AMINA is the First International Banking Group to Launch Comprehensive Crypto Trading and Custody in Hong Kong
AMINA (Hong Kong) Limited (“AMINA HK”), a key subsidiary of the distinguished Swiss FINMA-regulated AMINA Bank AG (“AMINA”), has successfully achieved a monumental regulatory milestone, fundamentally reshaping the institutional digital asset landscape in Hong Kong. By securing a significant uplift to its existing Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) Type 1 license, AMINA HK has become the first international banking group to be able to offer comprehensive, regulated crypto spot trading and robust asset safeguarding services exclusively to professional investors within the territory.
This strategic expansion is far more than a simple regulatory achievement; it is the concrete realization of AMINA’s core vision. It establishes a potent local operational base as a regulated crypto services provider with immediate global reach. This positions AMINA HK as the essential gateway, enabling Hong Kong’s most sophisticated investors—including prominent financial institutions, multinational corporations, and high-net-worth individuals—to access institutional-grade crypto services. Crucially, these services are delivered within the world-class, investor-protective regulatory framework established by the Hong Kong government.
Addressing the Institutional Infrastructure Gap
The launch of AMINA HK’s enhanced services directly addresses a critical and long-standing void within Hong Kong’s institutional crypto market. For years, while the city has been proactive in establishing clear regulatory frameworks for digital assets, professional investors and family offices have been hampered by severely limited access. Specifically, there has been a glaring shortage of international, institutional-grade crypto platforms that also possess robust, local onboarding capabilities and regulatory compliance.
AMINA HK’s Type 1 license uplift—combined with the group’s foundational, bank-grade operational expertise honed in Switzerland—is the definitive solution to this problem. It doesn’t just bridge the gap; it fills it with infrastructure built to the highest global financial standards. This immediately positions the banking group as indispensable infrastructure for what is rapidly becoming Hong Kong’s most significant institutional crypto adoption wave. The market is now unequivocally evolving beyond its early speculative phase. Today’s sophisticated investors demand not just access, but regulated, institutional-grade access to crypto services, services that must meet the very same stringent standards of reliability, security, and compliance as traditional financial products.
A Convergence of Swiss Rigor and Hong Kong Expertise
“Hong Kong has definitively established itself as the region’s most sophisticated market for regulated institutional crypto adoption,” stated Michael Benz, Head of AMINA Hong Kong and APAC. “This license uplift positions AMINA perfectly to serve the accelerating demand from professional investors who are actively seeking trusted, secure, and compliant access to the crypto asset class.”
Mr. Benz further elaborated on the unique value proposition that AMINA brings to the table: “What truly distinguishes AMINA is our unparalleled ability to forge a convergence between Swiss banking rigor and deep Hong Kong digital asset expertise. This fusion allows us to deliver next-generation crypto solutions through a comprehensive regulatory framework that institutional clients can implicitly trust.”
This monumental milestone is merely the foundation for future expansion. The Type 1 license enables AMINA to significantly broaden its crypto product shelf. This future-focused product pipeline is set to include sophisticated offerings such as:
- Private fund management services for digital assets.
- The creation and offering of bespoke structured products.
- Derivatives linked to cryptocurrencies.
- The innovative offering of tokenized real-world assets (RWA).
All these advanced services will be delivered through the highly regulated framework that the professional investor community in Hong Kong not only expects but demands as a prerequisite for full-scale adoption.
Live Services: Immediate Access to Institutional-Grade Crypto
With the Type 1 license uplift now fully in effect, AMINA HK is already offering a suite of live services designed to meet and exceed the high expectations of professional investors. These capabilities have been meticulously designed to be SFC-compliant, offering seamless and secure interaction with the digital asset market:
- 24/7 Crypto Spot Trading: Continuous access to the market, catering to a global client base and the inherent 24/7 nature of crypto.
- Bank-Grade Asset Safeguarding: Utilizing state-of-the-art security protocols for the custody of digital assets.
- Regulated Crypto Deposits and Withdrawals: Direct transfers to and from client-approved, pre-vetted (“whitelisted”) external addresses through a framework designed to meet the most rigorous SFC regulatory standards.
These enhanced capabilities significantly streamline client operational journeys, all while rigorously maintaining the institutional-grade standards that family offices, professional investors, and institutional clients absolutely require for managing significant pools of capital.
💼 Detailed New Offerings for Professional Investors
AMINA HK’s newly launched offerings are now live and accessible exclusively to professional investors, providing a best-in-class platform built for sophisticated users:
I. Advanced Trading Capabilities
The platform is engineered for professional traders, providing continuous access and deep liquidity:
- Continuous 24/7 Professional Trading: Access to major digital asset pairs, underpinned by institutional-grade execution infrastructure that ensures efficiency and reliability.
- Vetted Cryptocurrency Selection: An initial offering of 13 carefully selected and vetted cryptocurrencies. This core selection includes foundational assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum, essential stablecoins such as USDC and USDT, and a curated group of leading DeFi tokens. This approach focuses on quality and regulatory comfort over unvetted quantity.
- Access to Institutional Liquidity: Direct access to deep, institutional-grade liquidity pools, all sourced through SFC-licensed or compliant infrastructure, ensuring best possible pricing and execution.
- Multi-Channel Access: Clients benefit from choice and convenience, with access available via secure mobile applications (both iOS and Android), comprehensive web portals, and dedicated, personalized relationship management for bespoke service.
II. Regulated, Institutional Crypto Custody
Security and compliance are the cornerstones of AMINA HK’s custody solution, providing peace of mind for large asset holders:
- SFC-Compliant Custody Access: Custody services that meet the stringent security and governance standards mandated by the SFC for institutional holdings.
- Whitelisted Address Flexibility: Crucially, the platform supports crypto deposits and withdrawals exclusively to whitelisted addresses. This feature provides professional investors with the necessary operational flexibility to securely and compliantly move cryptocurrencies between their AMINA accounts and approved external non-custodial or third-party wallets.
- Multi-Layered Security Protocols: The underlying infrastructure is fortified by industry-leading security and control mechanisms, evidenced by both SOC 1 Type 2 and SOC 2 Type 2 certified infrastructure. This signifies independent third-party validation of the bank’s internal controls over financial reporting and security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy.
- 24/7 Operational Capabilities: The bank’s operations are designed to be continuous, enabling professional investors, regardless of their location, to manage and transact their cryptocurrency positions across all global time zones without interruption, mirroring the always-on nature of the underlying blockchain technology.
This historic Type 1 license uplift by AMINA HK represents a pivotal moment. It is the clearest signal yet that Hong Kong’s vision for a regulated, institutional digital asset hub is fully materializing, spearheaded by a global banking group that marries Swiss fiduciary standards with local regulatory commitment.
Would you like to explore the specific security protocols (SOC 1/2) that underpin AMINA’s institutional custody solution, or perhaps learn more about the initial 13 vetted cryptocurrencies available for trading?
Source Link:https://www.businesswire.com/
