Hong Kong ZhongAn Bank launches cryptocurrency trading service on its app

Hong Kong digital bank ZA Bank announced today that it has launched a cryptocurrency trading service on its app, becoming the first bank in Asia to provide such services to retail users. Users can buy and sell Bitcoin and Ethereum in Hong Kong dollars and US dollars. The entry threshold for the service is US$70 or HK$600, and a commission of US$1.99 or HK$15 is charged for each transaction, and the platform fee is 1.5% of the transaction amount. ZA Bank will implement preferential policies by the end of June 2025, including waiving commissions and reducing platform fees to 0.8%. ZA Bank Acting CEO Wu Zhonghao said that banks have been providing similar services for many years. The development of virtual assets can put digital banks and traditional banks on the same starting line. ZA has also been actively developing technologies such as blockchain, hoping to better serve the Web3 ecosystem. Customers also have related needs and can provide an additional asset option. He said that the service positioning of banks and exchanges is different, so the customer base is also different. The former provides comprehensive one-stop services, and there is no need to deposit or withdraw money, making transactions more convenient; exchanges will provide more advanced products, and it is expected that the customer base will be mainly young people in the future. At present, the Securities and Futures Commission has launched 4 currencies for retail investors to buy and sell. Wu Zhonghao said that he has been communicating with the regulatory authorities, including launching Bitcoin and Ethereum transactions first, and will gradually add the remaining two virtual currencies in the future. He also pointed out that ZhongAn achieved a profit in July this year. After laying out the virtual currency trading business, it hopes to drive fee income and attract new customers, which will have a positive effect on turning losses into profits. HashKey Group, which cooperated with ZhongAn Bank to launch related services, its chief analyst Ding Zhaofei believes that under the "Trump deal", the price of Bitcoin is expected to rise above $100,000 in the short term, but the future may not be optimistic, mainly because the overall financial market may face the problem of inflation in the United States, and Bitcoin will not be immune. (Ming Pao)