Amina Bank Makes History: First Global Bank to Launch Full Crypto Trading & Custody in Hong Kong

Hong Kong's crypto scene just got a heavyweight player. Amina Bank—formerly known as SEBA—flips the script as the first international banking group to offer full-service crypto trading and custody in the city.

Why it matters: While traditional banks still treat crypto like a rogue cousin, Amina's move signals institutional adoption is charging ahead—regulators or not.

The fine print: No more offshore shell games. Clients get direct access to spot trading and secure custody, all under Hong Kong's new virtual asset framework. Because nothing says 'legitimacy' like a banking license next to your Bitcoin vault.

Bottom line: The suits are finally catching up to where crypto natives were five years ago. Now watch as every other bank scrambles to copy this playbook—after triple-checking compliance, of course.

AMINA (Hong Kong) Limited has become the first international banking group to offer comprehensive crypto spot trading and asset safeguarding services in Hong Kong following a Securities and Futures Commission Type 1 license uplift, the company announced Monday.

The expansion enables AMINA HK, a subsidiary of Swiss FINMA-regulated AMINA Bank AG, to provide institutional-grade crypto services to professional investors in Hong Kong, including institutions, corporates, and high-net-worth individuals, within the city's regulatory framework.

The license uplift allows AMINA HK to offer 24/7 crypto spot trading, asset safeguarding, and crypto deposits and withdrawals directly to and from whitelisted addresses under SFC regulatory standards. The services are now available exclusively to professional investors.

"Hong Kong has established itself as the region's most sophisticated market for regulated institutional crypto adoption, and this license uplift positions AMINA to serve the accelerating demand from professional investors seeking trusted access to crypto," said Michael Benz, Head of AMINA Hong Kong and APAC, in a statement.

According to the company, the launch addresses a gap in Hong Kong's institutional crypto market, where professional investors and family offices have faced limited access to international institutional-grade crypto services with local onboarding capabilities. AMINA HK said the license uplift, combined with the group's bank-grade operational expertise, positions the banking group as infrastructure for Hong Kong's institutional crypto adoption.

Benz said the milestone enables AMINA to expand its crypto product offerings to include private fund management, structured products, derivatives, and tokenized real-world assets, all delivered through a regulated framework.

"What distinguishes AMINA is our ability to combine Swiss banking rigor with Hong Kong digital asset expertise to deliver crypto solutions through a framework that institutional clients can trust," Benz added.

The company said the market has evolved beyond early adoption phases, with sophisticated investors now demanding regulated, institutional-grade access to crypto services that meet the same standards as traditional financial products.