HashKey Exchange lists AVAX and LINK for retail trading following bitcoin and ether
Quick Take
- Hong Kong’s HashKey Exchange has listed AVAX/USD and LINK/USD trading pairs for retail investors — the first crypto pairs it has offered beyond bitcoin and ether.
- AVAX and LINK were already available for HashKey Exchange’s professional investors while HashKey’s global platform offers trading pairs for more than 40 cryptocurrencies.
Hong Kong-based HashKey Exchange has listed AVAX and LINK trading pairs for retail investors.
Trading on the AVAX/USD and LINK/USD pairs went live at 6 a.m. ET on Wednesday, according to an announcement, with deposits and withdrawals for AVAX available via the Avalanche C-Chain network and LINK via the Ethereum network.
AVAX and LINK trading pairs were already available to the exchange’s professional investors with a portfolio exceeding $1 million, among several other cryptocurrencies. HashKey Global, the HashKey Group’s global crypto exchange launched in April after obtaining a Bermuda license, also offers trading pairs for more than 40 cryptocurrencies.
However, AVAX and LINK are notable in becoming the first crypto assets to be approved for retail trading by Hong Kong regulators on licensed crypto exchanges after bitcoin and ether, more than a year after the region’s Securities and Futures Commission launched a new licensing regime for crypto exchanges in June 2023. HashKey Exchange became the first outfit in Hong Kong to obtain a license two months later, launching its crypto retail trading service in Hong Kong on Aug. 28, 2023.
AVAX and LINK are both top 20 cryptocurrencies, with a market capitalization of $10 billion and $7 billion, respectively, according to The Block’s Prices Page.
Hong Kong’s crypto ambition
While neighboring China continues to enforce a mainland ban on crypto transactions as part of a broader crackdown that started in September 2021, Hong Kong has rolled out the welcome mat for crypto firms in recent years — even going so far as encouraging banks to work with them.
HashKey requires users to link their bank cards to deposit via fiat currency with the exchange and doesn’t allow mainland Chinese users to register.
In January, HashKey Group announced that it raised nearly $100 million in its Series A financing round at a pre-money valuation above $1.2 billion.
The firm also operates spot Bitcoin and spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds in Hong Kong, launched in April in collaboration with Bosera. The funds hold $102.4 million and $14.4 million in assets under management, respectively.
Additionally, HashKey plans to release its own ERC-20 utility token dubbed HSK later this year.
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