Li Lin's Private Trading Arm to Join Hong Kong-Listed Wealth Management Firm

Renowned Chinese cryptocurrency entrepreneur Li Lin is set to relocate his private trading operations 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 is Bitfire, a wealth management firm in which Li holds the largest stake. According to a recent announcement, Bitfire will acquire a trading system and investment team from Li's family office, Avenir Group, for $1.6 million. This strategic move effectively transitions part of Li's in-house cryptocurrency operations to a publicly traded entity, providing a more straightforward path to attracting institutional investors. The timing of this move aligns with the regional trend, as mainland China has prohibited cryptocurrency trading since 2021, while Hong Kong is establishing itself as a regulated hub for digital assets, garnering interest from firms seeking a compliant base. Recently, Hong Kong granted stablecoin licenses to major banks like 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 focus on generating returns through derivatives trading, including options linked to bitcoin and products like the IBIT. Avenir has established a significant presence in bitcoin ETFs, holding 18.3 million shares of IBIT, issued by BlackRock, valued at around $908 million as of 2025, according to the company's regulatory filings. Li previously founded Huobi, now known as HTX, and transformed it into one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges before selling a controlling stake to Justin Sun for about $1 billion in 2022. Since then, he has focused on managing investments through Avenir.