Essential Insights
HashKey aspires to be Hong Kong’s first fully crypto-native IPO by planning to list 240.57 million shares under the city’s virtual asset regulatory framework.
The company’s services go beyond a spot exchange by integrating trading, custody, institutional staking, asset management, and tokenization into a comprehensive regulated platform.
Although revenue is on the rise, the company continues to face losses due to significant investments in technology, compliance, and market growth.
Most proceeds from the IPO are expected to be used to enhance infrastructure and stimulate global growth, making the listing a long-term investment in regulated digital asset markets.
HashKey aims to be the first crypto exchange accessible to Hong Kong investors through their local stock market. The company has applied for an initial public offering (IPO) that could establish it as the city’s first publicly listed, fully crypto-native platform under the new virtual asset regulations, offering 240.57 million shares, with some set aside for local retail investors.
Shares are projected to be priced between 5.95 and 6.95 Hong Kong dollars, potentially reaching 1.67 billion HKD (approximately $215 million), which may imply a multibillion-dollar valuation if fully subscribed.
Trading is anticipated to commence on December 17 on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
HashKey claims to operate what is termed as Hong Kong’s “largest licensed platform,” encompassing custody, institutional staking, and tokenization. In its latest disclosures, the group indicated managing tens of billions of Hong Kong dollars in staking and platform assets.
In the upcoming sections, we will explore the company’s operations, the comparison of its financials, how it plans to utilize the IPO funds, and why the outcome of this offering is pivotal for grasping Hong Kong’s broader ambitions in virtual assets.
Did you know? Several analysts consider HashKey’s IPO a real-time evaluation of whether public markets are willing to support heavily regulated crypto infrastructure.
Why HashKey’s IPO could be a significant move for Hong Kong
HashKey represents one of the primary efforts to present Hong Kong’s new virtual asset regulations to public equity investors. The exchange plans to offer a total of 240.57 million shares, with 24.06 million set aside for local investors and the rest for international buyers, at a maximum price of 6.95 HKD per share.
Final pricing is expected to be announced on December 16, 2025, with trading to begin the following day under the proposed stock code 3887. If the offering reaches full subscription at the highest price, it may amount to 1.67 billion HKD (around $215 million), positioning HashKey as a significant crypto-focused listed entity in Asia.
This listing is a milestone in Hong Kong’s initiative to restore its reputation as a digital asset hub following years of regulatory ambiguity. The city has recently instituted a dedicated licensing framework for retail and institutional crypto platforms and introduced strict custody and stablecoin regulations.
HashKey provides an early, detailed perspective on how a fully regulated, multi-service crypto business can operate within this new structure.
The IPO could act as a real-time gauge of investor interest in compliant crypto infrastructure, particularly as mainland China enforces stringent restrictions on various digital asset operations. Beijing has already aimed to curtail some major tech-associated stablecoin projects in the city, indicating the political limitations of Hong Kong’s experiment.
The post-debut trading performance of HashKey may serve as a preliminary marker of whether these constraints allow sufficient space for a successful, profitable, publicly listed crypto exchange.
Did you know? HashKey Group is supported by established institutional investors, including entities associated with Wanxiang, which gives it a more traditional finance profile compared to many offshore exchanges.
What business is actually going public?
Formally, HashKey Holdings is an exchange IPO. However, for investors, it signifies a more extensive crypto infrastructure offering that has been reviewed and certified within Hong Kong’s regulatory context.
Central to this is HashKey Exchange, a licensed trading venue in Hong Kong authorized by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) under Type 1 and Type 7 licenses. It facilitates spot trading, over-the-counter services, and fiat on- and off-ramps using HKD and USD, claiming to be Hong Kong’s largest licensed platform catering to both retail and professional clients.
Surrounding it is a broader ecosystem. HashKey Cloud offers institutional staking and node services, with approval to support staking for Hong Kong’s upcoming spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs). It has reported managing around 29 billion HKD in staked assets as of Q3 2025, positioning itself as one of Asia’s largest staking providers and a significant player worldwide.
The group also runs an asset management division, providing crypto funds and venture strategies, with approximately 7.8 billion HKD in assets under management as of September 30, 2025. Moreover, it has ventured into tokenization through HashKey Chain, which focuses on real-world assets (RWAs), stablecoins, and institutional use cases. The company has reported about 1.7 billion HKD in on-chain RWAs.
Lastly, HashKey is developing crypto-as-a-service tools and seeking licenses in various locations, including Singapore, Dubai, Japan, Bermuda, and parts of Europe. This indicates that the IPO aims to support international growth and a white-label infrastructure model, rather than just serving the Hong Kong market.
Did you know? HashKey’s disclosures indicate that its RWA network has already tokenized more than 1 billion HKD worth of real-world assets on-chain, including structured notes and private credit products.
Revenue, losses, and the “compliance-first” strategy
HashKey exemplifies a typical growth-stage pattern: revenues have surged, but the business is still cash-negative as it invests in expansion, licensing, and compliance. Total revenue increased from approximately 129 million HKD in 2022 to 721 million HKD in 2024, representing a more than 4.5x growth over two years, following the launch of its exchanges in Hong Kong and Bermuda and rising trading activity.
However, this growth has yet to yield profits. A filing review indicates that net losses nearly doubled during this timeframe, escalating from 585.2 million HKD in 2022 to 1.19 billion HKD in 2024, primarily due to increased expenses in technology, personnel, compliance, and marketing.
Trading volumes increased from 4.2 billion HKD in 2022 to 638.4 billion HKD in 2024, yet a low-fee approach and the costs tied to operating licensed platforms across several jurisdictions contributed to a persistent negative bottom line.
More recent figures suggest the situation may be improving. In the first half of 2025, HashKey reported a net loss of 506.7 million HKD, which is narrower compared to the 772.6 million HKD loss during the same period the previous year.
The company describes these losses as investments toward building a compliant, licensed, and scalable digital asset platform in anticipation of market cycles. It suggests that the lengthy and costly build-out parallels the paths of earlier leading exchanges before achieving profitability.
How HashKey intends to use the IPO proceeds
HashKey is clear about its intentions for the new capital.
About 40% of the net proceeds are designated for technology and infrastructure enhancements over the next three to five years. This includes scaling HashKey Chain, enhancing the exchange’s matching engine, and fortifying custody, security, and back office systems. Company summaries also highlight derivatives, yield products, and improved institutional tools as specific focus areas, moving HashKey closer to the full suite of products offered by larger international platforms.
Another 40% is allocated to market expansion and partnerships within the ecosystem. This entails a more aggressive push into new regions and scaling crypto-as-a-service products where banks, brokers, and fintechs connect to HashKey’s custody and trading stack via APIs, rather than building full-scale infrastructure in-house. The company’s discussions surrounding foreign licensing and institutional collaborations suggest it seeks to differentiate itself from competitors primarily focused on retail transactions.
The remaining 20% is split between operational and risk management (10%) and working capital and general corporate needs (10%). This encompasses hiring, enhancing compliance and internal controls, and sustaining balance sheet flexibility to adjust to market cycles.
What’s next?
As December progresses, three key areas warrant attention:
The pricing of the deal and the performance of shares post-listing
If HashKey can convert its full stack—including exchange, custody, staking, and tokenization—into consistent, diversified revenue
The robustness of Hong Kong’s licensed yet open approach to digital assets.
Should HashKey execute effectively, it could pave the way for other exchanges, banks, and tokenization projects to pursue public listings in the city. Conversely, if it encounters difficulties, the outcome might illuminate the practical boundaries of Hong Kong’s virtual asset experiment.
