Bitcoin slide drags Hong Kong crypto-linked shares into the red

BTC’s intraday drop left the coin more than 4% lower than at the start of 2025, reversing part of a year marked by multiple record highs. Daiwa Capital Markets’ Steven Nie said the market had underperformed both gold and the Nasdaq amid risk-off flows and tight liquidity following a “historical leverage flush” since October. That deleveraging wave came after bitcoin’s record near $126,000; a subsequent rout wiped out about $19 billion and liquidated more than a million leveraged accounts.

Shares of Hong Kong “crypto concept” names — companies that announced token treasuries or adjacent Web3 moves—retreated alongside the coin. The South China Morning Post flagged declines in counters including Boyaa Interactive and OSL Group during Tuesday trade as crypto volatility bled into equity proxies. The pullback follows months in which such announcements helped propel stock prices higher.

Those equity swings track an expanding on-balance-sheet crypto strategy among Hong Kong corporates. A prior company-filings review showed Boyaa Interactive disclosed purchases of 3,670 bitcoin at an average $62,878 per token, while IVD Medical said it had accumulated 5,190 ether and sought approval to spend up to HK$3 billion over three years on additional crypto. Financial groups China Renaissance and Yunfeng Financial also reported token buys as part of broader Web3 initiatives. These holdings amplified upside on the way up and are now adding beta as prices fall. 

Market participants say the latest leg lower reflects positioning as much as fundamentals. With bitcoin slipping under the psychological $90,000 level, Hong Kong-listed proxies that built digital-asset treasuries or business lines—exchanges, custody and gaming firms — moved in tandem. 

Hong Kong has positioned itself as a regional virtual-asset hub, licensing brokers and venues while clarifying retail access to listed crypto products. Earlier SCMP reporting detailed how rising crypto prices and the popularity of digital-asset treasury strategies in the U.S. encouraged local issuers to add token exposure, even as expectations of further regulatory refinement lingered. That mix — encouragement for licensed activity paired with supervisory caution — frames the current volatility’s impact on listed firms.