April 27, 2026
By Shubhii Verma
Fu Peng, a well-known Chinese economist whose sharp comments on China’s economy went viral last year, has joined Hong Kong-listed crypto asset management firm Bitfire Group as its chief scientist. Speaking at a company event in Hong Kong, Fu described the rise of digital assets as a “historical” shift and said cryptocurrencies have now matured enough to be included in serious investment portfolios.
Fu’s move is notable because public figures from mainland China rarely join the crypto industry due to Beijing’s strict ban on cryptocurrency trading and mining since 2021. In contrast, Hong Kong has been building a regulated environment to attract crypto businesses. Fu previously served as chief economist at Chinese brokerage Northeast Securities and became widely discussed in 2024 for his candid views on China’s slowing economy, property crisis, and weak consumer demand. His remarks led to the suspension of his WeChat account after they spread widely online.
At the Hong Kong event, Fu said he sees the current stage of crypto development as the “second great integration” of finance and technology, similar to how global markets for fixed income, currencies, and commodities evolved in the 1980s. However, he clarified that in his new role at Bitfire, he will focus on providing macroeconomic research and insights for clients rather than publishing public reports.
Bitfire’s CEO Livio Weng compared Fu’s move to developments in the United States, where traditional finance figures like Ark Invest’s Cathie Wood and Fundstrat’s Tom Lee have publicly supported crypto in recent years. Weng said Fu’s expertise would help the firm strengthen its research and investment strategies for clients interested in digital assets.
The announcement also came as Bitfire confirmed it had acquired a trading system and hired a 20-member investment team from Avenir Group, the family office of Li Lin, founder of crypto exchange Huobi (now HTX) and Bitfire’s largest shareholder. The deal was valued at $1.6 million.
This acquisition will allow Bitfire to offer bitcoin-denominated investment products and asset management services to clients, even as the broader crypto market remains below its previous highs. At the time of the event, bitcoin was trading around $77,940, significantly lower than its record peak of $126,000 reached in October.
