Li Lin's Private Trading Division to Join Forces with Hong Kong-Listed Wealth Management Company

The private trading empire of Chinese cryptocurrency billionaire Li Lin is set to be integrated into a Hong Kong-listed company under his control, in a bid to meet the increasing demand from investors for digital assets. The Hong Kong-listed firm in question is Bitfire, a wealth management company in which Li holds the largest stake. According to a recent announcement, Bitfire will be acquiring a trading system and investment team from Li's family office, Avenir Group, for $1.6 million. This deal, while structured as a purchase, essentially transfers a part of Li's in-house cryptocurrency operations to a publicly listed entity, providing a clearer path for attracting institutional investors. The move is well-timed, given the current shift in the region. Although mainland China has prohibited cryptocurrency trading since 2021, Hong Kong is positioning itself as a hub for digital assets, attracting firms seeking a compliant base. Recently, Hong Kong granted stablecoin licenses to HSBC and Standard Chartered. By acquiring 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, in assets within the next 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 around $908 million as of the end of 2025, according to the company's regulatory filing. Li, who founded Huobi, now known as HTX, and built it into one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges before selling a controlling stake to Justin Sun for approximately $1 billion in 2022, has since focused on managing investments through Avenir.