{"id":520041,"date":"2026-02-18T14:00:18","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T14:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/?p=520041"},"modified":"2026-02-18T13:37:49","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T13:37:49","slug":"is-china-using-us-bitcoin-etfs-as-a-backdoor-mystery-hong-kong-firm-invested-436m-in-blackrocks-bitcoin-etf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/is-china-using-us-bitcoin-etfs-as-a-backdoor-mystery-hong-kong-firm-invested-436m-in-blackrocks-bitcoin-etf\/","title":{"rendered":"Is China using US Bitcoin ETFs as a backdoor? Mystery Hong Kong firm invested $436M in BlackRock\u2019s IBIT"},"content":{"rendered":"

An obscure Hong Kong firm has disclosed a $436 million position in BlackRock\u2019s<\/a> Bitcoin ETF, a revelation that is fueling speculation about Chinese capital flowing into crypto through offshore side doors.<\/p>\n

Laurore Ltd, a previously unknown entity, reported the stake in BlackRock Inc.\u2019s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT)<\/a> in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).<\/p>\n

The disclosure serves as a rare, quantifiable signal that professional money managers in Asia\u2019s financial hub are quietly building bridges to digital assets through regulated American investment vehicles.<\/p>\n

The filing arrives at a complex juncture for the cryptocurrency market, with risk appetite cooling in the United States even as demand remains strong in jurisdictions where regulatory clarity is improving.<\/p>\n

While the identity of the ultimate beneficial owners behind Laurore remains shielded, market observers suggest the structure bears the hallmarks of a sophisticated access vehicle designed to bypass capital controls or reputational risks.<\/p>\n\n

\n \n
\n Related Reading<\/span>\n

BlackRock's IBIT hits $70B AUM faster than any US ETF<\/h3>\n <\/div>\n \n <\/i>\n <\/span>\n <\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n

How big is the IBIT stake, and why does it matter<\/h2>\n

Laurore\u2019s position is large enough to stand out on its own and structured in a way that makes it hard to ignore.<\/p>\n

In a Form 13F<\/a> for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2025, Laurore reported owning 8,786,279 shares of IBIT, valued at about $436.2 million. The filing lists an address in Central, Hong Kong, and is signed by a director named Zhang Hui.<\/p>\n

To put the holding in context, IBIT is one of the largest public-market gateways<\/a> into BTC. As of Feb. 17, the fund reported net assets of about $51.5 billion and roughly 1.34 billion shares outstanding.<\/p>\n

\"BlackRock
BlackRock IBIT ETF Cumulative Flow and Net Assets (Source: SoSoValue)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Laurore\u2019s 8.79 million shares represent about 0.65% of the ETF\u2019s total shares outstanding, a meaningful slice for a new filer, even though it remains below 1% of the overall product.<\/p>\n

However, what made the disclosure stand out is not just its dollar value but also the filing\u2019s opacity.<\/p>\n

Jeff Park, chief investment officer of ProCap, noted<\/a> that Laurore is a new entity with no website, no press coverage, and no digital footprint beyond the SEC filing.<\/p>\n

Park described \u201cZhang Hui\u201d as the Chinese equivalent of \u201cJohn Smith,\u201d calling it a \u201cnon-anonymous anonymous\u201d name.<\/p>\n

He also pointed to the \u201cLtd\u201d suffix, which he said suggests a Cayman Islands or British Virgin Islands structure, the classic offshore wrapper for accessing US markets.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, he noted that the portfolio consisted solely of IBIT shares, with no other equities, technology stocks, or hedges.<\/p>\n

\"Laurore
Laurore SEC Filing Showing its BlackRock IBIT Exposure (Source: SEC 13F Filing)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This indicates an investment vehicle designed for a specific exposure rather than a broad US portfolio that happens to include a BTC allocation.<\/p>\n

Moreover, Park tied that structure to a motive.<\/p>\n

He said Chinese investors cannot legally hold Bitcoin<\/a> directly and suggested that, if the filing reflects what he suspects, it could be an early sign of institutional Chinese capital moving into Bitcoin through a regulated US ETF<\/a> rather than through exchanges or gray-market channels.<\/p>\n

He described the setup as operating through what he called the most \u201ctransparent non-transparent\u201d place imaginable.<\/p>\n

That framing matters because spot BTC ETFs<\/a> have become the most straightforward institutional wrapper for holding Bitcoin exposure.<\/p>\n

For allocators that do not want to manage custody, exchange access, or internal crypto infrastructure, a large, liquid ETF can handle most of the operational burden.<\/p>\n\n

\n \n
\n Related Reading<\/span>\n

China Bitcoin legalization is priced at 5% but Beijing\u2019s February 2026 Ban 2.0 made one detail brutal<\/h3>\n <\/div>\n \n <\/i>\n <\/span>\n <\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n

Other Hong Kong firms have disclosed a similar path<\/h2>\n

Laurore is not an isolated case, as it appears to be part of a broader pattern in which Hong Kong-based managers use US ETFs to gain exposure to BTC.<\/a><\/p>\n

Avenir Tech Ltd, another filer based in Hong Kong, previously reported owning 14,766,760 shares of IBIT, a stake valued at approximately $691.2 million in a 13F filing for the quarter ended March 31, 2025.<\/p>\n

At the same time, Yong Rong Asset Management Ltd, another Hong Kong-based firm, also has a limited exposure<\/a> to the Bitcoin fund.<\/p>\n

These filings are notable given that the region also has its own Bitcoin funds<\/a>.<\/p>\n

However, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas<\/a> previously explained that US ETFs have become irresistible due to their combination of low fees and high volume.<\/p>\n

Essentially, this increases the likelihood that more quiet vehicles will emerge as the ETF market continues to mature.<\/p>\n

Why does Hong Kong keep appearing, even with China\u2019s stance unchanged<\/h2>\n

Hong Kong\u2019s role is central to the story because it offers a regulatory posture distinct from Beijing\u2019s, while remaining close enough to mainland capital and networks to serve as a bridge.<\/p>\n

Mainland China\u2019s official stance on crypto trading<\/a> remains restrictive, and authorities have repeatedly signaled that speculative activity is unwelcome.<\/p>\n

Yet Hong Kong has spent the past two years positioning itself as a compliant, institution-friendly gateway for digital assets, including through a licensing regime and a push to expand market infrastructure.<\/p>\n

Last year, Hong Kong eased certain virtual-asset rules<\/a> to promote trading and liquidity, including allowing locally licensed platforms to share global order books with overseas affiliates.<\/p>\n

The same policy push included tokenization pilots designed to bring \u201creal-value\u201d use cases on-chain, an approach presented as financial modernization rather than speculative crypto trading.<\/p>\n

Beijing, meanwhile, has been more hostile towards the growth of the emerging industry.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, Chinese financial regulators extended<\/a> the existing crypto ban to target stablecoin issuances<\/a> and the tokenization of real-world assets.<\/p>\n

According to the authorities:<\/p>\n

“[We are] reiterating that virtual currencies do not have the same legal status as fiat currency, that conducting virtual currency-related business activities within China constitutes illegal financial activity, and that overseas entities and individuals are prohibited from illegally providing virtual currency-related services to domestic entities in any form.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

However, this effectively shows that China and Hong Kong's differing regulatory tracks can coexist.<\/p>\n

Hong Kong can pursue regulated market development, and the mainland can maintain restrictions on direct crypto trading and asset tokenization.<\/p>\n

In that landscape, a Hong Kong entity holding a US-listed BTC ETF can appear to be a structure that shifts the most politically sensitive elements away from the mainland, even if the exposure remains economically similar.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, that does not mean the capital is mainland institutional money.<\/p>\n

However, it does mean that the architecture exists for capital from the mainland to express exposure while reducing operational friction and, potentially, reputational risk.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An obscure Hong Kong firm has disclosed a $436 million position in BlackRock\u2019s Bitcoin ETF, a revelation that is fueling speculation about Chinese capital flowing into crypto through offshore side doors. Laurore Ltd, a previously unknown entity, reported the stake in BlackRock Inc.\u2019s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) in a filing with the US Securities and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":720,"featured_media":520097,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[78665,77968,79312,77644,79849],"tags":[76807,76718,79265],"post_folder":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIs China using US Bitcoin ETFs as a backdoor?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An obscure Hong Kong firm channels $436 million into BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF, suggesting a subtle shift of Chinese capital towards crypto.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/is-china-using-us-bitcoin-etfs-as-a-backdoor-mystery-hong-kong-firm-invested-436m-in-blackrocks-bitcoin-etf\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Is China using US Bitcoin ETFs as a backdoor? 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