November 21, 2025
By Anjali Kocchar
Some of China’s most prominent cryptocurrency entrepreneurs have shelved plans for a US$500 million ether-focused digital asset treasury (DAT) company, following a sharp downturn in the global crypto market, according to people familiar with the matter.
The project, introduced earlier this year, had attracted major names from the Asian crypto landscape. Backers included Leon Li Lin, founder of Huobi; Xiao Feng, chairman and CEO of HashKey Group; Mike Cai Wensheng, co-founder of Meitu; and Bo Shen, founder of Fenbushi Capital. Together, they aimed to build one of the largest Ether treasury firms in the region by raising half a billion dollars and listing the entity publicly.
The team had already secured around US$110 million in commitments. Despite this early momentum, the market downturn proved too significant to ignore. Ether and Bitcoin, after hitting highs in early October, experienced steep declines—Bitcoin alone fell more than 30%. With volatility surging, the backers decided to halt the project before taking on greater financial risk.
The planned company belonged to a growing class of firms known as Digital Asset Treasuries. These companies hold large reserves of cryptocurrencies and rely on the appreciation of those assets to boost shareholder value. The best-known example is MicroStrategy (now Strategy), a Nasdaq-listed giant that has accumulated nearly 650,000 Bitcoins, becoming a model for corporate crypto investment strategies worldwide.
While the DAT model has seen success in the United States, where regulatory clarity is comparatively stronger, acceptance in Asia has been slower. Hong Kong, poised to become a regional crypto hub, has so far taken a cautious approach toward DAT structures, adding another layer of uncertainty to the founders’ ambitions.
Reports indicate the cancellation was first circulated by industry insiders and later picked up by crypto-focused media outlets. Observers believe the founders acted early to avoid locking investors into a high-risk environment during a market slide. Their decision reflects a broader sentiment across the sector: big-ticket crypto ventures are increasingly sensitive to global market conditions and shifting regulatory landscapes.
For the founding group each influential within Asia’s blockchain ecosystem the move marks a temporary retreat from a potentially high-impact project built around Ethereum. Whether the team chooses to revive the initiative once market conditions stabilise remains unclear. For now, the vision of a US$500 million Ether treasury originating from Asia has been placed on hold, illustrating the challenges facing institutional-scale crypto projects during turbulent times.
About the author
Anjali Kochhar covers cryptocurrency and blockchain stories in India as well as globally. Having been in the field of media and journalism for over four years now, she has developed a sharp news sense and works hard to present information that goes beyond the obvious. She is an avid reader and loves writing on a wide range of subjects.
