China’s state-owned lenders are the latest players that are reportedly seeking to capitalize on the crypto opportunity in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong’s ambition to become a virtual asset hub is attracting China’s state-owned lenders to offer banking services to local crypto firms or make related inquiries, according to a «Bloomberg» report citing unnamed sources.
Included in this group are the Hong Kong arms of Bank of Communications, Bank of China and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank.
KYC «Workarounds»
Banking crypto businesses has its own unique set of risks, including the anonymous nature of digital tokens which could cause challenges in compliance with know-your-client (KYC) standards.
Crypto-focused firms can take up to three months to open a corporate banking account, compared to one month for non-crypto firms, with some «forced to find various workarounds to meet operational banking needs», the report added.
