Hong Kong's largest cryptocurrency exchange HashKey sees rollercoaster share price on first day of listing

Jumped nearly 7% in early trading

Immediately plunged … trading below IPO price

Impact of global cryptocurrency market downturn

HashKey Holdings, operator of Hong Kong's largest cryptocurrency exchange HashKey, debuted on the Hong Kong stock market. HashKey's shares jumped nearly 7% above the IPO price in early trading but gave back gains and are currently trading below the IPO price (as of 12:00 local time).

According to U.S. CNBC on the 17th, HashKey, which listed on the Hong Kong market that day, conducted its IPO at HK$6.68 per share, raising about HK$1.6 billion (about US$206 million). This was close to the top of the IPO price range of HK$5.95–6.95, and considering that the cryptocurrency market has been in a correction for the past few months, the market response was seen as strong. According to HashKey, demand from institutional investors in this IPO was 5.5 times the offered amount, and demand from retail investors oversubscribed by nearly 394 times.

However, on the day trading began, HashKey's shares started at HK$6.77 and hit HK$7.12, appearing to be on an early uptick, but the price immediately plunged to HK$6.12. They are currently hovering around HK$6.5.

While mainland China has banned cryptocurrencies outright since 2021, Hong Kong is more open to digital assets. Major investors in HashKey included Fidelity, UBS, Chinese investment firm CDH Investments, and Sitara Fund, and JPMorgan Chase and financial services firm Guotai Haitong served as joint sponsors.

Eric Zhu, HashKey's Chief Financial Officer (CFO), said, "Our goal is to popularize digital assets, and to that end we are building a compliance platform that connects users and the digital asset industry." He added, "I am confident that cryptocurrency adoption in Asian markets, including Hong Kong, will soon catch up with the United States."

HashKey's listing drew attention as it took place amid increased volatility in the global cryptocurrency market following Bitcoin's record high. Bitcoin surpassed a record high of US$126,000 in early October and fell about 36% within a month. It is down roughly 6% year-to-date. Founded in 2018, HashKey is a digital asset platform that offers a range of services including asset management, brokerage, and tokenization to institutional and retail clients and operates the largest cryptocurrency exchange in Hong Kong.

Reporter Cho Young-sun cho0sun@hankyung.com