When China banned cryptocurrency trading in 2021, most expected its crypto entrepreneurs to fade into obscurity. Li Lin had other plans. The founder of Huobi (now HTX), who sold his controlling stake for approximately $1 billion in 2022, is now engineering a Bitcoin asset management operation through Hong Kong-listed Bitfire Group — targeting holdings of more than 10,000 bitcoins, worth roughly $760 million, within a single year. The vehicle is a $1.6 million acquisition of the investment team and trading systems from his own family office, Avenir Group. It’s a classic founder move: buy cheap, build fast, and use a public listing to scale in Asia’s most crypto-friendly financial centre.
The Alpha BTC Strategy
Bitfire’s approach isn’t just buying and holding Bitcoin. The “Alpha BTC” strategy targets regulated bitcoin-denominated asset management using derivatives trading, including options with Bitcoin or BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) ETF as underlying assets. It’s institutional-grade crypto wrapped in a regulated shell.
The numbers from Avenir’s existing operations reveal the scale of Li Lin’s crypto conviction. By the end of 2025, Avenir held 18.3 million shares in BlackRock’s IBIT ETF, valued at $908 million. With Bitcoin trading at approximately $76,000, the 10,000 BTC target represents a concentrated bet that crypto’s institutional adoption has only just begun.
Why Hong Kong?
While mainland China maintains its crypto ban, Hong Kong has moved in the opposite direction. At least 40 Hong Kong-listed companies now hold Bitcoin on their balance sheets. The city has positioned itself as Asia’s crypto hub, offering regulatory clarity that mainland Chinese entrepreneurs can’t access at home. For Li Lin, it’s the perfect staging ground — close to Chinese capital networks but operating within a Western-style regulatory framework.
CEO Livio Weng is leading the operational build-out at Bitfire. The strategy mirrors what MicroStrategy pioneered in the US: use a public listing to accumulate Bitcoin at scale while offering investors regulated exposure to the asset class. The difference is that Bitfire is layering derivatives expertise on top, creating yield strategies that pure buy-and-hold approaches can’t match.
The Bottom Line
Li Lin isn’t betting on crypto from the sidelines anymore — he’s building the Asian infrastructure for institutional Bitcoin. A $760 million target through a Hong Kong-listed vehicle, backed by nearly $1 billion in existing IBIT holdings, signals that the smart money sees crypto’s regulated future in Asia’s most open financial centre. Whether this becomes the next MicroStrategy or an overconcentrated bet depends entirely on where Bitcoin goes from here. At $76,000, that’s a high-conviction wager.
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FAQ
Who is Li Lin and why does he matter in crypto?
Li Lin founded Huobi, which was one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges before China’s crypto ban. He sold his controlling stake for approximately $1 billion to Justin Sun in 2022. His move back into crypto through Hong Kong signals that major Chinese crypto entrepreneurs are finding ways to operate within Asia’s regulatory frameworks despite the mainland ban.
What is the IBIT ETF and why is it significant?
IBIT is BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, the world’s largest spot Bitcoin ETF. It gives institutional investors regulated exposure to Bitcoin without holding the asset directly. Avenir’s $908 million position in IBIT shows how family offices are using ETFs as a bridge between traditional finance and crypto markets.
Could this model work for UK investors?
UK retail investors now have access to crypto ETNs following the FCA’s recent U-turn, though without FSCS protection. The institutional derivatives strategies Bitfire is deploying aren’t available to retail investors, but the trend of regulated crypto products expanding globally suggests more options are coming. Hong Kong’s approach could influence how London develops its own crypto asset management ecosystem.
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