How will a leading brokerage with 29 million registered users and annual trading volume of HK$14 trillion reshape Hong Kong's Web3 landscape?

Written by: Joe Zhou, Foresight News

Interviewee: Steve Zeng Yuchao, Managing Director of Futu

Traditional finance and the crypto world are experiencing a true convergence in Hong Kong.

On March 26, 2026, Hong Kong's crypto market witnessed a landmark moment—Panthertrade, the crypto trading platform under Futu Holdings, officially announced its full-scale operation. This means that this internet brokerage, which has a huge user base in traditional finance, has officially moved from the "accumulation phase" to the "acceleration phase" in its Web3 layout.

"The crypto business is at a very high strategic position within the company." In an exclusive interview with Foresight News, Steve Zeng Yuchao, Managing Director of Futu, paused and added: "Crypto is one of the most universal asset classes globally, second only to U.S. stocks. This is not a regional phenomenon but a consensus forming worldwide."

As a leading internet brokerage platform in Hong Kong, Futu is trying to push its crypto business to a new height.

Based on public data calculations by Foresight News, Futu Holdings' crypto trading volume in 2025 exceeded HK$50 billion; in the same period, the company's annual total trading volume reached HK$14.68 trillion. Overall, the share of crypto business is still small.

Although the share of crypto business in Futu's overall revenue is still limited, there is a relatively consistent judgment within the company: the growth of the crypto market will not be linear, but more likely to show periodic surges and a steep upward curve.

In this in-depth interview, Steve systematically disclosed for the first time Panthertrade's (Cheetah) three-year "compliance marathon", the key drivers of business growth, and Futu's long-term layout of using AI to reshape trading experience and connect the Web3 wallet ecosystem.

Three-Year Compliance Marathon: Abandoning Outsourcing, Choosing "Self-Built Closed Loop"

Foresight News: In Futu Holdings' total annual trading volume of HK$14.68 trillion in 2025, the share of Crypto trading volume is only very small. Given this volume comparison, why does the company elevate it to the "top strategic position" internally?

Steve: Although its share in the total pie is still small now, its growth rate is extremely amazing. In 2025 compared to 2024, Futu's Crypto trading volume soared by 246%, and the number of active customers increased by 144%. This growth is not linear, but shows periodic surges and a steep upward curve.

My personal judgment is: Looking globally, U.S. stocks are currently the most high-quality and popular assets, and global investors are trading them. But besides U.S. stocks, Crypto is the only global trading asset that may be on par with or even surpass U.S. stocks in the future. Even as the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and DTCC are promoting the tokenization of U.S. stocks, the boundary between the two is blurring. It is highly possible that the trading volume of the compliant crypto market will be on par with or even surpass that of U.S. stocks in the future.

Foresight News: Panthertrade (Cheetah) obtained the VATP license at the beginning of 2025. Why did it take more than a year after obtaining the license to announce full-scale operation today? Can you review the entire process of Futu's entry into the crypto currency field?

Steve: The timeline for obtaining the license can actually be traced back to 2023. Over the past three years, we have made great efforts in license upgrading: In July 2024, Futu Securities (Hong Kong) successfully upgraded its Type 1 brokerage license, allowing us to provide Crypto trading capabilities to customers on the brokerage side; then in January 2025, we obtained the conditional VATP license, which is a stage that all exchanges go through; it is not until today that we fully launch our business.

From January last year to now, we have been undergoing strict reviews of Phase One and Phase Two in accordance with regulatory requirements. For example, in Phase One, regulators require you to run through the basic processes of custody, trading, and risk control in the minimum viable product (MVP) environment; after entering Phase Two, regulators put forward extremely high requirements for cybersecurity, asset custody, and anti-money laundering (AML) that are aligned with full-scale operation. During this period, external auditors did not just give simple suggestions, but intervened throughout the process to review our underlying system code and processes.

Foresight News: For the new crypto exchange Panthertrade, is the talent team ready? Where do most of them come from?

Steve: Yes, we are ready. In fact, before the end of Phase One, all the ROs (Responsible Officers) were already in place—about seven or eight, all of whom are searchable on the SFC's official website. Our ROs basically come from large traditional financial companies, and of course some crypto asset management firms. Then our technical personnel, including the CTO, come from big tech backgrounds.

Foresight News: As a brand-new licensed exchange, what are the characteristics of Panthertrade's talent structure? The market has veterans from traditional finance, experts from native crypto exchanges, and elites from internet giants. What is the proportion within Futu?

Steve: Our talent structure is very balanced and diverse. For example, there are traditional finance forces: They come from investment banks, fund companies, and top brokerages, with deep respect and understanding of compliance principles, local regulatory rules, and financial risks. There are also Web3 native talents: Some core members come from native crypto exchanges, focusing more on blockchain technology, cybersecurity, and the construction of underlying trading architecture. And internet growth talents: Colleagues responsible for user acquisition, content operation, and transaction conversion mostly have senior internet industry backgrounds and are good at optimizing the user experience to the extreme.

This "inclusive" team structure is consciously designed by us. If the team is all from native exchanges, there may be磨合 costs in compliance concepts with local regulators; if all are traditional finance people, they may lack sensitivity to the innovation rhythm of Web3. Only when people from different cultural backgrounds work together can they spark innovative ideas that truly fit the compliance framework.

Behind Panthertrade: No Independent App, Building a "Super Account"

Foresight News: Will Panthertrade launch its own independent App?

Steve: Panthertrade will not launch an independent App in the short term, because its essence is a To B underlying infrastructure.

At this stage, Panthertrade mainly provides underlying Crypto trading matching and custody services to Futu Securities and other entities within the system. For retail customers, what they most desire is not to download another exchange App, but an "All in One" Super App. I very much agree with the direction proposed by the new chairman of the U.S. SEC: In the future, all assets should be traded in one account.

Relying on the Futu App, users can manage U.S. stocks, Hong Kong stocks, ETFs, bonds, and now crypto currencies in the same account without switching software. In the future, we will also realize "unified purchasing power"—users' stock assets and crypto assets can be mortgaged and financed each other for cross-asset trading. This is the ultimate experience that traditional traders and high-net-worth customers most want, and Panthertrade is the engine silently supporting all this at the bottom.

Essentially, Panthertrade is not an "exchange product" but the underlying engine for Futu to move towards the "super entrance of all assets".

Foresight News: After Panthertrade officially operates, what direct impacts will there be on existing Futu crypto users? How is the user account system connected? Is complex migration required?

Steve: From the perspective of underlying architecture, Panthertrade actually operates as an upstream exchange of Futu Securities. Of course, we will also consider the optimal trading link. Therefore, for existing customers of Futu Securities, this upgrade and switch of the underlying architecture is completely "seamless"—no complex account migration is required.

But behind the "seamless" experience for customers, we have actually completed a significant leap in underlying trading capabilities. In the long run, the full-scale operation of Panthertrade will greatly optimize the customer's trading experience—you will feel faster trading speed, lower latency, and safer custody technology.

More importantly, full-scale operation means that we now truly master the core infrastructure of the entire trading link: from fiat on-ramp/off-ramp, order matching system, to asset custody and full-stack technical solutions. Taking these core lifelines into our own hands not only greatly improves our overall operational efficiency but also lays the most solid foundation for the rapid iteration of future product functions and the ultimate improvement of B2C terminal experience.

"Crypto, the Only Asset That May Be on Par with U.S. Stocks"

Foresight News: Futu currently operates in Hong Kong, Singapore, the U.S., and other places. For a business like crypto that is highly globalized and highly compliance-sensitive, how do you manage it cross-regionally internally?

Steve: This is a very profound management issue. We adopt a model of "full-stack technology reuse + local matrix operation".

First, at the technical level, we insist on not reinventing the wheel. From trading systems, risk control engines to matching architectures, we try our best to achieve global underlying connectivity and reuse. If each market has a set of heterogeneous systems, the cost and maintenance difficulty are unacceptable. Second, at the operational level, we emphasize "localization". Because we are doing compliance business, local requirements for stablecoin on-ramp/off-ramp, upstream clearing and settlement, and wallet compliance operation are extremely high, which must be operated by local professional colleagues.

Overall, the headquarters is responsible for business planning, cutting-edge product research, and leading license applications. Once entering the formal operation stage, it is a matrix management with in-depth collaboration between the headquarters and local teams to ensure both global vision and precise implementation.

Foresight News: In your opinion, what are the essential differences between Futu's crypto users and users of unregulated exchanges and other compliant exchanges?

Steve: The differences are very obvious, mainly reflected in three dimensions. First, compliance awareness and brand trust: Futu's users have extremely high requirements for "licensed". They value the security of funds very much and tend to operate on platforms with credit endorsement that can solve the problem of full-asset investment in one stop, rather than enduring the huge friction cost of fiat on-ramp/off-ramp on unregulated platforms.

Second, investment style and duration. Users of unregulated exchanges are usually more speculative and used to high-leverage contract trading. Futu's users are more inclined to fundamental analysis and the concept of "portfolio investment", with a longer investment horizon and higher volatility tolerance.

Third, the depth of asset allocation. Compared with other vertical compliant exchanges, Futu's advantage lies in "full category". Many compliant exchanges can only trade Crypto, making it very troublesome for users to allocate stocks. Futu's users are often overlapping—they may play Meme Coins for short-term gains on unregulated platforms, but on Futu, they will hold BTC for a long time and allocate U.S. stock AI leading stocks at the same time.

Foresight News: Is there a specific quantitative target or growth forecast for the share of crypto business in Futu's overall landscape?

Steve: Although we make detailed business plans every quarter internally, I think simply giving a specific number forecast cannot represent the full picture of the future. Rather than rigid numbers, I pay more attention to the potential of the general direction and our ability to exceed the target.

My personal judgment is: Looking globally, U.S. stocks are undoubtedly the most high-quality and popular assets currently, and global investors are trading them. But besides U.S. stocks, I believe that crypto assets are the only global assets that are very likely to be on par with or even surpass U.S. stocks in the future.

From this dimension, its growth potential is immeasurable. Under the premise of compliance, it is highly possible that the crypto trading volume of Futu and even the entire industry will be on par with or even surpass that of U.S. stocks. What's more, the boundary between the two is quickly blurring. We have seen that the NYSE and DTCC are actively practicing the tokenization of U.S. stocks.

If viewed from a broader perspective, future digital assets will include all tokenized traditional assets. When these two forces converge, the energy released will be nuclear-level.

AI Is Distributing "Quantitative Capabilities" from Institutions to Everyone

Foresight News: Recently, AI is an absolute hot topic. Has Futu made any substantial progress in the combination of AI and Web3?

Steve: Futu launched an AI assistant last year to provide customers with intelligent analysis and investment advice. And just last week, we released the latest AI Skills, which can directly connect various large models and AI Agents. Combined with Futu's always strong Open API function, users can now let AI Agents directly access our trading system.

This greatly reduces the threshold for ordinary people to conduct automated trading. The characteristic of Crypto is 7x24 uninterrupted trading, and humans cannot watch the market around the clock. With the support of AI and the connection of Futu Open API, the two are perfectly matched. Therefore, the so-called full-scale operation is essentially a complete connection of Futu's underlying trading capabilities, account capabilities, information community capabilities, and our latest AI capabilities.

Foresight News: As an ordinary user, what will be the difference in experience?

Steve: Before, the first step of trading was to open the Futu App to check the market; but now, with AI empowerment, the first step of trading becomes waking up your AI Agent.

In this process, you don't need to master complex high-level programming languages like Python or Rust at all. You just need to describe your trading ideas to the Agent in the simplest and most plain natural language. Then, the AI Agent will automatically connect to the underlying trading engine through Futu's Open API.

What does this mean? It means that ordinary retail investors can instantly enjoy the automated, intelligent, 7x24 uninterrupted trading capabilities that only top quantitative funds could have in the past. In Futu, this is called "Quantitative Trading Equality".

From the most intuitive experience difference: In the future, you may not even need to open the trading App frequently. You just need to describe your trading logic to AI, and it will generate a set of exclusive investment strategies for you, and automatically call historical data to complete backtesting and fitting. When you are satisfied with the backtest data and strategy adjustments and have sufficient confidence, you can put it into real trading with one click. This is the biggest cross-era experience gap between having AI and not having AI.

Foresight News: Now there is a view in the industry that AI is "drawing away" Web3 talents on a large scale. As an executive in the front line, do you have this sense of crisis?

Steve: It is undeniable that AI is entering the "Mass Adoption" stage, and its attraction to top global talents is indeed unparalleled. But from my personal observation, there has not been a so-called "migration wave" of Web3 talents flowing to the AI industry on a large scale.

The core reason is that "different industries are like separate mountains". For example, an architect focusing on trading risk control or underlying public chain development does not have as high a skill stack matching with AI as imagined.

Rather than talent loss, what I see more is "deep integration". Within Futu, colleagues in business, product, and R&D are all actively embracing AI. But our fundamental purpose of embracing AI is to improve efficiency in the