Amina ( Hong Kong ), a subsidiary of Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority-regulated Amina Bank, has received a Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission ( SFC ) Type 1 licence becoming, according to the bank, the first international banking group to offer comprehensive crypto spot trading and asset safeguarding services exclusively to professional investors in Hong Kong.

This expansion reinforces Amina’s vision of operating locally as a regulated crypto services provider with global reach, the bank notes, enabling Hong Kong professional investors, including institutions, corporates and high-net-worth individuals ( HNWIs ), to access institutional-grade crypto services within Hong Kong’s robust regulatory framework.

The launch addresses a critical gap in Hong Kong's institutional crypto market. While the city has established regulatory frameworks for digital assets, the bank points out, professional investors and family offices have faced limited access to international institutional-grade crypto with local onboarding capabilities.

Amina HK’s licence uplift – in conjunction with the group’s bank-grade operational expertise – bridges this gap, positioning the banking group as essential infrastructure for Hong Kong's accelerating institutional crypto adoption wave.

The market has evolved beyond early adoption phases, with sophisticated investors now demanding regulated, institutional-grade access to crypto services that meet the same standards as traditional financial products.

With the Type 1 licence, the bank offers 24/7 crypto spot trading, asset safeguarding and crypto deposits and withdrawals directly to and from whitelisted addresses through a framework designed to meet SFC regulatory standards. These capabilities streamline client journeys while maintaining the institutional-grade standards that professional investors, family offices and institutional clients require.

“Hong Kong has established itself as the region’s most sophisticated market for regulated institutional crypto adoption,” adds Michael Benz, the head of Amina Hong Kong and Asia-Pacific, “and this licence uplift positions Amina to serve the accelerating demand from professional investors seeking trusted access to crypto.”