HashKey officially listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, marking another IPO for Wanxiang's chairman.

Author: Nancy, PANews

Seven years after its founding, the cryptocurrency exchange Hasheky opened the door to the traditional capital market with a single gong.

On December 17, HashKey officially listed on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Starting from auto parts and now holding controlling stakes in multiple listed companies across various industries, Wanxiang Group's years of deep cultivation in the blockchain field have finally yielded fruitful results. Under the leadership of Xiao Feng, known as the "Godfather of Chinese Crypto", HashKey has set a compliant listing model for the cryptocurrency industry that can be used as a reference.

Wanxiang Group began preparing for its IPO five years ago, and its chairman is a major shareholder.

"Since its establishment in Hong Kong in 2018, the company has been preparing for its listing." Now, HashKey has officially listed on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, becoming the first publicly offered stock in the Asian digital asset sector in Hong Kong.

Following the listing ceremony, Dr. Xiao Feng, Chairman and CEO of HashKey, stated that digital assets are still an emerging industry, and meeting the audit and compliance standards required for listing requires more time to refine the systems and business operations. Therefore, this successful listing was not accidental, but rather a natural outcome.

In Xiao Feng's view, listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange is a new starting point. Although HashKey originated from a mainland team, it has developed into a homegrown Hong Kong company. In the future, it will be rooted in Hong Kong, adhere to the path of compliance, practice the strategic direction of "upholding the foundation of one country and making good use of the advantages of two systems", continuously improve infrastructure capabilities, and strengthen key capabilities such as security, custody, on-chain execution, and on-chain compliance.

The successful listing of HashKey is the result of Wanxiang Group's years of investment in blockchain.

HashKey's largest shareholder is Lu Weiding, who directly holds over 40% of the shares, giving him absolute control. This year, Lu Weiding made it onto the Forbes Global Billionaires list with a fortune of $3.8 billion. Born in 1971, Lu Weiding is the son of Lu Guanqiu, a traditional Zhejiang businessman and founder of Wanxiang Group. In the last century, Lu Guanqiu led six farmers with 4,000 yuan to start a blacksmith shop, which became the starting point for Wanxiang Group.

In October 2017, after Lu Guanqiu's death, Lu Weiding officially succeeded him as Chairman of Wanxiang Group. As Lu Guanqiu's only son, Lu Weiding became President of Wanxiang Group at the age of 23 and Executive Director of Wanxiang Holdings Co., Ltd. at 30. Lu Weiding has made significant achievements in corporate operations, finance, and capital management, and single-handedly planned Wanxiang's financial expansion beyond its core industries. Wanxiang Group holds stakes or controlling interests in Wanxiang Trust, Minsheng Insurance, and Zhejiang Commercial Bank, among others.

Over the years, Wanxiang Group has gradually built an industrial empire spanning automobiles, new energy, agriculture, real estate, and finance. In an interview with *China Entrepreneur* magazine this year, Lu Weiding stated that the company's operations have always adhered to the philosophy of "wealth dispersed brings people together, wealth hoarded leads to dispersal; acquisition should be ethical, and its use should be shared joyfully."

Lu Weiding himself has always maintained a low profile, while Xiao Feng acts more like a spokesperson for HashKey, holding a 16.3% stake in the company. Xiao Feng left Bosera Funds in 2011 to join Wanxiang, serving as Vice Chairman of China Wanxiang Holdings, responsible for building Wanxiang's financial sector. In 2015, Wanxiang Group established the Wanxiang Blockchain Lab, with Xiao Feng as one of the initiators. That same year, Wanxiang invested $500,000 in Ethereum, which was facing financial difficulties at the time. Also in 2015, Wanxiang Holdings invested $50 million to establish Distributed Capital, China's first venture capital fund focused on investing in blockchain technology-related companies, with Vitalik Buterin as a co-founder, who became an advisor in 2018.

It can be said that Xiao Feng was one of the key figures driving the early development of cryptocurrencies and a core figure in Wanxiang Group's blockchain strategy. Xiao Feng has been actively involved in the formulation of industry standards and policy discussions, and has promoted the improvement of relevant regulatory frameworks.

After founding HashKey in 2018, Xiao Feng focused on a compliant approach. At the listing ceremony, Xiao Feng stated that HashKey had already successfully expanded overseas, using Hong Kong as its base to serve a global market presence, and currently holds 13 licenses across six jurisdictions. He believes the key to HashKey's ability to meet the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's stringent IPO standards is its consistent adherence to the operating principle of "licensed compliance and regulation," proving that a compliant approach can lead to success in the cryptocurrency industry.

Following Wanxiang Qianchao, Chengde Lulu, Wanxiang Denong, and Shunfa Hengye, HashKey has become another listed company in the Wanxiang Group.

Oversubscribed by nearly 400 times, raising HK$1.6 billion against the odds.

Before officially embarking on its Hong Kong IPO, HashKey disclosed its true ledger to the public.

According to a previous PANews report, HashKey's main businesses are transaction facilitation services, on-chain services, and asset management services. However, from 2022 to the first half of 2025, HashKey suffered losses year after year, accumulating losses exceeding HK$2.86 billion. Nevertheless, HashKey's cash reserves remain relatively ample; as of October 31, the company held HK$1.48 billion in cash and cash equivalents and HK$570 million in digital assets. (Related reading: HashKey aims to become Hong Kong's first crypto stock; what key points are hidden in its listing documents? )

Regarding profitability, Xiao Feng frankly stated that the company will be in an investment phase for some time to come, as the market is still in a stage of rapid growth. Profitability is not the company's most core operating indicator. The key is whether the company has sufficient cash reserves to support long-term development, especially since the next two to three years will be a critical window of opportunity for industry development. Insufficient investment may cause the company to miss the opportunity for rapid industry growth, which is also an important reason why the company is not currently seeking profitability.

Despite facing financial pressure from years of losses and a less than optimistic market outlook for its IPO, the market response after subscriptions opened significantly exceeded expectations.

The Hong Kong public offering was oversubscribed by approximately 393.7 times, involving funds of approximately HK$66.8 billion and attracting more than 88,000 investors; the international placement was oversubscribed by more than 5.4 times.

HashKey's cornerstone investors include UBS AM Singapore, Fidelity Investments, CDH, Shining Capital, Infini, Zhiyuan, Litong, Space Z PTE. LTD., and Shining Light Grace, who collectively subscribed for US$75 million. Specifically, UBS AM Singapore subscribed for US$10 million, Fidelity Investments and CDH each subscribed for US$5 million, Shining Capital subscribed for US$15 million, Infini, Zhiyuan, and Litong each subscribed for US$10 million, and Space Z PTE and Shining Light Grace each subscribed for US$5 million.

Based on the allocation results, HashKey's global offering totaled approximately 241 million shares. Of these, 10% (24,057,200 shares) were offered to the public in Hong Kong, and 90% (216,512,800 shares) were offered internationally.

HashKey set its offering price at HK$6.68 per share, raising net proceeds of approximately HK$1.48 billion globally. The company plans to use the proceeds primarily for technology and infrastructure upgrades, market expansion, and ecosystem partnerships.

On its first day of trading, HashKey did not replicate the surge seen by Circle, the "first stablecoin stock," upon its IPO. Its share price opened at HK$6.55, slightly below the offering price. The company's total market capitalization is approximately HK$18.112 billion, exceeding that of OSL Group, the parent company of OSL Exchange, Hong Kong's first compliant virtual asset trading platform.

HashKey becoming the first cryptocurrency company to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange not only signifies the increasing maturity of Hong Kong's virtual asset regulatory framework but also provides an important reference for the industry's compliant development. Looking ahead, HashKey still faces many challenges, with achieving profitability being its primary task.