Interactive Brokers Hong Kong receives license to trade virtual assets

In a post made Nov. 23 on LinkedIn, David Friedland, the Managing Director of the Asia Pacific region for Interactive Brokers, shares an early announcement of a Hong Kong license approval.

The license is said to allow retail clients to trade Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).

A surge in activity

The recent announcement from Victory Securities coincides with a rush in crypto industry activity in Hong Kong, which has emerged as a focal point for crypto-related endeavors, attracting numerous companies seeking local licensing.

Notably, in August of this year, Hashkey secured the distinction of being the first crypto exchange in Hong Kong to obtain a specific license permitting the offering of crypto assets to retail investors.

Friedland shares that an official announcement from the company should come available soon.

The race continues

News of Interactive Brokers receiving a license comes just before Nov. 24 from the Hong Kong-based securities firm Victory Securities, which also shared that it received approval from the Hong Kong SFC to provide virtual asset trading and consulting services to retail investors.

According to Victory Security’s executive director Chen Peiquan, this achievement marks a historic milestone, positioning the firm as the inaugural licensed corporation in Hong Kong to be granted permission to extend these services to retail investors.

With two major announcements within the same 24-hour period, it becomes clear to the world the race towards virtual asset adoption in Hong Kong is on.