Mox is planning to introduce a “core portfolio” product later in 2024. With this, the bank aims to offer advanced trading solutions to retail investors, customized to individual customer financial goals.
Hong Kong’s popular Mox bank has introduced a crypto exchange-traded fund (ETF) service on its recently launched Mox Invest platform. This move makes it the first virtual bank to provide such a service and further expands its suite of offerings.
Mox began its ETF trading service on August 5, focusing on spot trading for Hong Kong-based crypto ETFs that were introduced in February this year. While the platform also offers US crypto futures, it currently does not support US spot crypto ETFs.
Mox levies a 0.12% fee on the Hong Kong-based ETFs’ trading volume with a minimum fee of HK$30 (equivalent to $3.84). On the other hand, it sets a fee of 0.01% per share with a minimum charge of $5 for US-listed futures ETFs. This pricing is the lowest, being around half the cost of conventional banking fees in the region.
Notably, Mox, a subsidiary of the global banking giant Standard Chartered, was launched in 2020. It has already gained a reputation for offering low-fee trading options for both Hong Kong and US stocks. Interestingly, it allows users to invest as low as HK$1 to become the region’s first bank to support US stock segment trading.
A local report reveals that around 28% of Mox’s user base invests in cryptocurrency, with 18% of those being actively involved in trading.
Plans for Direct Crypto Offerings
The bank has been motivated to extend its crypto offerings by the rising demand from its customers. Jayant Bhatia, Mox’s chief product officer, stated that he believes in the long-term and sustainable growth of the cryptocurrency sector.
Mox aims to introduce direct cryptocurrency purchasing on its platform. To facilitate this, the virtual bank plans to collaborate with registered exchanges. It is important to note that Hong Kong’s regulatory requirements mandate the use of registered exchanges for crypto trading by operators that lack a virtual asset trading platform license.
Additionally, Mox is planning to introduce a “core portfolio” product later in 2024. With this, the bank aims to offer advanced trading solutions to retail investors, customized to individual customer financial goals.
Hong Kong’s Regulatory Environment
Hong Kong is gradually establishing itself as a key crypto hub in the Asia-Pacific region. The recent approval of spot crypto ETFs by regulators has solidified its commitment to fostering innovation in the cryptocurrency sector. The SoSo Value data reveals that these bitcoin ETFs hold 4.28K BTC, while the ether ETFs contain 13.72K ETH.
The government is also planning for comprehensive rules for the crypto industry. Last month, it concluded a two-month-long public consultation on stablecoin regulations, with massive support for the proposed framework.
Hong Kong’s securities regulator maintains public records of all licensed and unlicensed crypto trading platforms to reduce the risks associated with scams.
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