Hong Kong’s OSL Raises $300M to Deliver ‘Trusted Entry’ to Crypto Forward of Stablecoin Regulation Rollout – Decrypt

OSL Group, Hong Kong’s first licensed digital asset change, mentioned Friday it’ll elevate HK$2.36 billion (about US$300 million) to fund acquisitions, world enlargement, and a significant push into stablecoin and fee infrastructure.

Roughly HK$700 million, or 30% of proceeds, will go towards “world enterprise and new enterprise initiatives, together with fee and stablecoin initiatives,” based on a submitting with the Hong Kong Inventory Alternate.

“Our imaginative and prescient, a world the place each individual and enterprise has trusted entry to crypto, is extra related than ever,” it mentioned within the submitting.

OSL shares have climbed almost 88% since late January, rising from HK$9.12 to a peak of HK$20.30 (US$2.60) in mid-July, per Google Finance information. The inventory final closed at HK$17.14 (US$2.20) on July 25, with all new shares throughout the deal priced at HK$14.90, a set subscription worth set at a 15.3% low cost to Thursday’s shut.

Hong Kong’s stablecoin invoice

OSL’s timing isn’t any coincidence. Hong Kong’s stablecoin invoice is about to take impact subsequent week, and a licensing regime for OTC crypto buying and selling is anticipated earlier than year-end.

The stablecoin invoice, handed earlier in Might by town’s Legislative Council, will introduce a licensing framework for fiat-referenced stablecoins issued to the general public in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong is more likely to speed up blockchain adoption within the coming years, producing ample alternatives for these within the house,” Peter Chung, who heads analysis at quantitative buying and selling agency Presto Labs, advised Decrypt.

Consequently, OSL seems to be “taking full benefit of its standing” as a listed firm to lift capital publicly and seize progress, he added. “Having ammunition” for such alternatives is strategic and appears to be the “good factor to do,” Chung mentioned.

Chung’s view echoes a broader market sentiment that Hong Kong’s regulatory readability is driving a shift from experimentation to execution, a view shared by different licensed companies like Hex Belief.

“It’s encouraging to see licensed companies in Hong Kong placing stablecoin improvement on the roadmap,” Giorgia Pellizzari, head of custody at Hex Belief, advised Decrypt. “There’s an actual want for stablecoins that meet regulatory requirements and combine easily with current monetary infrastructure.”

Stablecoins, Pellizzari mentioned, aren’t simply fee instruments, however function “a bridge for broader digital asset use circumstances,” together with settlement, tokenization, and on-chain liquidity.

Jakob Kronbichler, CEO of decentralized credit score protocol Clearpool, takes an analogous view, pointing to stablecoins’ rising position in capital and credit score markets.

“As soon as a crypto-native instrument, stablecoins have now advanced into core monetary infrastructure for funds, liquidity, and capital motion,” Kronbichler advised Decrypt.

With Hong Kong’s regulatory framework taking form, Kronbichler mentioned establishments are turning to stablecoin infrastructure to streamline credit score, funding, and different monetary providers past funds.

“That is the place the following wave of stablecoin utility will emerge,” he mentioned.

OSL expects to finish the issuance by mid-August, pending regulatory approval. Buying and selling was briefly halted Friday forward of the announcement, in step with itemizing guidelines.