HashKey Exchange profile: services, fees, custody and eligibility

This profile covers HashKey Exchange, the Hong Kong venue operated by Hash Blockchain Limited, CE BPL992, on the SFC licensed-platform list.[1]

Group websites and API navigation expose other jurisdictions. Their appearance does not establish equivalent permissions for a Hong Kong account. Trading, custody and eligibility are scoped here to the Hong Kong documentation.[26]

A market order can fill only against available liquidity inside the permitted price band; its unfilled remainder is cancelled. A limit buy cannot execute above its limit, and a limit sell cannot execute below it. A submitted instruction should therefore be assessed through the actual fills and final status rather than the requested quantity alone. Partial execution changes the remaining exposure even when the balance of an order is subsequently cancelled.[31]

For illustration, a last price of USD30,000 produces a USD36,000 upper boundary and USD24,000 lower boundary under those parameters. These are execution controls, not a guaranteed trading range or a guarantee that liquidity exists at either boundary. They should not be confused with an investor’s stop-loss instruction. Tick sizes and minimum order amounts are pair-specific and belong to the current trading-parameter display.[7]

The August 2026 Marketplace guide describes quotes from USD10 to USD10 million equivalent, with the executable range changing by asset and liquidity. Funds first move into the Brokerage account. Customers choose instant settlement or delayed settlement from T+0 to T+2 and accept within the quote’s validity window. Manual handling applies to larger or unquoted requests; the stated desk window is 09:00–17:00 HKT. Once accepted, the customer cannot cancel or amend the trade, while the platform reserves exceptional last-look cancellation. The professional-services landing page’s older USD100,000 minimum is not applied to this newer general Marketplace workflow.[30]

Spot grid runs from standing instructions on web or mobile; the FAQ does not support creating plans by API. It reserves funds backing open orders and allows up to 20 active plans under the published limit. An existing plan cannot be edited directly. Ending it cancels unfilled orders; the initial sell-on-stop choice determines whether remaining base assets are sold at market or retained. Ordinary spot fees apply to fills, and a profitable sequence of paired trades can coexist with an overall loss on remaining inventory.[29]

Recurring Buy can use an account balance or supported eDDA funding. If funds are inadequate, a scheduled transaction can fail or be only partly filled while the plan continues. Plans scheduled together are processed in creation order. The terms allow pause, resumption or termination; termination is irreversible and future instructions need a new plan. Standard spot charges apply, with other disclosed administration costs possible. This automates instructions rather than guaranteeing an accumulation price or uninterrupted execution.[15]

The applicable spot rate is account-specific and follows the VIP tier and any eligible discount. The VIP page explains the calculation rules; the authenticated Hong Kong API can return pair-specific fees. API sample values are illustrative and should not be treated as a tariff.[4][26]

HSK deduction can combine with ordinary VIP benefits but does not apply to every special rate. Token-price exposure can affect the cost of maintaining an HSK balance. Eligibility to pay a fee with HSK is different from permission to trade HSK: the live page restricts HSK trading to professional investors.[4]

A notice effective 30 July 2025 introduced a USD1.99 minimum for each fully completed spot order. Fees from partial fills aggregate to the order total; incomplete orders and 0%-fee orders are exempt, and eligible HSK discounts also reduce the floor. USD1.99 is the dated notice amount; the current order’s fee display determines the applicable minimum. At that floor, a USD100 order would cost 1.99% before other charges, making order size and splitting material to the effective rate.[5]

For fiat–crypto pairs, the fee is charged in the fiat quote currency. For crypto–crypto pairs it is normally charged in the asset received: buying BTC with USDC produces a BTC fee, while selling produces a USDC fee. The dedicated fee-mechanism article separately treats security-token pairs as quote-currency charges. Fee currency affects the net quantity delivered, so a cash-only estimate may not reconcile with the cryptocurrency balance.[32]

The Earn fee article concerns fund-product charging and should not replace the ETH staking schedule. It says the fund house deducts its own management fee from fund assets and HashKey may receive up to all of that management fee as commission. Thus zero platform subscription or custody charges do not establish a cost-free investment. Illustratively, redeeming 10,000 units at USD1 NAV incurs USD10 at 0.1%, before any product-specific qualification or valuation change.[17]

The FX terms restrict conversion to services ancillary to virtual-asset trading. Displayed rates can be indicative and bank processing affects settlement. On a USD10,000 equivalent conversion, the 0.3% service-fee ceiling would be USD30 equivalent; that does not measure the difference between the quoted exchange rate and an independent market benchmark. Currency conversion and crypto commission are separate cost layers.[8]

The deposit guide lists no exchange fiat-deposit commission, while sending or intermediary banks can deduct charges. The accepted incoming currencies do not imply matching outgoing-currency support or a foreign-exchange trading account. Match the beneficiary details and payment purpose to the actual account instruction; a deposit from an otherwise supported country can still fail if its ownership or sending institution is unacceptable.[9]

Normal bank processing is 09:00–17:00 Hong Kong time on weekdays excluding holidays. Estimates do not guarantee completion during bank checks, interruptions or account review.[10]

Since 24 September 2026, an ordinary user may register up to ten bank accounts. Successful funding from an account adds it to the fiat whitelist; withdrawals are limited to registered destinations. At the cap, a deposit from a new account is returned and the customer bears return fees. An unused account must be removed before adding another. Omnibus clients, market makers and liquidity providers are exempt from this cap.[33]

Cryptocurrency funding is more restrictive than simply copying an address. The dated deposit guide permits specified same-name exchange sources and requires personal-wallet authentication. It warns that a below-minimum transfer may not be credited or recoverable. Its retail asset list and the outgoing guide’s list are not identical, so this profile does not promote either dated list as the complete current withdrawal menu. Check the account’s permitted source platform, asset, network and minimum before initiating the transfer.[22]

For a personal-wallet withdrawal, the procedure requires an approved whitelist address, ownership verification by a message signature where applicable, and 2FA at submission. Select the supported network, confirm the destination and amount, then verify the request. A signature used to prove wallet control is not a request to disclose the private key. The guide’s historical network examples do not establish current support for every network carrying a token with the same ticker.[21]

The withdrawal guide explains that a request can wait for a transfer from cold storage to the operational hot wallet when the available hot balance is insufficient. That delay occurs before blockchain confirmation. The fee-structure page says crypto withdrawal charges adjust with network conditions and directs the customer to the withdrawal screen for the current amount. No static fee or universal completion time is assigned across assets and networks here.[23][6]

The Exchange Rules describe client assets in segregated client or trust accounts through the associated custody entity, separate from the operator’s and custodian’s own assets. The stated cold-storage allocation is at least 98% of client virtual assets, including the per-asset wallet structure. HBL and its associated entity do not acquire general ownership of those custodial assets. The rules also describe segregated fiat accounts and an insurance arrangement for hot and cold storage.[3]

The reviewed rules did not provide a complete insurance policy, customer claim ceiling or all exclusions. The custody statements therefore do not establish reimbursement for every cyber incident, operating failure or insolvency loss. A pooled client wallet can remain segregated from company assets while still requiring accurate internal records to attribute each customer’s balance. A cold-storage percentage is also an operating requirement, not an independently verified point-in-time reconciliation in this profile.[3]

The Investor Business Terms state that the Hong Kong Investor Compensation Fund does not protect virtual-asset transactions and that account fiat and virtual assets are not protected deposits under the Deposit Protection Scheme. The presence of an SFC-licensed operator should not be converted into a deposit guarantee. The named associated custodian is HashKey Custody Services Limited.[2]

The March 2026 retail launch supersedes the narrower scope of the older ETF-focused staking disclosure. It does not remove network risk. The staking contract gives no guarantee of reward amount, timing or continued availability. Where slashing results from validator fault, HBL/HCSL undertake efforts to obtain compensation and pass on sums successfully recovered; this is not unconditional advance reimbursement. Withdrawal queues can leave assets unavailable during price changes, and a displayed annualised yield is not a fixed promised rate.[14]

Earn is a distribution and service channel whose individual schedules govern product features. HBL can act as distributor, staking facilitator or stablecoin-service facilitator and is not necessarily the product issuer. The terms allow aggregated instructions and make processing dependent on provider, validator and bank schedules. A displayed return or indicative value is not a binding execution price. This matters when comparing an instant spot sale with a fund redemption or an unstaking request: each has a different route to cash or transferable assets.[16]

The 20 October notice excludes users from mainland China, the United States and other restricted jurisdictions.[12]

Banking regions permitted for verification are a separate list. A supported bank’s location does not establish customer-residency approval.[20]

The verification announcement provides three routes: a transfer of at least HKD10,000 or USD equivalent from a bank in a supported region; face-to-face verification by an eligible accountant or lawyer; or in-person verification with a Hong Kong HashKey employee. The transfer route’s amount is a verification requirement, not a universal minimum spot-order size. The operator can still require account checks beyond completing one identification step.[20]

For Chinese-passport applicants, the published guidance requires residence outside mainland China and evidence of a qualifying long-term overseas status, such as a residence permit or work or student visa. Holding the passport alone does not establish eligibility. The documentation and actual residence need to agree, and an eligible identity document does not override a prohibited jurisdiction or a product-specific restriction.[19]

The professional-investor page asks individuals for recent evidence of a portfolio above HKD8 million equivalent. Its corporate route describes a portfolio above HKD8 million or total assets above HKD40 million, with evidence within three months. These are the operator’s published application criteria; approval and trading access remain subject to assessment. Professional clients can have broader asset access and higher position limits, but the final limits depend on the individual risk assessment.[28]

The API support guide describes permission approval before key creation and a linked-IP whitelist. A secret is shown only when created; losing it requires replacing the key. The API desk handles platform issues supported by evidence, while third-party wrappers and a customer’s own implementation remain outside its stated support remit. A useful case includes timestamps, request identifiers, returned error messages and the order state, without exposing the API secret.[27]

The complaint procedure asks for identity and account information, the facts, supporting documents and the desired outcome. It provides for assessment independent of the subject of the complaint. If resolved within a week, the result is communicated; otherwise acknowledgement is expected within that week. It aims at a written reply within four weeks and final response within two months, with updates if more time is needed. These are indicative targets, not unconditional service guarantees. The procedure also describes review where new material evidence is available.[18]

The general terms allow termination on at least five business days’ written notice, while existing instructions and liabilities survive until settled. They specify Hong Kong law and HKIAC arbitration for contractual disputes. Account closure therefore does not itself cancel a completed execution, eliminate outstanding charges or bypass a pending settlement.[2]

The operator’s current notice describes Type 1, Type 7 and AMLO virtual-asset-platform permissions. These are attributed to Hash Blockchain Limited, without extending them to every group venue, token or investment product.[12]

HashKey Group reports that it was founded in 2018 and that HashKey Holdings Limited listed in Hong Kong on 17 December 2025 under stock code 3887. Its unaudited consolidated results for the first half of 2026 report HKD282.2 billion in platform trading volume and an 82% institutional share. These are group-level reporting measures, not a verified 24-hour spot-volume figure for this Hong Kong account service. The release also covers asset management and on-chain activities, which should not be counted as exchange customer balances.[24]

HashKey Exchange advertises ISO 27001 and ISO 27701 certifications for information-security and privacy management. These are claims about management systems, with their own certificate scope; they do not measure market depth, certify a token or replace the custody contract.[25]

Operator

Hash Blockchain Limited

Exchange model

Centralised

Service scope

Hong Kong spot exchange, Marketplace quotations, automated spot instructions, custody and eligible staking/Earn services.

Client types

Retail clients; Professional clients; Institutional clients

Pricing publication

Public and quoted pricing

Pricing scope

Spot charges follow the account’s VIP tier and fee currency; the 2025 minimum-fee notice is a dated reference. OTC uses transaction quotes.

Funding scope

Same-name bank transfers; HKD/USD outgoing routes and selected additional incoming currencies; personal-wallet verification and supported exchange-source rules.

Custody and asset handling

Associated-custodian segregation and published 98% cold-storage requirement; account assets lack the compensation/deposit coverage specified in the terms.

Client eligibility

Account and residence checks apply; mainland China, United States and other restricted users excluded. Professional status affects asset access and limits.

Support

Customer email, help centre, API desk and documented formal complaint procedure.

Authorisation and registration scope

SFC platform list confirms Hash Blockchain Limited, CE BPL992, as the Hong Kong operator. Overseas affiliates are outside this permission row.

Exchange metadata checked 20 Oct 2026Source 1Source 2Source 3Source 12Source 4Source 30Source 13Source 20

HashKey’s published policy says it does not exercise virtual-asset voting rights for customers. A customer who wants to exercise those rights must withdraw the relevant asset, subject to its transfer eligibility and the applicable network process.[13]