ZA Bank has reportedly become the first settlement bank for HashKey Exchange, Hong Kong’s first licensed retail virtual asset exchange, as it starts “offering fiat-currency deposit and withdrawal services to investors who hold a ZA Bank account.”
As part of its “Banking for Web3” ambition, ZA Bank provides “the necessary infrastructure to facilitate HashKey Exchange to process and settle fiat-currency transactions in a timely manner.”
ZA Bank users can now “transfer HKD/USD to and from HashKey Exchange via the ZA Bank App and conduct virtual asset transactions on HashKey Exchange, enjoying a seamless experience of deposits and withdrawals.”
Ronald Iu, CEO of ZA Bank, said:
“With the new licensing regime coming into force this June, we are actively preparing ourselves to partner with HashKey Exchange and other Hong Kong-licensed virtual asset exchanges and enable retail investors to trade virtual assets by using fiat currencies in the ZA Bank App. We look forward to working with HashKey to promote Hong Kong’s development into a global virtual asset hub.”
Ronald continued:
“We have always believed that with proper regulation, Web3 is where the future of finance lies. Through continuous enhancement and expansion of our existing services, we expect to empower our users to easily capture new investment opportunities in a secure environment. This will further reinforce our proposition as an innovative wealth management platform that caters to users’ evolving needs.”
ZA Bank aspires to “become the go-to banking partner for the Web3 ecosystem.”
Through providing essential business banking services for licensed virtual asset trading platforms (VATPs) and Web3 enterprises, the bank seeks “to boost the development of a vibrant sector and ecosystem for virtual assets.”
Currently, ZA Bank does “not offer retail virtual asset trading services.” It is licensed by the Securities and Futures Commission “for Type 1 regulated activity (dealing in securities) to provide investment fund services.”
As first reported by Reuters, the first secondary crypto market fund introduced by HashKey Capital should intend to invest a considerable part of its assets in second-tier cryptos, with the aim of outperforming Bitcoin, its portfolio manager stated.
The fund, managed by the investment unit of Hong Kong’s HashKey Group, officially launches this Friday. It has reportedly acquired potential clients, primarily HNWIs as well as investment companies focused on doing business with affluent Asian families, Jupiter Zheng told Reuters.
Fewer than 50% of its overall investments should be in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), the two largest crypto-assets.
The fund manager says it aims to take advantage of its crypto-focused venture investment experience in order to further diversify allocations to smaller competitors jointly referred to as “altcoins”, Zheng added. Part of the fund’s holding will be maintained in cash.
HashKey Capital, which handles more than $1B in assets, recently noted that it planned to secure $100M for the fund during a 12-month timeframe.
The HK government has reportedly made an effort to support crypto and address market demand for alternative-assets, with the Asian financial center enabling the development of Web3.
The city-state has held numerous crypto-focused conferences.
Zheng revealed that HashKey Capital is focused on establishing distribution channels with various Chinese financial services providers, noting that the overall weakness in the Hong Kong stock market has resulted in investors opting for diversified investment strategies.
He added:
“We see untapped demand from professional investors who wish to chase (above-market) alpha (returns) in crypto.”
Zheng thinks that the price of crypto-assets is now nearing the bottom as the industry liquidity will be significantly enhanced along with the rising US rate and large American fund managers’ filing for spot Bitcoin ETFs (as well as Grayscale’s recent victory in a spot bitcoin ETF case versus the US SEC).
