For context, read this profile alongside the Hong Kong hub and the crypto-wealth infrastructure guide. It is a case study in regulated crypto and custody infrastructure, not a product recommendation. Primary source: HashKey Group.
Since 2023 Hong Kong has been building a full licensing regime for digital asset trading, and HashKey Group has become the main beneficiary of that policy: the group accounts for ≈75% of the city's licensed spot volume, and on 17 December 2025 its holding company became the first digital-asset business to list on the Main Board of HKEX. Ticker 3887 turned a crypto platform into an object of ordinary exchange analysis.
For the client this is the rare situation where a crypto provider reads like a classic broker: SFC licences, a public prospectus, exchange reporting, client money accounts at systemically important banks. Let us look at the units the group is assembled from, what its services cost, who its competitors are and what all of that means in practice.
Background
HashKey Group was founded in Hong Kong in 2018. Its founder, chairman and CEO is Dr Xiao Feng, a veteran of the Chinese securities and asset management industry and simultaneously chairman of Wanxiang Blockchain and vice chairman of the Wanxiang Holding conglomerate. The group grew out of Wanxiang's blockchain arm and, according to reports citing the prospectus, the largest economic interest in the holding company remains with Wanxiang-linked structures.
The licensing history has two steps. In November 2022 the operating company Hash Blockchain Limited received SFC Type 1 and Type 7 licences to run a platform for professional investors, and on 3 August 2023 came the uplift to retail service: HashKey Exchange became the first Hong Kong venue admitted to retail clients. By 30 September 2025 cumulative spot turnover had reached $167bn and the share of the city's licensed volume ≈75%, three times more than the nearest competitor (prospectus data).
The end of the route is the IPO. On 17 December 2025 HashKey Holdings listed on HKEX under ticker 3887: 240.6m shares at HK$6.70 against a range of HK$5.99–6.95 and an offer size of up to HK$1.67bn, raising ≈US$206m in practice at a valuation of ≈US$2.46bn at the top of the range. The sponsors were J.P. Morgan and Guotai Junan International; the retail tranche was 394 times oversubscribed and the international one ≈5.5 times, with UBS AM Singapore, Cithara Global, Fidelity and CDH among the anchor investors. The money raised goes into scaling the ecosystem, risk management and hiring.
Products and pricing
The core of the group is HashKey Exchange: spot trading in BTC, ETH and other SFC-approved assets against HKD and USD. Fees as of August 2026: a base tier of 0.29% maker / 0.29% taker, with volume-based VIP tiers cutting the rates to 0% maker / 0.05% taker, and payment in the platform's HSK token adding a further discount of ≈5% (fee breakdown). Crypto deposits and bank transfers carry no platform fee, there is no separate custody charge, and round-the-clock fiat conversion has been running since December 2025.
The second venue is HashKey Global, the offshore exchange for markets outside Hong Kong: a Class F licence in Bermuda, VASP registration in Ireland and conditional VARA approval in Dubai, with a MENA platform carrying AED and USD fiat gateways since May 2025 and USD-margined perpetuals since November 2025. In 2026 the group began converging the Hong Kong and offshore venues into a single platform.
A full stack is assembled around the exchanges:
- HashKey OTC — block trades and conversion for large clients; spreads are quoted individually and there is no public tariff; the Singapore arm operates under a MAS licence;
- HashKey Custody — segregated custody for institutions;
- HashKey Capital — venture and asset management: over US$1bn of AUM as of 30 September 2025 and a first close of Fund IV at US$250m in December 2025; since April 2024 the unit has taken part in managing Asia's first spot BTC/ETH ETFs in the Bosera HashKey range;
- HashKey Chain — an Ethereum L2, mainnet launched in January 2025, gas token HSK;
- HashKey Cloud — staking infrastructure: validators, a Crypto-as-a-Service platform (November 2025), institutional Solana staking with Marinade and Japan's first DAT staking;
- RWA tokenisation — in November 2025 the group signed a tokenised assets partnership with Kraken.
Onboarding is broader than commonly assumed. A retail account is available to Hong Kong residents and to non-residents from ≈30 supported jurisdictions: the list includes Singapore, Japan, South Korea, the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the large EU countries from Germany and France to Luxembourg, and also India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Argentina, South Africa and Turkey. The condition is a bank account in one of those countries, with the holder's name matching the KYC form exactly; the first deposit (HKD 10,000 or equivalent) then credits in about five minutes.
The documents required are a passport from a supported country or a Hong Kong ID plus a recent proof of address no more than three months old — a utility bill, a bank statement or a tenancy agreement will do. The age range is 18–80. The venue does not serve mainland China; a holder of a Chinese passport needs a long-term visa or residence permit in a supported jurisdiction, and tourist visas are rejected. Professional investors get an extended product range and OTC access.
Competitive landscape
The only comparable licensed public player is OSL Group, which grew out of BC Technology Group: the platform received its first SFC licence back on 15 December 2020 and retail admission in August 2023, almost in sync with HashKey, and the company trades on HKEX under ticker 863. On licensed spot volume HashKey exceeds its nearest competitor more than threefold, according to its own prospectus.
Global venues of the Binance, OKX or Bybit calibre serve Asian clients from offshore perimeters without a Hong Kong VATP licence. Fees there are below the base 0.29%, but the client stays outside the protection of the SFC regime: segregation, client money bank accounts and exchange-level audit are no longer part of that package.
Stablecoins are a separate front. Since 1 August 2025 Hong Kong has operated the HKMA licensing regime for stablecoin issuers, and retail distribution of licensed coins is reserved for regulated channels, including SFC platforms. For HashKey this is a ready-made listing channel: a licensed exchange plus its own L2 position the group as infrastructure for HKD stablecoins.
What it means for the client
A client with a Hong Kong or Singapore structure gets a licensed entry point into digital assets with verifiable internals: due diligence comes down to reading the prospectus and the exchange filings under ticker 3887. The fiat side sits in client money accounts at systemically important banks: DBS has been connected since 30 June 2026, and on 3 August 2026 JPMorgan granted its approval — a strong argument in any conversation about the safety of funds.
Three things are worth looking at: whether the client's jurisdiction is on the supported list, whether the client is ready for source-of-funds screening at entry, and whether they understand that digital assets remain outside deposit insurance schemes. Protection here is built on SFC licences, segregation of client funds and bank placement of fiat.
Under the hood
For the builder HashKey demonstrates the benchmark route to regulated crypto in Asia, with the dates attached: Type 1/7 licences in November 2022, the retail uplift in August 2023, spot ETFs with Bosera in April 2024, the Singapore Major Payment Institution licence for HashKey OTC in August 2024, the L2 mainnet in January 2025 and the IPO in December 2025. Each step opened the next: without retail volumes there would be no 75% of the market, and without dominance there would be no listing with J.P. Morgan as a sponsor.
The economics are not simple, though: reportedly, in the three years before the IPO the group accumulated ≈HK$1.5bn of losses, and its market capitalisation rests on expectations of growth in the regulated market. The debut was volatile: an open at HK$6.70, a rise of ≈5% in the first hours, then a slide below the offer price and a first-day close a little under the IPO price. The compliance bar is expensive too — asset listings, custody and marketing are all agreed with the SFC.
The pitfalls for anyone repeating this: the licensing cycle took three years to reach retail and seven years to reach the exchange, and throughout that time the business lived on Wanxiang capital and venture rounds. Banking relationships came last — DBS and JPMorgan connected only after the IPO, once public reporting existed.
Regulation and status
In Hong Kong, Hash Blockchain Limited holds SFC Type 1 and Type 7 licences (since November 2022, retail since 3 August 2023) under the VATP regime; across the group there are also Type 4 and Type 9 licences — advising and asset management through the HashKey Capital perimeter, which takes part in managing spot crypto ETFs. The SFC opened staking to licensed platforms in April 2025, and HashKey was among the first venues to offer the service.
The international perimeter: in Singapore HashKey OTC operates under a Major Payment Institution licence from MAS since August 2024, including digital payment token services; the offshore wing holds a Class F licence in Bermuda, VASP registration with the Central Bank of Ireland and conditional VARA approval in Dubai. The holding company has traded on the Main Board of HKEX since 17 December 2025 under ticker 3887, with J.P. Morgan and Guotai Junan International as listing sponsors; client money is placed with DBS (since June 2026) and JPMorgan (approval in August 2026).
FAQ
Can a non-resident of Hong Kong open an account at HashKey Exchange?
Yes. Retail onboarding is open to clients from ≈30 supported jurisdictions — from Singapore, Japan and the US to the EU countries, Canada, Australia, Brazil and Turkey — provided they hold a bank account there in their own name. The first deposit is HKD 10,000 or equivalent, the age range is 18–80, and the documents required are a passport and a recent proof of address. The service is unavailable to residents of mainland China, and holders of Chinese passports need a long-term visa in a supported country.
How much does trading on HashKey Exchange cost?
As of August 2026 the base tariff is 0.29% maker / 0.29% taker. Volume-based VIP tiers cut the rates to 0% maker / 0.05% taker, and paying in the HSK token adds a discount of ≈5%. Crypto deposits and bank transfers carry no platform fee, and custody is not charged separately.
How does HashKey differ from OSL and from offshore exchanges?
OSL is the second licensed public player in Hong Kong (ticker 863), with its first SFC licence dating to December 2020; HashKey, however, exceeds it more than threefold on licensed volume, according to the prospectus. Offshore venues such as Binance or OKX are cheaper on fees but operate without a Hong Kong VATP licence: segregation of client funds, client money bank accounts and exchange reporting are no longer part of their package.
What did the IPO change for the platform's clients?
Since 17 December 2025 the holding company has reported under HKEX rules as ticker 3887: financials, licences and group structure are visible from the exchange filings. After the listing, client money accounts at DBS and JPMorgan were connected — checking the provider became an evening's work.
What licences does the group hold?
In Hong Kong — SFC Type 1 and Type 7 at Hash Blockchain Limited since November 2022 and retail admission since August 2023, plus Types 4 and 9 for advising and asset management in the HashKey Capital perimeter. In Singapore — a Major Payment Institution licence from MAS at HashKey OTC since August 2024. The offshore wing holds Bermuda (Class F), Ireland (VASP registration) and conditional VARA approval in Dubai.