- ZA Bank has partnered with HashKey to provide direct retail cryptocurrency trading.
- The service provides a unified platform for trading HKD and USD.
Hong Kong-based digital bank ZA Bank is the first in Asia to enable trading in cryptocurrencies with retail users. Starting from 25 November, they will trade Bitcoin and Ethereum using either Hong Kong Dollars (HKD) or USD. Through the bank’s app directly with their customers.
Hong Kongers must open an investment account and undergo a risk assessment before they can gain access to the service. The service is part of ZA Bank’s strategy for revenue increase that, in particular, has been tipped to be mainly derived from transaction fees. It offers this service in partnership with HashKey, one of the bitcoin exchanges.
In-depth Crypto Offering at ZA Bank
ZA Bank just in time. Last week, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority opened up virtual currency trading for retail investors. The online bank charges an entry fee of $70 or HK$600, a commission fee of $1.99 or HK$15 on each transaction, and a platform fee of 1.5%. Of course, the commission remains free, while the platform fee slashes to 0.8% in June 2025.
Wu Zhonghao, ZA Bank’s interim CEO, highlighted education of the users and marketing activities with the inherent risks of digital assets. According to him, this service will equalize the pans between both digital and traditional banks.
HashKey Exchange CEO Livio Weng is elated over the agreement and says they will work closely with ZA Bank to drive Web3 development and offer diversified financial services to users.
The new product underlines ZA Bank’s continuity in the development of blockchain technology for the betterment of the Web3 ecosystem. Zhonghao feels that by integrating banking and exchange services, it will unite, under one platform, the bank’s young, tech-savvy client base. The bank is also in talks with the authorities to expand on the front in the near future.
The goal is to create a new financial strategy for ZA Bank, changing the company’s losses into profits as more and more customers are attracted to it, increasing fee revenue, and demonstrating how digital banks are adapting to the growing interest shown by people in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies in Asia.
