Guotai Junan Stock Soars 200% Overnight as Hong Kong Crypto License Unleashes Investor Frenzy

Hong Kong's financial scene just got a jolt of adrenaline—and a masterclass in regulatory arbitrage.

Guotai Junan Securities, a traditional finance heavyweight, saw its shares rocket 200% in a single session after securing one of Hong Kong's first crypto trading licenses. The move signals a tectonic shift as institutional players finally crack the code to mainstream digital asset adoption.

Wall Street analysts are scrambling to update their models (and their LinkedIn bios) as the 156-year-old firm outmaneuvers fintech upstarts. 'Turns out the real disruption was hiding in plain sight—behind a filing cabinet in a regulated entity,' quipped one hedge fund manager.

The license grants access to Hong Kong's booming retail crypto market, where trading volumes have quadrupled since the city's pro-digital asset pivot in 2023. Critics warn the euphoria smells suspiciously like the 2021 SPAC bubble—but when has that ever stopped a bull run?

As Guotai Junan's stock price moons, one thing's clear: in the new financial frontier, the old guard just rewrote the playbook. Whether this marks crypto's institutional coming-of-age or another case of 'sell the news' remains to be seen.

Guotai Junan: First Chinese Broker Listed in Hong Kong

Guotai Junan is a state-backed brokerage and was the first Chinese securities firm to list in Hong Kong through an IPO in 2010.

Its parent company, Guotai Haitong Group, is controlled by a Shanghai government entity, according to corporate data from Qichacha.

The license upgrade positions Guotai Junan among a small but growing group of traditional financial firms seeking exposure to Hong Kong’s regulated crypto landscape.

Other brokerages, including China Merchants Securities and Huatai International, are reportedly pursuing similar approvals.

Guotai Junan International has received approval from Hong Kong regulators to offer virtual asset trading services. Following the license upgrade, clients can directly trade cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, and stablecoins, such as Tether, on its platform. pic.twitter.com/MKq6mAcEAo

The development comes as Hong Kong doubles down on its digital asset strategy.

Earlier this week, VMS Group, a Hong Kong multifamily office with DEEP roots in private equity, made its first push into digital assets as clearer regulations and institutional momentum pull traditional investors into the crypto space.

The firm, which manages nearly $4b for some of the city’s wealthiest families, plans to allocate up to $10m to Re7 Capital, a London-based hedge fund focused on decentralized finance strategies.

While Hong Kong welcomes crypto innovation, mainland China continues to uphold its ban on cryptocurrency trading and mining, making the city a critical testing ground for Chinese firms looking to explore the space under a regulated regime.

Hong Kong Announces New Digital Asset Policy

Hong Kong has unveiled its second major policy statement on digital assets, placing stablecoin regulation and real-world asset (RWA) tokenization at the Core of its strategy to become a global fintech hub.

The new “LEAP” framework focuses on legal clarity, ecosystem growth, real-world adoption, and talent development, with a stablecoin licensing regime set to launch on August 1.

The government also plans to regulate tokenized government bonds and ETFs, paving the way for secondary market trading of these products on licensed digital asset platforms.

It aims to expand tokenization efforts into sectors like metals and renewable energy, highlighting use cases such as Gold and solar panels.

As reported, professionals working in the crypto and hedge fund sectors are playing a key role in supporting Hong Kong’s residential rental market, which continues to struggle due to weak traditional demand sources.