'Coinbase of Asia' HashKey Exchange to List on Hong Kong Stock Exchange on the 17th [Crypto Briefing]

[Financial News] HashKey Holdings, the operator of HashKey Exchange, the largest virtual asset exchange in Hong Kong, will be listed on HKEX on the 17th. Following OSL Group, this marks the second entry of a virtual asset company into the regulated market in Hong Kong, drawing industry attention as the emergence of the 'Coinbase of Asia.' Through this IPO, HashKey aims to raise up to $214.7 million (about 300 billion KRW) and expand its virtual asset ecosystem, including Stablecoins.
According to foreign media and the virtual asset industry on the 15th, HashKey Holdings will offer 240.6 million shares at a price range of $0.76 to $0.89 per share. Based on the upper end of the price range, the company's valuation is expected to reach approximately $2.46 billion.
Market response has already been enthusiastic. According to KB Securities, as of 2 p.m. on the 11th, the subscription amount reached $4.157 billion, demonstrating strong investor interest. J.P. Morgan and Guotai Junan International served as lead underwriters, focusing on attracting global institutional funds.
Since its launch in Hong Kong in 2018, HashKey Exchange has expanded its business to include local virtual asset exchanges and venture capital (VC) operations in Singapore and Japan. In April last year, it obtained a license in Bermuda and launched 'HashKey Global,' a global virtual asset exchange.
A representative from Xangle Research stated, 'HashKey Exchange is known to account for about 75% of the Hong Kong virtual asset trading market.' As of the end of September, its cumulative spot trading volume exceeded $167 billion. The representative added, 'HashKey Exchange has solidified its dominant position in the Hong Kong market by offering not only spot trading for institutional and retail clients, but also Over-the-counter (OTC) trading, staking, and Tokenization Services.'
Industry experts particularly note that this listing of HashKey Exchange carries significance beyond a typical exchange IPO. It aligns with the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's policy to foster virtual assets. Previously, the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (LegCo) passed a Stablecoin bill in May, and plans to finalize the list of licensed Stablecoin companies early next year. HashKey Exchange is also attracting developers and users through its Ethereum-based Layer 2 blockchain. Recently, the company signed a Web3 infrastructure partnership with Alibaba Cloud and announced its Digital Asset Treasury (DAT) strategy. The funds raised from this IPO will be used to upgrade technology and infrastructure.
Park Soo-hyun, a researcher at KB Securities, predicted, 'The possibility of rapid expansion of virtual asset trading, including Stablecoins, in Hong Kong has increased.' She added, 'In the future, not only exchanges but also issuers and custodians may pursue listings on HKEX as the market grows.'
Of particular note is the possibility that HashKey Exchange could serve as a testbed for mainland China. Some observers believe that Hong Kong's virtual asset trading system may ultimately connect with the mainland's Renminbi (RMB) Stablecoin business. Park also observed, 'Amid the financial hegemony competition between the United States and China, the internationalization of the RMB and the emergence of RMB Stablecoins could help address issues such as the debt problems linked to Local Government Financing Vehicles (LGFV) in Chinese local governments.'
elikim@fnnews.com Kim Mi-hee Reporter