Li Lin's Private Trading Operation to Integrate into Hong Kong-Listed Wealth Management Firm

Renowned Chinese crypto entrepreneur Li Lin is set to relocate his private trading operations to a Hong Kong-listed company under his control, marking a strategic shift to capitalize on the growing demand for digital assets. The Hong Kong-listed company, Bitfire, a wealth management firm in which Li is the largest shareholder, announced on Wednesday that it will acquire a trading system and investment team from Li's family office, Avenir Group, for $1.6 million, as reported by Reuters. Although structured as a purchase, the deal effectively transitions part of Li's in-house crypto trading operations into a publicly traded entity, providing a clearer pathway to attract institutional investors. This move aligns with the region's broader trend, as mainland China has prohibited crypto trading since 2021, while Hong Kong is establishing itself as a regulated hub for digital assets, attracting firms seeking a compliant base. Recently, Hong Kong granted stablecoin licenses to major 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, in assets within a year. The 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 the end of 2025, according to the company's regulatory filing. Li, who 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 about $1 billion in 2022, has since focused on managing investments through Avenir.