Li Lin's Private Trading Operation to be Absorbed by Hong Kong-Listed Wealth Management Firm

Billionaire Li Lin is set to relocate his private trading business to a Hong Kong-listed company under his control, in an effort to capitalize on the growing demand for digital assets among investors. The company in question, Bitfire, is a wealth management firm where Li serves as the largest shareholder. According to recent reports, Bitfire 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 will essentially transfer a portion of Li's in-house crypto trading operations to a publicly listed entity, providing a clearer path to attract institutional investors. The timing of this move aligns with the shifting landscape in the region, as Hong Kong positions itself as a regulated hub for digital assets following mainland China's ban on crypto trading in 2021. Recently, Hong Kong has granted stablecoin licenses to major banks such as HSBC and Standard Chartered. With the acquisition of Avenir's capabilities, Bitfire plans to launch a bitcoin-focused strategy, 'Alpha BTC,' aiming to manage over 10,000 bitcoins, worth approximately $760 million, within a year. This strategy will involve generating returns through derivatives trading, including options tied 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, valued at around $908 million as of 2025. 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.