Futu crypto review: PantherTrade inside the Futubull app

This Futu crypto review answers the question most Futubull users ask: yes, you can buy Bitcoin in the Futu app, and since March 2026 the orders go through PantherTrade, Futu's own SFC-licensed platform. Percentage fees are low and you can withdraw coins on-chain, but a HK$15 minimum per order makes small buys expensive. We score it 7.8 out of 10.

Like every page in our crypto exchange reviews, this is an editorial assessment built from published documents: Futu's fee schedule, PantherTrade's help-centre rules, the SFC register and press coverage. We did not use user ratings. Because many readers choose between brokers, we compare Futu with Tiger Brokers and Victory Securities at the end.

Verdict: the best broker option for larger orders

Against our scoring criteria, licence and ownership score well: the platform is SFC-licensed and its parent, Futu Holdings, is listed on Nasdaq. HKD rails are strong because the money is already in your securities account. Withdrawal freedom is much better than the bank apps in our ZA Bank crypto review. Total cost is mixed: excellent on a HK$50,000 order, poor on a HK$1,000 one. That split keeps Futu just below the two big exchanges in our HashKey and OSL reviews.

From zero commission to PantherTrade

Futu moved early. On 1 August 2024 it launched crypto trading in the Futubull app and, according to its own announcement, became the first platform in Hong Kong to offer zero-commission crypto. Orders started at HK$80 or US$10, and you could trade directly in HKD or USD. At that stage Futu acted as a broker, placing orders through an omnibus account at SFC-licensed platforms.

Meanwhile the group built its own exchange. Panthertrade (Hong Kong) Limited received its SFC virtual asset trading platform licence on 27 January 2025 (CE ref BUY578), the same day as Tiger's YAX. PantherTrade describes itself as wholly established by Futu Holdings (Nasdaq: FUTU). Around 26 March 2026, press coverage including Fintech News HK and CNBC reported that PantherTrade had begun fully licensed operations integrated into Futu Securities and the Futubull app, with Futu providing matching, custody and infrastructure. For you, that means a Futubull crypto order is now handled inside the Futu group from start to finish, on a platform listed on the SFC register of licensed exchanges.

One naming point confuses readers. Moomoo is Futu's international brand, used in markets such as the US and Singapore. Hong Kong residents use Futu Securities and the Futubull app, and it is that Hong Kong entity, working with PantherTrade, that this review covers. Crypto features, fees and coin lists differ between Futu brands, so screenshots and guides written for moomoo users elsewhere may not apply to you. Secondary reports say Futu added USDT deposits for Hong Kong clients in May 2025; the current fee schedule does list USDT on the Ethereum network.

Futu crypto fees now

The zero-commission pricing did not last. Futu's current crypto fee schedule, effective 15 July 2026, has two parts. A platform fee of 0.08% of the trade amount, and a tiered commission based on your trading volume in the calendar month. Under US$500,000 of monthly volume, commission is 0.08% for most orders, or 0.16% for pairs quoted in USDT or BNB. Futu says there are no custody fees until further notice.

So a typical HKD Bitcoin order pays about 0.16% in total. That looks cheap next to ZA Bank's 0.8%. The catch is the minimum. Futu's pricing page lists the crypto platform fee with a minimum of HK$15 or US$1.99 per transaction. The help-centre schedule does not repeat that minimum, but if it applies, the 0.08% platform fee only exceeds HK$15 on orders above HK$18,750. On a HK$1,000 purchase you would pay HK$15 plus HK$0.80 commission, about 1.6%. On HK$50,000 you would pay about HK$80, or 0.16%. Check the estimated fee on the order screen before you confirm. If the minimum does bite, the fix is simple: buy less often, in larger amounts.

Coins and on-chain transfers

This is where Futu beats the bank apps. Its fee schedule lists deposits and withdrawals for BTC (Bitcoin network), ETH (Ethereum), SOL (Solana) and USDT (Ethereum). Deposits are free until further notice. Withdrawal fees are 0.00003 BTC, 0.0002 ETH, 0.0001 SOL and 1 USDT, and the refund fee for a rejected deposit is double. The PantherTrade site lists a wider set of assets, including BNB, AVAX, LINK, HYPE and USDC; which of those a retail client can trade depends on SFC eligibility rules and your suitability assessment.

The rules are strict. According to PantherTrade's deposit and withdrawal rules, deposits are only accepted from unhosted, self-custody wallets such as MetaMask or Ledger, and transfers from exchange wallets are rejected. Withdrawals go only to whitelisted self-custody addresses, and each address can be bound to only one account. Approvals normally take one business day, and complex cases can take two to five. If you have never set up a self-custody wallet, read our crypto wallets guide first and send a small test amount. And if your aim is to turn coins back into HKD, our guide to selling crypto covers the bank side.

OTC and high-net-worth service

PantherTrade's site highlights OTC execution, asset custody, stablecoin settlement and tokenisation services for asset managers, family offices and corporate treasuries. At the March 2026 launch, press reports said high-net-worth Futu clients get OTC block trading. Minimums and spreads are not published. Hong Kong rules mean most OTC products, perpetual contracts and the wider token list are open only to professional investors with a portfolio of at least HK$8 million. Press reports in June 2026 also said Futu won SFC approval for securities-backed crypto financing; we could not confirm this on an official page. Our crypto OTC guide compares Futu with the OSL and HashKey desks.

Tiger Brokers and Victory Securities compared

Futu is not the only broker selling crypto. Tiger Brokers, whose group platform YAX was also licensed on 27 January 2025, lists $0 commission, $0 platform fee and a 0.05% handling fee on its virtual assets page. Retail clients can trade five tokens, BTC, ETH, SOL, AVAX and LINK, and professional investors 20. Trades are in USD, with same-day HKD–USD conversion in the app. Victory Securities charges 0.2% commission plus a 0.02% platform fee with a US$2 minimum and US$100 cap, according to its fee page; transfers run through a HashKey channel during weekday office hours. Victory's group also owns VDX, licensed on 13 February 2026 and described as B2B.

A worked example makes the differences concrete. Take a HK$5,000 Bitcoin purchase. At Futu, the platform fee would be HK$4 before the minimum, so the HK$15 floor applies, plus HK$4 commission: about HK$19, or 0.38%. At Tiger, 0.05% is HK$2.50. At Victory, 0.2% commission is HK$10 and the 0.02% platform fee is lifted to its US$2 minimum, roughly HK$15.60, for about HK$25.60 in total. At ZA Bank the same order costs HK$40 at 0.8%. OSL's Flash Trade charges no fee but builds its margin into the quote. These are our calculations from each firm's published schedule in September 2026, before any spread and before FX costs if you trade in USD.

For small, regular buys, Tiger's flat 0.05% with no stated minimum is the cheapest broker route we found. For large orders, Futu's 0.16% total and falling commission tiers are competitive, and Futu clearly supports on-chain withdrawals. Victory is the dearest on percentage but has no minimum on its commission.

Who Futu crypto suits, and who should skip it

Futu suits you if you already hold a Futu account for stocks, place orders of HK$20,000 or more, want coins you can withdraw to a wallet, or may qualify for OTC service. Having crypto and equities in one account also makes it simpler to see your whole portfolio.

Skip it if you mainly buy a few hundred or a thousand dollars at a time; the minimum fee makes Tiger or OSL's Flash Trade cheaper. Skip it, too, if you want to deposit coins straight from another exchange, which PantherTrade rejects. There is also a third option inside the same app: Hong Kong-listed spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs, such as the Bosera HashKey Bitcoin ETF (3008), trade like ordinary HKEX shares. Futu's own pricing page advertises $0 commission on Hong Kong stocks, with a platform fee per order, and an ETF avoids wallets and withdrawal rules entirely. The trade-off is that you own fund units rather than coins, pay the fund's annual management fee and can only trade during HKEX hours. Our crypto ETF guide compares the listed products. If you want coins today and have no broker account, see our quickest way to buy crypto guide.

How to start trading crypto on Futu

1. Open a Futu securities accountDownload Futubull, open an account with your HKID and complete Futu's onboarding. Existing clients can skip this step.
2. Enable crypto tradingFind Crypto in the app and complete the virtual-asset knowledge test and risk disclosures the SFC requires.
3. Fund in HKD or USDDeposit to your Futu account by FPS or bank transfer. HKD orders are converted to USD for fee-tier purposes.
4. Check the fee and place an orderLook at the estimated fee before confirming; below about HK$18,750 the HK$15 minimum may dominate.
5. Set up a whitelisted walletTo withdraw, bind a self-custody wallet address (one address per account) and test with a small amount first.

See how Futu ranks against every other option on our reviews hub.

Frequently asked questions

Sources & further reading

1. SFC — Lists of virtual asset trading platforms · updated 29 May 2026
2. Futu HK Help Centre — Crypto fee schedule · effective 15 Jul 2026; checked 30 Sep 2026
3. Futu HK — Pricing (crypto platform fee and minimum) · checked 30 Sep 2026
4. PantherTrade — Cryptocurrency deposit and withdrawal rules · checked 30 Sep 2026
5. PantherTrade — official site · checked 30 Sep 2026
6. Moomoo community — Futu first in Hong Kong to offer zero-commission crypto · 1 Aug 2024
7. Fintech News HK — Futu PantherTrade begins licensed operations · 26 Mar 2026
8. Tiger Brokers HK — Virtual assets · checked 30 Sep 2026
9. Victory Securities — Fee schedule · checked 30 Sep 2026

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