Futu All In encryption, firing the first shot in the "encryption transformation" of Hong Kong brokers.

Written by: Zhou Zhou, Foresight News

Original title: Futu fires the first shot in the “crypto transformation” of Hong Kong brokerage firms.

Futu, the largest internet brokerage in China with 27 million registered users, is writing the first template for the crypto transformation of Chinese (Hong Kong) brokerages with its exploration in the crypto field.

On the evening of August 20, 2025, with Futu’s release of its second-quarter financial report, the market gained a clearer understanding of its layout and progress in the cryptocurrency business. Since officially launching Crypto trading services in August 2024, Futu has rapidly expanded its cryptocurrency business to Hong Kong, Singapore, and the United States within just one year, achieving a comprehensive presence in all three regions.

In Hong Kong, Futu has been providing crypto trading services to local residents for a year, and the application for the 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 launched cryptocurrency trading services in most states in June this year, supporting more than 30 mainstream cryptocurrency spot trading pairs.

Hong Kong, Singapore, the United States… Futu is trying to quickly obtain cryptocurrency operating licenses globally to expand this new business line.

Through a year of exploration, Futu has become one of the earliest and most in-depth Chinese brokerages to explore the Crypto business. In the earnings call for the second quarter of 2025, an executive from Futu stated, “As of the end of the second quarter of 2025, the balance of Futu’s Crypto-related assets reached approximately 4 billion Hong Kong dollars, with the highest daily trading volume reaching 40 million US dollars.”

Futu’s Crypto Landscape

As global brokerages are increasingly entering the cryptocurrency business, this sector is gradually becoming a new trend in the financial industry. Taking Robinhood, the largest online brokerage in the United States, 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.

By the second quarter of 2025, Robinhood’s cryptocurrency revenue surged approximately 98% year-on-year, reaching $160 million, while the company’s total revenue was $989 million. This shows that the cryptocurrency business has become an important segment of the revenue structure for U.S. internet brokerages like Robinhood, also indicating that the transformation of brokerages towards cryptocurrency is accelerating.

After witnessing the influx of American brokerages, Hong Kong brokerages are also accelerating their entry into this sector. According to statistics, there are currently as many as 40 Hong Kong brokerages that have successfully upgraded to “License No. 1” to engage in virtual asset business. Among them, Futu NiuNiu and Victory Securities are the standout players.

Futu has a wide layout in Crypto, which involves the following in the Hong Kong market alone: the upgrade of the Type 1 license (Hong Kong users can purchase cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana on the Futu App), the application for VATP license (which can meet the needs of both retail users and institutional clients), tokenized currency funds from China Asset Management (RWA and cryptocurrency wealth management), stablecoins (Futu participates in the stablecoin business layout through an investment of HKD 440 million in Tianxing Bank), etc.

Especially the VATP license, which is a hot topic in the market. Once approved, it means that Futu will have a compliant cryptocurrency exchange operating in Hong Kong. An executive from Futu stated during the Q2 earnings call: “As an entry point for cryptocurrencies, we believe that in addition to spot trading, there may be much more monetization potential in the future, such as staking, derivatives, and so on.”

“Obtaining the VATP license not only allows us to conduct business with retail users and save on some upstream clearing and settlement costs, but also enables us to provide upstream services to institutional clients such as brokerages,” said the executive.

Therefore, although the current Crypto business accounts for less than one percent of Futu’s overall business, it has received considerable attention within Futu. During the Q2 earnings call in 2025, both institutional investors like Morgan Stanley and Futu executives frequently mentioned the Crypto business.

How does Futu Advantage stand out in a hundred schools of thought?

Currently, there are quite a few companies that have emerged in Hong Kong’s Crypto market, including HashKey, OSL, Victory Securities, and Tiger Brokers, among others. An incomplete count shows that there are already over 50 companies that can provide cryptocurrency services to retail users.

So, what are the advantages of Futu?

First of all, the number of users of Futu itself has become one of its greatest advantages in entering the crypto field. The number of registered users of Futu has reached 27.12 million, with the number of “asset clients” increasing by 41% year-on-year, reaching 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.”

Secondly, Futu’s own revenue and profitability are continuously supporting and safeguarding its new businesses. According to the Q2 2025 financial report, Futu achieved a revenue of up to 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 its investment in cryptocurrency and AI products.

Futu’s inherent internet gene is highly compatible with the cryptocurrency business. As an internet brokerage, Futu excels 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.

In addition, Futu has long begun to layout the global market through stock trading, which also lays the foundation for the growth of its future Crypto business.

A Futu executive stated: “The Hong Kong and Malaysia markets contributed to more than half of the new asset clients in the second quarter, while the growth of other clients mainly includes the Singapore, US, and Japanese markets.”

According to reports, outside of the main market in Hong Kong, Singapore and the United States are the largest overseas markets, followed closely by the rapidly expanding Malaysia and Japan, while Australia and Canada have also shown robust growth momentum.

“We will also launch the deposit and withdrawal functions in Singapore and the United States 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 around the world, allowing for decreasing marginal costs and increasing profits.

In July 2025, Futu Moomoo launched cryptocurrency trading in most states in the United States, supporting over 30 mainstream cryptocurrency spot trading pairs.

Futu all in Behind it, the “crypto transformation” of Hong Kong brokers

Futu’s comprehensive foray into cryptocurrency is also a reflection of the overall “crypto transformation” of Hong Kong brokerage firms.

Since the declaration of virtual assets in Hong Kong in 2022, the Hong Kong Crypto industry has formed a large sector over the past three years, with more than 40 brokerage firms, over 35 fund companies, and more than 10 large banks and accounting firms involved in virtual asset business. With the official implementation of Hong Kong’s stablecoin policy in August this year, it is anticipated that a number of stablecoin companies and related upstream and downstream enterprises will emerge in Hong Kong.

Cryptocurrency, as a new type of financial asset, has gained widespread recognition and acceptance in Hong Kong’s financial industry. As an emerging sector, its market increment value is difficult to estimate simply. This not only provides local small and medium-sized brokerages in Hong Kong with an opportunity to overtake on the curve but also opens up new growth space for internet brokerages.