Huobi founder Li Lin takes action: Loads 10,000 BTC into a Hong Kong-listed company
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Huobi founder Li Lin takes action: Loads 10,000 BTC into a Hong Kong-listed company
If Hong Kong succeeds, Asia will build its own capital pool around Bitcoin.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: Andjela Radmilac
Translated and edited by TechFlow
TechFlow Insight: Li Lin, founder of HTX (formerly Huobi), is integrating the Bitcoin trading team from his family office into Hong Kong-listed Bitfire Group to launch Alpha BTC—a regulated asset management strategy targeting over 10,000 BTC. This marks Asia’s first major attempt to establish a large-scale Bitcoin fund within a local regulatory framework—part of a broader contest between Hong Kong and U.S. ETF ecosystems for institutional capital inflows from across Asia.
A Hong Kong-listed company aims to pool over 10,000 BTC into a regulated asset management strategy—valued at approximately $760 million at current prices.
The figure itself is eye-catching, but what truly merits attention is the structure behind the strategy. Hong Kong is attempting to enable large-scale Bitcoin funds to operate under local rules—within a familiar financial system—rather than forcing Asian investors to rely solely on U.S. ETFs or offshore exchanges for large allocations.
Li Lin, founder of HTX (formerly Huobi), plans to fully migrate the trading infrastructure and investment team of his family office, Avenir Group, into Hong Kong-listed Bitfire Group. Bitfire is preparing a Bitcoin-denominated, regulated strategy named Alpha BTC; CEO Livio Weng stated the goal is to attract over 10,000 BTC from investors.
The strategy is expected to use derivatives linked to Bitcoin or BlackRock’s IBIT ETF. Avenir has already become one of Asia’s largest holders of U.S. Bitcoin ETF exposure, with a $908 million position in IBIT.
This position size underscores that Asian capital has already accumulated substantial Bitcoin exposure via Wall Street—some held in U.S. ETFs, some on offshore platforms, and some directly held by listed companies, family offices, and crypto-native investors. While these participants are deeply familiar with the underlying asset, they still require structures that banks, auditors, boards, and regulators can readily understand.
Bitfire targets precisely this gap: bringing capital back into Hong Kong’s regulated market and transforming Bitcoin exposure from a “backdoor” trade into something integrated with local financial infrastructure.
Hong Kong Doesn’t Want Bitcoin Itself—It Wants the “Shell” That Packages It
The key to understanding this lies in separating Bitcoin—the asset—from its packaging.
Bitcoin itself is globally fungible: everyone sees the same price, transmits the same asset, and settles on the same network. Yet large investors rarely interact with it directly. Family offices, listed corporations, fund managers, and high-net-worth individuals typically require custody, execution, risk controls, audited reporting, legal liability frameworks, and a clearly defined regulator.
That’s why U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs became a killer product: investors gain Bitcoin exposure through their brokerage accounts, operating along familiar securities-market rails—with large asset managers and regulated custodians standing in the middle.
CryptoSlate previously reported that capital linked to Hong Kong has already taken this route—including Laurore Ltd.’s disclosed $436 million IBIT position. The U.S. ETF “shell” solves a global problem: making Bitcoin easier to hold via traditional finance. But the cost is that most entry points are concentrated in the U.S. market.
Hong Kong’s logic is to locally control that shell. A regulated Hong Kong vehicle can engage Asian investors during Asian business hours, operate under regional rules, and function through channels they already use—equities, structured products, wealth management, and family office capital—all of which Hong Kong already hosts. For professional investors across Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and even mainland China, this determines which law firms review the product, which banks handle the funds, which courts hold jurisdiction, and which government agencies supervise the activity.
Over the past two years, Hong Kong has been preparing for this role.
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has approved virtual asset trading platform licenses, expanded the scope of regulated products, and sought to enhance market liquidity by allowing licensed platforms to connect with global order books. In November 2025, the SFC announced it would permit local licensed platforms to share global order books with overseas affiliated platforms under new rules—a pragmatic concession designed to reduce Hong Kong’s isolation and increase its utility for institutional capital.
Stablecoins are also advancing. Hong Kong passed a stablecoin bill in May 2025, establishing a licensing framework for fiat-backed issuers; the regime officially launched in August 2025. Standard Chartered, Animoca, and HKT were among the earliest institutions to join the regulated HKD stablecoin race. Though stablecoins and Bitcoin derivatives occupy different niches, the direction is consistent: Hong Kong wants trading platforms, stablecoin issuers, asset managers, and listed vehicles all operating under its own rulebook.
This elevates Alpha BTC beyond a routine product launch. It is a pivotal move in a much larger strategic game—to transform crypto from an offshore activity into regulated capital formation.
Bitcoin Is Global—but Bitcoin’s Entry Points Are Becoming Local
Bitcoin’s original promise was that of a borderless currency. Yet today’s largest capital pools entering Bitcoin prefer to draw boundaries around their exposure. They demand a regulator, a listing venue, custody arrangements, legal enforceability, and a manager they can call when things go wrong.
This creates a thorny split: the asset moves globally in minutes, while the institutional architecture built around it depends on local law, local politics, and local market conventions.
Geographic competition begins here.
The U.S. dominates Bitcoin’s regulated entry point via ETFs—BlackRock’s IBIT symbolizes Wall Street’s control over this transaction. Offshore exchanges still dominate retail and derivatives trading, especially for users prioritizing speed, leverage, and relaxed access.
Hong Kong now seeks the third lane: Asian capital seeking regulated Bitcoin exposure without dependence on U.S. market infrastructure.
Why now? Because Singapore, Dubai, the U.S., and Europe are all building their own digital asset regimes—and Hong Kong must compete for relevance as a financial center.
Mainland China’s strict crypto restrictions make Hong Kong’s role both delicate and uniquely valuable. It can serve as a controlled offshore testing ground for financial experiments Beijing won’t yet approve broadly. In 2024, Hong Kong launched spot crypto ETFs, then expanded exchange licensing, advanced stablecoin regulation, and explored broader virtual asset products—an intentional hub strategy.
Of course, limitations exist. The $760 million target is attention-grabbing, but dwarfed by the scale of U.S. ETFs. The derivative-based strategy itself carries risks—especially when returns depend on options, basis trades, volatility, and timing. Hong Kong must also navigate political tension between its crypto ambitions and Beijing’s discomfort with rapid offshore digital asset expansion. Last year, reports emerged that Chinese regulators asked certain brokers to pause real-world asset (RWA) tokenization activities in Hong Kong.
Yet Hong Kong’s direction is unmistakable. Bitcoin adoption is entering a new phase—the central question is no longer whether institutions can buy the asset, but *which system* they use to do so.
If more Asian capital holds Bitcoin through Hong Kong’s regulatory structure, capital flows will begin responding to Hong Kong’s policy decisions, Asia’s wealth management cycles, regional liquidity conditions, and local investor behavior. Over time, price discovery may shift away from U.S.-centric models—particularly as Hong Kong’s offerings evolve from passive exposure into lending, derivatives, structured yield, and treasury management.
Bitcoin may trade as a global asset, but entry points into it are being segmented into national and regional “shells.” A U.S. investor buys IBIT; a Hong Kong family office allocates to Alpha BTC; an offshore trader uses perpetual futures—they may all express views on Bitcoin, but they operate within entirely distinct financial systems. These systems determine who gains access, how quickly capital can exit, and what happens amid regulatory stress.
That’s why Hong Kong’s stablecoin initiative matters so much. CryptoSlate previously reported that Asia is quietly building a counterweight to the dollar stablecoin empire—and its regulatory map illustrates how 2025 transformed fragmented crypto warnings into coherent national frameworks.
A Bitcoin fund, a stablecoin license, a licensed exchange, a listed asset management firm—each operates independently. But together, they begin to resemble a full-fledged local market infrastructure.
Hong Kong’s bet is that Asia’s Bitcoin demand is large enough to sustain such localized structures. The next phase of Bitcoin adoption will likely be shaped not by whether institutions adopt it—but by *which financial system* they choose to do so. If Hong Kong succeeds, Asia will build its own Bitcoin capital pools—with its own rules, its own capital flows, and its own voice in the market.
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