Futu Holdings has enabled deposits and withdrawals of BNB for eligible professional investors in Hong Kong, allowing clients to move the digital asset between self-custody wallets and the brokerage's cryptocurrency accounts over the BNB Smart Chain network.

The development was highlighted by Changpeng Zhao, Binance's founder and former chief executive, who drew attention to the expanded transfer functionality in a post on X. The service supports transactions using BEP-20 token standard, meaning eligible investors can move BNB on-chain rather than relying solely on transfers within a trading platform.

富途正式開通 BNB 充值及提幣服務！ 富途牛牛 (NASDAQ: FUTU) is a popular broker. Hong Kong users use the Futubull brand name, the platform operates under the global name moomoo in regions like the United States, Singapore, Australia, and Japan.

— CZ BNB (@cz_binance) October 23, 2026

The rollout expands Futu's existing PantherTrade offering by adding on-chain BNB deposits and withdrawals for qualified Hong Kong professional investors, connecting self-custody wallets directly with the brokerage's crypto accounts. Futu, which trades on the Nasdaq under the ticker FUTU, provides online brokerage and investment services. The addition of BNB transfers widens the cryptocurrency transaction options available to eligible customers, although the service remains restricted to investors who meet the applicable professional-investor requirements.

BNB Smart Chain enables direct wallet transfers

BNB Smart Chain is a blockchain network within the BNB ecosystem that supports digital asset transfers and smart contracts. Its BEP-20 standard defines how compatible tokens operate across the network, allowing supported wallets and platforms to send and receive assets. BNB itself originated as the token of the Binance cryptocurrency exchange and now serves as the native asset of BNB Smart Chain, where it is used to pay network transaction fees.

Under the newly enabled service, qualified investors can deposit BNB into their eligible brokerage accounts and withdraw the asset to compatible self-custody wallets. Self-custody allows users to control their own cryptocurrency wallets and private keys rather than leaving full control of assets with a centralized trading platform. The availability of transfers between these two environments gives eligible clients another way to manage their digital assets: BNB can be moved between supported external wallets and brokerage accounts, subject to the platform's procedures and applicable transaction requirements.

Users must nonetheless ensure that deposits and withdrawals are carried out on the correct blockchain network and to compatible wallet addresses. Transfers sent through an unsupported network or to an incorrect address can result in delays or the permanent loss of funds.

The announcement did not provide details on transaction fees, minimum transfer amounts, processing times, or whether additional BNB-related trading products would be introduced.

PantherTrade integration expands cryptocurrency access

The new functionality extends the capabilities of Futu's existing integration with PantherTrade, its cryptocurrency trading platform in Hong Kong. Adding on-chain transfers introduces a wallet-to-platform transaction capability that goes beyond the existing brokerage relationship.

For investors, the ability to deposit and withdraw BNB can offer greater flexibility in managing assets across different cryptocurrency services. It also allows eligible customers to move funds without being confined to keeping their BNB within a single platform, provided the destination wallet and network are supported.

The expanded service reflects the growing integration of blockchain-based asset transfers into established brokerage platforms, potentially giving professional investors more flexibility in managing cryptocurrency holdings alongside other investments. Its reach, however, remains limited by eligibility conditions: qualified professional investors are subject to regulatory criteria that distinguish them from ordinary retail customers, and the availability of the feature should not be interpreted as unrestricted access for all Hong Kong users.

Regulatory eligibility remains a key consideration

Hong Kong has developed a regulatory framework for digital asset businesses, with access to particular products and services depending on licensing arrangements, investor classification, and other applicable requirements. Since 2023, that framework has included a Securities and Futures Commission licensing regime for virtual asset trading platforms, alongside a professional-investor classification that, under the Securities and Futures Ordinance, generally covers institutional investors and individuals or corporations meeting prescribed asset thresholds. Futu's announcement specifically concerns qualified professional investors rather than a general rollout to every customer, making the eligibility restriction an important part of the service's scope.

The launch also does not establish whether Futu plans to support additional tokens or blockchain networks in the future, or whether access might eventually be extended beyond the professional-investor category. Any further expansion would depend on the company's product strategy, technical integration work, and regulatory obligations.

For now, the BNB Smart Chain integration provides eligible investors with an additional route for moving BNB between external wallets and Futu's cryptocurrency accounts. Adoption is likely to hinge on customer demand, transaction costs, operational reliability, and the broader development of regulated cryptocurrency services in Hong Kong.