HashKey Holdings saw its shares slip 3% on Wednesday during its Hong Kong trading debut, closing at HK$6.51 after pricing near the top of its marketed range at HK$6.68, according to CNBC.

The crypto exchange raised $206 million in its initial public offering, marking the first public listing by a digital asset company in the city, even as bitcoin tumbled 36% from its October all-time high above $126,000.

The underwhelming performance came despite robust investor demand, with the institutional tranche drawing subscriptions 5.5 times the available stock and retail investors oversubscribing by nearly 394 times.

Cornerstone investors, including Fidelity, UBS, CDH Investments, and Cithara Fund, participated in the offering, while JPMorgan and Guotai Haitong served as joint bookrunners.

Hong Kong’s Crypto Hub Ambitions Face Market Headwinds

Founded in 2018, HashKey operates the city’s largest licensed virtual asset trading platform and secured one of the earliest approvals under Hong Kong’s 2022 digital asset regime.

The company holds more than 75% of Hong Kong’s onshore digital asset trading volume, providing exchange services alongside over-the-counter trading, staking, tokenization, and asset management solutions for institutional and retail clients.

Speaking with Reuters, CEO Xiao Feng emphasized his long-term confidence despite near-term volatility.

“My confidence is only growing stronger and I am more optimistic than 10 years ago because there’s more regulation and compliance guidelines for us to follow which will allow the industry to grow further,” he said at the listing ceremony.

The exchange facilitated HK$1.7 trillion in trading volume through September 2025, though first-half revenue fell 26% year over year to HK$284 million.

HashKey posted a HK$506.7 million loss during that period, narrowing from HK$772.6 million the previous year as the company invested heavily in compliance infrastructure and market expansion.

Mainland Ban Contrasts With Hong Kong’s Digital Asset Push

Hong Kong’s embrace of cryptocurrencies stands in sharp contrast to mainland China, which banned crypto trading in 2021 and recently renewed warnings about virtual assets.

The city launched a stablecoin licensing system this year and is considering allowing exchanges to connect local platforms with global operations, positioning itself as a testing ground for regulated digital asset adoption.

Xiao distinguished Hong Kong’s approach from Beijing’s crackdown, noting mainland measures targeted pyramid schemes and stablecoin fraud.

“Hong Kong continues to promote policies regarding digital assets and we have benefited from that,” he said. “We should firmly adhere to ‘one country’, but wisely take advantage of ‘two systems.’“

CFO Eric Zhu expressed confidence that the Asian market would catch up with U.S. crypto penetration rates.

“We are confident that the penetration rate in Hong Kong, in the Asian market, is going to catch up with what happens in the U.S,” he told CNBC.

The company plans to deploy IPO proceeds toward technology infrastructure upgrades, market expansion partnerships, and enhanced risk management systems.

HashKey will prioritize cash flow over profitability in the near term while continuing investments as the sector develops, according to Xiao.

The listing arrived during a challenging period for global crypto equities.

As reported earlier by Cryptonews, stablecoin provider Circle lost 70% of its value since peaking in June, while exchanges Bullish and Gemini declined over 30% and 60% respectively, since their summer debuts.

Bitcoin has fallen roughly 30% from October highs amid concerns about geopolitical tensions and broader market jitters.

Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan attended the listing ceremony, which shows the city’s official support for its digital asset initiatives.

The debut contributed to Hong Kong’s strongest IPO year since 2021, with over $34 billion raised from new listings through December, according to data obtained by Reuters, reclaiming the top global ranking from U.S. exchanges for the first time since 2019.

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