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Zhong An Bank (ZA Bank), Hong Kong’s largest digital bank, has announced that it is now offering crypto trading services to its 800,000 retail customers. The bank set out details of its latest offering in a press release published to its website on Nov. 25. With that, ZA Bank claims to be the first Asian bank to offer crypto trading services to retail customers. Singapore’s DBS Bank was the first conventional bank in Asia to offer crypto services, although in that case, its offering was confined to institutional and accredited investors. It has yet to launch crypto trading for its retail customers.Photo by Traxer on UnsplashHashKey Exchange partnership While DBS built its own crypto exchange platform, in this instance, ZA Bank has decided to partner with local regulated crypto platform, HashKey Exchange. To begin with, the bank will offer Bitcoin and Ethereum in HKD and USD trading pairs. To promote the service, users are being offered commission-free trading during the first three months. A minimum investment level of HKD 600 ($70) has been set. Essentially, ZA Bank customers can access this trading feature through the ZA Bank banking app. Commenting on the partnership, HashKey Exchange CEO Livio Weng stated:”Our collaboration goes beyond technical synergies; it also reflects our shared commitment to upholding the highest regulatory standards. Looking ahead, HashKey Exchange will continue to work closely with ZA Bank to drive the development of the Web3 ecosystem, while delivering more diversified financial services to our users. Together, we aim to usher in a new era of wealth management.” HashKey Exchange is one of three virtual asset exchanges in the Chinese autonomous territory that have been fully regulated and licensed. Facilitating retail demand The bank cited a recent Hong Kong Association of Banks survey, which suggested that 70% of respondents believe that banks offering virtual asset trading services would mean greater convenience for people in accessing cryptocurrencies. Consequently, it would lead to further adoption of cryptocurrencies and it’s on this basis that ZA Bank has launched this latest service, catering to an emerging demand from its customers. Speaking to that, ZA Bank's Alternate Chief Executive Calvin Ng stated:“The rise of cryptocurrency presents investors with more diverse asset allocation opportunities.” On X, Neo blockchain co-founder Da Hongfei described the development as “noteworthy.” In particular, he highlighted the fact that ZA Bank supports account openings not just for Hong Kong residents but also mainland China residents living in Hong Kong. Notwithstanding that, crypto services still remain out of bounds for mainland China residents.  Hongfei also pointed out that the offering doesn’t allow the customer to transfer crypto purchased via the app off the platform. It is strictly limited to trading of crypto between digital assets and fiat currency. This offering by ZA Bank has been in the works for quite a while, with the bank having indicated that an app-based crypto retail offering was in development last December.  In September the bank received approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission to add digital asset transactions to its Type 1 license. The bank is owned by ZA Global, an affiliate company of Chinese insurance company Zhong An.

Chainlink, a prominent decentralized oracle network, has partnered with the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), a free zone and international financial center located on Al Maryah Island in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with a view towards further developing tokenization frameworks.Photo by Shubham Dhage on UnsplashCompliant tokenization frameworksAccording to an announcement on the ADGM website, the international financial center signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Chainlink. It claimed that the collaboration marks “a major step in advancing compliant tokenisation frameworks.” Chainlink provides a suite of services. Central to that is the delivery of real-world data feeds into blockchain networks. ADGM believes that through the partnership, projects located within the free zone will be able to access this technology, while the ADGM’s Registration Authority will ensure regulatory compliance. The CEO of the ADGM Registration Authority, Hamad Sayah Al Mazrouei, said that the strategic alliance is a significant step towards ADGM leadership in blockchain innovation. He added: “By collaborating with Chainlink, we are aiming to set a global benchmark that spearheads transparency, security, and trust across the blockchain space.” The collaboration includes plans to host events and workshops aimed at educating the blockchain sector within the UAE. The two parties also aspire to the initiative, sparking greater dialogue on regulatory matters relative to blockchain, artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies. Global collaborationsThis is the latest in a long list of collaborations that Chainlink has entered into, relative to asset tokenization. In October, it partnered with Singapore’s DigiFT, an exchange dedicated to tokenized real-world assets (RWAs). The following month, it completed a pilot program alongside financial messaging service SWIFT and UBS Asset Management under the umbrella of the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) Project Guardian. The project concerned itself with the settlement of tokenized funds. Earlier in 2024, Chainlink partnered with U.S. financial market infrastructure firm DTCC on the Smart NAV pilot project. The initiative centered on the creation and issuance of tokenized funds, counting JPMorgan, State Street, BNY Mellon, Invesco and Franklin Templeton among its participants. In the UAE, Chainlink has been added as a member of the Digital Asset Lab of one of the country’s largest banking groups, Emirates NBD. For its part, the ADGM has also been on the front foot with regard to tokenization initiatives. Its Regulatory Authority has established a regulatory framework with regard to asset tokenization, with an emphasis on investor protection. In October of last year, RWA tokenization platform Realize launched the financial center’s first tokenized U.S. treasury bill fund. At the time, the ADGM said that the development highlighted an objective for the region in becoming the global market leader where RWA tokenization is concerned. The ADGM began operations in 2015 with its own legal system. As of the end of 2024, the financial center hosted 134 fund and asset managers. Market maker and Web3 investment firm DWF Labs moved its headquarters from Singapore to Abu Dhabi’s ADGM at the end of last year, citing the goal of wanting to expand tokenized RWA-based projects as one of the reasons for the move.

Bitget Launches $100M Crypto Ecosystem FundSeychelles-based crypto exchange Bitget has launched its EmpowerX Fund, a $100 million initiative unveiled during Bitget’s fifth-anniversary summit in Singapore on Tuesday.Photo by micheile henderson on UnsplashStrategic investmentThe firm expanded on the finer details of the fund at the summit event and also by way of a press release published to PR Newswire. The primary goal of the initiative is to enrich the platform’s ecosystem by strategically investing in various sectors, including regional exchanges, data analytics firms, and media organizations.Bitget’s approach via this new fund is grounded in diversification to meet the ever-evolving needs of its 20 million global customers. The exchange envisions creating a comprehensive trading ecosystem that encompasses trading, investment, research, DeFi, and media.Gracy Chen, the Managing Director of Bitget, emphasized that the cryptocurrency exchange sector is in a constant state of evolution and with that, the firm has a forward-looking vision that extends beyond the present. Chen stated:“The CEX landscape is continually evolving amid influences of tightened regulations, rapid growth of Layer 2 and DeFi technologies, and we are expecting that more investment, meager [sic] and acquisition will happen in the following months. Our vision goes beyond the present.”She added: “With the launch of the Bitget EmpowerX Fund, we take another major step in our mission to develop Bitget into a truly comprehensive platform for all needs. Through strategic, targeted investments that foster long-term growth, we aim to continually expand our ecosystem of services to better serve the evolving needs of users. We also want to empower other people in our industry, because a rising tide lifts all boats.”Broader investment trendBitget’s EmpowerX Fund is part of a broader trend of strategic investments and expansion. In April, the exchange introduced the $100 million Web3 Fund, which focuses on supporting projects based in Asia and partnering with global venture capital firms, including Foresight Ventures, SevenX Ventures, and Gitcoin Fund.As part of that initiative, the firm invested $20 million in Sei Labs, the developers of the layer one Sei blockchain. The strategic direction being taken by Bitget extends beyond digital assets, as Bitget allocated $30 million to invest in the BitKeep multi-chain wallet, which subsequently underwent a rebranding as Bitget Wallet. This investment marked a significant milestone in Bitget’s journey toward embracing decentralized strategies.Diversifying service offeringTo better cater to the evolving needs of its users, Bitget has diversified its service offerings. In addition to traditional trading, the platform has ventured into the realm of crypto loans, a bold move given the difficulties experienced in 2022 by crypto lending firms like Celsius, BlockFi, Hodlnaut, Vauld, and Voyager Digital, who all ended up in bankruptcy.The company has taken a further step towards diversification on Tuesday, announcing the launch of its Bitget Wealth Management product. The firm claims that the product is targeted to meet the needs of high-net-worth individuals and institutions, offering to assist them in optimizing their financial portfolios.Bitget has also adapted to a changing regulatory landscape recently, stepping up its compliance in terms of Know Your Customer (KYC) measures.