Hong Kong Cryptocurrency Atlas: Tear, Confrontation, and Integration

Author: Zhou Zhou, Foresight News

In 2025, the sense of division in Hong Kong's cryptocurrency circle is becoming increasingly apparent.

"Every day, traditional financial institutions come to us to discuss crypto business. We are also trying to promote new business on platforms like YouTube and X, collaborating with influential KOLs and bloggers." A broker expressed his enthusiasm and expectations when talking about the expansion of crypto business.

On the other hand, an employee of a blockchain company who recently joined but chose to leave spoke in a low tone: "I left, I couldn't stand this state-owned enterprise style."

In the same Hong Kong, within the same cryptocurrency ecosystem, some feel the excitement and opportunities brought by the industry's economic upturn; others feel the fatigue and loss caused by institutional and cultural friction. This dramatic division unfolds every day.

On one hand, almost all mainstream brokers in Hong Kong have ventured into cryptocurrency business. The latest statistics show that over 40 brokers, more than 35 fund companies, and over 10 large banks and accounting firms in Hong Kong are involved in virtual asset business. For example, Futu Holdings, Hong Kong's largest tech brokerage, has been providing trading services for virtual assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum since last August, and by the end of last year, its daily trading volume had exceeded $35 million.

From brokers, funds, banks, auditing to insurance, mainstream financial institutions in Hong Kong are systematically and comprehensively integrating cryptocurrencies into Hong Kong's financial system. This has made some financial practitioners who have crossed over into the cryptocurrency industry feel a long-lost atmosphere of innovation and a sense of "the beauty of industry economic upturn."

However, on the other hand, some Crypto Natives who have joined compliant companies are experiencing a profound disillusionment— the decentralized utopia they once firmly believed in is constantly colliding with the realities of regulation, compliance, and financial logic. They want to maintain the "style" and "tone" of Crypto Natives while also wanting a piece of the pie in the compliant industry, which has become a contradiction they find hard to resolve.

Integration

The cryptocurrency industry in Hong Kong is gradually giving birth to a new species through the continuous tearing and integration of three main cultures.

The first culture is Crypto Native.

For instance, early compliant cryptocurrency exchanges in Hong Kong like HashKey and OSL have attracted many Crypto Native practitioners who jumped ship from companies like Huobi, Bybit, and Binance, which has kept the cultural background of these companies relatively "native," maintaining an open, flexible, and market-first atmosphere.

Similar to Digital Natives, Crypto Natives are well-versed in the on-chain world, inherently sensitive to and creative about crypto culture, and believe in decentralization and technology without borders. However, it seems that Crypto Native practitioners are being diluted, as more practitioners from internet finance and traditional finance enter this industry and quickly dominate under the compliance framework.

The second culture is internet finance culture.

Futu, Ant Group, Ant Financial, JD.com, etc., are typical representatives. They bring mature online operations and user growth experience and are actively entering Hong Kong's cryptocurrency market. Some have already integrated well into Hong Kong's mainstream financial culture. For example, Futu, as Hong Kong's largest internet brokerage, not only firmly occupies the online market but also has opened six offline physical stores in Hong Kong's most prosperous districts, showcasing a strong combination of internet finance genes and localization.

During a visit to Futu's offline stores in Hong Kong, a staff member enthusiastically helped the author open a US stock account and mentioned: "I receive about a hundred customers each week who come to inquire about services related to US stocks, Hong Kong stocks, and cryptocurrencies. Currently, Hong Kong accounts can handle cryptocurrency business, but users with mainland ID cards cannot."

It is reported that Futu Holdings has over 26.25 million registered users, with Futu's penetration rate among Hong Kong's adult population exceeding 50%. The vast number of existing users gives it a natural advantage in Hong Kong's cryptocurrency market. An industry insider revealed that Futu's cryptocurrency trading for Hong Kong users currently relies on the underlying trading system of HashKey Exchange, and this portion of trading volume accounts for a significant proportion of HashKey Exchange's overall trading volume.

Besides Futu, Ant Group and JD.com are also competing in the "Hong Kong crypto circle." However, unlike Futu's focus on cryptocurrency exchange, Ant and JD are more focused on stablecoins and public chain tracks. Futu already holds licenses, while whether Ant and JD will obtain licenses remains uncertain.

The cryptocurrency industry in Hong Kong is not a completely market-driven competitive arena; it resembles a place where resources are contested, requiring licenses to participate. An industry insider revealed that the likelihood of Chinese-funded banks obtaining the first batch of stablecoin licenses is higher.

The third culture is Hong Kong's traditional financial culture. For example, HSBC, Bank of China Hong Kong, and Victory Securities, among others. They have a longer historical background in Hong Kong's financial industry, some with foreign backgrounds in Hong Kong, some with Chinese backgrounds, and some with local family backgrounds. They have also added various cultures to Hong Kong's cryptocurrency industry.

Today, Hong Kong's cryptocurrency industry has developed a legitimate industrial chain covering hundreds of financial institutions—from brokers, funds, banks, auditing, to insurance companies, each operating within a compliance framework.

From a geographical and background perspective, this industrial chain encompasses foreign, Chinese, and local institutions; from a technological and institutional perspective, it gathers Crypto Natives, internet finance companies, and traditional financial institutions. Together, they form a diverse ecosystem in Hong Kong's cryptocurrency industry, supporting the robust development of the local crypto asset market.

The tearing and integration between different cultures are shaping this new industry.

The cryptocurrency circle in Hong Kong can no longer be simply defined; it has become a unique and complex system encompassing over 100 financial institutions in Hong Kong.

Division: Human Joys and Sorrows Are Not Communicable

In the same Hong Kong, within the same ecosystem, each person's perception of the cryptocurrency circle is vastly different.

Some practitioners feel that the compliant cryptocurrency circle in Hong Kong is releasing a beauty of economic upturn.

For instance, some traditional financial practitioners who have just crossed into the crypto industry, companies that have already applied or are applying for exchange or stablecoin licenses, and internet finance giants that hold a large number of users and only need to obtain licenses to expand their markets… they exhibit a strong momentum.

This is particularly evident in recruitment; companies like Futu, JD.com, and Victory Securities are showing a strong desire for talent in the market, actively poaching at prices higher than market rates.

However, some practitioners feel that the Hong Kong cryptocurrency circle has entered a phase of a stagnant market, entering a downward cycle. Leading crypto companies in Hong Kong have not found good ways to enlarge the pie and can only helplessly enter a vicious cycle of competing for a smaller pie.

"Yes, I left, I couldn't stand this state-owned enterprise style," said an employee of a public chain from a large institution who left shortly after joining.

"There is much less initiative; everything has to be checked against regulations first." When asked about the noticeable changes in work content after transitioning from the native cryptocurrency industry to the compliant cryptocurrency industry, a mid-level manager at a compliant crypto exchange responded.

Some practitioners' sense of division stems from the huge cultural and institutional differences between Crypto Natives and the compliance circle.

A recent event that triggered considerable "discontent" among Crypto Natives was the Hong Kong stablecoin bill that officially took effect on August 1, 2025. "I've never seen a stablecoin that requires KYC, nor have I seen a stablecoin that restricts VPNs. How can we innovate and develop like this?" a practitioner complained.

For those who have grown up immersed in Crypto and blockchain culture, they are accustomed to a life driven by code and community, while now the compliant cryptocurrency industry in Hong Kong is entirely policy-driven, fundamentally creating two different ecosystems. However, many practitioners are still unprepared to switch perspectives and positions in different ecosystems.

Hong Kong's unique cryptocurrency industry is undergoing the growing pains of forced integration led by policies. This pain involves not only the adaptation of policies and systems but also deeply touches on the conflicts and harmonization between traditional financial culture, internet finance culture, and crypto-native culture.

Opportunity: Is Someone Quietly Making a Fortune?

At the birth of a new system, there often arise opportunities for early participants to "quietly make a fortune." They get the first slice of the pie in the crossover.

For example, at the beginning of stablecoins, Tether saw its trading volume grow 100 times within a year, exceeding $10 billion in 2017 and over $1 trillion in 2020, with projections to exceed $10 trillion by 2024. Similarly, Binance saw its daily trading volume exceed $100 million in the first two months after its launch, surpassing $1 billion in the fourth month and $5 billion in the sixth month.

Of course, no company in Hong Kong has experienced such rapid growth in business currently, but that does not mean no company has reaped the first wave of dividends in this process.

"Recently, traditional financial institutions come to us every day, wanting to discuss crypto business. We are also trying to promote new business on platforms like YouTube and X, and collaborating with influential KOLs and bloggers," said a practitioner from a Hong Kong brokerage involved in cryptocurrency business.

"As Hong Kong embraces cryptocurrencies, hundreds of Web3 companies are settling in Hong Kong, consulting on policies, applying for various licenses, and expanding various businesses, which has provided a lot of business demand for law firms focused on cryptocurrency compliance," said a crypto practitioner familiar with law firms.

"Every Web3 company that wants to develop long-term in Hong Kong will apply for a Hong Kong company bank account, generating a lot of transaction flow, which also brings considerable business to banks that valued this segment early on, such as ZhongAn Bank," said a practitioner from a compliant exchange in Hong Kong.

The opportunities in Hong Kong's cryptocurrency industry may not only lie in the traditional perceptions of exchanges, asset management, and stablecoin companies; those institutions providing "water seller" services in the development of Hong Kong's crypto industry are often also an important part of the beneficiaries.

And those companies that are truly making a fortune quietly often only become known to the public years later.

Different Perspectives on Hong Kong's Cryptocurrency Circle

"For Crypto Natives, the innovation speed of compliant crypto companies in Hong Kong is too slow, and it even carries a bureaucratic or state-owned enterprise atmosphere; while for traditional financial institutions in Hong Kong, this year's innovation KPI may have long exceeded expectations," commented a mid-level manager at a compliant crypto exchange.

From different perspectives, the Hong Kong cryptocurrency industry presents vastly different appearances.

For practitioners who have grown up immersed in Crypto and blockchain culture, they are accustomed to a rhythm driven by code and community. However, today's Hong Kong crypto industry is entirely policy-driven. The wild atmosphere is no longer present; the edge of innovation has been dulled, replaced by compliance's steadiness and restraint. Many Crypto Natives feel that Hong Kong's compliance is "castrating" the original creativity of the crypto circle, leaving them at a loss.

For some practitioners who are used to the safe and stable rhythm of traditional finance, the innovation pace of Hong Kong's crypto is not slow at all, and it is developing in an orderly manner. Slow is fast; fast is slow.

Those practitioners caught in the torrent of this era can only adapt. Whether they love it or resist it, the tide of history will inevitably roll forward.

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