CSRC orders two-year wind-down for Tiger, Futu, Longbridge

China’s securities regulator ordered a two-year wind-down of the China-facing operations of Tiger Brokers, Futu and Longbridge on May 22, 2026, immediately blocking new deposits and new buy orders while allowing existing mainland users to sell positions and withdraw funds. Regulators said the action affects services that handled mainland client trading without required Chinese licences and that illegal gains will be seized.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission named Tiger Brokers (NZ) Limited, Futu Securities International (Hong Kong) Limited and Changqiao/Longbridge Securities International (Hong Kong) Limited. The regulator cited violations of the Securities Law, the Securities Investment Fund Law and the Futures and Derivatives Law. The firms retain the statutory right to a hearing before final penalties are imposed.

Under the regulator’s timetable, the deposit and buy restrictions took effect immediately. During the two-year wind-down mainland customers may liquidate holdings and withdraw funds. At the end of the period platforms must close China-facing websites, apps and servers. The CSRC said legal cross-border channels such as the Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor program and Hong Kong Stock Connect remain available.

Shares of Futu Holdings and Tiger Brokers fell after the announcement, trading around $123.84 and $5.84, respectively. Market participants flagged that mainland clients accounted for a meaningful share of trading revenue at the brokerages, which could increase selling pressure on related American Depositary Receipts as users exit positions.

Retail investors have used Hong Kong and other offshore apps to access U.S. and other foreign equities while remaining within an annual $50,000 foreign exchange quota. With new purchases blocked on China-facing accounts, some funds may move into informal crypto channels, including over-the-counter desks and peer-to-peer exchanges accessed via offshore platforms and virtual private networks. Tether’s USDT has previously served as a common on-ramp and has traded at premiums to the yuan during past capital outflows.

Regulatory pressure on private digital assets has intensified this year. In February 2026 the People’s Bank of China and the CSRC expanded a broad ban to explicitly cover stablecoins and tokenization activity, and the guidance targets foreign issuers that provide services to Chinese residents. The regulator’s two-year wind-down window gives authorities the ability to monitor where displaced capital moves and to pursue further enforcement if flows shift into services covered by the expanded rules.

Analyst Kyle Chasse noted that official cross-border investment programs have strict quotas and that those caps are often reached quickly. He added that cryptocurrencies do not face QDII-style limits, a difference that can affect investor choices when legal channels are constrained.

The CSRC said it will confiscate illegal gains from domestic and overseas units involved in the business and impose penalties according to law, while continuing to monitor capital flows during the wind-down period.