Swiss Bank AMINA Joins 11 Platforms in Hong Kong’s Global Crypto Gold Rush – BitRss – Crypto World News

AMINA Bank, regulated in Switzerland, has obtained a Type 1 license upgrade from the Securities and Futures Commission in Hong Kong.

This milestone makes AMINA the first international banking group to offer comprehensive crypto spot trading and custody services in Hong Kong.

Regulatory milestone for Hong Kong’s digital asset market

AMINA (Hong Kong) Limited, a subsidiary of AMINA Bank AG under Swiss FINMA regulations, has received approval to offer both crypto spot trading and custody solutions to professional investors in Hong Kong. This approval marks a major advancement in Hong Kong’s rapidly evolving regulatory framework for digital assets in 2025.

Hong Kong’s digital asset market has seen significant expansion, rising 233% year-on-year in early 2025. This growth has been driven by institutional demand for secure, compliant custody infrastructure. The SFC’s Type 1 license allows trading in securities, a requirement for companies offering local crypto trading.

Recent regulatory developments are strengthening this momentum. In 2025, the SFC granted nine new virtual asset trading platform licenses, while the Financial Services and Treasury Bureau introduced a standalone licensing regime for virtual asset managers. Moreover, the rules for managing stablecoins started on August 1, 2025.

The SFC’s September 2025 policy statement introduced the ‘ASPI-Re’ framework, which prioritizes accessibility, safety, professionalism, innovation and resilience. The framework includes twelve initiatives to improve security, investor protection and responsible innovation in Hong Kong’s virtual assets sector.

Extensive services for institutional customers

According to AMINA’s official announcement, the service is closing a long-standing gap in institutional crypto access for professional investors and family offices. Previously, these customers had few options for comprehensive, regulated services within Hong Kong’s legal framework.

The global digital asset custody industry has grown by more than 50% in the past year, reaching a value of $683 billion in October 2025. In Hong Kong, more than 35 licensed fund managers now offer institutional-quality custody and trading of cryptos. Major financial groups, such as HSBC, have launched blockchain-based settlement services in 2025.

AMINA’s regulatory credentials and growth plans

Founded in Switzerland in April 2018, AMINA received a Swiss banking and securities dealer license from FINMA in August 2019. The bank has since obtained licenses in the ADGM of Abu Dhabi in 2022, Hong Kong in 2023 and Austria in 2025 under the MiCAR framework.

The Hong Kong license is AMINA’s latest achievement. The bank established its presence in Hong Kong in 2023 and received the crucial Type 1 license increase in October 2025, enabling full trading and custody. This expansion reflects strong demand for cross-border crypto banking services under robust regulations.

Looking ahead, AMINA aims to go beyond spot trading and custody in Hong Kong. Plans include private fund management, structured products, derivatives and tokenized assets. This strategy is in line with Hong Kong’s 2026 licensing roadmap for stablecoin custodians and issuers, as the SFC expands rules for accessing foreign liquidity.

Hong Kong opens crypto platforms to global capital pools

Hong Kong recently announced that licensed virtual asset trading platforms can now connect to global capital pools and foreign liquidity providers. This policy change allows local crypto exchanges to mix domestic and international capital, marking a significant departure from the city’s previously isolated market structure, which has seen limited growth despite regulatory progress.

The move aims to increase trading volumes and attract major international exchanges to Hong Kong’s ecosystem of 11 authorized platforms. By enabling global order book connections, the city expects to increase market depth and tighten spreads, while maintaining strict KYC, AML and investor protection standards, positioning itself as a serious competitor in the global digital asset hub race.

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