Li Lin's Private Trading Entity to Merge with Hong Kong-Listed Wealth Management Firm

Billionaire Li Lin is set to relocate his private crypto trading operations to a Hong Kong-listed firm, Bitfire, which he controls, in a bid to tap into the rising demand for digital assets from investors. Bitfire, a wealth management company, has agreed to pay $1.6 million to acquire a trading system and investment team from Li's family office, Avenir Group. This strategic move effectively transitions part of Li's private crypto trading into a publicly listed company, providing a clearer pathway to attract institutional investors. The deal reflects the shifting landscape in the region, with Hong Kong positioning itself as a regulated hub for digital assets after mainland China's ban on crypto trading in 2021. Recently, Hong Kong granted stablecoin licenses to major banks like HSBC and Standard Chartered. Following the acquisition, Bitfire plans to launch a bitcoin-focused strategy called 'Alpha BTC', aiming to manage over 10,000 bitcoins, valued at approximately $760 million, within a year. The strategy will focus on generating returns through derivatives trading, including bitcoin options and products like IBIT. Avenir has already established a significant presence in bitcoin ETFs, holding 18.3 million shares of IBIT, issued by BlackRock, with a value of around $908 million as of 2025. Li, who founded Huobi, now known as HTX, and sold a controlling stake to Justin Sun for about $1 billion in 2022, has been focusing on investment management through Avenir.