In a significant move that has drawn attention across financial and fintech circles, Li Lin — the founder of Huobi Global — has acquired a 5.9% equity stake in UP Fintech Holding Limited, commonly known as Tiger Brokers, through his privately held company, Avenir Tech Limited. According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) disclosed in June 2025, Avenir Tech holds a total of 10,667,580 American Depositary Shares (ADSs) of the Nasdaq-listed brokerage platform.
This strategic investment underscores growing interest from prominent blockchain and fintech entrepreneurs in traditional financial technology platforms with strong international footprints. While Li Lin is best known for his role in building one of the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges, this latest move signals a diversification into regulated financial services infrastructure.
Corporate Structure Behind the Acquisition
The ownership structure behind the acquisition is layered but clearly controlled by Li Lin. Avenir Tech Limited is wholly owned by Avenir View, which in turn is a subsidiary of Avenir Investment. Li Lin is the sole shareholder of Avenir Investment, making him the ultimate beneficial owner of the entire chain.
This type of corporate arrangement is common among high-net-worth individuals and institutional investors seeking privacy and operational flexibility when acquiring stakes in public companies. However, SEC regulations require full disclosure of beneficial ownership once holdings exceed 5%, which triggered the recent filing.
👉 Discover how top investors structure global portfolios using secure financial platforms.
Why Tiger Brokers?
Tiger Brokers has established itself as a key player in bridging Chinese-speaking investors with global capital markets. Founded in 2014, the firm offers commission-free trading for U.S. stocks, options, ETFs, and港股 (Hong Kong stocks), along with access to IPO allocations and advanced trading tools. Its user base is primarily composed of tech-savvy retail investors from mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and other Asian markets.
Over the past few years, Tiger Brokers has expanded its product suite to include wealth management solutions, margin lending, and institutional services. Despite regulatory scrutiny from both Chinese and U.S. authorities — particularly around data security and cross-border financial compliance — the company has maintained steady growth.
For Li Lin, investing in Tiger Brokers represents an opportunity to participate in the digitization of global investing while leveraging synergies between blockchain-enabled finance and traditional brokerage ecosystems.
Key Benefits of the Investment:
- Exposure to growing retail investment trends in Asia
- Access to a regulated, publicly traded fintech platform
- Strategic positioning at the intersection of digital assets and traditional finance
- Potential for long-term value appreciation amid market recovery cycles
Market Implications and Investor Sentiment
The news of Li Lin’s stake purchase was met with positive sentiment in after-hours trading, with Tiger Brokers’ stock seeing a modest uptick. Analysts suggest that the involvement of a well-known figure like Li Lin could enhance market confidence, especially given his track record in scaling technology-driven financial platforms.
Moreover, this development may spark renewed interest in fintech convergence — the blending of decentralized finance (DeFi) innovations with centralized financial infrastructure. As more blockchain pioneers explore hybrid models, investments like this could become increasingly common.
"We’re witnessing a quiet but powerful shift: crypto-native leaders are now backing traditional fintech firms with global reach. This isn’t an exit from crypto — it’s an expansion into adjacent ecosystems."
— Market Analyst, Fintech Insights Group
Core Keywords Integration
This article centers on several key themes relevant to modern financial innovation:
- Li Lin: As a central figure in the global crypto ecosystem, his investment decisions carry weight.
- Tiger Brokers: A leading digital brokerage platform serving international investors.
- Avenir Tech: The investment vehicle used for this acquisition.
- Fintech convergence: The merging of traditional finance with blockchain-era technologies.
- SEC filing: Regulatory transparency that enables public tracking of major equity positions.
- Cryptocurrency entrepreneur: Highlights the evolving role of early crypto adopters in broader finance.
- Global investing: Reflects the core mission of platforms like Tiger Brokers.
- Equity stake acquisition: The mechanism through which influence and value are built in public markets.
These keywords naturally emerge throughout the narrative, supporting SEO performance without compromising readability.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: Who is Li Lin?
A: Li Lin is the founder of Huobi Global, one of the earliest and largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. He played a pivotal role in popularizing digital asset trading in China and across Asia before stepping back from day-to-day operations in recent years.
Q: What percentage of Tiger Brokers does Li Lin now own?
A: Through Avenir Tech Limited, Li Lin indirectly holds a 5.9% stake in Tiger Brokers, equivalent to 10,667,580 ADSs. This qualifies as a significant minority position under U.S. securities law.
Q: Is this a hostile takeover attempt?
A: No. The SEC filing indicates passive investment intent, meaning Li Lin does not currently plan to influence company control or push for board representation.
Q: How might this affect Tiger Brokers’ future strategy?
A: While no immediate changes have been announced, Li Lin’s background in digital finance could open doors for Tiger Brokers to explore tokenized assets, Web3 integrations, or blockchain-based settlement systems down the line.
Q: Could this signal a broader trend of crypto entrepreneurs entering traditional finance?
A: Yes. With maturing regulations and increasing institutional adoption, many former crypto leaders are now deploying capital into regulated financial entities — not as replacements, but as complements to decentralized ecosystems.
Q: Where can I view the official SEC filing?
A: The Schedule 13G filing is publicly available through the SEC’s EDGAR database under UP Fintech Holding Limited’s corporate disclosures.
Strategic Outlook
While still early days, Li Lin’s investment may foreshadow deeper integration between blockchain-native capital and traditional financial platforms. Tiger Brokers’ existing infrastructure — including its compliance framework, global licensing, and user base — makes it an attractive candidate for innovation at the edge of crypto and conventional markets.
As macroeconomic conditions stabilize and investor appetite returns, we may see more cross-pollination between these domains. Entrepreneurs like Li Lin are uniquely positioned to identify such opportunities, combining deep technical understanding with real-world scaling experience.
Whether this marks the beginning of a larger trend or remains an isolated strategic play, one thing is clear: the boundaries between digital asset innovation and mainstream finance continue to blur.