Written by: Deng Tong & AIMan, Golden Finance
"Has the 'Coin-Stock' wind blown to state-owned securities firms?"
On June 25, 2025, Guotai Junan International, a Chinese securities firm listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, announced that it had received an upgraded license from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, allowing it to provide virtual asset trading services to clients. Following the announcement, Guotai Junan International's stock price surged from HKD 1.4 at the opening to HKD 3.7, nearly doubling in a single day.
It is important to note that Guotai Junan International is a brokerage firm that merely provides a channel for cryptocurrency services. Its connection to cryptocurrencies is far less intimate than that of "Coin-Stock."
Why did a license upgrade lead to such an exaggerated increase in its stock price? Some in the market even speculate that the national team is entering the cryptocurrency industry. This article analyzes the situation.
1. What happened?
On June 25, 2025, Guotai Junan International officially announced that it had been approved to provide cryptocurrency and other virtual asset trading services. Clients will be able to trade cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, as well as stablecoins like USDT, directly on its platform.
Key points from the announcement are as follows:
On June 24, Guotai Haitong Group's subsidiary, Guotai Junan International Holdings Limited ("Guotai Junan International" or "the Company," stock code: 1788.HK), was officially approved by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (hereinafter referred to as "Hong Kong SFC") to upgrade its existing securities trading license to provide virtual asset trading services and to offer advice based on these services. Following this license upgrade, clients will be able to trade cryptocurrencies (such as Bitcoin and Ethereum) and stablecoins (such as Tether) directly on the Guotai Junan International platform. With this, Guotai Junan International becomes the first Hong Kong-based Chinese securities firm to offer comprehensive virtual asset-related trading services, covering virtual asset trading services, advisory services during virtual asset trading, and the issuance and distribution of virtual asset-related products, including over-the-counter derivatives.
As a result of this positive news, Guotai Junan International's stock price skyrocketed, closing the day with an increase of 198.39%, soaring from an opening price of HKD 1.420 to a peak of HKD 3.700, reaching a nearly 10-year high.
Guotai Junan International is a brokerage firm that does not provide matching services. After the news further fermented on the afternoon of the 25th, the market discovered that the matching service was provided by the compliant Hong Kong exchange, Hashkey Exchange. The token HSK issued by Hashkey Group immediately surged by 70%.
As mentioned above, Guotai Junan International is merely a brokerage firm that provides a channel for virtual currency services. Why did the market react so dramatically?
Ultimately, it is due to the intriguing background of Guotai Junan International, which provides the market with significant imaginative space.
2. Who is Guotai Junan International? Its background is intriguing
Guotai Junan International is the first Chinese securities company approved by the China Securities Regulatory Commission to be listed on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange through an initial public offering (IPO). Established in Hong Kong in 1993, Guotai Junan International became the first to receive approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission to list in Hong Kong in 2010. Its core businesses include (i) brokerage; (ii) corporate finance; (iii) loans and financing; (iv) asset management; (v) financial products; (vi) wealth management. It is a constituent stock of the Hang Seng Composite Index, Hang Seng Composite Small Cap Index, FTSE Hong Kong Index, and FTSE Hong Kong Ex-H Share Index.
According to public information, the absolute major shareholder of Guotai Junan International is Guotai Haitong Group, the largest securities firm in China, holding a stake of up to 74%.
Guotai Haitong Group is the result of the merger and restructuring of the leading state-owned securities firms Guotai Junan and Haitong Securities, with the controlling shareholder being Shanghai International Group Co., Ltd., which is ultimately controlled by the Shanghai State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. The Shanghai State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission has explicitly stated that it will promote Guotai Haitong to become a "main force in building a financial powerhouse," with plans to secure 10 billion yuan in state capital support for innovative businesses over the next five years.
Guotai Haitong ranks among the six financial service enterprises under the Shanghai State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, source: Shanghai State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission official website
The merged Guotai Haitong company is powerful. On March 4, 2025, Haitong Securities' A-share stock was delisted, and Guotai Junan, as the surviving company, disclosed the simulated merger's 2024 annual financial statement review report. The report showed that in 2024, it achieved operating income of 58.646 billion yuan and a net profit attributable to the parent company of 9.030 billion yuan. As of the end of 2024, the total assets of the simulated merged company were 17.3 trillion yuan, with a net asset attributable to the parent company of 328.3 billion yuan, both ranking first in the industry.
Guotai Junan International's approval to enter the cryptocurrency asset industry, combined with its shareholder background and a series of recent moves by mainland China and Hong Kong (reflections on stablecoins in the mainland, Hong Kong accelerating the promotion of stablecoins, etc.), inevitably raises speculation. This is also why some believe that "the national team has entered the cryptocurrency industry."
It is no wonder that Guotai Junan International's stock price could double in a single day.
3. Guotai Junan International's early layout in cryptocurrency
Guotai Junan International's "good hand" in this situation can actually be traced.
In May 2025, Guotai Junan International announced that it had submitted relevant business plans for tokenized securities distribution and digital bond issuance, which had been confirmed by the regulatory authority as having no further issues, according to the circular issued by the Hong Kong SFC regarding intermediaries engaging in tokenized securities-related activities. It pointed out that Guotai Junan International submitted a wealth management-related business plan to the Hong Kong SFC on January 21, 2025, intending to distribute tokenized securities or provide advice on tokenized securities to clients based on its existing securities trading. The planned types of tokenized securities include structured products linked to multiple underlying assets (such as structured notes, over-the-counter derivatives), SFC-recognized funds and non-recognized funds, and bonds. The Hong Kong SFC issued a confirmation email on May 7, 2025, indicating no further issues with the plan. Tokenized securities refer to traditional financial instruments (such as stocks, bonds, funds, etc.) that achieve full lifecycle management of securities in digital form through distributed ledger technology (DLT, such as blockchain), essentially traditional securities packaged as tokens, achieving form innovation through technological means.
Last August, Guotai Junan International Holdings Limited released its unaudited interim results announcement for the six months ending June 30, 2024, which disclosed that Guotai Junan was the first to launch structured notes linked to virtual asset spot trading exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the Hong Kong market, adding a new element to its diversified product services, and actively responding to the new capital investor entry plan (CIES) launched by the Hong Kong government. Guotai Junan stated that the Hong Kong government is actively promoting policies and measures to develop the local economy, attracting investment, and the market expects the IPO market to gradually regain momentum, while local regulation is expected to accelerate the implementation of regulatory measures for virtual assets, which is conducive to the launch of diversified products.
Source: Guotai Junan International WeChat Official Account
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