Article by Xiao Bing
On August 27, HashKey Holdings (3887.HK) released its interim results for the first half of 2026.
Amid a significant contraction in the global cryptocurrency market capitalization over the first half of the year, this Hong Kong-based largest compliant digital asset exchange delivered results exceeding market expectations.
Key metrics: Total revenue for the first half of the year amounted to HK$343 million, a 20.6% year-over-year increase. Gross profit reached HK$208 million, up 12.5% year-over-year, with gross margin improving sequentially to 60.6%. Adjusted loss narrowed to HK$315 million from HK$398 million in the same period last year, representing a 21% reduction in loss.
All three business segments are performing well in tandem.
This interim report contains three signals worth examining individually.
Institutionalization is not a slogan.
Transaction facilitation revenue amounted to HK$2.68 billion, representing a 38.6% year-over-year growth. In terms of trading volume composition, the platform’s total trading volume reached HK$282.2 billion, up 31.8% year-over-year. Institutional client trading volume reached HK$231.5 billion, a massive 58.8% year-over-year increase, accounting for 82% of total trading volume.
A year ago, one of the primary concerns about HashKey in the market was that it was “retail-driven and weather-dependent.” This interim report provides data-driven evidence: HashKey’s revenue growth engine has shifted from retail to institutional clients. Despite the overall contraction of the crypto market in the first half of the year, institutional trading volume surged significantly, demonstrating that compliance infrastructure is increasingly translating into tangible institutional trading activity.
Citigroup initiated coverage of HashKey on August 4 with a "Buy/High Risk" rating and a target price of HK$5.60, implying a potential upside of 203% from the then-current share price of HK$1.85.
One of the core arguments in Citigroup's research report is that the institutional advantages of Hong Kong's onshore compliant market have not yet been fully realized, and HashKey, as the holder of over 75% market share, is the primary beneficiary.
RWA tokenization is moving from concept to revenue.
The highlight of the on-chain services segment is its tokenization business. The total value of on-chain RWA reached HK$2.68 billion, representing a 167.8% year-over-year growth. During the period, the first real estate RWA and the first regulated silver RWA token were launched in Hong Kong.
A growth rate of 167.8% is highly remarkable in the current market environment, indicating that HashKey Chain, as an L2 network focused on RWA, is transitioning from the "building infrastructure" phase to the "attracting assets onto the chain" phase.
Real estate and silver were the first assets to be tokenized, covering the two core categories of physical asset tokenization: real estate and commodities.
This business line currently represents a small portion of revenue, but it is growing at the fastest rate among the three segments. If the commercialization of tokenization continues to accelerate—particularly driven by the HKMA’s tokenized bond pilot and the rollout of HKDAP—on-chain services could become HashKey’s most important growth driver within the next two to three quarters.
The global footprint is beginning to take shape
The series of initiatives during and after the interim report outline HashKey’s global roadmap.
In July, it was announced that HashKey plans to acquire 100% of the equity of Singapore’s Asia Pacific Exchange (APEX). APEX holds dual licenses as both a Recognized Exchange and a Recognized Clearing House; if the acquisition is completed, HashKey will possess a fully integrated trading and clearing infrastructure spanning Hong Kong and Singapore—an unprecedented move among compliant digital asset companies in Asia.
In April, we made a strategic investment in Vietnam’s CAEX, establishing a technology partnership to co-build a compliant, institutional-grade trading platform locally. In May, we led SignalPlus’s B+ round of $40 million through HashKey Capital, expanding our footprint in institutional-grade derivatives trading technology. By the end of July, we completed the app merger, integrating the Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, and Bermuda platforms into a single unified entry point, achieving “multi-site integration.”
Deepened fiat on-ramp partnerships with JPMorgan and DBS Bank. Collaborated with Canton and Morpho to explore institutional-grade on-chain applications. Initiated the formation of the Ethereum Applications Guild (EAG) and joined the HKMA Tokenized Bonds Expert Group.
Viewed together, these actions show HashKey progressing along the path of “Hong Kong’s single market → Asia’s multi-market network → global digital financial infrastructure.” Founder Xiao Feng clearly outlined this roadmap in the interim report: evolving from a digital asset trading platform to a digital asset financial market, transitioning from Crypto Native assets to RWA and tokenized assets, ultimately building a next-generation financial infrastructure that connects asset pools with capital pools.
How do you understand this interim report?
HashKey is still operating at a loss, with an adjusted net loss of HK$315 million, representing a 21% year-over-year narrowing but still far from break-even. The company recorded a full-year loss of approximately HK$1.087 billion in 2025, with AUM declining from HK$7.2 billion at year-end to HK$5.94 billion in the interim report, and asset management revenue totaling only HK$38.84 million. The stock price has declined steadily since its listing day at HK$6.67, reaching a low of HK$3.25 within the year.
But looking at these numbers from a different perspective might lead to a different conclusion.
HashKey is in its first full fiscal half-year since going public. Amid a broader contraction in the cryptocurrency market, where peer trading volumes have nearly all declined, HashKey achieved a 20.6% increase in revenue, raised its gross margin to 60.6% sequentially, and saw institutional trading volume grow by 58.8%. Losses are narrowing, revenue is rising, and the business structure is improving.
Sino United Securities' forecast model projects revenue expectations of HK$782 million / HK$1.211 billion / HK$2.338 billion for 2025–2027, corresponding to growth rates of 11%/55%/90%. If the first-half revenue pace of HK$343 million is maintained or improved in the second half—typically a more active period for crypto markets—the full-year revenue is likely to exceed Sino United’s forecast of HK$1.211 billion.
For a compliant digital asset infrastructure company that has been publicly listed for only eight months, is still operating at a loss, but is seeing revenue and trading volume grow against the market trend, the question the market needs to assess is not “Is it profitable now?” but “How quickly is it on its way to profitability?”
The answer provided by this interim report is: faster than most expected.