Guotai Junan International Obtains Hong Kong Virtual Asset License, Attracts Market Follow

Recently, Guotai Junan International announced that it has obtained a virtual asset license in Hong Kong, attracting widespread attention in the market. Currently, there are only four listed companies holding virtual asset-related licenses in Hong Kong, including OSL, Guotai Junan International, Futu Holdings, and Up Fintech. Among them, the main companies listed in Hong Kong are OSL and Guotai Junan International, while the US stock market includes Futu Holdings and Up Fintech.

Guotai Junan International has been approved to upgrade its "Type 1 Securities Trading License" to a license that allows for the provision of virtual asset trading services. The scope of services includes providing direct virtual asset trading services, offering advice during the trading process, and issuing and distributing products related to virtual assets, such as over-the-counter derivatives, structured notes, and tokenized securities.

In fact, Guotai Junan International began introducing structured products based on virtual asset spot ETFs in the Hong Kong market as early as 2024 and was authorized to conduct virtual asset trading platform introduction agent business. In February 2025, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission released the "A-S-P-I-Re" regulatory roadmap and made it clear that stablecoin management regulations would be implemented in August. Guotai Junan's actions coincide perfectly with the pace of policy implementation and are seen as the practical realization of Hong Kong's "virtual asset international hub" strategy.

After the announcement of this news, the share price of Guotai Junan International surged significantly, driving the Hong Kong Chinese brokerage index and A-share brokerage stocks to generally rise. The market has high expectations for Guotai Junan International's layout in virtual assets, believing that it may enjoy first-mover advantages in terms of policies, funding, and resource acquisition.

However, industry insiders have revealed that multiple local Hong Kong brokers, including Victory Securities and Everbright Securities, have successively completed the upgrade application for License No. 1. Futu Holdings has also been continuously expanding in the virtual asset sector since 2022, and its Hong Kong subsidiary, Futu Securities (Hong Kong), has already connected to a compliant platform and offers services such as digital asset distribution and custody.

From the layout of Guotai Junan International, its compliance path is to enter the virtual asset market as a traditional brokerage by upgrading licenses and relying on local regulatory channels. Many brokerages adopt similar models and strictly limit the scope of clients, for example, requiring clients to have Hong Kong or overseas identities and not accepting mainland residents for trading.

In this model, brokers provide compliant market entry channels for clients, exchanges offer trading and clearing support to brokers, and native exchanges can attract large broker traffic, forming a complementary relationship. However, this highly intertwined cooperative structure also carries potential risks, such as when compliant exchanges expand their proprietary business or encounter technical failures or compliance disputes, making it difficult to slice and independently control risk exposure.

Currently, Hong Kong's regulatory system is designed to ensure compliance while also somewhat suppressing market competitiveness. The number of compliant trading platforms that can be accessed is limited, resulting in overall insufficient liquidity and a certain gap in trading prices compared to mainstream markets in Europe and the United States. Some institutions have chosen to apply for a VATP license themselves and connect with global liquidity providers to enhance trading efficiency and customer experience, achieving business autonomy and differentiation.

Overall, Guotai Junan International has been approved for a virtual asset trading service license in Hong Kong, marking an important step for traditional brokerage firms in integrating with blockchain technology. Hong Kong is striving to build a digital asset financial ecosystem that combines compliance and vitality, and the market is beginning to layout around "compliant virtual assets + financial infrastructure". However, for ordinary investors in the mainland, participating in the cryptocurrency services offered in Hong Kong still faces many restrictions and compliance requirements.