On 28 August, the SFC-licensed HashKeylaunched trading of Bitcoin and Ethereum for retail clients.
According to COO Wan Xiaoci, the exchange is considering offering margin and derivative products subject to regulatory approval.
In August HashKey obtained the Type 7 license, authorising trading services for institutional and retail clients.
The company is negotiating with several large Hong Kong banks on the possibility of integrating fiat currencies, including HKD and USD.
Cooperation with a number of brokers to include access to cryptocurrency trading in their product lines is also being explored.
HashKey plans to implement an investor rating system to assess their experience. The initiative is designed to limit risks for users who are taking their first steps in the digital assets market.
In addition to risk warnings, the platform will restrict client trading activity if crypto exposure exceeds 30% of AUM.
Registration on the exchange is open to residents of the Special Administrative Region. This is not available to residents of China, Japan, Malaysia, as well as sanctioned states and countries that have banned cryptocurrencies.
Earlier, Hong Kong legislator Johnny Ng Kit-chong proposed examining the idea of linking licensed digital asset platforms to exchanges in Shanghai.
Previously, the legislator invited Coinbase and other players into the jurisdiction.
In January 2023, the Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Paul Chan, stated the readiness of Hong Kong to welcome cryptocurrency companies from around the world. The official noted that authorities had recently completed work on a licensing regime for the industry.
In April, the High Court of Hong Kong recognised digital assets as property. In the same month, local authorities urged banks to service regulated cryptocurrency platforms.
Bitcoin exchanges Huobi and OKX filed applications for a licence as a provider of virtual asset services with the SFC.