Crypto Custodian Services to Launch in Hong Kong

A prominent South East Asia-based fund management company is considering the launch of a cryptocurrency custodial service targeting regional institutional investors.

As reported by South China Morning Post on July 22, 2018, the Singapore-based Fusang Investment Office is planning to offer cryptocurrency holding services after clients expressed rising interest in digital assets investing.

The service, aptly-named Fusang Vault, is expected to launch in Q4 2018 with an office in Hong Kong, a crypto-friendly financial hub situated in China but with` a distinctly different legal system from the Mainland.

In addition to storage facilities, the Vault will provide audit services for its clients, noted the company's CEO Henry Chong.

Chong believes cryptocurrency custodial services are key in the burgeoning industry in the absence of strict regulations of digital asset ownership and commented,.

As reported by CryptoSlate on July 21, 2018, insurance firms are quickly catching up to the cryptocurrency demand and offering their services at significantly higher markups for companies in the sector.

The Fusang Investment Office is licensed by the Securities and Future Commission of Hong Kong, a body which previously expressed distrust of the cryptocurrency industry.

While no formal ban on cryptocurrencies has been enforced yet, Hong Kong remains cautious.

Cryptocurrency businesses are ideating a move in this regard, with one of the world's largest digital asset exchanges, Coinbase, launching the "Custody" service in July 2018.

"In what capacity are the custodians holding the assets? Are they holding them as a bailment, that is, a trust, so the assets are outside the estate of the custodian on an insolvency."