HashKey Group logo displayed on smartphone and PC screens.
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Hashkey shares fell 2.5% on Wednesday when they listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange after the cryptocurrency exchange raised $206 million in an initial public offering amid a crypto downturn.
Hashkey, Hong Kong’s largest licensed cryptocurrency exchange, raised about HK$1.6 billion after pricing its IPO at HK$6.68 per share, near the upper end of the market price range of HK$5.95 to HK$6.95. The stock price closed at HK$6.51.
Mainland China has imposed a total ban on cryptocurrencies starting in 2021, but Hong Kong is more tolerant of digital assets.
Key underlying investors include Fidelity, UBS, Chinese investment firm CDH Investments, and Cithara Fund. J.P. Morgan and financial services company Kuotai Kaitoshi are joint bookrunners.
“Our mission is to make digital assets accessible at scale, and what we’re doing is creating a compliant platform to connect users with the digital asset industry,” HashKey Chief Financial Officer Eric Chu told CNBC.
“We are confident that the penetration rate (of cryptocurrencies) in Hong Kong and other Asian markets will catch up with what is happening in the US,” Zhu added.
The listing comes amid recent volatility in global crypto markets after hitting record highs. Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, has fallen about 36% in about a month since hitting an all-time high of more than $126,000 in early October. It has fallen about 6% since the beginning of this year.
Founded in 2018, HashKey operates a licensed digital asset platform that provides asset management solutions for institutional and retail clients, as well as exchange trading, over-the-counter services, and on-chain services such as staking and tokenization.
“This is a milestone for the digital asset and wealth management industry in Asia. We believe Hong Kong is establishing itself as an important hub for regulated digital assets in Asia,” said William Ma, Chief Investment Officer of GROW Investment Group.
—CNBC’s Emily Tan contributed to this report.
