- Hong Kong’s leading digital bank ZA bank has begun offering pilot services for virtual asset trading.
- The region has been focusing on crypto -related regulations over the past months.
Web3 space is an ever-evolving landscape with new initiatives surfacing every other day. Recently, Vitalik Buterin has been discussing the Ethereum ecosystem’s advancements and upcoming upgrades. Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency realm has also shown bullish signs in the past day.
In Hong Kong, the nation’s first digital bank ZA Bank has announced that it would begin the pilot version of its virtual asset trading services. The Hong Kong bank’s official announcement stated that this initiative aims to enable more reliable and convenient ways of banking in a ‘strictly regulated banking environment’.
Additionally, upon successful completion of the pilot, ZA Bank plans to officially roll out virtual asset trading services in its very own app. The bank has identified through a survey that 75% of Hong Kong retail investors were interested in trading cryptocurrencies. Moreover, the bank’s CEO also applauded the initiative.
CEO Ronald Lu stated in the official statement:
“This milestone not only signifies ZA Bank’s continued progress towards our ‘Banking for Web3’ vision, but also demonstrates our commitment to supporting the development of virtual assets in Hong Kong.”
Ronald Lu also discussed the Hong Kong government’s positive regulatory announcements in the past FinTech week. He said a supportive regulatory landscape could help foster more innovation within the state.
Is Hong Kong Aiming to Lead Within the Crypto Realm?
Hong Kong has been spotlighting cryptocurrency intensely over the past few months. The region has majorly focused on regulations apart from initiating several CBDC pilot projects and other virtual asset-related projects. Relatedly, another bank, Mox recently began offering Bitcoin and Ether ETFs trading in August.
Furthermore, the Hong Kong government has made several announcements on regulations in the past months. Related to the ZA Bank announcement, the Singapore-based DBS Bank has integrated blockchain technology into its banking systems and operational procedures.
Zooming out, on the global level there can be observed an increase in banking systems turning towards digital assets. Several banks have begun adopting digital asset services indicating the notion of cryptocurrency becoming mainstream.
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