Original | Odaily Planet Daily (@OdailyChina)
Author | Wenser (@wenser 2010 )
Last night, Futu NiuNiu officially launched real-time BNB trading services for Hong Kong-compliant professional investors.
Futu has become the first licensed securities firm in Hong Kong to offer BNB order book trading pairs, expanding its supported virtual currencies to 21 major assets including BTC, ETH, SOL, and USDT. Futu officially stated that the addition of BNB trading in Hong Kong is powered by its proprietary virtual asset platform, PantherTrade, which complies with the Hong Kong SFC’s listing standards and seamlessly integrates with Futu’s securities trading system, creating a complete end-to-end闭环 from compliant upstream listing to immediate downstream trading.
Following class-action lawsuits in the U.S., suspension of certain operations in Japan, and the removal of clients in mainland China, FUTU, a longstanding brokerage platform, is seeking a breakthrough in the cryptocurrency trading sector.
Futu's awkward phase: Regulatory crackdowns on operations in China, Japan, and the U.S., with new user acquisition channels restricted
Launching BNB trading for Hong Kong-compliant investors may be one of the few remaining growth opportunities for Futu.
Over the past three months, Futu has faced regulatory pressure from mainland China’s regulators, the U.S. SEC, and Japan’s Financial Services Agency over issues including cross-border illegal business operations, insider trading, and misleading statements.
China's mainland regulators impose strict measures: a fine of 1.85 billion RMB and mandatory withdrawal of existing cross-border investors within two years.
In May of this year, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, in conjunction with the People's Bank of China, the Ministry of Public Security, and six other departments, officially issued the "Implementation Plan for Comprehensive Governance of Illegal Cross-Border Securities, Futures, and Fund Business Activities" (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan"), launching a comprehensive crackdown on illegal cross-border brokers. On the same day, the CSRC announced that it had initiated investigations into three leading cross-border internet brokers—Futu, Tiger Brokers, and Longqiao—seeking to confiscate all illegal proceeds and impose severe penalties. Futu faces a proposed fine of RMB 1.85 billion, Tiger Brokers faces a proposed fine and confiscation exceeding RMB 410 million, and the founders of both companies are each proposed to be personally fined approximately RMB 1.25 million.
In addition, according to the plan, all entities engaged in illegal cross-border operations must, during the two-year concentrated rectification period, maintain a one-way channel for existing investors—allowing only the sale and withdrawal of funds, with no further purchases, position increases, or fund deposits permitted.
U.S. regulatory investigation: Launching insider trading probe; market maker suffers losses exceeding $70 million
Affected by previous fines and delisting demands from Chinese regulators, Futu's stock price once plunged more than 40% in a single day, with suspected insider traders profiting $100 million by betting on options after learning the news in advance.
As the primary counterparty in most of the alleged insider trading cases, market maker SIG (Jane Street) lost over $70 million, and on June 29, a U.S. judge in the Federal Court for the Southern District of New York approved its request to freeze the related account funds.
Additionally, investor Yong Hong Tang filed a lawsuit on June 26 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against FUTU Holdings' founder Li Hua and CFO Chen Yu, alleging violations of the securities fraud and control person liability provisions of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, seeking class coverage for investors who purchased FUTU shares between May 24, 2023, and May 27, 2026.
Recently, in the Futu insider trading case, all three defendants have appeared, including Hong Kong resident Yang Jingyao (believed to be the largest single shareholder of the Hong Kong-listed company Rongzun International).
Japanese regulators have ordered: Futu to suspend certain business operations and halt new account openings for 3 months.
On June 19, Japan's Financial Services Agency issued a partial business suspension order to moomoo Securities (a Japanese subsidiary of Futu Holdings), requiring it to suspend the solicitation and acceptance of new accounts from June 19 to September 18 for a period of three months, and to develop a corrective action plan.
It has been disclosed that moomoo Securities engaged in improper conduct, including providing clients with false information regarding the scope of application of Japan’s NISA individual savings account system, as well as long-term failures in monitoring and reporting suspicious transactions and inadequate cybersecurity measures.
Traditional brokerages seek new breakthroughs: Virtual asset trading and financing services approved in Hong Kong, with new cryptocurrencies available for instant trading.
Traditional brokerage businesses have frequently faced regulatory crackdowns, prompting them to enter the crypto sector.
In July 2024, Futu Securities was approved by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission to offer virtual asset trading services to eligible investors, including individual investors, and officially launched BTC and ETH trading on August 1, becoming Hong Kong’s first licensed securities firm to offer zero-commission cryptocurrency trading.
In August 2025, according to the official Q2 financial report, Futu's cryptocurrency asset balance reached HK$4 billion, with operations expanded to Hong Kong, Singapore, and the United States;
In November 2025, the Futu International platform Moomoo launched BNB on the U.S. and Singapore markets.
As we enter 2026, while cryptocurrency exchanges are listing traditional financial assets such as U.S. stocks, Korean stocks, and Hong Kong stocks, traditional brokerages are also moving toward cryptocurrency trading.
June: Approved to launch virtual asset trading financing services in Hong Kong
In June this year, Futu Securities announced that it has received approval from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission to upgrade its Type 1 licensed securities trading services, and will offer virtual asset trading financing to eligible clients in Hong Kong. Previously, credit lines obtained through financing with traditional securities could not be used for cryptocurrency trading; this restriction has now been lifted, allowing such credit lines to be used for cryptocurrency trading.
Futu's launch of instant BNB trading in Hong Kong primarily differentiates itself in two aspects:
First, in terms of customer base, Futu Hong Kong targets a broader retail investor group with relatively lower participation barriers;
Second, in terms of the trading system, Futu employs an order book matching system to replace simple quote-based trading, offering more flexible buying and selling methods.
Additionally, regarding the question many readers may be concerned about—whether FUTU Hong Kong supports BNB deposits and withdrawals—current information indicates that it is not supported for now, but it may be gradually enabled in the future, similar to how BTC, ETH, SOL, and other cryptocurrencies were previously added.
According to the FTX Q1 Earnings Call, its Hong Kong brokerage gross transaction value reached HK$4.15 trillion in the first quarter, representing a 29% year-over-year increase and a 4% quarter-over-quarter increase, with U.S. stock trading volume at HK$3 trillion. As of the end of the first quarter, the company’s assets under management reached HK$17.84 trillion, up 28% year-over-year.
The company's executives stated that, targeting Hong Kong local customers, the company has maintained a market share of over 50%. In overseas markets, the independent brand moomoo recorded year-over-year revenue growth at high rates, with Japan, Canada, Australia, the United States, and Malaysia achieving revenue growth exceeding 100%. The number of clients with assets exceeds 2 million, with an average AUM of approximately $18,000 per client.
Considering its previous disclosure that the proportion of clients with assets in mainland China has dropped to 13%, the importance of Hong Kong’s cryptocurrency trading business is expected to grow, and this move is seen as a strategic effort by traditional brokers to transform, capitalize on Hong Kong’s licensing benefits, and attract younger users.
Perhaps, after facing stringent regulation, Futu aspires to become a diversified trading platform. Compared to its original business model heavily reliant on mainland users' cross-border investments, the Robinhood-style approach of combining crypto and securities is clearly superior.