HashKey’s IPO: Exploring Hong Kong’s First Licensed Crypto Asset Exchange

By: crypto insight|2025/12/01 10:30:08
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Key Takeaways

  • HashKey is set to become the second crypto asset-related enterprise to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
  • The company’s business model extends beyond a traditional exchange, encompassing trading, on-chain services, and asset management.
  • HashKey’s revenue is heavily influenced by market conditions, with trading account for the majority of its income.
  • The company has experienced explosive user growth over three years, jumping from 18 to around 1.44 million registered users.
  • Despite narrowing losses, HashKey is not yet profitable, with financial dependency on trading volumes a primary challenge.

WEEX Crypto News, 2025-12-01 10:25:18

Introduction: HashKey’s IPO Journey

In a significant development for the crypto world, HashKey, a leading licensed crypto trading platform based in Hong Kong, is gearing up to make its public debut on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. This milestone follows the platform’s successful hearing with the exchange on December 1, marking its transition into the final stages of an Initial Public Offering (IPO). As one of the trailblazers in the industry, HashKey’s IPO carries weight, poised as it is to follow in the footsteps of OSL, the first crypto-related company to go public in Hong Kong. However, unlike OSL, whose primary focus lies in institutional custody and brokerage, HashKey is deeply entrenched in retail, offering a broader set of services that directly engage with the cyclical tides of the crypto market.

At the helm of this ambitious venture are major financial entities such as JPMorgan, Cathay Pacific Ocean, and Guotai Junan International, who are acting as joint sponsors for the offering. The completion of the “hearing” phase effectively removes major regulatory hurdles, setting the stage for pricing, investor roadshows, and ultimately, trading on the public market.

The Business Landscape of HashKey

Beyond a Conventional Exchange

Many perceive HashKey as merely a licensed exchange in Hong Kong. However, as revealed in its prospectus, the company has ambitions that stretch far beyond this singular identity. HashKey positions itself as a “comprehensive digital asset company,” structured around three pivotal services: transaction facilitation, on-chain services, and asset management.

Transaction Facilitation: The Fundamental Core

This unit forms the bedrock of HashKey’s business model, encompassing well-known spot exchanges and over-the-counter (OTC) services geared towards high-volume trades. By September 2025, HashKey had successfully facilitated spot trades worth a staggering 1.3 trillion Hong Kong dollars, with total platform assets reaching 199 billion HKD. According to data from 2024, HashKey commands over 75% of the market share in Hong Kong, distinguishing itself as the largest licensed platform and the most significant regional onshore player in Asia.

On-Chain Services: The Differentiator

Where HashKey diverges from its peers is in its on-chain offerings. This segment includes staking services, tokenization of real-world assets (RWA), and its proprietary L2 blockchain, HashKey Chain. The staking sector, in particular, has seen remarkable growth, with assets staked reaching 290 billion HKD by September 2025. Such scale elevates HashKey to the status of Asia’s largest staking service provider and eighth globally. The tokenization initiative mainly targets financial assets, with future expansion plans encompassing precious metals, computational resources, and green energy solutions.

Asset Management: Institutional Expansion

Extending its institutional capabilities, HashKey manages client assets through two flagship funds. As of September 2025, the funds’ cumulative management scale hit 78 billion HKD, covering more than 400 investments. Ventures range from early-stage initiatives to strategic plays in secondary markets, adopting both active and passive strategies. In the first half of 2025, transaction facilitation accounted for 68% of revenue, with on-chain services and asset management contributing 18.7% and 13.3%, respectively, indicating a progressive diversification in HashKey’s revenue model.

Revenue and Dependency on Market Volatility

HashKey’s financial trajectory mimics the wild fluctuations of the crypto market. The company experienced pronounced revenue growth, leaping from 129 million HKD in 2022 to 721 million HKD by 2024, nearly a threefold increase aligned with the bullish trends in cryptocurrency markets. However, the first half of 2025 marked a pivot, with revenues tapering to 284 million HKD, a 26% dip from the same period the previous year.

The Core Driver: Transaction Revenue

The trading segment remains the linchpin of HashKey’s revenue, contributing 68% in the first half of 2025. Income streams from this segment are diverse, entailing commissions, OTC spreads, and valuation changes of digital assets. Primarily fueled by trading pairs involving USDT, BTC, and fiat currencies, revenues see fluctuations contingent upon trading volume, which in 2024 stood at 3.476 trillion HKD, before sliding to 2.14 trillion HKD in the first half of 2025. This downturn was largely driven by broader market malaise and a strategic withdrawal from Bermuda, aligning focus back to Hong Kong amid fiat gateway constraints.

On-Chain Services and Asset Management: A Rising Share

As the traditional trading domain grapples with market headwinds, HashKey’s on-chain services and asset management are registering an increasing footprint. Contributions from these domains rose to 18.7% and 13.3% of revenues, respectively. On-chain revenues accrue from staking rewards and tokenization fees, whereas asset management earns through administrative fees and performance bonuses. Despite higher profit margins, these units’ scale remains insufficient to fully counterbalance the trading business’s inherent volatility. This scenario highlights a pivotal conundrum: HashKey’s success is tied to trading volume, which is inextricably linked to the mercurial nature of crypto market cycles—a challenging reality for a firm on the cusp of public listing.

User Base Expansion: From 18 to Over One Million

Exponential Growth Over Three Years

The meteoric rise in HashKey’s user base is staggering. Starting from a modest 18 registered users at the close of 2022, the platform burgeoned to 158,600 by late 2023, soared to 1.337 million by 2024’s end, and reached 1.446 million by mid-2025. This translates to a breathtaking 800,000-fold increase within just two and a half years.

The Meaningful Metric: “Asset Holdings Customers”

While sheer user numbers are impressive, the metric offering profound insights into engagement is that of “asset holdings customers,” defined as users with digital assets or fiat currency on the platform. These users grew from 3,753 at the end of 2023 to 120,700 by the close of 2024, and reached 138,500 by June 2025—a conversion rate ascension from 2.4% to 9.6%. This reflects successful KYC completion and substantial user retention on HashKey, with the retention rate of users with assets remarkably high at 99.9%. However, such figures represent ownership rather than active trading activity, implying a need for increased customer engagement.

Financial Health: Treading the Path to Profitability

A Steady Yet Winding Path

Financially, HashKey is making tangible strides towards improvement, albeit remaining in red territory. The company’s comprehensive income statement delineates a three-phase pattern of narrowing losses: 585 million HKD in 2022, a consistent 580 million HKD loss in 2023, and then a leap to a peak loss of 1.19 billion HKD in 2024. However, 2025’s first half signals a reversal, with losses trimmed to 506.3 million HKD, compared to 770 million HKD during the same period the year before.

Crucially, the major contributors to 2024’s marked losses were: a near doubling of operating losses from 526.2 million HKD to 1.0073 billion HKD; soaring financial costs from 36.27 million HKD to 169.3 million HKD; and “other net losses” hitting 399.1 million HKD from a previous 8.265 million HKD gain, led by fluctuation in the fair value of digital assets—all factors intertwined with stark market shifts.

Revenue Declines: Pinpointing the Trading Arm

Overall, the 26% decline in 2025’s first-half revenues stems almost entirely from trading. Commissions fell from 126.1 million HKD to 108 million HKD, while digital asset trading revenues plummeted by 75%, from 86.68 million HKD to 21.33 million HKD. Offsetting this, listing fees surged from 1.66 million HKD to 43.58 million HKD, albeit insufficient to counterbalance the trading division’s downturn. HashKey attributes this to tepid market activity and a recalibrated geographic focus, shying away from markets lacking robust fiat onramps.

Margins: Squeezed by Market Trends

HashKey’s margin picture mirrored 2025’s ebbing top-line, with gross margin sliding from 72.5% the year prior to 65.0%. The fluctuation highlights the acute sensitivity of digital asset trade and market-making to overall crypto market health. Diminished trading volumes and affiliated portfolio devaluations pinched margins on both sides.

Ownership and Control Landscape

Who Holds the Key?

Control and benefit distribution from HashKey’s pending IPO drill down to several fundamental inquiries: Who governs the enterprise? Who stands to gain from the public listing? And who will the convertible liabilities’ share issuances favor?

According to HashKey’s prospectus, the company’s ownership is concentrated among four primary stakeholders: Lu Weiding, a non-executive director and the real power behind Wanxiang Group; GDZ International Limited, an affiliated entity; HashKey Fintech III, a subsidiary fund; and Pu Xing Energy Co., Ltd. (stock code: 00090). While specific ownership percentages await finalization, high concentration is evident. Notably, Lu Weiding, as a significant shareholder, wields voting control through both direct stakes and the employee shareholding platform.

Within the company’s power structure, two figures emerge as pivotal: Xiao Feng, executive director, chairman, and CEO, revered as a founding visionary pivotal to China’s blockchain adoption, and Lu Weiding. Lu, besides direct ownership, maintains significant influence through pre-listing equity incentives involving roughly 578.6 million employee-held shares, cementing his voting dominance post-listing.

This concentrated setup, with over 80% share control through GDZ International’s 42.47% stake, a 22.92% employee platform exercising rights under Lu, and Xiao Feng’s 16.25% holdings through XChainX, signals limited post-listing stock movements.

Furthermore, crucial to note is the intertwined history of HashKey’s formative revenues with closely linked entities like HashKey Fintech III, among others, underscoring reliance on these relationships.

Future Outlook and Market Expectations

With the successful hearing now in the rearview mirror, HashKey forges ahead towards critical phases of pricing and investor engagements, anticipated to span two to three weeks before trading commences. While broader market dynamics cloud aspects such as valuation and IPO proceeds, prior Bloomberg reports hint at a cap of $500 million USD.

Investors and market analysts will closely monitor the ensemble of cornerstone investors post-IPO—if mainstream financial portals spearhead this lineup, it underscores a robust confidence in regulatory-compliant crypto asset narratives. However, predominant backing from crypto-native funds or linked parties would frame this as a niche sector play.

Moreover, HashKey’s public debut might recalibrate the prevailing market mix, akin to OSL’s imperative yet volatile stock journey in recent memory. As trading begins, scrutiny will focus intently on transaction volumes and stock performance as indicators of both intrinsic value and the Hong Kong market’s prowess in pricing nascent digital asset classes.

In conclusion, while the prospectus encapsulates who HashKey is, quantifying its true market value remains a dynamic exercise for stakeholders, analysts, and observers alike.

FAQs

Why is HashKey’s IPO significant in Hong Kong?

HashKey’s IPO is pivotal as it positions the company as the second crypto enterprise to list in Hong Kong, reflecting both the region’s confidence in regulated crypto markets and HashKey’s expansive business approach beyond mere currency exchanges.

What challenges does HashKey face post-IPO?

Post-IPO, HashKey faces potential challenges involving its heavy reliance on volatile market volumes and the translation of its vast user base into actively trading customers to ensure sustainable revenue growth.

How has HashKey managed to significantly expand its user base?

HashKey’s strategic positioning, robust KYC processes, and offering a comprehensive digital asset service suite have contributed to its exponential increase in registered users and engaged customers over a short period.

How does HashKey differentiate from other platforms like OSL?

While both are pioneering crypto exchanges in Hong Kong, HashKey differentiates by targeting broader retail markets and providing a more diversified service offering that includes on-chain solutions and asset management, compared to OSL’s institutional focus.

What will be the critical factors affecting HashKey’s stock performance post-public offering?

Key influences on HashKey’s stock post-IPO will likely include transaction volumes, management effectiveness in mitigating revenue dependencies linked to crypto market conditions, and broader investor sentiment towards regulated digital asset initiatives.

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