By 2025, the divide within Hong Kong’s crypto community has become increasingly pronounced.

“Every day, traditional financial institutions approach us to discuss crypto business. We’re also actively promoting new services on platforms like YouTube and X, collaborating with influential influencers and content creators,” said a brokerage professional, his tone filled with drive and anticipation about expanding into crypto.

On the flip side, a recent hire who soon departed from a blockchain company shared a more somber view: “I’m leaving. I can’t stand the state-owned enterprise mentality.”

In the same Hong Kong and under the same crypto ecosystem, some feel the excitement and opportunity that come with a booming industry, while others experience burnout and disillusionment from cultural and institutional friction. This daily drama of division is ever-present.

Nearly all major Hong Kong brokerages have now entered the crypto space. Recent statistics show that Hong Kong boasts over 40 brokerages, 35+ fund companies, and more than 10 major banks and accounting firms involved in virtual asset services. For example, Futu NiuNiu, Hong Kong’s largest technology brokerage, began offering Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other crypto trading in August last year. By year-end, its average daily trading volume had already exceeded $35 million.

From brokerages, funds, banks, and auditors to insurance, Hong Kong’s mainstream financial institutions are methodically and comprehensively weaving crypto assets into the region’s financial system. For finance professionals crossing over into crypto, this has reignited a long-missed sense of innovation and the “beauty of an economic upswing.”

Yet, on the other hand, some crypto natives who have joined compliant firms are now facing a harsh reality check—clashing ideals of decentralized utopia versus the hard truths of regulation, compliance, and financial logic. Struggling to retain their crypto-native “style” and “ethos,” while also seeking a slice of the compliance-driven market, many find this contradiction impossible to resolve.

Integration

Hong Kong’s crypto sector is evolving into a new hybrid, shaped by the ongoing friction and fusion of three distinct cultural forces.

The first force is the Crypto Native culture.

Early compliant exchanges in Hong Kong, such as HashKey and OSL, have absorbed many crypto natives from firms like Huobi, Bybit, and Binance. This has helped preserve a culture that remains fundamentally “native”—open, agile, and market-focused.

Like digital natives, crypto natives are well-versed in the world of blockchain, deeply attuned to crypto culture, and inherently creative, believing in decentralization and borderless technology. But today, their presence is fading as more professionals from internet and traditional finance enter the sector and quickly dominate under compliance frameworks.

The second is the internet finance culture.

Futu, Ant Group, Ant Digital, and JD.com exemplify this trend. These companies bring mature online operations and user acquisition strategies, making aggressive moves into Hong Kong’s crypto market. Some, like Futu NiuNiu, have integrated seamlessly into local mainstream finance. As Hong Kong’s largest online broker, Futu not only commands the digital space but has also opened six physical stores in the city’s busiest districts, showcasing its internet finance DNA alongside a strong local presence.

While visiting one of Futu’s brick-and-mortar locations, a staff member enthusiastically assisted the author in opening a U.S. stock account and explained: “Each week, I serve over a hundred customers who come to inquire about U.S. stocks, Hong Kong stocks, or crypto services. Hong Kong account holders can conduct crypto business, but users with a Mainland China national ID cannot.”

Futu Holdings now has over 26.25 million registered users, with Futu NiuNiu reaching over 50% market penetration among Hong Kong adults. This massive user base gives Futu a natural competitive edge in the local crypto market. An industry insider revealed that crypto trading by Futu’s Hong Kong users is powered by HashKey Exchange’s core trading infrastructure, accounting for a significant portion of HashKey Exchange’s overall volume.

Beyond Futu, Ant Group and JD.com are also competing in Hong Kong’s crypto sector. But unlike Futu’s exchange focus, Ant and JD.com are betting on stablecoins and public chains. Futu holds regulatory licenses, but it’s still unclear if Ant and JD.com will secure theirs.

Hong Kong’s crypto space isn’t a purely free market—it’s more about resource allocation. You need a license just to get in the game. According to insiders, Chinese banks are the most likely to receive the first batch of stablecoin licenses.

The third cultural element is Hong Kong’s traditional finance. Players like HSBC, Bank of China (Hong Kong), and Victory Securities bring a long legacy, whether with foreign, Mainland, or local family roots. Each adds their own flavor to Hong Kong’s burgeoning crypto industry.

Hong Kong’s crypto industry has now developed a fully regulated value chain spanning hundreds of financial institutions—from brokerages, funds, and banks to auditors and insurers—all operating within compliance frameworks.

This value chain features foreign, Mainland, and local institutions from multiple backgrounds, and unites crypto natives, internet finance companies, and traditional finance firms through both technical and institutional strength. Collectively, they create a vibrant crypto ecosystem and support the sustainable growth of the local digital asset market.

It’s the tension and integration among these cultures that continuously shapes the industry.

Hong Kong’s crypto scene is no longer easily defined. It’s now a unique, complex ecosystem involving over 100 financial institutions across the city.

Division: Human Experience Is Not Universal

Same city, same ecosystem, but Hong Kong’s crypto world feels completely different depending on whom you ask.

Some professionals believe that a compliant crypto sector in Hong Kong is fueling an economic upswing.

For example, veterans newly entering crypto from traditional finance—with or in the process of applying for exchange or stablecoin licenses, or internet finance giants with huge user bases just waiting on a license to unlock the market—are powering ahead with impressive determination.

This is particularly obvious in hiring, with companies like Futu, JD.com, and Victory Securities aggressively recruiting talent, often offering above-market compensation to lure candidates.

Yet others believe Hong Kong’s crypto scene is now a zero-sum game in a mature, declining market. Leading firms have not found ways to grow the pie and are stuck in a dogfight for share.

“Yeah, I left. I couldn’t handle the state-owned enterprise way of doing things,” said an employee who soon quit a major institution-backed public blockchain.

“There’s little initiative anymore—every move has to pass regulatory review first.” Asked about the changes moving from a native crypto company to a regulated one, a mid-level manager at a regulated exchange replied.

For some, the deepest sense of division comes from the cultural and systemic gulf separating crypto natives from the compliance world.

A recent flashpoint for crypto natives was Hong Kong’s Stablecoin Act, which took effect August 1, 2025. “I’ve never seen a stablecoin require KYC or VPN restrictions. How is innovation possible with these rules?” one professional complained.

For those steeped in crypto and blockchain culture, life has always been code- and community-driven. Now, policy rules everything in Hong Kong’s regulated crypto sector—creating fundamentally different ecosystems. Many haven’t yet made the mental shift needed to navigate between them.

Hong Kong’s unique crypto industry is enduring the growing pains of forced, policy-led integration. It’s not just about regulations, but a deeper reconciliation among traditional finance, internet finance, and crypto-native cultures.

Opportunity: Who’s Quietly Cashing In?

The birth of any new system usually brings early opportunities for some to quietly build wealth by straddling industries.

For instance, when stablecoins first appeared, Tether’s annual trading volume skyrocketed 100-fold in just a year—topping $10 billion by 2017, $1 trillion in 2020, and $10 trillion in 2024. Likewise, in its early days, Binance exceeded $100 million daily volume in two months, reached $1 billion by month four, and $5 billion by month six.

While Hong Kong hasn’t seen comparable growth rates yet, some first-movers are already reaping rewards behind the scenes.

“Virtually every day, traditional finance institutions come to us to discuss crypto business. We’re also promoting new services on YouTube and X, and collaborating with top influencers and influencers,” said a Hong Kong brokerage professional entering crypto.

“With Hong Kong embracing crypto, more than a hundred Web3 companies have set up here. Consulting on policies, applying for licenses, and expanding business have created huge demand for law firms that specialize in crypto compliance,” commented a crypto insider familiar with legal services.

“Every Web3 company looking for long-term growth opens a company bank account here, which generates significant transaction volume. Banks that recognized this early, like ZA Bank, have picked up plenty of business,” an employee at a compliant exchange observed.

Opportunities in Hong Kong’s crypto industry are not limited to exchanges, asset management, or stablecoin issuers. Those providing “picks and shovels” services are equally vital beneficiaries of this growth.

And those truly making a fortune in silence are often only recognized years later.

Hong Kong Crypto Through Different Lenses

“To crypto natives, Hong Kong’s compliant crypto companies innovate far too slowly and still feel bureaucratic, even state-owned. But for Hong Kong’s traditional financial institutions, innovation KPIs may already have been smashed this year,” said a senior compliance manager at a regulated crypto exchange.

Depending on your standpoint, Hong Kong’s crypto sector can appear entirely different.

For those raised in crypto and blockchain culture, progress is measured in code commits and community consensus. In today’s Hong Kong crypto world, however, everything runs on policy. The grassroots energy is gone; creative edges dulled, replaced by the steadiness and restraint of compliance. Many crypto natives feel that regulatory compliance is “neutering” the sector’s raw creativity, leaving them struggling to adapt.

Yet for professionals who came up in traditional finance, accustomed to safety and structure, innovation in Hong Kong Crypto doesn’t feel slow at all—it’s progressing methodically, at a controlled and steady pace. “Slow is fast, fast is slow.”

For all participants swept up in this tidal wave of change, adaptation is the only option. Love it or hate it, the wheel of history keeps turning.

Disclaimer:

1. This article is republished from [Foresight News], with copyright belonging to the original author [Zhou Zhou, Foresight News]. If you have any concerns regarding this republication, please contact the Gate Learn team, which will handle requests promptly in accordance with relevant procedures.
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