Mox Bank, the virtual lender backed by Standard Chartered alongside PCCW, HKT and Trip.com, has officially entered Hong Kong’s growing crypto market by launching bitcoin and ether trading for its customers. The move follows the bank’s successful upgrade to a Type 1 license from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), clearing the regulatory path to offer virtual asset services.
With the launch, Mox becomes only the second digital bank in Hong Kong to support cryptocurrency trading, after ZA Bank took the first step in mid-2025. The service allows customers to buy and sell bitcoin and ether in U.S. dollars directly within their existing Mox accounts, positioning crypto alongside more traditional investment products offered through the bank’s app.
To power the service, Mox has partnered with HashKey Exchange for trade execution and HashKey Custody for secure asset storage. While the integration brings crypto trading into a regulated banking environment, there are still limitations. Customers cannot transfer digital assets into or out of their Mox accounts, meaning crypto activity is currently restricted to buying and selling within the platform itself.
The bank is offering crypto trading through its Mox Invest platform with a tiered pricing model. Basic members pay a commission of 1.25% per trade, while elite members benefit from a reduced rate of 0.5%. The pricing puts Mox in direct competition with ZA Bank, which charges a fixed transaction fee plus a platform commission, occasionally lowered through promotional campaigns.
Mox Bank CEO Barbaros Uygun had hinted at the crypto rollout earlier this month while sharing the bank’s latest growth figures. According to Uygun, Mox now serves around 750,000 customers, accounting for roughly 12% of Hong Kong’s bankable population. Deposits grew more than 20% year-on-year through November 2025, with U.S. dollar deposits surging sharply over the past twelve months — a trend that aligns closely with rising interest in digital assets.
The launch comes amid a broader push by Hong Kong to cement its position as a regulated digital asset hub in Asia. As of late January, nearly 60 institutions have received upgraded Type 1 licenses from the SFC, including several major Chinese securities firms. At the same time, city officials have reiterated plans to introduce a stablecoin licensing regime later this year.
For Mox, the addition of crypto trading is both a competitive differentiator and a signal of how deeply digital assets are becoming embedded in mainstream finance in Hong Kong. For the market as a whole, it is another step toward blending traditional banking with regulated crypto access — a model closely watched across Asia.