission. According to the regulatory requirements of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, the official operation of the virtual asset trading platform license must be completed in phases. Currently, Panthertrade is actively cooperating with the Securities and Futures Commission in the second phase of the assessment work, which includes evaluating policies, procedures, systems, and monitoring measures. After completing the assessment, it can officially operate externally.
In other words, the two licensed entities of Futu Group in Hong Kong—Futu Securities International (Hong Kong) Limited and Panthertrade (Hong Kong) Limited—have respectively obtained the first license upgrade and the Virtual Asset Trading Platform License (VATP). The two licenses can create a more closed-loop and competitive ecosystem.

#BTC #AVAX #ETH