Futu Securities Presents Bitcoin And Ether Trading For 22 Million Users In Hong Kong

Futu Securities presents Bitcoin and Ether trading for 22 million users in Hong Kong (Photo; Doc. Techinasia)

JAKARTA - Futu Securities International, has just launched crypto trading services, particularly Bitcoin and Ether, for its 22 million users. This move makes Futu Securities Hong Kong's first broker to offer retail investors direct crypto trading, a breakthrough that reflects growing interest in digital assets in the region.

On July 23, 2024, Futu Securities introduced a crypto trading platform that immediately caught market attention. Based on a report from the South China Morning Post, retail investors in Hong Kong can now access and trade Bitcoin and Ether without having to go through other intermediaries.

Interest in Bitcoin continues to rise, as reflected in the open interest record which reached 39.4 billion US Dollars (around Rp639 trillion) on July 29, 2024. This spike indicates expectations that the price of Bitcoin may soon experience a major increase, a signal much awaited by investors.

Peluncuran ini juga terjadi di tengah perkembangan positif dalam dunia keuangan global yang semakin terbuka terhadap aset kripto. Debut ETF Ether spot pertama di Amerika Serikat baru-baru ini telah mendorong minat institional terhadap produk keuangan berbasis kripto.

Several asset management giants like Franklin Templeton have partnered with SBI Holdings to set up a crypto ETF management company in Japan, which is expected to provide easier access for a new generation of investors to crypto-based trading products.

This Futu Securities move is in line with Hong Kong's ambition to become a global center for crypto and blockchain innovation. In July 2024, Hong Kong launched a stablecoin licensing regime aimed at creating a sustainable and responsible stablecoin ecosystem in the region.

Despite strong support for this new regime, Hong Kong is still facing challenges in realizing its ambition to become a global crypto hub. One of these challenges is the withdrawal of a number of popular crypto companies from the Hong Kong market, including the withdrawal of license applications by several well-known crypto exchanges.