Standard Chartered's Mox Bank Launches Crypto Trading in Hong Kong

Mox Bank, a virtual bank backed by Standard Chartered, PCCW, HKT and Trip.com, has launched cryptocurrency trading services after receiving an upgraded Type 1 license from Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission.

The digital lender now offers U.S. dollar-denominated trading of bitcoin and ether through integrated customer accounts, partnering with HashKey Exchange for trading and HashKey Custody for asset safekeeping, according to a report from the Hong Kong Economic Times today.

Mox becomes the second digital bank in Hong Kong to support cryptocurrency trading, following ZA Bank's July 2025 launch. However, neither platform currently allows customers to transfer crypto assets in or out of their accounts, limiting users to buying and selling within the banking app.

The bank operates a tiered fee structure through its Mox Invest platform. The basic membership tier charges 1.25% commission on virtual asset trades, while the elite tier charges 0.5%. By comparison, ZA Bank charges $1.99 or HK$15 per transaction plus a 1.5% platform fee, though it offers promotional rates as low as 0.8%, HKET noted.

Mox Bank CEO Barbaros Uygun had previewed the crypto service three weeks ago when announcing the bank's growth milestones on LinkedIn. The virtual lender now serves 750,000 customers, representing 12% of Hong Kong's bankable population. Total deposits surged over 20% year-on-year through November 2025, while U.S. dollar deposits expanded 14-fold from December 2024, Uygun said.

The crypto launch comes as Hong Kong expands its digital asset regulatory framework. As of January 25, 59 institutions have received upgraded Type 1 licenses from the SFC, including recent approvals for several Chinese securities firms such as BOC International Securities, CITIC Securities Brokerage, CMBC Securities and GF Securities.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan emphasized at the World Economic Forum last week that Hong Kong has licensed 11 virtual asset trading platforms since 2023 and expects to launch a stablecoin licensing regime later this year as the city positions itself as a regional digital asset hub.