Chinese online bank ZA Bank has disclosed plans to provide retail clients with cryptocurrency trading services using fiat currencies.
Although he did not give a timeline, ZA Bank CEO Ronald Iu stated in an interview with the Hong Kong Economic Journal that the Hong Kong-based company eventually wants to start selling crypto trading services with fiat via its mobile application, ZA Bank App.
The CEO of ZA Bank stated that the company plans to focus more on web3 since the virtual bank has already provided commercial banking services to more than 80 cryptocurrency companies, including the Hong Kong branch of OKX.
ZA Bank is a banking partner of HashKey and OSL, two locally authorized virtual asset trading platforms, in addition to OKX. One in ten adults in Hong Kong now possesses a ZA Card, marking a significant milestone for ZA Bank, which saw an increase in its customer base since its founding in 2020.
Additionally, according to Ronald Iu, customer deposits as of the end of June exceeded 10 billion yuan (~$1.4 billion), an increase of 17% from the year-end of 2022.
ZA Bank unveiled its strategy plan in April to establish itself as a top cryptocurrency bank by meeting the demands of the web3 ecosystem. The bank’s CEO reaffirmed ZA Bank’s commitment to cryptocurrencies in a statement to the public, highlighting the necessity of concentrating on the “integration of traditional banking services with the web3 world.”
In the meantime, a joint circular from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) acknowledged increased queries from organizations looking to introduce spot cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
The SFC has stated that it is willing to consider applications for the approval of different funds that have exposure to cryptocurrencies, including spot crypto ETFs, to attract additional money to the area.
