Swiss crypto financial institution AMINA Financial institution AG mentioned it has secured regulatory approval in Hong Kong to supply crypto buying and selling and custody providers to institutional purchasers within the area, including its the primary worldwide financial institution to obtain such permission.
AMINA mentioned the “Sort 1 license uplift” acquired from the Securities and Futures Fee would assist it tackle a spot within the Hong Kong institutional crypto market, which has confronted restricted entry to bank-grade crypto providers as a result of area’s excessive regulatory compliance requirements.
The license will enable AMINA’s Hong Kong subsidiary to supply 13 cryptocurrencies — together with Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), USDC (USDC), Tether (USDT) and main decentralized finance tokens.
📢 Crypto buying and selling and custody – now out there at AMINA Hong Kong!
Right this moment, AMINA turns into the primary worldwide banking group to launch complete crypto buying and selling and custody providers in Hong Kong.
What this implies for establishments, corporates, household workplaces, and UHNWI… pic.twitter.com/74EtwDV9Bs
— AMINA Financial institution (@AMINABankGlobal) November 18, 2025
It comes as AMINA reported a 233% improve in buying and selling quantity on Hong Kong crypto exchanges within the first half of 2025 in comparison with the identical interval final yr, indicating that each retail and institutional merchants are more and more embracing the asset class.
Michael Benz, head of AMINA for Hong Kong, said that the license would allow the corporate to increase into personal fund administration, structured merchandise, derivatives and tokenized real-world property, thereby offering a wider vary of crypto choices for its consumer base.
Hong Kong courts worldwide crypto corporations
Hong Kong has been positioning itself as a worldwide crypto hub, and the newest approval might encourage different overseas corporations to contemplate the market.
Whereas AMINA claims to be the primary worldwide agency to win a Sort 1 license improve, it’s coming into a market already serviced by native gamers akin to Tiger Brokers, HashKey, and others.
Hong Kong launched new stablecoin guidelines in August
Hong Kong has adopted a cautious approach to crypto. It rolled out long-awaited stablecoin guidelines in August — prompting HSBC and ICBC to contemplate searching for licenses quickly after.
Associated: Digital Chamber seeks to guide crypto policy across US states
Hong Kong’s SFC additionally accredited its first Solana exchange-traded fund in late October — beating the US.
Hong Kong tightened rules round self-custodying crypto in August, although the transfer was aimed extra at lowering cybersecurity dangers than limiting person freedom.
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