Overnight, Futu and Tiger have closed the door to account opening for residents in mainland China. This door was shut just like that. Is it due to the tightening of regulatory red lines, or is it a compliance game in cross-border finance?

As early as 2023, it had already been delisted.
On September 22, 2025, Futu Securities' account opening policy suddenly hit the brakes.
According to the latest regulatory requirements, mainland clients who want to open an account must hold overseas permanent residency identification. This threshold directly keeps most ordinary investors out.
The statement from the Futubull customer service carries a hint of subtlety: "The company is undergoing a system upgrade, and at this stage, only customers with Hong Kong or Macau identity cards can open accounts."
The implication is that the mainland ID card has temporarily become an invalid pass, and one must wait for the system upgrade to be completed before reapplying with the combination of "mainland ID card + overseas permanent residence certificate."
Tiger Brokers' actions were even earlier.
Starting from the week of September 15 to 21, 2025, this brokerage has quietly adjusted its account opening policy for mainland residents.
Customer service has clearly stated that residents from the mainland are no longer allowed to open accounts by providing overseas work or living-related documentation. It should be noted that this has been a gray area for many to bypass regulations.
Now, the tiger's attitude is more resolute, only recognizing non-Mainland China ID documents, effectively cutting off the conventional channels for cross-border account opening for Mainland identity.
The two leading brokerage firms almost simultaneously tightened their controls. Rather than being a coincidence, it is more of an inevitable choice under regulatory pressure. The previously loose account opening policies have overnight become compliance loopholes that urgently need to be sealed.
There should still be some rules.
Without rules, there can be no order.