In the summer of 2025, the crypto transformation of Hong Kong's financial market is accelerating.
CMB International Securities has become the first Chinese bank-based broker to obtain a virtual asset trading license; Victory Securities announced that its cryptocurrency trading volume exceeded 10 billion HKD in the past 12 months, ranking first in the local market, and announced a three-year development strategy centered on 'comprehensive virtual asset service provider'; Futu Securities' latest financial report shows that its crypto business is developing rapidly, with crypto-related asset balances reaching 4 billion HKD.
Futu Securities, Victory Securities, and CMB International are just a microcosm of the crypto transformation of Hong Kong brokers.
As of August, over 40 brokers in Hong Kong have obtained virtual asset trading licenses, and more institutions are applying for licenses. The path has been opened, and the future is being written. Three institutions, three practices, collectively sketching a roadmap for Hong Kong's transition from a traditional financial center to a new era of digital assets.
These events mark the transition of Hong Kong brokers' crypto transformation from the exploratory phase to full implementation. The three institutions provide typical samples for observing this transformation through their unique resource endowments and market positioning.
CMB International: Ecological empowerment, integrator of traditional financial resources
As a representative of Chinese bank-based brokers, CMB International has chosen to rely on traditional financial resources to construct a development path with compliance and ecological advantages, focusing on cross-border cooperation and innovation.
In August 2025, CMB International, in partnership with DigiFT and OnChain, will tokenize a US dollar money market fund recognized in both Hong Kong and Singapore, issuing the CMBMINT token on-chain.
This is the world's first cross-jurisdictional tokenized public fund and also the first fund by a Chinese banking group to chain RWA assets. The tokenized asset is the CMBMINT, a US dollar money market fund managed by CMB International, with 70% of the funds invested in low-volatility instruments such as short-term high-quality US dollar deposits, treasury bills, and commercial papers.
The CMBMINT project adopts a dual-standard architecture of Solana Token2022 and SPL, achieving a balance between compliance auditing and on-chain efficiency through a 'transfer hook' mechanism. In addition to its initial launch on the Solana chain, the CMBMINT token will subsequently be deployed on Ethereum, Arbitrum, and Plume Network, making it the first currency fund token to support multi-chain operations.
On July 14, 2025, CMB International Securities Limited was officially approved by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, becoming the first Chinese bank-based broker to obtain a virtual asset trading service license in Hong Kong.
CMB International Securities' mobile application has added virtual asset trading functions, providing eligible investors with 24/7 trading services. Investors can directly participate in trading Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Tether (USDT) through virtual asset accounts.
Victory Securities: RWA specialization, innovator of traditional asset tokenization
Victory Securities, as one of the oldest comprehensive licensed brokers in Hong Kong, has chosen to focus on the niche field of RWA (real-world assets) tokenization, achieving significant growth and differentiated competition.
Victory Securities announced that its cryptocurrency trading volume exceeded 10 billion HKD in the past 12 months, ranking first in the local market. The company will focus on six major development directions over the next three years as the strategic core of 'comprehensive virtual asset service provider.'
These directions include deepening global asset allocation solutions using cryptocurrencies, strengthening institutional-level RWA innovative applications, launching structured derivatives for virtual assets, exploring new cryptocurrency financial application scenarios, and establishing new product development standards.
Since 2019, Victory Securities has proactively laid out in the virtual asset field, becoming the first financial institution in Hong Kong to be granted a comprehensive virtual asset license (Licenses 1, 4, and 9). After more than five years of technological development and risk control system construction, the company will open virtual asset retail trading by the end of 2023 and rapidly launch several industry-first services.
These innovations include the first integrated securities and virtual asset trading app, the first 'VA spot ETF physical delivery' service, and the world's first green energy asset RWA tokenization project, effectively lowering the trading threshold for investors and helping to link physical assets.
Futu Securities: Technology-driven, an aggressive global layout
As China's largest internet brokerage, Futu Securities, leveraging its technological advantages and vast user base, has chosen a comprehensive and aggressive global expansion strategy. As of the second quarter of 2025, Futu's registered user count reached 27.12 million, with 'asset-holding clients' numbering 2.88 million.
Futu's crypto business has expanded to Hong Kong, Singapore, and the United States. In Hong Kong, Futu has been providing crypto trading services to local residents for a year; in Singapore, Futu Moomoo is the only licensed internet broker offering crypto trading; in the United States, Futu began launching cryptocurrency trading services in most states in June 2025.
Futu has a very broad layout in the crypto field, including upgrading 'License No. 1' to provide cryptocurrency trading, applying for VATP licenses, participating in RWA and crypto asset management, and expanding its stablecoin business through investment in Tianxing Bank.
Especially with the VATP license, once approved, it means that Futu will have a compliant cryptocurrency exchange in Hong Kong, capable of conducting retail and institutional business.
Futu's crypto business has achieved significant results. As of the end of the second quarter of 2025, the balance of Futu's crypto-related assets reached approximately 4 billion HKD, with a peak daily trading volume of 40 million USD.
In terms of finance, Futu achieved a revenue of 5.3 billion HKD in the second quarter of 2025, a year-on-year increase of about 70%, with a net profit of 2.6 billion HKD, a year-on-year increase of 113%.
Common anchor: three strategic patterns and a compliance blueprint
In-depth analysis of three transformation samples reveals that Hong Kong brokers have formed several common characteristics in the process of crypto transformation. Licensing has become an industry standard action, and all three institutions have unanimously prioritized compliance as their primary task. Futu is simultaneously promoting license applications in multiple global markets, demonstrating the unique agility of internet brokers; Victory Securities obtained Hong Kong's first comprehensive virtual asset license, reflecting the ultimate pursuit of compliance by traditional institutions; CMB International, relying on its bank background, became the first Chinese broker to obtain this license. This 'compliance first' strategy reflects Hong Kong financial institutions' accurate grasp of regulatory dividends.
Technological innovation is the core engine of transformation. Futu rapidly built a global trading system supported by its technological genes, enabling multi-market business synergy; Victory Securities deeply engages in RWA tokenization technology, integrating physical assets with blockchain innovation; CMB International has constructed a complex multi-chain architecture for cross-chain asset flow. These technological layouts not only reflect each firm's differentiated advantages but also demonstrate a consensus on the prospects of blockchain technology.
Business synergy has become the key path to value release. Futu transforms its user base of 27 million into a natural traffic pool for crypto business; Victory Securities facilitates the migration of traditional brokerage clients to virtual asset services; CMB International leverages banking resources to develop institutional business. This collaborative development of traditional and innovative businesses not only reduces customer acquisition costs but also enhances customer loyalty, creating a virtuous cycle.
Testing the storm: both reefs and blue seas coexist
The crypto transformation of Hong Kong brokers has not been smooth, facing numerous challenges and risks.
Regulatory compliance risk is the primary challenge. The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission regulates virtual asset trading based on the Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO) and the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance (AMLO), requiring brokers to upgrade to VASP and comply with licensing or recognition regulations under the SFO to obtain relevant licenses, while also adhering to anti-money laundering (AML) and know your customer (KYC) compliance requirements, as well as asset 'hard isolation.' CMB International's trading services are only available to professional investors, and ordinary investors cannot use Bitcoin as collateral to obtain HKD loans, strictly following investor suitability management requirements in the Virtual Asset Trading Platform Regulation. Additionally, the platform must have a paid-in capital of no less than 5 million HKD and 3 million HKD in liquid funds, and must also reserve liquidity assets sufficient to cover at least 12 months of operating expenses, which poses a significant challenge to the platform's planning in Hong Kong.
Technical security risks shadow closely. Based on the lessons from the Terra/LUNA collapse, algorithmic stablecoins without backing from physical assets are explicitly excluded from regulation. However, due to the programmable nature of RWA and stablecoin products, careful consideration of technical issues such as smart contract development, value binding, and oracles is necessary during the crypto transformation. This poses challenges for traditional brokers in terms of business expansion and opportunities to seek technical partners. CMB International sought relevant technical partners several years ago, investing substantial resources in security audits for its CMBMINT project; Futu's global system needs to address different regional technical standards; Victory Securities' RWA project must ensure consistency between on-chain and off-chain assets. These technical challenges are crucial not only for capital safety but also represent a significant test of institutional reputation.
Market volatility risks necessitate a new risk control system. The high volatility of virtual assets far exceeds that of traditional financial products, requiring all three institutions to establish specialized risk measurement and management models. At the same time, the shortage of talent has become a common challenge in the industry, with a high demand for composite talents who understand both traditional finance and blockchain. Organizational structure and cultural transformation also require time to settle. Furthermore, current guidelines still prohibit platforms from issuing or trading virtual asset futures and related derivatives. This reflects the regulatory authorities' cautious approach to complex high-risk products, prioritizing market stability. The Securities and Futures Commission has stated that it will review and consider the possibility of opening such products to institutional investors in the future. For brokers, it blocks a business line. Therefore, ensuring that their vessels can navigate through this transformative period amid turbulent market conditions is a risk that brokers should consider.
It is worth noting that these challenges also breed new opportunities. Regulatory compliance requirements have spawned the development of compliance technology, technological security risks have driven the demand for blockchain security services, and market volatility risks have promoted the innovation of derivatives and hedging tools. The practices of the three institutions indicate that successful transformation requires finding a dynamic balance between risk and opportunity, turning challenges into differentiated competitive advantages.
Future Outlook: A new financial ecosystem of integration and innovation
The crypto transformation of Hong Kong brokers is building a brand new digital financial ecosystem.
Technological integration will become a future development trend. CMB International's CMBMINT project adopts a multi-chain deployment architecture, showcasing the potential for the integration of different blockchain technologies. Futu Securities plans to launch deposit and withdrawal functions in Singapore and the United States in the second half of the year, further expanding technological boundaries.
Business innovations will continue to emerge. Futu Securities executives stated in a conference call on the financial report: 'In addition to spot trading, there may be more monetization opportunities in the future, such as staking and derivative businesses.' Victory Securities' collaboration with Caocao Mobility has created an application scenario of 'ride-hailing assets + RWA.'
Regulatory frameworks will continue to improve. With the formal implementation of Hong Kong's stablecoin policy in August 2025, stablecoin businesses will also become an important component of the brokers' crypto transformation. This will provide brokers with more business opportunities and innovative spaces.
Bright prospects, promising future
The process of Hong Kong brokers' crypto transformation shows that the integration of traditional finance and digital assets is irreversible. The practices of Futu, Victory, and CMB International indicate that successful transformation requires leveraging one's advantages and choosing suitable development paths, while highly emphasizing compliance and risk control.
As more brokers join this ranks, Hong Kong is gradually building a new ecosystem that integrates traditional finance with digital innovation. This transformation will not only reshape the landscape of Hong Kong's financial industry but also provide important references for the digital development of global financial markets. In the future, the balance between technological innovation and compliance management, as well as the deep integration of virtual assets with the real economy, will continue to propel Hong Kong's international financial center into the digital age.
