Crypto tycoon eyes Hong Kong to tap growing Chinese institutional Bitcoin demand with BTC asset management plan

Chinese crypto billionaire Li Lin is shifting a trading system and investment team from his family office, Avenir Group, to Hong Kong-listed Bitfire Group to capture rising institutional demand for Bitcoin. Bitfire said it will acquire the team and systems for $1.6 million, as Hong Kong steps up its push to become a global crypto hub even as mainland China's 2021 trading ban remains in place. Li sold a controlling stake in Huobi to Justin Sun for about $1 billion in 2022 and later refocused on Avenir. Bitfire now plans to roll out a regulated, bitcoin-denominated strategy called "Alpha BTC", aiming to attract inflows equivalent to more than 10,000 BTC, or roughly $760 million, within a year. The strategy is expected to seek returns through derivatives trading, including options, using bitcoin and ETFs such as the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) as underlying assets. Bitfire said the product will target both crypto-native investors and Hong Kong institutions.