ZA Bank, Hong Kong’s largest digital bank, has taken a step into cryptocurrency trading through a partnership with exchange HashKey, with the aim of offering access to digital assets to retail users. According to the entity’s representatives, this makes them “the first bank in Asia to offer this service.” The news was shared on the company’s website and on HashKey’s official account on the X social network.
It is worth mentioning that HashKey is a renowned cryptocurrency exchange licensed in Hong Kong, notable for offering services in compliance with local regulations. In fact, it was in August 2023 when the company commented that had managed to obtain all the licenses required to extend its services, incorporating, from then on, retail users. Along with the OSL and HKVAX exchanges, it is part of the three main licensed platforms in the region.
The company detailed in its statement that users will only have to go to the ZA Bank mobile app, which will integrate HashKey Pro, known as HashKey’s virtual asset trading platform. Through this unified solution, customers will be able to exchange Hong Kong dollars (HKD) and US dollars (USD) for bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH), no need to switch between different apps. So it detailed the ZA Bank team.
In the announcement, the company maintains that global demand for cryptoassets is skyrocketing and refers to bitcoin’s bullish rally after the presidential elections in the United States, a phenomenon that has been widely covered by CriptoNoticias; Furthermore, they talk about a survey recent survey carried out by the Hong Kong Banks Association, in which almost 70% of participants considered that, if financial institutions offered services to trade virtual assets, the purchase and sale of them would contribute to greater adoption.
Livio Weng, CEO of HashKey, stated: “We feel privileged to partner with ZA Bank to drive innovation in digital banking services in Asia. “As the largest Hong Kong-licensed crypto asset exchange, HashKey is committed to offering fully compliant and secure cryptocurrency trading solutions.”
The executive highlighted ZA Bank as an entity that has shown solid leadership and a pioneering spirit in the integration of fintech. In addition, he mentioned that the collaboration is not only based on technical synergies, but also on the mutual commitment to “maintain the highest regulatory standards.” Weng also stressed that HashKey will continue to work closely with ZA Bank to foster the development of the Web3 ecosystem, while offering more diversified financial services to users.
For his part, Calvin Ng, Deputy CEO of ZA Bank, commented: “The growth of cryptocurrencies provides investors with new and diverse opportunities to manage their assets. “At our bank, we place an emphasis on security and regulatory compliance, which is why we have established a partnership with HashKey, a leading globally recognized and licensed virtual asset exchange.”
ZA Bank also announced that between November 20, 2024 and December 31, 2025, retail customers who have activated the cryptoasset trading service will be able to enjoy a 0% commission during the first three months of use, with no transaction limit.
