Guotai Junan International's stock price doubled in a day, just because it obtained a 'crypto license'?
On June 25th, what seemed like an ordinary announcement sent the Hong Kong stock market into a frenzy: Guotai Junan International received approval from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission to provide virtual asset trading services. The next day, its stock price surged nearly 2 times, triggering strong associations in the market regarding the 'national team entering crypto'.
01｜Who is Guotai Junan International?
Guotai Junan International is one of the Hong Kong brokerage firms with the strongest Chinese background. Its major shareholder is Guotai Haitong Group, which was formed from the merger and restructuring of Guotai Junan and Haitong Securities. The controlling entity behind it is the Shanghai State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.
Its mission is clear: to build a 'main force for a strong financial nation'. This means that its every move goes far beyond that of an ordinary brokerage firm.
02｜What exactly is this crypto business?
The license obtained this time is an upgraded version from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), allowing it to provide trading services for virtual assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum on its platform, and to offer investment advice related to these assets, as well as issue and distribute over-the-counter derivatives products.
Although it does not directly participate in matching (currently done by Hashkey), the opening of the channel is still of great significance to traditional investors.
03｜Why did the market react so violently?
Firstly, this is the first Chinese-funded brokerage in Hong Kong to obtain such a complete service license;
Secondly, its background raises speculation—could this be a signal that the 'national team' is testing the waters in crypto?
Finally, it is the biggest piece in the game of Hong Kong's push for the legalization of Web3 over the past year.
04｜Not just crypto, but also institutional imagination
Guotai Junan International began laying out structured notes linked to virtual currencies and distributing tokenized securities last year. This crypto license event is actually one of the nodes in its long-term crypto layout. As Chinese-funded brokerages gradually embrace underlying infrastructures such as DLT and Tokenization, the trend of 'institutionalization' in the crypto industry is becoming increasingly clear.
05｜A 'new variable' in the crypto space
From FOMO hype in the crypto circle to state-owned brokerages entering the game, Guotai Junan International's surge may be a landmark event. In the future, will the accelerated issuance of such licenses represent further openness from the Hong Kong government and local governments towards a Web3 regulatory framework? Will state-owned enterprises truly become the catalyst for the next stage of 'Crypto adoption'? This is worth close attention.
