Mystery Hong Kong investor in BlackRock's bitcoin ETF breaks silence after $436 million stake sparks controversy

Markets Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Mystery Hong Kong investor in BlackRock's bitcoin ETF breaks silence after $436 million stake sparks controversy A spokesperson for Laurore said the $436 million IBIT stake “reflects personal investment conviction,” as records link it to a mainland China passport holder. By Sam Reynolds | Edited by Aoyon Ashraf Updated Feb 23, 2026, 6:16 p.m. Published Feb 23, 2026, 5:45 p.m. Make us preferred on Google What to know : • Laurore Ltd., a little-known entity, disclosed a position of about $436 million in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), triggering speculation about the identity of a new bitcoin ETF holder. • Hong Kong registry filings show the IBIT stake is linked through director Zhang Hui, a Mainland China passport holder who is also the sole director of Avecamour Advice Limited, a Hong Kong company owned by a British Virgin Islands entity. • A spokesperson said the ultimate beneficial owner “prefers to keep a low profile” and that the position “reflects personal investment conviction,” declining to disclose further ownership details. When a shell company called Laurore Ltd. filed a position of about $436 million in BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) exchange-traded fund — its first and only filing — listing a Hong Kong address and phone number, the crypto community took notice, and a social media frenzy began. What made it even more interesting is that it listed "Zhang Hui" as a director in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing , a name as common in China as "John Smith" in the West, according to a X post by ProCap's CIO, Jeff Park. STORY CONTINUES BELOW Don't miss another story. Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today . See all newsletters Sign me up By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms & conditions and privacy policy . Indeed, CoinDesk found over 100 Zhang Huis listed as directors of different companies in the Hong Kong Company Registry. (Hong Kong Company Registry) This sparked a week of speculation about potential Chinese capital entering the crypto market via purchases of spot bitcoin BTC $ 64,814.44 exchange-traded funds. "Smells like capital flight to me," Park said in his post. Even Bloomberg's ETF analysts weighed in, with James Seyffart replying to the post, "I spent almost an hour trying to figure this out earlier this morning, I got absolutely nowhere." The mystery became even more intriguing when CoinDesk visited the Hong Kong address listed in Laurore’s SEC filing. The building directory showed that the suite was occupied by Avecamour Advice Ltd and not Laurore. Furthermore, Laurore, which holds the IBIT shares, is not incorporated in Hong Kong. (Sam Reynolds/CoinDesk) After CoinDesk's attempts to find someone at Laurore to comment, the company has finally broken its silence. A spokesperson said the company's owner prefers to keep a low profile, without revealing further details. But there are still more questions than answers. Who is Avecamour, and what is the connection between the two companies? And how does the mysterious "Zhang Hui" fit into all of this? 'Private businesses' CoinDesk searched through the corporate filings, which showed that Avecamour Advice is wholly owned by Avecamour Ltd., a British Virgin Islands entity. Hong Kong Company Registry records show that Zhang Hui, with a matching mainland China passport prefix, is also the only director listed for Avecamour Advice, which was incorporated in March 2025. No other public details about Avecamour or its stakeholders could be found. (Hong Kong Company Registry) Laurore's spokesperson told CoinDesk that "the owner of Laurore is also a director of Avecamour," implying that Zhang Hui is the owner of the mysterious firm. However, the spokesperson didn't provide any more details about Zhang Hui or either of the companies. "Our principal prefers to keep a low profile, and this position [in IBIT] is simply a reflection of their personal investment conviction," the spokesperson said. In fact, 13F filings identify reporting managers, but do not require disclosure of ultimate beneficial owners. Large investors often hold positions through multiple legal vehicles for structuring, custody, or privacy reasons. "Since these are private businesses, we don’t disclose further ownership details," the spokesperson said. What does this all mean? If it is "capital flight," in this context, it would mean funds moving out of mainland China into offshore assets via Hong Kong, such as U.S.-listed bitcoin ETFs, potentially to diversify wealth beyond the reach of domestic capital controls. However, it could also simply mean that Laurore is just part of a cluster of funds or family offices, under the umbrella of a larger Hong Kong-based entity that invests in bitcoin ETFs. If so, it would imply that, due to low liquidity and high fees of HKEX-listed bitcoin ETFs, a Hong Kong-based fund chose to allocate to the U.S.-listed IBIT, which offers much greater liquidity and lower costs for institutional investors to park their capital. But for now, the identity of Laurore and its mysterious principal remains as clear as bitcoin's Satoshi Nakamoto. Read more: U.S. BTC ETF Inflows Dwarf Hong Kong's as Local Investors Stick With Stocks Bitcoin ETF Hong Kong China BTC China Exclusive More For You Bitcoin rebound fades as software and private equity rout drags stocks and crypto lower By Krisztian Sandor | Edited by Stephen Alpher 1 hour ago Crypto has been nearly perfectly correlated with a key software sector ETF, and that gauge has tumbled another 5% Monday to a new 52-week low. What to know : Bitcoin slipped back to $65,400 during U.S. trading Monday after it failed to hold a modest overnight rebound. 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