Li Lin's Private Trading Operation to be Absorbed by Hong Kong-Listed Wealth Management Firm

Crypto mogul Li Lin is set to relocate his private trading empire to a Hong Kong-listed company under his control, aiming to capitalize on the growing demand for digital assets among investors. The Hong Kong-listed company in question, Bitfire, is a wealth management firm where Li holds the largest stake. As reported by Reuters, Bitfire will acquire a trading system and investment team from Li's family office, Avenir Group, for $1.6 million. This acquisition effectively transitions part of Li's in-house crypto operations to a publicly traded company, providing a more straightforward path to attracting institutional investors. This move aligns with the region's broader trend. Although mainland China has prohibited crypto trading since 2021, Hong Kong is establishing itself as a regulated hub for digital assets, attracting companies seeking a compliant base. Recently, Hong Kong granted stablecoin licenses to prominent banks such as HSBC and Standard Chartered. By acquiring Avenir's capabilities, Bitfire intends to launch a bitcoin-focused strategy called 'Alpha BTC', aiming to manage over 10,000 bitcoins, valued at approximately $760 million, within a year. This strategy will seek returns through derivatives trading, including options tied to bitcoin and products like the IBIT. Avenir has established a significant position in bitcoin ETFs, holding 18.3 million shares of IBIT, issued by BlackRock, valued at about $908 million as of 2025, according to the company's regulatory filing. Li previously founded Huobi, now known as HTX, and transformed it into one of the world's largest crypto exchanges before selling a controlling stake to Justin Sun for approximately $1 billion in 2022. Since then, he has focused on managing investments through Avenir.