A growing number of Hong Kong-listed firms are snapping up cryptocurrency on the back of rising bitcoin prices and the popularity of digital asset treasury (DAT) companies in the US.
Investment bank China Renaissance, which helped fund many leading Chinese tech firms, and Yunfeng Financial Group, backed by Alibaba Group Holding founder Jack Ma, are among the Hong Kong-listed financial institutions that have recently bought a large amount of crypto tokens, according to their respective filings. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.
The two firms had described their investments as a way to venture into businesses related to Web3 – a term used loosely to refer to applications based on decentralised technologies such as blockchain.
Chinese online gaming company Boyaa Interactive, one of the first Hong Kong-listed firms to invest in bitcoin, last week said that it had so far bought 3,670 bitcoins at an average cost of US$62,878 per token.
IVD Medical Holding, a manufacturer of medical equipment, last month said that it had bought 5,190 ether tokens, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, as its reserve assets, and that it was seeking board approval to spend up to HK$3 billion (US$384 million) over three years to buy more crypto.
Although there could be potential scrutiny when the Hong Kong government moves to strengthen its regulatory framework for digital assets, these companies’ cryptocurrency investment strategy reflects confidence in the city’s ambition to become a major digital asset hub.
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Hong Kong charts new phase as digital asset hub with policy blueprint, says FSTB chief Chris Hui
Hong Kong charts new phase as digital asset hub with policy blueprint, says FSTB chief Chris Hui
