Switzerland’s AMINA Bank AG has received the regulatory clearance to offer crypto trading and custodial services to institutional clients across Hong Kong.

Hong Kong is one of the most tightly regulated yet forward-looking crypto markets in Asia, and AMINA has become the first international banking group to receive the “Type 1 license uplift” from the city’s financial regulators, the bank said in a Nov. 18 announcement.

“Hong Kong has established itself as the region’s most sophisticated market for regulated institutional crypto adoption, and this license uplift positions AMINA to serve the accelerating demand from professional investors seeking trusted access to crypto,” said Michael Benz, Head of AMINA Hong Kong and APAC.

AMINA will operate via its Hong Kong-based subsidiary AMINA HK, and the license will allow it to offer 13 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, USD Coin (USDC), and Tether (USDT).

The bank hopes to “address a critical gap in Hong Kong’s institutional crypto market” by serving professional investors and family offices, who it says have “faced limited access to international institutional-grade crypto with local onboarding capabilities.”

While institutional traders now have access to a bigger range of digital assets, retail traders remain restricted in Hong Kong and are generally limited to large-cap tokens listed in at least two recognized indices.

However, the city remains a strategic jurisdiction for institutions like AMINA, which primarily targets professional and high-net-worth clientele. In a separate report published earlier this month, AMINA highlighted a 233% surge in crypto trading volume across Hong Kong exchanges during the first half of 2025, compared to the previous year.

“Hong Kong’s crypto landscape in 2025 demonstrates institutional adoption at scale — marked by record institutional flows,” the bank concluded.

To be able to secure a Type 1 license uplift, firms must demonstrate to the Securities and Futures Commission that they can meet the capital requirements, have proper risk management systems, and qualified Responsible Officers in place to oversee operations.

“This milestone enables us to expand our crypto product shelf, including private fund management, structured products, derivatives, and tokenized real-world assets — all delivered through the regulated framework that our professional investor community demands,” Benz added.

AMINA’s expansion efforts 

AMINA has continued to expand its global footprint this year and secured a MiCA license under the European Union’s new regulatory regime just a few weeks ago, during the first week of November. 

Its newly formed Austrian subsidiary, AMINA (Austria) AG, was greenlighted by the country’s Financial Market Authority to offer trading, custody, and portfolio management services to professional investors across the European Economic Area.

Over the past months, the bank has moved to enhance its institutional-focused offerings, including support for Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin, staking services for Polygon’s POL token, and the removal of custody fees for USD Coin reward accounts.