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

Billionaire Li Lin is set to relocate his private trading operations to a Hong Kong-listed company under his control, driven by increasing investor interest in digital assets. The company in question, Bitfire, is a wealth management firm where Li serves as the largest shareholder. On Wednesday, Bitfire announced its intention to acquire a trading system and investment team from Li's family office, Avenir Group, for $1.6 million, as reported by Reuters. 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 timing 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 like HSBC and Standard Chartered. Following the acquisition of Avenir's capabilities, Bitfire plans to introduce 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 generate 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, with a value of around $908 million as of 2025, according to the company's regulatory filings. 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 approximately $1 billion in 2022, has since focused on managing investments through Avenir.