Can HashKey replicate Circle's nine-fold myth in its Hong Kong stock IPO?
Author | Wang Hanyu
Editor | Zhang Fan
According to Bloomberg citing sources familiar with the matter, HashKey Group, a licensed cryptocurrency exchange operator in Hong Kong, China (hereinafter referred to as "HashKey"), has recently submitted a confidential IPO application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. If the process goes smoothly, it is expected to be listed within this year at the earliest.
In the Hong Kong stock market, if HashKey can successfully list, it may also add another reference target for the Hong Kong crypto - asset trading industry. Following OSL, HashKey is expected to become the "first compliant stock" with an exchange as its core business under the dedicated regulatory framework for virtual assets in Hong Kong.
Recall that on June 5 this year, when Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, went public, it boasted the halo of the "first stablecoin stock" and soared 168% on the first day. Subsequently, its share price skyrocketed nearly nine - fold from the issue price of $31 per share, reaching as high as $299 per share on June 23. However, it has since fallen more than 50% from its peak.
The market generally believes that Circle's valuation multiple is too high, and its subsequent performance may not be able to support it in the long run. This may indicate that HashKey, also in the virtual asset industry chain, will also face challenges when going public at this time.
Crypto Exchange as the Flagship Business
Affected by the IPO news, the price of HSK, the platform token issued by HashKey, has shown an upward trend. However, it is worth noting that there are significant differences between platform tokens and stablecoins.
HSK is defined as a platform token with a total supply of 1 billion. Among them, 65% is for ecological growth, 30% is for team incentives, etc., and 5% is for the vault.
Supply and distribution of the platform token HSK. Source: Company official website
Specifically, HSK can only be used within the HashKey platform. Holders can use it to pay for platform service fees, for user growth and community rewards, and to obtain various value - added services.
Stablecoins, on the other hand, have strong universality and can freely circulate on multiple platforms. They are used in scenarios such as cryptocurrency market trading settlements and cross - border payments, and their functions are similar to cash in traditional finance.
Currently, HashKey is not involved in the stablecoin issuance business.
HashKey Group is positioned to build a Web3 ecosystem. It is headquartered in Hong Kong, China, and also operates in Singapore, Japan, and Bermuda. Its business lines cover cryptocurrency exchanges, Web3, tokenization, venture capital and asset management, blockchain technology and solutions, forming a relatively complete crypto - ecosystem layout.
According to Ryan Capital, Banyan Capital once invested $30 million in HashKey, with a pre - investment valuation of over $1 billion.
As HashKey's flagship business, HashKey Exchange is one of the first licensed retail virtual asset exchanges in Hong Kong. It has currently obtained approval from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and holds Licenses Type 1 (dealing in securities), Type 7 (providing automated trading services) under the Securities and Futures Ordinance, and a license to operate a virtual asset trading platform (AMLO) under the Anti - Money Laundering and Counter - Terrorist Financing Ordinance.
Multiple compliance qualifications ensure that HashKey Exchange can provide comprehensive virtual asset trading services to customers in compliance with Hong Kong's laws and regulations.
Perhaps also due to compliance restrictions, currently, retail customers in the HashKey Exchange can only trade 5 cryptocurrencies such as BTC, ETH, SOL, AVAX, and LINK. Professional investors, on the other hand, have a relatively richer variety of tokens to trade. In addition to the above 5 tokens, it also includes XRP, DOGE, USDT, OP, etc..
In addition to spot trading, HashKey Exchange also provides OTC trading services, that is, "over - the - counter trading", with a minimum transaction amount equivalent to $100,000. The platform connects multiple liquidity sources, offers extremely narrow bid - ask spreads, and effectively reduces transaction costs and slippage risks.
Beyond its core exchange business, HashKey also achieves business synergy mainly through four sectors.
Among them, HashKey Tokenisation undertakes tokenization business and provides services from technical consultation to pricing and issuance for the tokenization of various assets.
HashKey Capital focuses on blockchain technology investment and global asset management of digital assets. Currently, its investment portfolio includes top - level underlying protocols such as Ethereum and Polkadot, and it can distribute virtual asset funds to retail investors.
In addition, HashKey Cloud and HashKey Chain are providers of blockchain infrastructure and technical solutions. The former is responsible for providing blockchain underlying technology services to global customers and has covered the staking node services of more than 80 mainstream public chains; the latter is committed to promoting the integration of traditional finance and Web3. In June this year, GF Securities (Hong Kong) connected to HashKey Chain and issued the first daily redeemable tokenized security in Hong Kong, China.
The Industry is Still in the Expansion and Investment Phase, and the Profitability Problem Remains to Be Solved
In the Hong Kong stock market, holding the "License Type 1" and being the first to rush for an IPO under the dedicated regulatory framework for virtual assets are two prominent labels on HashKey.
Recall that in June this year, when Guotai Junan International announced that its subsidiary, Guotai Junan Securities (Hong Kong), had been approved to upgrade its existing License Type 1 to provide virtual asset trading services, Guotai Junan International's stock price soared 198.39% in a single day, sparking heated discussions in the market.
However, in fact, 41 institutions, including Shengli Securities, Tiger Brokers, Futu Securities, Tianfeng International under Tianfeng Securities, and Haifu Securities under East Money, also completed the "License Type 1" upgrade during the same period as Guotai Junan International.
This shows that the securities trading license held by HashKey to provide virtual asset trading services is not rare.
If we look beyond the time when the "Guidelines for Virtual Asset Trading Platforms" was officially implemented in Hong Kong in June 2023, HashKey is not the first crypto - asset trading platform to apply for listing in the Hong Kong stock market. Previously, OSL Group had taken the lead in listing on the Hong Kong stock market, providing a reference industry sample for HashKey to some extent.
Catalyzed by the compliance process such as the "Stablecoin Ordinance", OSL Group's share price has been on an upward trend in the secondary market. Its share price has risen 178% in the past year, and its market value reached HK$13.1 billion on October 24. This reflects the Hong Kong stock market's confidence in the virtual asset industry.
OSL Group's share price trend in the past year. Source: Wind
However, from an operational perspective, OSL Group has not yet escaped the dilemma of profit uncertainty commonly faced by the industry.
Although its revenue growth rate is relatively fast, it has been in a loss state from 2018 to 2023. It briefly turned a profit in 2024 with a net profit of HK$47.65 million, but Wind predicts that it will still incur a loss of HK$2.3 million in 2025, and its operating cash flow has been negative in the past two years.
OSL Group's net profit performance in recent years. Source: Wind
Analyzing the reasons for its losses, the sharp increase in costs due to global expansion has had an important impact. In the past few years, OSL Group has invested a large amount of capital in strategic acquisitions and team building. For example, in the first half of this year, OSL completed the acquisitions of Japanese crypto - exchange CoinBest and Italian Saintpay S.R.L., and announced plans to acquire Canadian Banxa for up to C$85.2 million and Indonesian Evergreen Crest for $15 million.
Its employee scale has also increased from 167 at the same time last year to 568.
This reflects to some extent the market environment that HashKey also faces - the current virtual asset market is still in the investment and expansion phase, and large - scale profitability still needs time to be verified.
On the other hand, the prices of virtual assets fluctuate greatly, and the lack of a mature regulatory framework and stable trading volume also add uncertainty to the industry's profit prospects. If the prices of mainstream virtual assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum drop significantly, the business volume of exchanges like OSL and HashKey may also decline, thereby impacting the overall profitability.
At the same time, the virtual asset service market has been attracting more comprehensive players in recent years. For example, JD.com and Ant Group have made substantial progress in areas such as infrastructure and tokenization. Compared with these participants who are backed by e - commerce ecosystems and have stable trading volumes as a foundation, they have inherent advantages in scenarios such as digital asset payments. Independent third - party exchanges like HashKey seem to lack the support of their own market demand.
From the perspective of profit prospects, HashKey also needs to balance the relationship between short - term revenue and long - term investment. The exchange's commission income is greatly affected by market fluctuations, while businesses such as asset management and technical services can provide stable cash flow but also require continuous technical investment and ecological construction.
Compliance Costs May Drag Down Profitability
According to the latest official information, as of October 13, 2025, HashKey Exchange ranks 16th among global exchanges on Coingecko, being the highest - ranked licensed virtual asset exchange in Hong Kong.
In this context, HashKey Exchange can be regarded as the "largest licensed crypto - exchange in Hong Kong".
Compared with other platforms, holding the "License Type 1" makes it easier to attract investors such as traditional financial institutions, family offices, and high - net - worth customers who have strict requirements for security and compliance, providing a foundation of trust for business expansion.
However, under the current virtual asset regulatory framework, licensed platforms also need to follow strict risk management systems.
Some market views have mentioned that applying for a VASP license (Virtual Asset Service Provider) costs HK$20 million - HK$50 million, and regulatory requirements mandate that license holders must have at least two ROs (Responsible Officers), with each RO having an annual salary of approximately HK$2 million - HK$5 million.
This has led to a sharp increase in HashKey's operating costs.
In addition, the number of tradable tokens for retail users on HashKey Exchange is also very limited. Currently, retail users can only trade 5 tokens such as BTC, ETH, SOL, AVAX, and LINK, while platforms such as Binance, Huobi, and OKX have listed hundreds of tokens.
This limitation also affects HashKey's user attractiveness and trading volume to some extent.
Therefore, high compliance costs and restrictions on tradable tokens may become obstacles for HashKey to achieve a higher price in the capital market.
Just as Circle's share price soared nearly nine - fold in less than 15 trading days at the beginning of its listing but then quickly corrected, in addition to short - term panic selling, single - source revenue, high costs, and unstable profitability are also the main concerns of the capital market.
However, in terms of connecting with traditional finance, HashKey has also demonstrated the potential of its "compliant identity". In 2025, it has made continuous efforts in the virtual asset ETF field: in April, it cooperated with Bosera International to launch the spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs for trading, with HashKey serving as the deputy fund manager and infrastructure service provider; in August, as a trading platform and sub - custodian, it provided core support for the Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs under MicroBit.
In the combination of the "virtual" and the "traditional", HashKey's compliance advantage can be brought into play, and this advantage may become a major source of its future profits.
Overall, although the licensed status brings high compliance costs, it also builds a moat for HashKey with security, trust, and interconnection as core competitiveness. However, whether this advantage can be transformed into continuous profits still depends on its ability to balance the cost and revenue structure within the limited market scale. Since the implementation of the virtual asset regulatory framework in Hong Kong, the IPO attempt of this local largest licensed crypto - exchange will also be a touchstone to test the maturity of the Hong Kong virtual asset market.
*Disclaimer:
The content of this article only represents the author's views.
The market is risky, and investment should be made with caution. Under no circumstances does the information in this article or the opinions expressed constitute investment advice to anyone. Before making an investment decision, if necessary, investors must consult professionals and make careful decisions. We have no intention of providing underwriting services or any services that require specific qualifications or licenses for the parties involved in the transaction.
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