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

Billionaire crypto investor Li Lin is set to relocate his private trading operations to a Hong Kong-listed company under his control, catering to the increasing demand for digital assets from investors. The company in question, Bitfire, is a wealth management firm where Li holds the majority of shares. 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 crypto trading into a publicly listed entity, providing a clearer pathway to attract institutional investors. The move reflects the shifting landscape in the region, as Hong Kong positions itself as a hub for digital assets amidst mainland China's ban on crypto trading since 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 involves generating returns through derivatives trading, including bitcoin options and products like IBIT. Avenir has 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, the founder of Huobi, now known as HTX, previously built it into one of the world's largest crypto exchanges before selling a controlling stake to Justin Sun for approximately $1 billion in 2022, and has since focused on managing investments via Avenir.