Original Title: "Futu Fires the First Shot in the 'Crypto Transformation' of Hong Kong Brokerages"
Original Author: Zhou Zhou, Foresight News
Futu, the largest internet brokerage in China with 27 million registered users, is setting the first template for the crypto transformation of Chinese (Hong Kong) brokerages through its exploration in the Crypto field.
On the evening of August 20, 2025, with the release of its second-quarter financial report, the market gained a clearer understanding of Futu's layout and progress in the cryptocurrency business. Since officially launching Crypto trading services in August 2024, Futu has rapidly expanded its crypto business to Hong Kong, Singapore, and the United States within just one year, achieving comprehensive operations in these three regions.
In Hong Kong, Futu has been providing Crypto trading services to local residents for a year, and its application for a VATP license is expected to be approved for formal operation in the next six months; in Singapore, Futu Moomoo has also been offering Crypto trading services to Singapore residents for a year, making it the only licensed internet brokerage providing Crypto trading in Singapore; in the United States, Futu began offering cryptocurrency trading services in most states in June this year, supporting over 30 mainstream cryptocurrency spot trading pairs.
Hong Kong, Singapore, the United States… Futu is attempting to quickly obtain cryptocurrency operating licenses globally to expand this new business line.
Through this year of exploration, Futu has become one of the earliest and most in-depth Chinese brokerages to explore Crypto business. In the Q2 2025 earnings call, an executive from Futu stated: "As of the end of Q2 2025, the balance of Futu's Crypto-related assets reached approximately HKD 4 billion, with a peak daily trading volume of USD 40 million."
Futu's Crypto Landscape
As global brokerages increasingly enter the cryptocurrency business, this field is gradually becoming a new trend in the financial industry. Taking the largest internet brokerage in the U.S., Robinhood, as an example, it launched cryptocurrency trading services as early as 2018, providing users with channels to buy and sell Bitcoin, Ethereum, and various mainstream digital assets.
As of Q2 2025, Robinhood's cryptocurrency revenue surged approximately 98% year-on-year to USD 160 million, while the company's total revenue was USD 989 million. This indicates that the cryptocurrency business has become an important segment in the revenue structure of U.S. internet brokerages like Robinhood, also signaling that the transformation of brokerages into crypto is accelerating.
Seeing the influx of U.S. brokerages, Hong Kong brokerages are also rapidly entering this field. According to statistics, up to 40 Hong Kong brokerages have successfully upgraded to "License 1" to engage in virtual asset business. Among them, Futu and Victory Securities are among the leaders.
Futu's layout in Crypto is quite extensive. Just in the Hong Kong market, it involves: upgrading to License 1 (Hong Kong users can purchase cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana on the Futu App), applying for a VATP license (which can serve both retail and institutional clients), tokenized currency funds from Huaxia Fund (wealth management with RWA and cryptocurrencies), stablecoins (Futu is participating in the stablecoin business layout through a HKD 440 million investment in Tianxing Bank), etc.
Particularly, the VATP license is a hot topic in the market. Once approved, it means Futu will have a compliant cryptocurrency exchange operating in Hong Kong. An executive from Futu mentioned in the Q2 earnings call: "As an entry point for cryptocurrencies, we believe that besides spot trading, there may be more monetization opportunities in the future, such as staking and derivatives."
"Obtaining the VATP license not only allows us to do business with retail users, saving us some upstream clearing and settlement costs, but also enables us to provide upstream services to institutional clients like brokerages," the executive stated.
Therefore, although the current Crypto business accounts for less than one percent of Futu's overall business, it has received significant attention internally. In the Q2 2025 earnings call, both institutional investors like Morgan Stanley and Futu executives frequently mentioned the Crypto business.
A Hundred Schools of Thought Contend, What Are Futu's Advantages?
Currently, the Crypto market in Hong Kong has many emerging companies, including HashKey, OSL, Victory Securities, and Tiger Brokers. An incomplete count shows that over 50 companies can provide cryptocurrency services to retail users.
So, what are Futu's advantages?
First, Futu's user base itself is one of its biggest advantages in entering the Crypto field. Futu has 27.12 million registered users, with the number of "asset clients" increasing by 41% year-on-year to 2.88 million. Moreover, this number continues to grow. In the Q2 2025 earnings call, an executive stated that in the first half of 2025, Futu added 460,000 "asset clients."
Second, Futu's revenue and profitability are continuously supporting its new business. According to the Q2 2025 financial report, Futu achieved revenue of HKD 5.3 billion, a year-on-year increase of approximately 70%, with a net profit of HKD 2.6 billion, a year-on-year increase of 113%. Futu also stated that it will further increase investment in crypto and AI products.
Futu's internet genes align well with the cryptocurrency business. As an internet brokerage, Futu is adept at leveraging new technologies and discovering new assets, thereby attracting more retail users from traditional brokerages and achieving dual growth in user scale and business innovation. Robinhood's success in the cryptocurrency field also confirms the development potential of internet brokerages in this area.
Additionally, Futu has long been laying out its global market through stock trading, which lays a foundation for the future growth of its Crypto business.
An executive from Futu stated: "The Hong Kong and Malaysian markets contributed more than half of the new asset clients in Q2, while other client growth mainly includes Singapore, the U.S., and Japan markets."
It is understood that outside of Futu's main market in Hong Kong, Singapore and the U.S. are its largest overseas markets, followed by the rapidly expanding Malaysia and Japan, with Australia and Canada also showing robust growth momentum.
"We will also launch deposit and withdrawal functions in Singapore and the U.S. in the second half of the year, which have already been launched in Hong Kong." Futu's trading framework can be adapted to crypto businesses worldwide, reducing marginal costs while increasing profits.
In July 2025, Futu Moomoo launched cryptocurrency trading in most states in the U.S., supporting over 30 mainstream cryptocurrency spot trading pairs.
Futu's All-In Behind the 'Crypto Transformation' of Hong Kong Brokerages
Futu's full-scale entry into cryptocurrency is also a microcosm of the overall "crypto transformation" of Hong Kong brokerages.
Since the declaration of virtual assets in Hong Kong in 2022, the Crypto industry in Hong Kong has formed a large industry with over 40 brokerages, more than 35 fund companies, and over 10 large banks and accounting firms involved in virtual asset business over the past three years. With the official implementation of Hong Kong's stablecoin policy in August this year, it is predicted that a number of stablecoin companies and upstream and downstream enterprises will emerge in Hong Kong.
As a new type of financial asset, cryptocurrencies have gained widespread recognition and acceptance in Hong Kong's financial industry. As an emerging track, the market's incremental value is difficult to estimate simply. This not only provides local small and medium-sized brokerages in Hong Kong with opportunities to overtake on the curve but also opens up new growth space for internet brokerages.
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