By Zhou Zhou, Foresight News. In 2025, the divisions within Hong Kong's cryptocurrency community became increasingly pronounced. "Traditional financial institutions approach us every day to discuss crypto business. We're also trying to promote our new business on platforms like YouTube and X, collaborating with influential KOLs and bloggers." A securities firm employee spoke of the expansion of their crypto business, his tone filled with enthusiasm and anticipation. Meanwhile, a blockchain company employee, who had just joined and then resigned, expressed dismay, "I'm leaving. I can't stand this state-owned enterprise mentality." Within the same Hong Kong and the same cryptocurrency ecosystem, some experience the excitement and opportunities brought by the industry's economic upturn, while others feel the weariness and loss brought on by institutional and cultural friction. Dramatic divisions unfold daily. On the one hand, nearly all major Hong Kong brokerages have already entered the cryptocurrency business. Recent statistics show that over 40 brokerages, over 35 fund companies, and over 10 major banks and accounting firms are involved in virtual asset trading. For example, Futu Niu Niu, Hong Kong's largest tech brokerage, began offering clients trading services for virtual assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum as early as August of last year. By the end of that year, its average daily trading volume exceeded $35 million. From brokerages, funds, banks, auditors, and insurance companies, Hong Kong's mainstream financial institutions are systematically and comprehensively integrating cryptocurrencies into the city's financial system. This has given some financial professionals venturing into the cryptocurrency industry a sense of long-awaited innovation and the beauty of an upwardly mobile industry. However, on the other hand, some crypto natives who have joined compliance firms are experiencing a profound disillusionment. The decentralized utopia they once believed in is constantly colliding with the realities of regulation, compliance, and financial logic. They are facing an intractable conflict between maintaining their crypto native style and identity and striving for a share of the compliance industry. Fusion: The Hong Kong cryptocurrency industry is experiencing a constant fusion and integration of three major cultures, gradually giving rise to a new species. The first culture is the crypto native. For example, early Hong Kong-based compliant cryptocurrency exchanges like HashKey and OSL attracted numerous crypto-native professionals who left companies like Huobi, Bybit, and Binance. This ensured that these companies' cultures remained relatively "native," maintaining an open, flexible, and market-focused atmosphere. Similar to digital natives, crypto-natives are deeply versed in the on-chain world, naturally possessing a sensitivity and creativity for crypto culture, and a belief in decentralization and the borderlessness of technology. However, the crypto-native workforce appears to be shrinking, with more practitioners from internet finance and traditional finance entering the industry and rapidly taking a leading position within compliant frameworks. The second type is internet finance culture. Futu, Ant Group, Ant Digits, and JD.com are all typical examples. These companies, armed with mature online operations and user growth experience, are actively entering Hong Kong's cryptocurrency market. Some have already integrated well into Hong Kong's mainstream financial culture. Take Futu Niu Niu, for example. As Hong Kong's largest online brokerage, it not only maintains a strong online presence but also operates six physical stores in Hong Kong's busiest neighborhoods, demonstrating a strong blend of internet finance DNA and local expertise. During a visit to a Hong Kong store, a Futu employee enthusiastically helped me open a US stock account and told me that she sees approximately one hundred customers per week seeking inquiries about US and Hong Kong stocks, cryptocurrencies, and other services. "Currently, Hong Kong residents can access cryptocurrency transactions, but those with mainland Chinese ID cards cannot," the employee explained. Futu Holdings reportedly has over 26.25 million registered users, with Futu Niu Niu's penetration rate exceeding 50% of Hong Kong's adult population. This massive user base gives it a natural advantage in the Hong Kong cryptocurrency market. An industry insider revealed that cryptocurrency transactions by Futu Hong Kong users are currently conducted on HashKey Exchange's underlying trading system, and this portion of trading volume already accounts for a significant portion of HashKey Exchange's overall trading volume. Besides Futu, Ant and JD.com are also vying for the "Hong Kong crypto scene." However, unlike Futu, which focuses on cryptocurrency exchanges, Ant and JD.com are more focused on stablecoins and public blockchains. Futu already has a license, while whether Ant and JD.com will obtain one remains uncertain. The Hong Kong cryptocurrency industry is not a purely market-based competition, but rather a competition for resources, requiring a license to participate. An industry insider revealed that Chinese banks are more likely to obtain the first stablecoin licenses. The third type of culture is Hong Kong's traditional financial culture. Examples include HSBC, BOC (Hong Kong), and Victory Securities. These cultures have a longer history in Hong Kong's financial industry, some with foreign capital, some with Chinese capital, and some with local Hong Kong family backgrounds. They have also brought a diverse range of cultures into Hong Kong's cryptocurrency industry. Today, Hong Kong's cryptocurrency industry has developed a legal industry chain encompassing hundreds of financial institutions—from securities firms, funds, banks, auditors, to insurance companies, each operating within a compliant framework. Geographically and from a background perspective, this industry chain encompasses foreign, Chinese, and local institutions; technologically and institutionally, it brings together crypto natives, internet finance companies, and traditional financial institutions. Together, they form a diverse ecosystem in Hong Kong's cryptocurrency industry, supporting the steady development of the local cryptoasset market. The rift and fusion between different cultures are shaping this new industry. The Hong Kong cryptocurrency community is no longer a single entity that can be simply defined; it has become a unique and complex system encompassing over 100 Hong Kong financial institutions. Torn: Human joys and sorrows are not shared. We share the same Hong Kong, the same ecosystem, yet everyone's perception of the Hong Kong cryptocurrency market is drastically different. Some practitioners believe that the regulated Hong Kong cryptocurrency market is unleashing a kind of beauty that promises an upward economic trajectory. For example, some traditional financial practitioners who have just ventured into the crypto industry, companies that have already applied for or are in the process of applying for exchange or stablecoin licenses, and internet finance giants with a large user base who only need a license to expand their market...they are demonstrating a strong momentum. This is particularly evident in recruitment efforts, with companies like Futu, JD.com, and Shengli Securities demonstrating a strong desire for talent and offering offers above market value. However, some practitioners believe that the Hong Kong cryptocurrency market has entered a phased, stock-based market and a downward cycle. Hong Kong's leading crypto companies have failed to find a viable way to expand the pie, forcing them into a vicious cycle of competition. "Yes, I'm leaving. I can't stand this state-owned enterprise style," said an employee of a public blockchain company with a background in a large institution, who left shortly after joining. "There's a lot less initiative. Everything has to be regulated first," said a mid- to senior-level manager at a compliant crypto exchange, when asked about any significant changes in work content after transitioning from the native cryptocurrency industry to the compliant cryptocurrency industry. Some practitioners also feel a sense of disconnection stemming from the significant cultural and institutional differences between crypto natives and the compliant community. The most recent event to spark dissatisfaction among crypto natives is the Hong Kong Stablecoin Act, which officially came into effect on August 1, 2025. "I've never seen a stablecoin require KYC, nor have I seen a stablecoin that restricts VPN use. How can innovation and development be achieved?" complained one industry insider. For practitioners who grew up immersed in crypto and blockchain culture, they're accustomed to a life driven by code and community. However, Hong Kong's compliant cryptocurrency industry is now entirely policy-driven, creating two fundamentally different ecosystems. However, many industry insiders are still unprepared to shift perspectives and positions within these two ecosystems. Hong Kong's unique cryptocurrency industry is experiencing the pain of forced, policy-driven integration. This pain not only involves the navigating of policy and institutional adjustments, but also touches on the conflict and reconciliation between traditional and internet finance cultures, as well as the native crypto culture. Opportunity: Is anyone quietly making a fortune? The early days of a new system often present opportunities for early adopters to "quietly enrich themselves." They reap the first pie of the crossover pie. For example, in the early days of stablecoins, Tether saw its trading volume increase 100-fold within a year, exceeding $10 billion in 2017, $1 trillion in 2020, and exceeding $10 trillion in 2024. Another example is Binance, whose daily trading volume exceeded $100 million in its first two months, surpassed $1 billion in its fourth month, and exceeded $5 billion in its sixth month. Of course, Hong Kong currently doesn't have any companies experiencing such rapid growth, but that doesn't mean there aren't any that have reaped the first dividends. "Recently, traditional financial institutions have been contacting us daily, wanting to discuss crypto business. We're also trying to promote our new business on platforms like YouTube and X, and collaborating with influential KOLs and bloggers," said a Hong Kong brokerage firm involved in the cryptocurrency business. "With Hong Kong's embrace of cryptocurrency, hundreds of Web3 companies have established operations in the city. They need to consult law firms for policy consultation, apply for various licenses, and develop various businesses. This has created a huge demand for law firms specializing in cryptocurrency compliance," said a crypto practitioner familiar with the law firms. "Every Web3 company aiming for long-term development in Hong Kong will apply for a Hong Kong corporate bank account, generating significant transactions there. This has also generated significant business for banks that invested early in this area, such as ZhongAn Bank," said a practitioner at a Hong Kong-based compliant exchange. The opportunities in Hong Kong's cryptocurrency industry may not lie solely in the traditionally perceived exchanges, asset management companies, and stablecoin companies. Institutions that provide "water seller" services in the development of Hong Kong's crypto industry are often also significant beneficiaries. Furthermore, those companies that are quietly making fortunes often only become public knowledge years later. The Hong Kong Crypto Industry from Different Perspectives: "For crypto natives, Hong Kong's compliant crypto companies are innovating too slowly, with a tinge of bureaucracy and even state-owned enterprise stigma. For traditional financial institutions in Hong Kong, their innovation KPIs for this year have likely already been exceeded," commented a mid- to senior-level manager at a compliant crypto exchange. From different perspectives, Hong Kong's cryptocurrency industry presents distinctly different images. For practitioners who grew up immersed in crypto and blockchain culture, they're accustomed to a pace driven by code and community. However, today's Hong Kong crypto industry is driven entirely by policy. The uninhibited spirit is gone, and the edge of innovation has been muted, replaced by the robustness and restraint of compliance. Many crypto natives feel that Hong Kong's regulatory framework is "emasculating" the original creativity of the cryptocurrency community, a rejection that leaves them feeling lost. For some practitioners accustomed to the safety and stability of traditional finance, the pace of innovation in Hong Kong's crypto industry isn't slow, but rather is developing in an orderly manner. Slow is fast, and fast is slow. Those caught in the current of this era can only adapt. Whether they embrace it or resist it, the tide of history will ultimately roll forward.