Who is swimming naked, and who is breaking the waves? Analysis Report on the Comprehensive Ranking of Hong Kong Licensed Virtual Asset Trading Platforms (VATP)
**Author: ** Senior Researcher Frank Lee, Hong Kong Virtual Asset Research Institute
Introduction
As of the first quarter of 2026, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has officially granted licenses to 12 virtual asset trading platforms (VATP). Meanwhile, the transitional arrangement for early operations under the "deemed-to-be-licensed" status has gradually come to an end, with several platforms completing the SFC Phase II audit and being authorized to operate fully.
However, the issuance of licenses is not completely over, as several platforms are still awaiting final approval. Although the era of licensing has begun, the real competition in Hong Kong's virtual asset industry is just starting. Established licensed platforms like HashKey and OSL are competing alongside traditional financial giants such as Bullish, Futu, Tiger Brokers, and Lianlian Digital, as well as new generation forces represented by EX.IO. Who will ride the wave of opportunity, and who will be left exposed in the regulatory tide? The answer awaits market validation.
This report, based on this context, systematically evaluates the 12 licensed VATPs across five core dimensions, aiming to analyze beyond the licenses and delve into the true competitiveness and differentiation paths of each platform:
Trading volume and market share
Capital background and financial strength
Degree of business diversification
Completeness of compliance and operational stage (including whether they have passed Phase II audit, whether they are authorized to serve retail clients, whether they have OTC capabilities, etc.)
Growth momentum and long-term potential
It is particularly noteworthy that there are significant differences among platforms in terms of compliance: some platforms (such as EX.IO and Futu's Cheetah) have successfully passed Phase II audits and can operate fully; some are still in the transitional phase; and there are also significant differentiations in terms of retail client access, OTC service capabilities, and wealth management. These differences will become key variables determining the competitive landscape of the next stage for the platforms—the real competition in the industry has just begun. When established leaders like HashKey and OSL compete with giants like Bullish, Futu, Tiger, Lianlian Digital, and new generation forces represented by EX.IO, who will be exposed, and who will ride the waves?
Based on this context, this report systematically evaluates the 12 licensed VATPs from the five dimensions of trading volume, capital background, business diversification, compliance completeness, and growth momentum, attempting to identify the true competitiveness and differentiation paths of each platform beyond the licenses.
- Core Conclusions
a) Market Tier Overview
First Tier (Absolute Leaders): HashKey, OSL. They are far ahead in trading volume and business diversification.
Second Tier (Strong Breakthrough Players): EX.IO, PantherTrade, YAX, DFX Labs. They generally have strong backgrounds from traditional financial or payment giants, with EX.IO jumping to third place in the market with a comprehensive score of 6.00, leading the new generation platforms.
Third Tier (Emerging Players): Bullish HK (not yet operational), HKVAX, HKbitEX, BGE, Accumulus, VDX. Most are in the stage of establishing infrastructure and compliance frameworks.
b) The market presents a "1+1+N" pattern—dual oligopoly is solidified, and the new generation is in fierce competition.
HashKey and OSL, with their first-mover advantage and complete business matrix, firmly occupy the first tier. Among the remaining 10 platforms, the rankings have already widened, and competition is far from over.
c) Clear differentiation in the second tier; traffic ≠ trading volume, capital ≠ growth.
There are many platforms with large user pools or strong capital backgrounds, but whether they can effectively convert these resources into actual trading volume depends on product implementation capabilities, compliance progress, and differentiated strategies. The cold start efficiency among different platforms has shown significant differences. For example, EX.IO surpassed $1 billion in trading volume within 226 days of obtaining its license and quickly established a differentiated advantage through innovative businesses like RWA and OTC.
d) Depth of compliance and product innovation are reshaping the rankings of the new generation.
Beyond basic trading services, the ability to obtain OTC licenses first, launch RWA and other tokenized products, and enter the institutional wealth management track has become a key variable for new generation platforms to achieve leaps. The first-mover advantages in these dimensions are redefining the rankings of the second tier.
Note: Although Bullish was granted a Hong Kong license in February 2025, its local business has not yet commenced, and it is only available to professional investors. Therefore, this report's scoring is strictly based on the actual business status in Hong Kong and does not include its global platform's trading volume and business data.
- Overview of the Comprehensive Rankings of 12 Licensed VATPs in Hong Kong
OSL Digital Securities (0863.HK) | Retail + PI | Staking/RWA/OTC/Wealth
HashKey Exchange (3887.HK) | Retail + PI | Staking/RWA/OTC/Wealth
HKVAX | PI Only | RWA/OTC/Custody
DFX Labs | Retail + PI | OTC/Trading
HKbitEX | PI Only (requires Phase II) | OTC/Trading
Accumulus | PI Only (requires Phase II) | RWA/OTC
EX.IO | Retail + PI | RWA/OTC/Wealth/Custody
PantherTrade (FUTU) | Retail + PI | OTC/Trading
YAX (TIGR) | Retail + PI (requires Phase II) | Custody/Trading
Bullish | Professional Investors (requires Phase II) | OTC/Custody
BGE | PI Only (requires
You may also like
Galaxy Deep Research Report: How Hyperliquid's HIP-4 Upgrade Changes the Landscape of Prediction Markets?
Binance Research: RWA Market Expected to Expand Nearly 6x from Early 2025, with Public Equities and Onchain Payments Heating Up Together
In June, Binance Research said in its monthly market report that the real-world asset (RWA) market is expected to grow by about 589% from the beginning of 2025. Bond- and money market fund-related RWA expanded by about $6.5 billion, up 83% year over year, while publicly traded equity RWAs grew by about 422%. The report also noted that monthly crypto debit card transaction volume exceeded $747 million in May, up 48.6% year to date.
Japan to Assess a Framework for Yen Stablecoins and Crypto ETFs as Asia’s Compliant Payments Narrative Heats Up
Recently, according to the original report, Japan is considering the launch of yen stablecoins and cryptocurrency ETFs. Public information remains limited at this stage, and there is still no complete policy text, regulatory draft, or clear implementation timeline, so this is better characterized as a “policy discussion” rather than formal implementation. The original wording also noted that advancing stablecoin regulation in Asia is driving XRP usage and supporting growth in the XRPL ecosystem. However, based on currently available public information, there is not enough evidence to directly establish a clear causal relationship between this round of discussion in Japan and XRP or XRPL.
ZachXBT: Humanity private key leak and abnormal surge in H token should be viewed separately
On June 9, according to related disclosures, on-chain investigator ZachXBT posted an update on Humanity’s roughly $31 million security incident, saying that after further analyzing fund flows, he currently tends to believe the project team was not involved in an “inside job” or a self-staged attack. According to him, the official explanation about the private key leak was broadly accurate, but before the token unlock, the price of H had been artificially pushed higher, and the hacker later took advantage of that market environment; therefore, the private key leak and the earlier abnormal price pumping should be regarded as two separate and independent events. This reframing has shifted the market’s understanding of the nature of the incident. Earlier discussion around Humanity had focused on whether the team directly participated in the attack or used the security incident to cover up internal operations. ZachXBT’s latest remarks shift the focus from “whether it was self-theft” to “whether there were pre-unlock market structure issues.” He also questioned whether the team may have.
Morning Report | OpenAI has submitted an S-1 registration statement draft to the U.S. SEC; Morpho completes $175 million financing
Morning Report | BitMine increased its holdings by 126,971 ETH last week; trader Eugene announced his exit from the crypto market
Wang Chuan: How can one not feel anxious after the neighbor Old Wang made thirty times profit by investing in storage stocks? (Seven) - A quarter-century cycle
Cryptocurrency CEXs are flocking to sell US stocks, and traditional brokerages are facing an "uninvited guest."
$75 billion in foreign capital has fled, and South Korean retail investors have absorbed it all using leverage
Japan’s Three Megabanks Plan Joint Stablecoin Issuance in Fiscal 2026
MUFG, SMBC, and Mizuho reportedly plan to jointly issue fiat-pegged stablecoins in fiscal 2026, signaling Japan’s growing push into bank-led digital payment infrastructure.
Humanity Discloses H Token Dual-Chain Attack Details, With Losses on Ethereum and BSC Exceeding $36 Million
Humanity said the H token attack across Ethereum and BSC caused more than $36 million in losses after leaked ProxyAdmin keys enabled malicious contract upgrades and token minting.
White House Discusses CLARITY Act With Law Enforcement Ahead of Senate Vote
The White House discussed the CLARITY Act with law enforcement ahead of a Senate vote, focusing on illicit finance risks and developer protections.
Bitcoin Trading Guide 2026: Strategies for Experienced Traders
What Is XAUT and PAXG? Why Tokenized Gold Is Booming in 2026
Will the SpaceX IPO Hurt Bitcoin? Here's What Traders Are Watching
Foreign selling in the South Korean stock market accelerates, with cumulative net sales reportedly reaching $75 billion this year
On June 9, The Kobeissi Letter, citing Goldman Sachs data, reported that global investors are selling South Korean stocks at an unusually rapid pace. In the latest trading session, foreign investors sold about $801 million worth of Kospi constituent stocks again; total foreign outflows last week reached about $10 billion, and the market has been in net foreign selling on nearly every trading day over the past month. According to the data cited in the report, foreign investors have sold about $75 billion worth of South Korean stocks so far this year. Meanwhile, South Korean retail and institutional investors together recorded roughly $69 billion in net buying over the same period, suggesting that the market’s main buying support has come from domestic capital rather than returning overseas funds. The information currently disclosed still mainly comes from The Kobeissi Letter’s retelling and Goldman Sachs data summaries, while public details on the statistical period and the specific definition of “selling” remain relatively limited.
Fortune Warns of Strategy’s Financing Structure Risks as Bitcoin Premium Narrows
Fortune warned that Strategy’s Bitcoin treasury model faces growing financing risks as MSTR’s net asset premium narrows and preferred stock dividend pressure increases.
Ferrari Challenge Le Mans: Carl Moon to Dominate in WEEX Livery
Galaxy Deep Research Report: How Hyperliquid's HIP-4 Upgrade Changes the Landscape of Prediction Markets?
Binance Research: RWA Market Expected to Expand Nearly 6x from Early 2025, with Public Equities and Onchain Payments Heating Up Together
In June, Binance Research said in its monthly market report that the real-world asset (RWA) market is expected to grow by about 589% from the beginning of 2025. Bond- and money market fund-related RWA expanded by about $6.5 billion, up 83% year over year, while publicly traded equity RWAs grew by about 422%. The report also noted that monthly crypto debit card transaction volume exceeded $747 million in May, up 48.6% year to date.
Japan to Assess a Framework for Yen Stablecoins and Crypto ETFs as Asia’s Compliant Payments Narrative Heats Up
Recently, according to the original report, Japan is considering the launch of yen stablecoins and cryptocurrency ETFs. Public information remains limited at this stage, and there is still no complete policy text, regulatory draft, or clear implementation timeline, so this is better characterized as a “policy discussion” rather than formal implementation. The original wording also noted that advancing stablecoin regulation in Asia is driving XRP usage and supporting growth in the XRPL ecosystem. However, based on currently available public information, there is not enough evidence to directly establish a clear causal relationship between this round of discussion in Japan and XRP or XRPL.
ZachXBT: Humanity private key leak and abnormal surge in H token should be viewed separately
On June 9, according to related disclosures, on-chain investigator ZachXBT posted an update on Humanity’s roughly $31 million security incident, saying that after further analyzing fund flows, he currently tends to believe the project team was not involved in an “inside job” or a self-staged attack. According to him, the official explanation about the private key leak was broadly accurate, but before the token unlock, the price of H had been artificially pushed higher, and the hacker later took advantage of that market environment; therefore, the private key leak and the earlier abnormal price pumping should be regarded as two separate and independent events. This reframing has shifted the market’s understanding of the nature of the incident. Earlier discussion around Humanity had focused on whether the team directly participated in the attack or used the security incident to cover up internal operations. ZachXBT’s latest remarks shift the focus from “whether it was self-theft” to “whether there were pre-unlock market structure issues.” He also questioned whether the team may have.
Morning Report | OpenAI has submitted an S-1 registration statement draft to the U.S. SEC; Morpho completes $175 million financing
Morning Report | BitMine increased its holdings by 126,971 ETH last week; trader Eugene announced his exit from the crypto market
