Recently, Hong Kong's Yunfeng Financial (Stock Code: 00376.HK) announced the acquisition of 10,000 Ethereum (ETH) for approximately $44 million, a move that has garnered widespread attention. Yunfeng Financial was co-founded in 2010 by Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group, and Yu Feng, founder of Target Media. The name "Yunfeng" is derived from one character from each founder's name.

The company was formerly known as Mansheng International Securities, established in 1982 and listed in Hong Kong in 1987. In 2015, Yunfeng Fund completed a strategic controlling stake acquisition of this listed platform; in 2018, it further acquired 60% of the equity of MassMutual Asia Limited, thereby obtaining a Hong Kong insurance business license.

Focusing on RWA and Digital Assets

In 2025, Yunfeng Financial began deploying into the virtual asset space, cumulatively purchasing 10,000 ETH with a total investment of about $44 million, becoming one of the first traditional financial institutions in Hong Kong to allocate digital currency on a large scale. Simultaneously, the company entered into a comprehensive strategic partnership with Ant Digital Technologies, a subsidiary of Ant Group, and made a strategic investment in Pharos, a public chain project focused on the tokenization of Real World Assets (RWA). Previously, Pharos also partnered with the lending network Morpho, which has over $9 billion in deposits, to introduce Morpho's lending infrastructure to the Pharos mainnet.

Currently, Yunfeng Financial holds licenses issued by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) for Type 1 (dealing in securities), Type 4 (advising on securities), Type 6 (advising on corporate finance), and Type 9 (asset management) regulated activities. It also possesses an insurance business operating permit, forming three core business segments: securities, asset management, and insurance.

Mankun Law Firm pointed out that traditional financial institutions wishing to venture into virtual assets can refer to the experiences of Tiger Brokers and ZA Bank by applying for and holding a Type 1 license that covers virtual asset trading; if only providing investment consultation and advice, they can operate under a Type 4 license; and if they wish to legally manage investment portfolios including virtual assets and provide related services, they need to apply for a Type 9 license. However, it is noteworthy that almost all virtual currency exchanges require a Type 7 license, as their core business involves automated trading of virtual assets on electronic platforms.

Strategic Considerations for Acquiring ETH

Yunfeng Financial announced that the held ETH would be accounted for as an investment in the group's financial statements. It stated that holding ETH helps diversify assets and reduce reliance on traditional fiat currencies, while also exploring Ethereum's potential applications in insurance business and new decentralized finance (DeFi) business scenarios.

Five years ago, another company was making significant acquisitions of crypto assets—MicroStrategy (later renamed Strategy) pioneered the incorporation of Bitcoin into corporate financial strategy. At that time, Strategy purchased large amounts of Bitcoin through issuing stocks and debt financing, primarily motivated by hedging against inflation and currency devaluation risks.

Over nearly 5 years, Strategy spent $40.8 billion to acquire over 580,000 Bitcoin.

By 2025, as the regulatory environment matured, a group of digital asset treasury (DAT) companies, represented by Strategy, emerged. These companies not only incorporate digital assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum into their corporate treasuries but also make it one of their core strategies.

Unlike companies that occasionally dabble in crypto assets, DAT companies proactively accumulate digital assets and achieve efficient growth through capital market operations. Investors gain indirect exposure to crypto assets by investing in their equity without directly holding cryptocurrencies.

This trend has spread from Strategy to various types of companies worldwide, including Japan's Metaplanet, Twenty One Capital focused on building a Bitcoin "moat," and emerging companies leveraging their capital structure for crypto holdings. The asset classes have also expanded from BTC to digital assets like ETH, SOL, XRP, BNB, HYPE.