How HashKey Plans to Become Hong Kong’s First Crypto IPO

Key takeaways

• HashKey is aiming to change into Hong Kong’s first absolutely crypto-native IPO by itemizing 240.57 million shares below the town’s digital asset regulatory regime.

• The enterprise extends past a spot change by combining buying and selling, custody, institutional staking, asset administration and tokenization right into a single regulated platform.

• Income is rising, however the firm continues to be incurring losses because it invests closely in expertise, compliance and market growth.

• Most IPO proceeds are anticipated to fund infrastructure and worldwide development, positioning the itemizing as a long-term wager on regulated digital asset markets.

HashKey needs to change into the primary crypto change that Hong Kong buyers should buy on their native inventory market. The corporate has filed for an preliminary public providing (IPO) that might make it the town’s first publicly listed, absolutely crypto-native venue below the brand new digital asset regime. It’s providing 240.57 million shares, with a portion reserved for native retail buyers.

Shares are being marketed in a variety of 5.95-6.95 Hong Kong {dollars}, which might rise to 1.67 billion HKD, about $215 million, and suggest a multibillion-dollar valuation if the providing is absolutely subscribed.

Trading is expected to begin on Dec. 17 on the Hong Kong Inventory Trade.

HashKey already operates what it describes as Hong Kong’s “largest licensed platform,” a broader stack that features custody, institutional staking and tokenization. In its newest submitting, the group reported tens of billions of Hong Kong {dollars} in staking property and platform property below administration.

Within the sections that comply with, we’ll have a look at what the enterprise does, how its financials evaluate, the way it plans to make use of the IPO proceeds and why the end result of this itemizing issues for understanding Hong Kong’s broader digital asset ambitions.

Do you know? Some analysts view HashKey’s IPO as a real-time take a look at of whether or not public markets are prepared to again closely regulated crypto infrastructure.

Why HashKey’s IPO might be a key step for Hong Kong

HashKey is among the many first main makes an attempt to place Hong Kong’s new digital asset rulebook in entrance of public fairness buyers. The change plans to offer 240.57 million shares in complete, with 24.06 million allotted to native buyers and the rest to worldwide consumers, at a most provide worth of 6.95 HKD per share.

Closing pricing is due on Dec. 16, 2025, with buying and selling scheduled to start the subsequent day below the proposed inventory code 3887. If the providing is absolutely subscribed on the top quality, it might rise to 1.67 billion HKD, about $215 million, doubtlessly making HashKey one of many extra distinguished listed crypto-focused firms in Asia.

The itemizing can also be a milestone in Hong Kong’s effort to rebuild its standing as a digital asset hub after years of regulatory uncertainty. Over the previous two years, the town has launched a dedicated licensing regime for retail and institutional crypto platforms, allowed tightly managed staking companies and strengthened custody necessities and stablecoin oversight.

HashKey presents an early, detailed have a look at what a totally regulated, multi-line crypto enterprise can appear like below that framework.

The IPO might function a real-time take a look at of investor urge for food for compliance-first crypto infrastructure, particularly as mainland China maintains strict limits on many digital asset actions. Beijing has already moved to halt some giant tech-backed stablecoin tasks within the metropolis: Hong Kong’s experiment does have political limits.

How HashKey trades after its debut could also be seen as an early indication of whether or not these constraints nonetheless go away sufficient room for a worthwhile, listed crypto change to succeed.

Do you know? HashKey Group has backing from established institutional buyers, together with entities linked to Wanxiang, which provides it a extra conventional finance profile than many offshore exchanges.

What enterprise is definitely going public?

On paper, HashKey Holdings is an change IPO. In observe, buyers are being supplied a broader crypto infrastructure stack that has already been reviewed and licensed below Hong Kong’s regulatory framework.

On the core is HashKey Trade, a Hong Kong-based buying and selling venue licensed by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) below Kind 1 and Kind 7 licenses for dealing in and working a digital asset buying and selling platform. It helps spot buying and selling, over-the-counter companies and fiat on- and off-ramps in HKD and USD. The corporate describes itself as Hong Kong’s largest licensed venue serving each retail {and professional} shoppers.

Round that sits a broader ecosystem. HashKey Cloud offers institutional staking and node companies, and the corporate says it has obtained approval to assist staking for Hong Kong’s spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs). In its filings, HashKey reported managing about 29 billion HKD in staked property as of the top of the third quarter of 2025, positioning it as one among Asia’s largest staking suppliers and among the many bigger gamers globally.

The group additionally operates an asset administration arm providing crypto funds and enterprise methods. In response to its filings, it had about 7.8 billion HKD in property below administration as of Sept. 30, 2025. It has additionally moved into tokenization by way of HashKey Chain, a community targeted on real-world property (RWAs), stablecoins and institutional use instances. The corporate reported roughly 1.7 billion HKD in onchain RWAs on the community.

Lastly, HashKey has been constructing out crypto-as-a-service instruments and pursuing licenses throughout markets, together with Singapore, Dubai, Japan, Bermuda and components of Europe. This implies the IPO is meant to assist worldwide growth and a white-label infrastructure mannequin, not only a single market Hong Kong change.

Do you know? In response to HashKey’s disclosures, its RWA community has already tokenized greater than 1 billion HKD value of real-world property onchain, together with merchandise reminiscent of structured notes and personal credit score.

Income, losses and the “compliance-first” wager

HashKey displays a typical growth-stage sample: Income has risen rapidly, however the enterprise stays cash-consuming because it invests in growth, licensing and compliance. Whole income elevated from about 129 million HKD in 2022 to 721 million HKD in 2024, greater than a 4.5x rise in two years, as its Hong Kong and Bermuda exchanges launched and buying and selling exercise grew.

That development has not but translated into income. A evaluation of the submitting indicates internet losses almost doubled over the identical interval, from 585.2 million HKD in 2022 to 1.19 billion HKD in 2024, pushed by increased spending on expertise, headcount, compliance and advertising and marketing.

Buying and selling volumes rose from 4.2 billion HKD in 2022 to 638.4 billion HKD in 2024, however a low-fee technique and the prices of working licensed venues throughout a number of jurisdictions stored the underside line deeply unfavorable.

Newer numbers counsel the trajectory could also be enhancing. Within the first six months of 2025, HashKey reported a internet lack of 506.7 million HKD, narrower than the 772.6 million HKD loss in the identical interval a 12 months earlier.

The corporate frames these losses as the price of constructing a licensed, compliant and scalable digital asset platform forward of the market cycle. It argues that the lengthy, costly build-out mirrors how earlier change leaders seemed earlier than they turned worthwhile.

How HashKey plans to make use of the IPO proceeds

HashKey is express about the way it plans to make use of the brand new capital.

• Roughly 40% of the online proceeds are earmarked for expertise and infrastructure upgrades over the subsequent three to 5 years. This consists of scaling HashKey Chain and the change’s matching engine, in addition to strengthening custody, safety and again workplace programs. Firm summaries additionally level to derivatives, yield products and improved institutional instruments as particular build-out areas, which might transfer HashKey nearer to the complete suite product set supplied by bigger worldwide venues.

• One other 40% is allotted to market growth and ecosystem partnerships. In observe, this implies pushing extra aggressively into new jurisdictions and scaling crypto as a service preparations the place banks, brokers and fintechs connect with HashKey’s custody and buying and selling stack through APIs fairly than constructing the complete infrastructure in-house. The corporate’s dialogue of abroad licensing and institutional relationships suggests it goals to distinguish itself from exchanges that rely totally on retail exercise.

• The remaining 20% is break up between operations and danger administration (10%) and dealing capital and normal company functions (10%). This consists of hiring, strengthening compliance and inner controls and sustaining stability sheet flexibility to navigate market cycles.

What’s subsequent?

There are three issues to look at as December unfolds:

• How the deal is priced and the way the shares commerce after itemizing

• Whether or not HashKey can flip its full stack, together with change, custody, staking and tokenization, into regular, diversified income

• How firmly Hong Kong maintains its licensed however open strategy to digital property.

If HashKey executes nicely, it might give different exchanges, banks and tokenization tasks a clearer pathway to go public within the metropolis. If it struggles, the end result might spotlight the place the sensible limits of Hong Kong’s digital asset experiment lie.