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Tiger Brokers, Securities and Futures Commission
Nasdaq-listed Tiger Brokers, a brokerage and financial services group based in Singapore and Beijing, said yesterday that it has obtained approval by Hong Kong regulators to extend virtual asset trading services in entities such as bitcoin to retail investors in Hong Kong. 

The Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong granted the licence upgrade.

The firm recently introduced virtual asset trading services for professional investors.

The licence upgrade means that retail investors can trade bitcoin and Ethereum, through Tiger Trade, Tiger Brokers' flagship investing platform. This platform also supports trading and management of various global assets, including stocks, options, futures, US Treasury bonds, and funds, alongside virtual assets.

“Many investors not only hold virtual assets but also stocks and other assets in their portfolios. Tiger Brokers aims to provide a secure, convenient, and cost-effective platform for all Hong Kong investors, allowing them to trade both traditional financial securities and virtual assets within a single app,” John Fei Zeng, chief financial officer and director of Tiger Brokers, said. “This eliminates the need to open multiple accounts on different platforms and enhances capital efficiency.”

The SFC in Hong Kong released new regulations last year allowing licensed trading platforms to serve retail investors.

In January, Tiger Brokers received an upgrade to its Type 1 licence conditions from the SFC. This, it said, made it one of the first mainstream online brokerage firms in Hong Kong to receive approval for such a licence upgrade. In early May, Tiger Brokers launched virtual asset trading services for Hong Kong investors.

Tiger Brokers, which was founded in 2014, has more than 1,000 employees on its team in Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, the US, Australia, and mainland China. It listed on the US Nasdaq market in 2019.