A giant Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) step has come from Hong Kong, which is taking firm steps towards becoming a cryptocurrency center.
Futu Securities, Hong Kong's largest online broker, has launched Bitcoin, Ethereum and cryptocurrency trading for retail clients, South China Morning Post reported.
The company announced in a statement that Hong Kong residents will be able to buy and sell Bitcoin and Ether'eum, the world's two largest cryptocurrencies, directly through its platforms using Hong Kong or US dollars.
In addition to zero transaction fees for new accounts, Futu Securities also offers tech stocks or Bitcoin rewards for early users.
“Hong Kong investors who opened an account in August and deposit HK$10,000 ($1,280) over the next 60 days could receive HK$600 worth of bitcoin, HK$400 worth of supermarket vouchers, or a single share of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.
Users who hold $80,000 over the same period receive either HK$1,000 worth of Bitcoin or a share of US artificial intelligence (AI) chip giant Nvidia, whose shares have gained over 140 percent this year.”
Futu Securities, Hong Kong's largest online broker, has 22 million users.
While this move by Futu comes as a result of efforts to increase Hong Kong's attractiveness as a virtual asset business center, it is stated that this move will bring new capital to the two largest cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin and Ethereum.
*This is not investment advice.