Hong Kong’s largest licensed cryptocurrency exchange began trading on Wednesday, underscoring the city’s ambition to position itself as a global hub for digital assets despite mainland China’s strict ban on cryptocurrency activity.
HashKey Group, founded in 2018, made its market debut after raising $205 million in its initial public offering. Shares closed the morning session down 2.69% at HK$6.50, or about $0.84, reflecting cautious investor sentiment despite strong sector interest.
Although trading and mining cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin remain banned in mainland China, digital asset advertising and promotion have become increasingly visible in semi-autonomous Hong Kong. City authorities have moved to regulate the fast-evolving industry, seeking to gain an edge over rival financial centres such as Dubai and Singapore.
Speaking at the listing ceremony, HashKey chief executive Xiao Feng described the debut as a “glorious day” and said the company’s success demonstrated the value of operating within a compliant regulatory framework.
“As entrepreneurs, we come from mainland China, but HashKey is a homegrown Hong Kong company,” Xiao said. He added that even in the digital asset space, robust regulation grounded in long-established legal principles is essential for sustainable growth.
Shares of HashKey, the operator of Hong Kong’s largest licensed cryptocurrency exchange, climbed on their trading debut after an IPO that raised $206 million https://t.co/c57xRlkrSp
— Bloomberg (@business) December 17, 2025Experts widely view Hong Kong as a testing ground for integrating cryptocurrencies into mainstream finance. Earlier this year, the city introduced a licensing regime for stablecoins, requiring them to be pegged to traditional currencies or assets to reduce volatility.
“China remains very cautious about cryptocurrency use,” said Merton Lam, head of digital asset firm Crypto HK. He told AFP that Beijing likely views Hong Kong as a controlled environment for experimenting with regulated crypto adoption.
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Lam noted that while investors in Hong Kong can already access global platforms such as Binance, locally licensed exchanges like HashKey offer a more convenient way to convert traditional currency into digital assets.
Etelka Bogardi, a financial technology lawyer at Reed Smith, said the timing of HashKey’s listing benefited from both a strong IPO market and Hong Kong’s increasingly crypto-friendly regulatory stance.
“Over the past 12 to 18 months, Hong Kong has moved quickly with new regulations, clarifications, and policy support to create a more facilitative environment for blockchain technology,” she told AFP.
