Original Title: "Futu Takes the First Step in Hong Kong Brokerages' 'Crypto-ization Transformation'"

Original Author: Zhou Zhou, Foresight News

Futu, the largest Chinese online brokerage with 27 million registered users, is setting the first example of crypto-ization transformation for Chinese (Hong Kong) brokerages through its exploration in the Crypto field.

On the evening of August 20, 2025, as Futu released its second-quarter financial report, the market gained a clearer understanding of its layout and progress in the cryptocurrency business. Since officially launching Crypto trading services in August 2024, Futu has rapidly expanded its crypto business to Hong Kong, Singapore, and the United States within just one year, achieving comprehensive operations in these three regions.

In Hong Kong, Futu has been providing Crypto trading services to local residents for a year, and its application for the VATP license may be approved for official operation in the next six months; in Singapore, Futu Moomoo has also been providing Crypto trading services to Singapore residents for a year and is currently the only licensed internet brokerage providing Crypto trading in Singapore; in the United States, Futu started offering cryptocurrency trading services in most states in June this year, supporting over 30 mainstream cryptocurrency spot trading pairs.

From Hong Kong to Singapore to the United States... Futu is actively seeking to quickly obtain cryptocurrency operating licenses globally to develop this new business line.

Through a year of exploration, Futu has become one of the earliest and most in-depth Chinese brokerages to explore the Crypto business. During the second-quarter 2025 earnings call, an executive from Futu stated, "As of the end of the second quarter of 2025, the balance of Futu's Crypto-related assets reached approximately HK$4 billion, with a peak daily trading volume of $40 million."

Futu's Crypto Landscape

As global brokerages are increasingly entering the cryptocurrency business, this field is gradually becoming a new trend in the financial industry. Taking the United States' largest internet brokerage Robinhood as an example, it began offering cryptocurrency trading services as early as 2018, providing channels for users to buy and sell Bitcoin, Ethereum, and various mainstream digital assets.

By the second quarter of 2025, Robinhood's cryptocurrency revenue had surged by about 98% year-on-year to reach $160 million, while the company's total revenue was $989 million. This indicates that cryptocurrency business has become a significant part of Robinhood and other U.S. internet brokerages' revenue structure, signaling that the brokerages' crypto-ization transformation is accelerating.

After seeing the influx of US brokerages, Hong Kong brokerages are also accelerating their entry into this field. According to statistics, up to 40 Hong Kong brokerages have successfully upgraded to the "Type 1 License" to engage in virtual asset business. Among them, Futu Securities and Saxo Markets are among the leaders.

Futu has a very wide-ranging presence in the crypto space. Just in the Hong Kong market alone, it involves: upgrading to a Type 1 License (Hong Kong users can buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and other cryptocurrencies on the Futu App), applying for a VATP license (to serve both retail users and institutional clients), Huaxia Fund tokenized cryptocurrency fund (RWA and cryptocurrency-based wealth management), stablecoins (Futu has invested HKD 440 million in TANEX Bank to participate in the stablecoin business), etc.

Particularly, the VATP license has been a hot topic in the market. Once approved, it will mean that Futu will have a compliant cryptocurrency exchange in Hong Kong. A Futu executive mentioned during the Q2 earnings call: "The exchange, as an entry point for cryptocurrency, we believe, in addition to spot, may have more realization space in the future with features such as staking, derivatives, and many other monetization opportunities."

"Obtaining the VATP license can not only do business with retail users, saving us some corresponding costs in some upstream clearing and settlement, but also provide upstream services to brokerage and other institutional clients," the executive stated.

Therefore, although the current Crypto business accounts for less than one percent of Futu's overall business, it has received considerable attention internally. During the 2025 Q2 earnings call, whether it was institutional investors like Morgan Stanley or Futu executives, they frequently mentioned the Crypto business.

A Hundred Schools of Thought, What is Futu's Advantage?

Currently, in Hong Kong's Crypto market, there are already quite a few prominent companies, including HashKey, OSL, Saxo Markets, Tiger Brokers, and others. Roughly estimated, there are over 50 companies that can provide cryptocurrency services to retail users.

So, what are Futu's advantages?

Firstly, Futu's user base itself becomes one of its biggest advantages in entering the Crypto field. Futu has 27.12 million registered accounts, and the number of "clients with assets" has grown by 41% year-on-year, reaching 2.88 million. Moreover, this number continues to grow. During the 2025 Q2 earnings call, an executive stated: In the first half of 2025, Futu added 460,000 "clients with assets."

Next, Futu's own revenue and profitability are continuously supporting and escorting its new business. According to the Q2 2025 financial report, Futu achieved a revenue of up to 5.3 billion Hong Kong dollars, a year-on-year increase of approximately 70%, with a net profit of 2.6 billion Hong Kong dollars, a year-on-year increase of 113%. Futu also stated that it will further increase its investment in cryptocurrency and AI products.

Futu's own internet genes are highly compatible with the cryptocurrency business. As an internet broker, Futu is adept at leveraging new technologies and discovering new assets, thereby attracting more retail users from traditional brokers and achieving dual growth in user scale and business innovation. Robinhood's success in the cryptocurrency field also confirms the development potential of internet brokers in this area.

In addition, Futu has long been laying out a global market through stock trading, laying a foundation for the future growth of its Crypto business.

A Futu executive stated, "The Hong Kong and Malaysia markets contributed more than half of the new asset clients in the second quarter, and other customer growth mainly includes the Singapore, US, and Japan markets."

It is understood that apart from the Hong Kong entity, Singapore and the US are the largest overseas markets for Futu, followed closely by the rapidly expanding Malaysia and Japan markets. Australia and Canada are also showing steady growth momentum.

"We will also launch the deposit and withdrawal function in Singapore and the US in the second half of the year, which has already been launched in Hong Kong." Futu's trading framework can be adapted to cryptocurrency businesses worldwide, reducing marginal cost while increasing profit.

In July 2025, Futu's Moomoo launched cryptocurrency trading in most states in the US, supporting over 30 mainstream cryptocurrency spot trading pairs.

Behind Futu's All-In Strategy, the "Crypto-fication Transformation" of Hong Kong Brokers

Futu's comprehensive entry into cryptocurrency is also a microcosm of the entire Hong Kong brokerage industry's "crypto-fication transformation."

Since the Hong Kong Virtual Asset Pledge in 2022, over the past three years, the Hong Kong Crypto industry has formed a large industry with more than 40 brokers, more than 35 fund companies, and more than 10 large banks and major accounting firms involved in the virtual asset business. With the formal implementation of Hong Kong's stablecoin policy in August this year, it is predictable that Hong Kong will see a wealth of stablecoin companies and related upstream and downstream enterprises.

Cryptocurrency, as a new type of financial asset, has gained widespread acceptance and adoption in Hong Kong's financial industry. As an emerging track, the incremental market value of cryptocurrency is difficult to estimate simply. This not only provides overtaking opportunities for Hong Kong's local small and medium-sized brokers but also opens up new growth space for internet brokers.

Original Article Link

Welcome to join the official BlockBeats community:

Telegram Subscription Group: https://t.me/theblockbeats

Telegram Discussion Group: https://t.me/BlockBeats_App

Official Twitter Account: https://twitter.com/BlockBeatsAsia