Hong Kong's biggest crypto exchange HashKey wins listing nod in test of investor appetite

Crypto speech relation HashKey Holdings has cleared its Hong Kong listing proceeding aft an earlier confidential filing, paving the mode for a woody that volition trial capitalist assurance successful the integer plus assemblage amid evolving regulation.

The relation of Hong Kong's biggest licensed crypto speech could rise astir US$500 cardinal successful a listing this month, according to a root acquainted with the matter. HashKey did not disclose the size oregon the timing of its archetypal nationalist offering (IPO) successful a filing connected Monday.

The planned listing comes arsenic China's cardinal slope reiterated its pugnacious stance connected virtual currencies, including stablecoins, and vowed to ace down connected amerciable activities. Cryptocurrency trading has been banned successful mainland China since 2021.

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Hong Kong has established regulatory regimes for exchanges, stablecoin issuers, dealing work providers and custodians, successful moves that proactively modulate and make the metropolis arsenic a integer plus hub. Market insiders person formed the metropolis arsenic mainland China's offshore investigating crushed for integer tokens.

The integer plus trading marketplace remains heavy reliant connected concentrated tokens, peculiarly bitcoin and ether. Photo: Shutterstock alt=The integer plus trading marketplace remains heavy reliant connected concentrated tokens, peculiarly bitcoin and ether. Photo: Shutterstock>

"The concern sentiment surrounding cryptocurrencies would person an interaction connected its pricing and listing timing," said Kenny Ng Lai-yin, a strategist astatine Everbright Securities International. "With mainland authorities stepping up curbs connected cryptocurrency speculation and prices of assets specified arsenic bitcoin and ether falling, determination could beryllium a imaginable worldly interaction connected its marketplace worth and connection price."

HashKey, 1 of 11 licensed virtual plus trading platforms successful Hong Kong, provides transaction facilitation, on-chain services and plus management. It has promoted its capableness to contented and circulate tokenised real-world assets to get much businesses and partners.

The radical said successful the filing that it dominated Asia's onshore integer plus market, accounting for much than three-quarters of determination trading volumes successful 2024 and astir HK$20 cardinal (US$2.56 billion) successful lawsuit assets.

Despite HashKey's marketplace position, its businesses person remained loss-making since 2022. It reported a nett nonaccomplishment of HK$506 cardinal successful the archetypal six months of this year, narrowing from a nonaccomplishment of astir HK$777 cardinal successful the aforesaid play a twelvemonth earlier.