HashKey Group, the owner of Hong Kong’s leading licensed crypto exchange, has reportedly initiated the process for an initial public offering (IPO) in the city.
As per a Friday Bloomberg report citing unnamed sources familiar with the situation, HashKey Group may be targeting a listing in Hong Kong this year, potentially raising up to $500 million.
HashKey is recognized as Hong Kong’s foremost crypto exchange, boasting a 24-hour trading volume of nearly $117 million at the time of writing, according to data from CoinGecko data. The exchange’s popularity has also made it a target for scammers.
In January, reports indicated that Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) had flagged 33 suspicious websites pretending to be HashKey, one of the city’s licensed cryptocurrency trading platforms, raising the total number of identified impersonators to 45. HashKey has confirmed that it is not affiliated with any of these websites.
Hashkey had not responded to Cointelegraph’s request for comment by the time of publication.
Related: Hong Kong rules limit stablecoin derivatives trading: DBS CEO
Hong Kong, a rising crypto hub
In August, Hong Kong tightened its crypto regulations with new custody rules that prohibit smart contracts in cold wallets and impose stricter security measures. This was followed by an SFC warning that the recent stablecoin framework was increasing risks of fraud. In September, the chief of DBS Hong Kong stated that the city’s stablecoin regulations would effectively hinder onchain derivatives trading.
In early September, local media reported that Chinese regulators were planning to limit mainland state-owned enterprises and banks from engaging in stablecoin and cryptocurrency activities in Hong Kong; however, that report has since been retracted.
Related: Animoca and Standard Chartered form stablecoin venture in Hong Kong
HashKey is more than just an exchange
In September, HashKey unveiled a $500 million Digital Asset Treasury fund, with its CEO asserting that well-managed crypto treasuries will “endure any market.” In April, Hong Kong authorized HashKey to offer staking services, aiming to provide Ether (ETH) staking services for spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
The company secured $30 million in funding from the Chinese venture capital firm Gaorong Ventures, achieving a valuation of $1.5 billion by mid-February. This followed HashKey becoming a unicorn by surpassing a $1 billion valuation in mid-January after raising nearly $100 million in a funding round at a pre-money valuation exceeding $1.2 billion.
Magazine: China mocks US crypto policies, Telegram’s new dark markets: Asia Express
