• This license covers 13 cryptocurrencies together with Bitcoin, Ether, USD, C, and Tether.
• AMINA reported a 233% enhance in Hong Kong buying and selling quantity in early 2025.
• Hong Kong launched new stablecoin guidelines this 12 months and accepted the Solana ETF.

Hong Kong’s efforts to create a regulated digital asset market are attracting extra curiosity from world monetary establishments, with the newest instance being Swiss crypto financial institution AMINA Financial institution AG successful approval to increase its companies in Hong Kong.

The financial institution has acquired an elevated Kind 1 license from the Securities and Futures Fee, making it the primary worldwide financial institution approved to supply regulated cryptocurrency buying and selling and custody to institutional purchasers in Hong Kong.

The transfer strengthens town’s place as a regional digital asset hub and highlights the rising demand for bank-grade crypto companies amongst skilled merchants.

AMINA plans to make use of this approval to supply institutional customers a regulated path to cryptocurrencies at a time when purchasers are looking for stronger safeguards and clearer guidelines.

Hong Kong compliance requirements usually restrict the variety of international establishments that may present these companies, thus leaving a niche available in the market for firms with established banking frameworks.

AMINA’s entry goals to fill that hole whereas offering prospects with a regulated platform backed by conventional monetary infrastructure.

AMINA expands in fast-growing market

This license enhance will allow AMINA’s Hong Kong subsidiary to supply buying and selling and custody of 13 cryptocurrencies.

These embody Bitcoin, Ether, USDC, Tether, and several other main decentralized finance tokens broadly used on world exchanges.

This approval creates new alternatives for institutional purchasers looking for a single regulated facility with entry to a curated record of main digital belongings.

AMINA additionally reported a pointy enhance in market exercise.

The financial institution recorded a 233% enhance in buying and selling quantity on Hong Kong’s crypto exchanges within the first half of 2025.

This enhance displays elevated involvement from each the institutional and retail sectors as Hong Kong’s regulatory atmosphere evolves.

The financial institution expects this new approval to assist a wider vary of merchandise.

The corporate plans to increase into non-public fund administration, structured crypto merchandise, derivatives, and tokenized real-world belongings.

With these additions, AMINA joins the ranks of firms providing institutional purchasers diversified publicity throughout a number of forms of digital belongings.

Native gamers face new world competitors

AMINA is the primary worldwide financial institution to obtain this particular license improve, however it’s getting into a aggressive market.

Hong Kong is already house to regulated native corporations equivalent to Tiger Brokers and Hashkey, that are offering companies to institutional buyers and retail purchasers primarily based on early approvals.

AMINA’s approval indicators that the market is opening as much as extra international establishments, which may change the aggressive dynamics for each world and native suppliers.

Hong Kong authorities have repeatedly acknowledged that attracting world firms is central to Hong Kong’s digital asset technique.

The arrival of AMINA might encourage extra abroad banks and brokerages to think about related functions when evaluating alternatives in Asia’s regulated crypto markets.

Coverage modifications form Hong Kong’s digital foreign money framework

AMINA’s approval comes at a time of fast coverage improvement within the metropolis.

Hong Kong launched new stablecoin laws in August, creating a proper licensing pathway for issuers.

In response, main regional banks equivalent to HSBC and ICBC have introduced that they’re contemplating making use of for a license as a part of their digital wealth plans.

The town additionally accepted the primary Solana exchange-traded fund in late October.

With this approval, Hong Kong turns into the primary nation in the US to permit regulated Solana ETFs, including one other product to the rising record of crypto-related funding choices.

Hong Kong tightened guidelines on self-custody of digital belongings in August.

This variation is concentrated on strengthening cybersecurity protections and mitigating dangers related to particular person key administration.

This resolution was not supposed to limit person entry, however was offered as a security measure.

New guidelines and elevated curiosity from institutional buyers have created an atmosphere that pulls extra world firms.

AMINA’s regulatory advances present momentum to Hong Kong’s technique to stability sturdy compliance with market enlargement.