Two of the most interesting companies in China right now are ChangXin Memory, the country's homegrown DRAM champion, and Unitree, the humanoid robot maker whose machines do backflips across the internet. If you live outside mainland China and want to trade either one, you have run into the same wall: there is no normal way in.
This guide explains exactly why that wall exists, and how to get exposure to both companies anyway, with nothing more than a self-custodial wallet and USDC.
Why you cannot just buy them
CXMT listed on Shanghai's STAR Market on July 27, 2026, in the largest IPO in that market's history. Unitree followed on August 19, 2026, with an equally enormous debut. But the STAR Market sits behind China's capital controls. Foreign retail investors cannot open a mainland brokerage account without residence and a local bank account, the Stock Connect schemes do not cover new STAR listings for ordinary investors, and qualified foreign institutional quotas are for institutions, not for you. Practically speaking, a retail trader in Singapore, London or New York cannot buy either stock.
The way in: perps on Hyperliquid
Both companies have perpetual futures markets on Hyperliquid, a decentralised trading platform, quoted in USD and running 24/7. Based is the self-custody wallet that connects you to them. You trade the CXMT and UNITREE markets the same way you would trade BTC: long or short, with leverage if you want it, from your own wallet.
The honest mechanics, because they matter: a perp is a derivative that tracks a price. You get exposure to the company's price moves without owning shares, so no dividends and no voting rights. Positions carry liquidation risk, and funding fees apply while they are open. And because these markets trade around the clock while the STAR Market keeps short weekday hours, expect the perp price to drift from the last Shanghai print overnight and on weekends, especially in thin liquidity.
How to get started
One: get Based on iOS, Android or the web and create a wallet. Write the recovery phrase down on paper and store it well. It is the only backup of your funds and no one can restore it for you.
Two: fund the wallet with USDC, either bought directly in the app or transferred from an exchange you already use. That is the entire access requirement. No brokerage account, no bank account, just a self-custodial wallet funded with USDC. No Chinese residence, no mainland bank card, no QFII quota.
Three: open the CXMT or UNITREE market, pick long or short, choose a size, and note your liquidation price before confirming. Start small. Newly listed STAR Market stocks are among the most volatile equities anywhere, and the perps track that volatility around the clock. The getting started guide walks through a first trade in more detail.
Why trade China names here at all
Because the interesting parts of the Chinese market keep being the parts foreigners cannot reach. The memory cycle runs through CXMT's fabs as much as through Micron or SK Hynix. The humanoid robot wave trades through Unitree before it trades through anything listed in New York. A market that is open to anyone with a wallet, around the clock, is simply the first practical way most people outside China have had to trade these names at all.
That is what permissionless trading means in practice: the geography of your passport stops deciding which companies you can have a view on.