Chinese crypto billionaire Li Lin’s private business empire will soon move into a Hong Kong-listed company he controls, in a bid to meet growing investor demand for digital assets.
This Hong Kong-listed company is Bitfire, a wealth management company, of which Li is the largest shareholder. Bitfire announced Wednesday that it would pay $1.6 million to acquire a trading system and investment team from Li’s own family office, Avenir Group, according to Reuters.
Although structured as a purchase, the deal effectively transfers a portion of Li’s internal crypto operations into a publicly traded vehicle, giving him a clearer path to attracting institutional investors.
This timing reflects a broader shift in the region. Mainland China has banned crypto trading since 2021, but Hong Kong is positioning itself as a regulated hub for digital assets, attracting interest from businesses looking for a compliant base. Hong Kong recently granted stablecoin licenses to HSBC and Standard Chartered.
By acquiring Avenir’s capabilities, Bitfire plans to roll out a bitcoin-focused strategy, “Alpha BTC,” targeting over 10,000 bitcoins, worth approximately $760 million, in assets within a year.
The strategy will seek returns through derivatives trading, including options linked to bitcoin and products like IBIT.
Avenir has built a large position in Bitcoin ETFs, holding 18.3 million shares of IBIT, issued by BlackRock, valued at approximately $908 million at the end of 2025, according to the company’s regulatory filing.
Li founded Huobi, now known as HTX, and grew it into one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges before selling a majority stake to Justin Sun for around $1 billion in 2022. He has since focused on managing investments through Avenir.
