Interactive Brokers, a major brokerage firm globally, has initiated cryptocurrency trading services for retail clients in Hong Kong.
As per an announcement on November 28, the offering is a collaboration with OSL, among the earliest crypto exchanges in Hong Kong to acquire Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) status. The new service provides Interactive Brokers’ retail investors in Hong Kong with the capability to instantly engage in digital asset trading through a unified platform powered by OSL.
Interactive Brokers now allows its Hong Kong clientele to possess Bitcoin or ether in their personal accounts, alongside other assets such as stocks, derivatives, commodities, and foreign exchange, as stated on its website. Each transaction made incurs a commission ranging from 0.20% to 0.30% of the transaction amount.
Recent reports from last week noted that Interactive Brokers secured a retail virtual asset trading license in Hong Kong. However, the current license limits the firm to brokering Bitcoin and Ethereum transactions exclusively. Furthermore, on November 14, BC Technology Group, an OSL Exchange subsidiary, disclosed receiving a substantial $90 million equity investment from blockchain entity BGX.
Despite being among the earliest jurisdictions to grant cryptocurrency exchange licenses, Hong Kong faced a setback due to a string of exchange scandals. In September, the collapse of JPEX, one of the region's largest crypto exchanges, led to the arrest of 66 individuals and an estimated loss of HK$1.6 billion ($205 million). More recently, on November 25, Hounax, an unlicensed crypto exchange in Hong Kong, allegedly defrauded 145 residents through an apparent Ponzi scheme, amassing HK$148 million ($18.9 million) in fraudulent funds.
