Fu Peng (付鹏), former Chief Economist at Northeast Securities, just joined crypto as Chief Economist at Hong Kong-based Huobi Tech (now rebranded as Xinhuo Group).

Context on Fu Peng: He's a well-known macro analyst in traditional finance (TradFi), same tier as Ren Zeping and Hong Hao. Big following on Bilibili.

Why the move? Two factors:

1. China's finance sector salary caps hit hard—state-owned financial institutions now cap leadership at ~2M RMB/year, with tiered cuts below. Research departments at securities firms are laying off analysts, even chief economists aren't safe.

2. Fu Peng already left Northeast Securities in 2025 (officially "health reasons"), been doing independent media since. Xinhuo likely made a competitive offer.

What Xinhuo gets: This isn't about trading ops. It's brand positioning. A TradFi macro analyst gives licensed crypto platforms credibility when pitching to institutions. Fu Peng becomes the "respectable face" bridging legacy finance and crypto.

This matters because it signals a trend: senior TradFi talent is migrating to licensed crypto entities. Fu Peng won't be the last. As regulatory frameworks solidify in Hong Kong and elsewhere, expect more high-profile economists and analysts to make this jump—especially as TradFi compensation structures tighten and crypto infrastructure matures.