Mystery Firm Holds $436M in BlackRock Bitcoin ETF - and Nothing Else

A virtually unknown Hong Kong company called Laurore Ltd. just showed up in SEC filings as one of the biggest new holders of BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), with roughly $436 million in shares and absolutely nothing else in its portfolio. The filing has sparked intense speculation about whether this is a backdoor for Chinese capital flowing into Bitcoin through U.S.-regulated products, and whether the entity played any role in October's flash crash.

Who Is Laurore Ltd.?

According to the Form 13F filed with the SEC on January 28, Laurore owns 8,786,279 shares of IBIT as of December 31, 2025. That's about 0.65% of the ETF's total outstanding shares, making it the largest new holder added in Q4 2025. The filing was signed by Zhang Hui, listed as the firm's director.

Laurore has no website, no prior press coverage, and almost zero digital footprint. Its registered address sits at Suites 2907-8, Two Exchange Square in Central, Hong Kong, a prestigious office complex commonly used by hedge funds and financial firms. The "Ltd." structure points to a possible offshore incorporation in the Cayman Islands or British Virgin Islands, a standard setup for entities wanting cross-border access while keeping ownership private.

What really stands out is that IBIT is Laurore's only holding. No other stocks, no hedges, no diversification. The portfolio looks purpose-built as a pure Bitcoin access vehicle.

With IBIT currently trading around $38, that position would now be worth roughly $334 million. That's a 24% decline from the quarter-end valuation, assuming the firm still holds the full stake. The filing reflects a snapshot at quarter-end but doesn't reveal when shares were acquired or whether any have been sold since.

Why Are Analysts Flagging Chinese Ties?

Jeff Park, chief investment officer at ProCap Financial and advisor to Bitwise, first flagged the filing on February 17. He described "Zhang Hui" as the Chinese equivalent of "John Smith," a name common enough to double as cover. Park called the structure "a $436 million Bitcoin access vehicle dressed in institutional clothing" and said it could be an early sign of institutional Chinese capital moving into Bitcoin through a regulated U.S. ETF.

The core question is whether Laurore serves as a conduit for mainland Chinese money. Direct Bitcoin ownership and trading remain banned in China, but Hong Kong operates under a much more permissive regulatory framework. That gap creates a natural bridge for mainland-adjacent investors looking for Bitcoin exposure through low-fee, high-liquidity products like IBIT, without the risks of direct custody or gray-market workarounds.

Parker White, CIO at DeFi Development Corporation (NASDAQ: DFDV), went further. He claimed Laurore appears to be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hao Advisors Management, a Hong Kong hedge fund, citing a shared address and overlapping signatory names. Park pushed back on that, noting that shared office space in the building doesn't necessarily mean shared ownership. When another commenter suggested it could simply be a registered address where no one actually works, Park replied: "Bingo." The Hao Advisors connection remains unconfirmed.

Does Laurore Connect to the October Crash?

The timing has not gone unnoticed. Laurore's position was built during Q4 2025, which began October 1, the same month Bitcoin's flash crash wiped out $19 billion in leveraged positions in a single day. On October 10, Bitcoin plunged from roughly $122,000 to $105,000 in about 40 minutes after Trump announced 100% tariffs on Chinese imports, triggering cascading liquidations across the crypto market.

White noted the overlap but stopped short of pointing fingers, later posting: "I kinda don't think they are the HK fund that blew up." The Valentine's Day filing deadline, extended to February 17 due to President's Day, didn't produce concrete evidence tying any specific entity to the crash.

What White did flag was a separate finding: major options market makers "massively increased their long volatility exposure to IBIT via both call and put buying" during Q4. He cited position size increases by Jane Street, SIG, IMC, Citadel, and Marex, with JPMorgan's call positions up 690% and Barclays up 102%. Jane Street alone added 7.1 million IBIT shares in Q4, bringing its total holdings to 20.3 million shares worth about $790 million. White suggested someone is "massively short on the other side," but current 13F rules don't require reporting short positions in options.

Is This Part of a Bigger Pattern?

Laurore isn't the first Hong Kong entity to take a large position in U.S. Bitcoin ETFs, but not all of these firms are equally mysterious.

Avenir Group, founded by Huobi founder Li Lin, is Asia's largest institutional Bitcoin ETF holder with roughly 18.3 million IBIT shares worth over $1 billion as of Q3 2025. Unlike Laurore, Avenir is a public-facing firm with offices across five countries, a website, and regular press coverage. Li Lin also recently raised $1 billion to launch an Ether-focused trust alongside Fenbushi Capital, HashKey Group, and Meitu founder Cai Wensheng.

Yong Rong Asset Management, another Hong Kong firm, also holds a smaller IBIT position. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas has noted that U.S. ETFs have become "irresistible" for international investors due to their low fees and high volume, making it likely that more offshore vehicles will keep surfacing.

These moves track with Hong Kong's broader push into digital asset infrastructure, including licensing frameworks and tokenization pilots, even as Beijing holds firm on its anti-crypto stance.

What Does This Mean for Bitcoin?

IBIT has crossed $64.8 billion in total net assets, making it one of the fastest-growing ETFs ever launched. But the Q4 filings paint a mixed picture. While Laurore appeared as a major new buyer and Jane Street increased its stake by 54%, Goldman Sachs cut its IBIT allocation by roughly 40%, though it still holds close to $1 billion.

If Chinese institutional capital is indeed flowing into Bitcoin through structures like Laurore, the picture gets complicated. On one side, it adds liquidity and signals demand from capital pools that have been locked out of direct crypto access. On the other, the lack of transparency raises real questions about the true scale of these inflows and who's actually behind them.

As Park put it, this looks like Bitcoin access for investors who "can't hold Bitcoin" directly. Future SEC filings should tell us whether Laurore is an outlier or just the first one we noticed.

Sources:

• The Block — Original reporting on Laurore's 13F filing details, share count, and current value estimate
• CCN — Coverage of Jeff Park's analysis and industry reactions from Samson Mow and Matt Hougan
• CryptoSlate — Reporting on Avenir Tech, Yong Rong, and Eric Balchunas's commentary on U.S. ETF appeal
• Bitcoinist — Parker White's Hao Advisors theory, Jeff Park's pushback, and registered address discussion
• Cryptopolitan — Analysis connecting Laurore's Q4 position to the October 10 crash timeline and options market maker activity
• Unchained — Reporting on Park's capital flight speculation and offshore structure analysis
• CoinGecko — Comprehensive breakdown of the October 10 flash crash mechanics and $19B liquidation event