Hong Kong's largest crypto exchange sees lukewarm market debut, shares gain 3%

HashKey shares roseate 3% Wednesday arsenic they debuted connected the Hong Kong banal exchange, aft the crypto speech raised $206 cardinal successful its archetypal nationalist offering, astatine a clip erstwhile crypto currencies person taken a beating. 

HashKey, Hong Kong's largest licensed crypto exchange, raised astir 1.6 cardinal Hong Kong dollars aft pricing the IPO astatine HK$6.68 per share, adjacent the higher extremity of the marketed scope of HK$5.95 to HK$6.95.

While mainland China has imposed a broad prohibition connected cryptocurrencies since 2021, Hong Kong has been much receptive toward integer assets.

Key cornerstone investors included Fidelity, UBS, Chinese concern steadfast CDH Investments and Cithara Fund amongst others. JPMorgan and fiscal services steadfast Guotai Haitong were among the associated bookrunners.

"Our ngo is to marque integer assets massively accessible, and what we are doing is to make a compliant level to link our users with the integer assets industry," HashKey Chief Financial Officer Eric Zhu told CNBC. 

"We are assured that the [crypto] penetration complaint successful Hong Kong, successful the Asian market, is going to drawback up with what happens successful the U.S," Zhu added.

The listing comes amid caller volatility successful planetary cryptocurrency markets aft touching grounds highs. The satellite largest cryptocurrency, bitcoin, has dropped astir 36% successful astir a period aft hitting an all-time precocious and crossing past $126,000 successful aboriginal October. It is down astir 6% truthful acold this year. 

Established successful 2018, HashKey operates a licensed integer plus level offering speech trading, over-the-counter services, on-chain services specified arsenic staking and tokenisation, arsenic good arsenic plus absorption solutions for organization and retail clients.

"This is simply a milestone for the integer plus and wealthiness absorption manufacture successful Asia. We judge Hong Kong is establishing itself arsenic a cardinal hub for regulated integer assets successful Asia," said William Ma, CIO astatine GROW Investment Group.

—CNBC's Emily Tan contributed to this report.