On June 25, the stock price of Guotai Junan International soared by 80% at the opening and surged over 190% during the day, becoming one of the strongest Hong Kong stocks. The dramatic price increase was accompanied by the traditional financial brokerage's high-profile entry into the cryptocurrency sector. The company announced today that it has received approval from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission to officially enter the cryptocurrency trading service market. Coupled with several Hong Kong-listed companies previously laying out Bitcoin and Ethereum asset allocations, as well as the impending implementation of the "Stablecoin Regulation," the Hong Kong stock market is quietly welcoming a wave of "crypto stock frenzy."

Brokerage Aircraft Carrier

Guotai Junan International is an important subsidiary of Guotai Haitong Group, primarily engaged in traditional financial-related businesses. The company operates through six business departments. The brokerage department provides clients with securities, futures, options, and leveraged foreign exchange trading, as well as brokerage and insurance brokerage services.

Its parent company, Guotai Haitong Securities, is a "carrier-level" brokerage formed in 2024 by the merger of two leading brokerages, Guotai Junan and Haitong Securities, providing a variety of financial services including investment banking and asset management to individual and institutional clients. It was officially renamed Guotai Haitong Securities in April 2025. Haitong Securities was established in 1988, while Guotai Securities and Junan Securities were both founded in 1992 and merged to form Guotai Junan in August 1999. This "carrier-level" brokerage is not satisfied with traditional financial services and has begun to venture into RWA and tokenized securities.

On June 25, Guotai Junan International officially received approval from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission to upgrade its existing securities license to a comprehensive license that allows for virtual asset trading and related advisory services. It became the first Hong Kong-based brokerage to obtain this qualification for comprehensive virtual asset trading services. Guotai Junan International's stock price surged over 80% at the opening, with the highest intraday increase exceeding 190%.

As a result, Guotai Junan International has become the first Hong Kong-based brokerage to provide comprehensive virtual asset-related trading services, covering virtual asset trading, professional advisory services during the trading process, and the issuance and distribution of virtual asset-related products, including over-the-counter derivatives.

This means that soon, clients of Guotai Junan International will be able to trade various virtual assets directly through its platform, including mainstream cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, as well as stablecoins like USDT, marking a significant step in the traditional brokerage's acceleration towards Web3 finance.

Competition or Cooperation? Comparing with HashKey

The path for Guotai Junan International to enter the cryptocurrency trading service can be summarized as: "Based on the identity of a traditional brokerage, starting from asset tokenization, gradually expanding into compliant virtual asset trading services."

HashKey is currently one of the most representative licensed cryptocurrency trading platforms in Hong Kong. Its approach to entering the cryptocurrency trading service can be summarized as: "Starting from compliance, building institutional-level infrastructure, and steadily expanding into the retail market."

Against the backdrop of Hong Kong accelerating the construction of a virtual asset center, HashKey Exchange and Guotai Junan International represent two different paths in cryptocurrency financial practice, entering the RWA and tokenized securities market from the perspectives of Web3 native and traditional brokerage, respectively.

As one of the first licensed virtual asset trading platforms in Hong Kong, HashKey has opened BTC and ETH spot trading to retail users and has established deposit and withdrawal paths with local banks such as ZA Bank and Standard Chartered Bank. The platform also provides OTC and custody services and is actively expanding its infrastructure for stablecoins and asset tokenization. Its parent company, HashKey Group, is also active in the Web3 investment field.

Unlike HashKey, which focuses on trading scenarios, Guotai Junan International's strategy leans more towards "chain reform" and "securitization of assets." Since January of this year, it has submitted and received approval from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission for the issuance and distribution plans of tokenized structured notes, funds, and digital bonds, aiming to map traditional financial products onto the blockchain. The project approvals occurred in April and May of this year.

HashKey is more suitable for crypto-native users; for example, if you want to buy BTC, stake on-chain, or arbitrage USDT, it serves as a "compliant but decentralized-friendly" entry point. Guotai Junan International's services are closer to the role of an investment bank in "on-chain asset securitization"; it may not trade cryptocurrencies with you but could underwrite a "tokenized government bond" and provide on-chain settlement services.

Is the Heat of Hong Kong Stocks Shifting from "Stablecoin Concept" to "Crypto Stocks"?

The Hong Kong Legislative Council recently passed the "Stablecoin Regulation," which will officially take effect on August 1. The first batch of issuing institutions includes JD Coin Chain Technology, Yuan Coin Innovation Technology, and Standard Chartered Hong Kong Consortium. Following the announcement, related stablecoin concept stocks such as ZhongAn Online, JD Group, and Lianlian Digital collectively surged.

At the same time, a new wave of "public companies hoarding coins" has emerged in the U.S. stock market, with companies following the "MicroStrategy path" to incorporate cryptocurrencies into their balance sheets through financing and bond issuance. After SBET bought ETH and DFDV bought SOL, their stock prices skyrocketed several times. On June 24, Nano Labs announced a $500 million private placement through convertible bonds for its BNB reserve strategy, with an intraday peak increase of 170%. There are already signs that this trend may be replicated in the Hong Kong stock market.

Boyaa Interactive began purchasing and holding Bitcoin in 2023. As of March 31, 2025, Boyaa Interactive held 3,351 BTC and 297 ETH, making it the company with the most cryptocurrency holdings in Hong Kong. Its stock price doubled from HKD 3.3 to HKD 6.8 between April and May. Additionally, Guofu Innovation purchased Bitcoin worth HKD 36 million from March to August 2024; Langguang Interactive held BTC and ETH worth $8.8 million as of mid-2024. These Hong Kong "MicroStrategy" companies have significantly benefited from the recent cryptocurrency market trends, becoming new focal points for capital.

Beyond the "MicroStrategy" model, other cryptocurrency concept stocks have also recently experienced concentrated surges. Companies focusing on blockchain browsers like OKLink, digital asset custody services like New Fire Technology, and digital asset infrastructure services like OSL Group have continued to strengthen in the May market, becoming hotspots of capital interest.

On June 25, Guotai Junan International's stock price surged over 190% in a single day due to its introduction of virtual asset trading services, marking a key step in the traditional brokerage's transformation towards Web3. Whether through the "MicroStrategy" path or the layout of cryptocurrency businesses around trading, custody, and infrastructure, these factors are collectively driving a new round of market trends in the Hong Kong stock market.

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