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

A significant development is underway for Chinese cryptocurrency mogul Li Lin, as his private trading empire is poised to be absorbed by a Hong Kong-listed company under his control. The firm in question, Bitfire, is a wealth management company in which Li holds the largest stake. As announced on Wednesday, Bitfire is set to acquire a trading system and investment team from Li's family office, Avenir Group, for a sum of $1.6 million, as reported by Reuters. Although the transaction is structured as a purchase, it effectively transfers a portion of Li's in-house cryptocurrency operation into a publicly traded entity, providing a clearer pathway for attracting institutional investors. The timing of this move aligns with a broader shift in the region, as mainland China has prohibited cryptocurrency trading since 2021, while Hong Kong is positioning itself as a regulated hub for digital assets, attracting interest from firms seeking a compliant base. Recently, Hong Kong granted stablecoin licenses to notable banks such as HSBC and Standard Chartered. By acquiring Avenir's capabilities, Bitfire plans to introduce a bitcoin-focused strategy, dubbed 'Alpha BTC', aiming to manage over 10,000 bitcoins, valued at approximately $760 million, in assets within a year. This 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 cryptocurrency exchanges before selling a controlling stake to Justin Sun for approximately $1 billion in 2022, has since focused on managing investments through Avenir.