HashKey Falls Below IPO Price on First Day of Trading, 'The Eastern Coinbase' Not Yet Established
HashKey Holdings (stock code: 03887.HK), known as the first Hong Kong-listed cryptocurrency exchange, debuted on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on December 17. Despite strong pre-IPO interest—with its public offering oversubscribed by nearly 394 times—the stock price fell below its initial offering price of HK$6.68 within the first hour of trading. It closed the day at HK$6.67 after hitting a low of HK$6.12.
The market response contrasts sharply with earlier optimism from crypto industry participants, who had hailed HashKey as a milestone for Hong Kong’s Web3 sector and even dubbed it the "Eastern Coinbase." However, the article points out significant gaps between HashKey and Coinbase in terms of scale: HashKey has only 138,000 registered users and average daily trading volumes in the millions of dollars, far below Coinbase’s pre-IPO user base of 56 million and billions in daily trades.
HashKey has reported four consecutive years of losses, which the company attributes to high investment in technology and compliance during its early development phase. The IPO raised approximately HK$1.67 billion, with 40% earmarked for technology upgrades and another 40% for market expansion.
The listing is seen by some as a symbolic step toward broader acceptance of crypto in traditional finance, yet the author suggests HashKey’s successful listing may remain an isolated case in Hong Kong. This is largely due to the influential backing of its major shareholder, Lu Weiding—chairman of Wanxiang Group and a prominent business and political figure—whose support may be difficult for other crypto firms to replicate under current regulatory conditions.
Odaily星球日报12/17 12:05
