Is China using US Bitcoin ETFs as a backdoor? Mystery Hong Kong firm invested $436M in BlackRock’s IBIT
An obscure Hong Kong firm has disclosed a $436 million place in BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF, a revelation that’s fueling hypothesis about Chinese capital flowing into crypto by means of offshore aspect doorways.
Laurore Ltd, a beforehand unknown entity, reported the stake in BlackRock Inc.’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) in a submitting with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The disclosure serves as a uncommon, quantifiable sign that skilled cash managers in Asia’s monetary hub are quietly constructing bridges to digital property by means of regulated American funding autos.
The submitting arrives at a complicated juncture for the cryptocurrency market, with threat urge for food cooling in the United States even as demand stays sturdy in jurisdictions the place regulatory readability is bettering.
While the id of the final word helpful house owners behind Laurore stays shielded, market observers counsel the construction bears the hallmarks of a refined entry automobile designed to bypass capital controls or reputational dangers.
How massive is the IBIT stake, and why does it matter
Laurore’s place is massive sufficient to face out by itself and structured in a approach that makes it exhausting to disregard.
In a Form 13F for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2025, Laurore reported proudly owning 8,786,279 shares of IBIT, valued at about $436.2 million. The submitting lists an deal with in Central, Hong Kong, and is signed by a director named Zhang Hui.
To put the holding in context, IBIT is one of the largest public-market gateways into BTC. As of Feb. 17, the fund reported web property of about $51.5 billion and roughly 1.34 billion shares excellent.
Laurore’s 8.79 million shares characterize about 0.65% of the ETF’s complete shares excellent, a significant slice for a new filer, despite the fact that it stays under 1% of the general product.
However, what made the disclosure stand out isn’t just its greenback worth but additionally the submitting’s opacity.
Jeff Park, chief funding officer of ProCap, noted that Laurore is a new entity with no web site, no press protection, and no digital footprint past the SEC submitting.
Park described “Zhang Hui” as the Chinese equal of “John Smith,” calling it a “non-anonymous nameless” title.
He additionally pointed to the “Ltd” suffix, which he stated suggests a Cayman Islands or British Virgin Islands construction, the basic offshore wrapper for accessing US markets.
Meanwhile, he famous that the portfolio consisted solely of IBIT shares, with no different equities, expertise shares, or hedges.
This signifies an funding automobile designed for a particular publicity slightly than a broad US portfolio that occurs to incorporate a BTC allocation.
Moreover, Park tied that construction to a motive.
He stated Chinese investors cannot legally hold Bitcoin immediately and steered that, if the submitting displays what he suspects, it could possibly be an early signal of institutional Chinese capital shifting into Bitcoin by means of a regulated US ETF slightly than by means of exchanges or gray-market channels.
He described the setup as working by means of what he referred to as probably the most “clear non-transparent” place conceivable.
That framing issues as a result of spot BTC ETFs have develop into probably the most easy institutional wrapper for holding Bitcoin publicity.
For allocators that don’t wish to handle custody, trade entry, or inside crypto infrastructure, a massive, liquid ETF can deal with many of the operational burden.
Other Hong Kong companies have disclosed a related path
Laurore isn’t an remoted case, as it seems to be a part of a broader sample in which Hong Kong-based managers use US ETFs to gain exposure to BTC.
Avenir Tech Ltd, one other filer based mostly in Hong Kong, beforehand reported proudly owning 14,766,760 shares of IBIT, a stake valued at roughly $691.2 million in a 13F submitting for the quarter ended March 31, 2025.
At the identical time, Yong Rong Asset Management Ltd, one other Hong Kong-based firm, additionally has a restricted exposure to the Bitcoin fund.
These filings are notable on condition that the region also has its own Bitcoin funds.
However, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas beforehand defined that US ETFs have develop into irresistible resulting from their mixture of low charges and high quantity.
Essentially, this will increase the chance that extra quiet autos will emerge as the ETF market continues to mature.
Why does Hong Kong preserve showing, even with China’s stance unchanged
Hong Kong’s position is central to the story as a result of it presents a regulatory posture distinct from Beijing’s, whereas remaining shut sufficient to mainland capital and networks to serve as a bridge.
Mainland China’s official stance on crypto trading stays restrictive, and authorities have repeatedly signaled that speculative exercise is unwelcome.
Yet Hong Kong has spent the previous two years positioning itself as a compliant, institution-friendly gateway for digital property, together with by means of a licensing regime and a push to broaden market infrastructure.
Last yr, Hong Kong eased certain virtual-asset rules to advertise buying and selling and liquidity, together with permitting regionally licensed platforms to share international order books with abroad associates.
The identical coverage push included tokenization pilots designed to carry “real-value” use circumstances on-chain, an strategy introduced as monetary modernization slightly than speculative crypto buying and selling.
Beijing, in the meantime, has been extra hostile in direction of the expansion of the rising business.
Earlier this month, Chinese monetary regulators extended the present crypto ban to target stablecoin issuances and the tokenization of real-world property.
According to the authorities:
“[We are] reiterating that digital currencies would not have the identical authorized standing as fiat forex, that conducting digital currency-related enterprise actions inside China constitutes unlawful monetary exercise, and that abroad entities and people are prohibited from illegally offering digital currency-related providers to home entities in any type.”
However, this successfully exhibits that China and Hong Kong’s differing regulatory tracks can coexist.
Hong Kong can pursue regulated market growth, and the mainland can keep restrictions on direct crypto buying and selling and asset tokenization.
In that panorama, a Hong Kong entity holding a US-listed BTC ETF can look like a construction that shifts probably the most politically delicate parts away from the mainland, even when the publicity stays economically related.
Meanwhile, that doesn’t imply the capital is mainland institutional cash.
However, it does imply that the structure exists for capital from the mainland to precise publicity whereas lowering operational friction and, doubtlessly, reputational threat.
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