HashKey has become the largest Hong Kong-licensed crypto exchange, but its IPO filing reveals one company is paying a lot for that position.
According to documents posted on the Hong Kong exchange on Monday, HashKey processed 638.4 billion Hong Kong dollars (about $82 billion) in trading volume in 2024, about double the previous year, as its Hong Kong platform expanded with both institutional and retail users.
The company’s fees were still around 0.1 percent, reflecting a pricing strategy that prioritized market share over revenue. While HashKey controls about 75% of the Hong Kong market, its race-to-the-bottom fee approach contributed to a net loss of more than $151 million (HK$1.18 billion) in 2024. It will likely be a focal point for investors evaluating the company’s initial public offering.
HashKey’s Bermuda exchange, launched as a globally-targeted venue offering a broader set of assets, saw trading volumes collapse from about $23 billion in the first half of 2024 to about $1.4 billion a year later. The filing attributes the decline to a lack of on- and off-ramp capacity through the end of 2025 and a strategic setback in marketing.
HashKey has been pushing tokenization, staking, and Web3 events to diversify its business, but the IPO filing shows that these lines are still far from significant.
Tokenization revenue reached only about $0.9 million (HK$7.0 million) in 2024, and then fell to about $140,000 (HK$1.1 million) in the first half of 2025.
Web3 events, largely from its conference in Hong Kong in the spring, generated around $4.8 million (HK$37.1 million) in 2024 and around $3.0 million (HK$23.7 million) in the first half of 2025, making them one of HashKey’s largest non-commercial revenue lines, even as they remain small compared to its core exchange business.
The filing presents a diversified exchange with significant market traction, but the business model is still working to find a sustainable footing.
HashKey’s dominance in Hong Kong’s licensing market underlines the reach of its platform, but its low fees, modest new lines of business and reduced offshore activity highlight the financial pressures surrounding the listing. It is now up to investors to decide whether this adds up to a viable path forward.
HashKey is a competitor of CoinDesk’s parent company Bullish.
