Author: River

The two most representative licensed institutions in Hong Kong are embarking on a "compliance race" along two different routes.

When talking about the virtual asset market in Hong Kong, who do you think of first?

Most likely, it is OSL and HashKey, as they are among the earliest exchanges to receive licenses in Hong Kong and have long been regarded as the most representative flags in the landscape of crypto finance in Hong Kong.

However, the presence of the two in the public eye is quite different. OSL has always been low-profile; even though its subsidiary OSL HK is the first licensed exchange to go public, the company rarely appears at the center of public discourse. In contrast, HashKey has always been in the spotlight, frequently appearing at various industry events and often dominating market focus with discussions surrounding its ecosystem token HSK.

Interestingly, both institutions announced the listing of new tokens just a day apart:

• On February 25, HashKey Exchange listed its ecosystem token HSK;
• On February 26, OSL HK listed the enterprise-grade compliant stablecoin USDGO;

At first glance, this may seem like ordinary token listings, but when viewed in a larger strategic context, it reflects a divide in two different paths: one focusing on the Web3 native trading ecosystem, while the other begins to bet on stablecoin financial infrastructure.

This also mirrors the deep changes occurring in Hong Kong's crypto asset industry, providing an excellent perspective to observe the evolution of the crypto finance landscape in Hong Kong.

1. The "Temperature Difference" in Token Listings: Ecosystem Token vs Financial Tool

Let’s first talk about HSK, which HashKey has recently listed.

As we know, HSK is the ecosystem token under HashKey Group, and in official narratives, it is used across all business scenarios of HashKey, serving multiple functions including ecosystem incentives, community governance, and payment of Gas fees on its self-developed public chain, HashKey Chain.

In other words, HSK is a typical "platform token."

This is a very mature strategy in the crypto industry. From this perspective, HashKey's strategic path is quite clear: within the compliance framework of Hong Kong, using HSK to connect exchange trading, on-chain ecosystems, and community incentives, building a Web3 ecosystem closed loop around trading and traffic, attempting to replicate the most classic growth path of Crypto:

Exchange (Traffic Entrance) → Self-developed Public Chain (Underlying Facility) → HSK (Value Capture) → Web3 Ecosystem (Closed Loop).

The core of this logic is that the platform token binds users, users amplify the network effect, the network effect activates the ecosystem, and the prosperity of the ecosystem in turn boosts overall valuation, thus its target audience is very clear——more focused on retail traders, Web3 native players, and those willing to bet on the future of the HashKey ecosystem.

Source: HashKey Official Website

However, the problem is, as a publicly listed company (3887.HK), HashKey not only has HSK as its platform token but also has publicly issued shares. This means it must confront a unique reality of "two skins": 3887.HK represents shareholder interests and financial returns, while HSK carries ecosystem growth and community incentives. How to delineate the boundaries between these two logics and achieve long-term collaboration is a question that similar models need to address.

In fact, HashKey has long structurally separated the listed entity from the ecosystem token. For instance, the prospectus clearly states that the price fluctuations of the HSK token are legally and structurally separated from the share price of the listed company. However, this does not mean the tension disappears: capital markets and Web3 ecosystems are inherently different in rhythm, objectives, and evaluation systems, which still require clearer narratives and boundaries to explain.

From a market performance standpoint, since HSK was listed, its price has fallen from a historical high of $2.5 to a range as low as $0.15, which may reflect the market's wait-and-see attitude toward this "two skins" model.

Now let’s discuss OSL and its recent listing of USDGO.

A commonly overlooked detail is that OSL has yet to choose to issue a platform token; instead, it launched this new stablecoin early this year, which can be regarded as OSL Group's "quasi-favored child" from a strategic weighting perspective.

USDGO is pegged 1:1 to the US dollar, issued by Anchorage Digital Bank, a federally regulated crypto bank in the United States, and subject to strict third-party audits, with globally licensed OSL responsible for brand operation and distribution. Such compliance endorsement and product form also distinguish it clearly from traditional "crypto assets," making it objectively closer to an on-chain digital financial tool.

OSL's public positioning of USDGO is also very clear——"enterprise-grade compliant stablecoin," serving not ordinary crypto speculative traders, but enterprises and institutional clients with cross-border payment and funds settlement needs.

In terms of trading format, USDGO is now available on the OSL Global platform for RFQ exchange services and professional spot trading, gradually linking the inflow and outflow paths of stable coins and providing trading liquidity through OSL HK's OTC services.

Source: USDGO Official Website

An even more interesting signal is that at the same time USDGO was launched, OSL also initiated the stablecoin ecosystem alliance "GO Alliance," announcing an initial investment of $20 million in ecosystem incentives, but this funding is not a traditional retail airdrop, but targeted at enterprise and institutional partners.

Its logic is closer to a typical B2B SaaS customer acquisition model, attracting the first batch of industry users by lowering early adoption costs, thereby gradually establishing real commercial application scenarios. This is fundamentally different from the incentive logic represented by HSK's platform token.

Ultimately, the newly listed HSK and USDGO present a very stark contrast: one is a platform token, and the other is a stablecoin; one serves the growth logic of its own Web3 ecosystem, while the other attempts to become a financial tool for enterprise cross-border capital movement.

The two most representative licensed institutions in Hong Kong, along with their respective listed companies, OSL Group (863.HK) and HashKey Holdings (3887.HK), are betting on two completely different futures.

2. The Divergence Moment of Two Paths and Two Bets

The two token listings may not be enough to draw conclusions, but looking back since 2025, we find that this divergence did not occur suddenly.

HashKey has consistently adhered to the Web3 card, betting on the prosperity of the native ecosystem, accelerating the improvement of its "global exchange matrix + self-developed public chain + platform token system" closed loop.

HSK had already been listed on several platforms such as HashKey Global, HTX, KuCoin, and Gate.io before its launch on HashKey Exchange, and further expanded to Kraken in January 2026, opening trading pairs with the US dollar and euro, consistently enlarging the token's circulation map.

Meanwhile, HashKey Chain is still under construction; the entire strategic layout is oriented from the exchange to the public chain, from platform token to ecosystem incentives. Its focus remains on continuing a set of Web3 native growth logic under the compliance framework: building the ecosystem, constructing the network, and generating incentives and value capture through the platform token, with the goal of positioning itself as a compliant crypto gateway from Hong Kong to the world.

In contrast, OSL Group has undergone a noticeable strategic restructuring over the past year, transforming from a digital asset trading institution to a stablecoin payment and settlement infrastructure platform:

• In April 2025, formally launched stablecoin payment business;
• In July 2025, completed a $300 million financing to fund the expansion of payment business;
• In July 2025, launched enterprise-level crypto payment solution BizPay;
• In August 2025, disclosed mid-term results, with payment business contributing nearly 30% of revenue just two months after launch;
• In November 2025, announced that it had laid out more than 50 licenses across over 10 key global markets;
• In January 2026, completed the acquisition of global Web3 payment service provider Banxa;
• In January 2026, completed a new round of $200 million equity financing;
• In February 2026, launched enterprise-grade stablecoin USDGO;

It is against this backdrop that the launch of USDGO becomes crucial; it is not just a stablecoin, but the core tool within the entire payment network of OSL Group, aimed at solving real-world capital flow issues with stablecoins, integrating a path of "TradiFi + Digital Finance."

When a company uses USDGO for cross-border settlement, the entire process generally works as follows: fiat currency entry → on-chain stablecoin settlement → account management and capital aggregation → treasury optimization → fiat currency exit. Combined with the enterprise payment functions of OSL’s own BizPay and the license network layout across multiple global markets, the entire chain can be completed without relying on the traditional SWIFT system, ensuring compliance, regulation, and audit traceability throughout the process.

Thus, we see an interesting scenario: one entity is continuously constructing a Web3 ecosystem matrix around "exchange + public chain + platform token," while the other accelerates its transformation into a global financial infrastructure with "stablecoins + payment networks + compliance licenses."

These two paths themselves are not inherently superior to one another; they merely reflect different betting directions, revealing two institutions' distinct understandings of their roles:

• What HashKey builds is a Web3 native ecological network operating around trading, public chains, and platform tokens, with the core logic being "traffic × ecosystem": with the ecosystem, there is traffic; with traffic comes valuation; with valuation, the ecosystem is further supported, attempting to replicate the most classic growth myth in the crypto space within the compliance framework of Hong Kong;
• What OSL attempts is to position stablecoins as financial infrastructure tools embedded within the payment and settlement systems serving the real economy, with the core being "license × network": with a compliant license comes institutional trust; with a payment network comes real demand; with real demand comes sustainable revenue, trying to find a genuine application for "compliant digital assets";

3. Where Will Hong Kong's Crypto Financial Experiment Go?

Taking a higher perspective, the divergence between HashKey and OSL can also be viewed as a microcosm of a larger experiment ongoing in the Hong Kong crypto asset market.

The regulatory approach of Hong Kong has never been simply "choose one of two."

Since the release of the virtual asset policy declaration in 2022, Hong Kong has been clearly promoting the development of the Web3 industry while attempting to gradually integrate crypto assets into the traditional financial system through a compliant regulatory framework. Thus, the emergence of two different paths within the same market is not contradictory; rather, it may become a structural advantage in the "compliance race" of Hong Kong's crypto asset ecosystem:

On one side, there is Web3 native innovation; on the other, crypto financial infrastructure, and the relationship between the two may not necessarily be competitive, but rather different levels of market division of labor.

As stablecoin regulation gradually takes effect, the significance of this experiment is being further amplified; in fact, to some extent, stablecoins are becoming a key variable determining the success or failure of this experiment.

It is important to know that from the initiation of regulatory consultations in 2022, the rollout of the regulatory sandbox testing in 2024, to the high votes in favor of the "Stablecoin Regulatory Draft" in May 2025 and the official effect of the regulation in August of the same year, Hong Kong's stablecoin regulatory framework has undergone years of deliberation and is now practically taking shape. With the impending implementation of the license system, the stablecoin market will officially enter the stage of compliance.

Furthermore, from a more macro perspective of industry trends, stablecoins are becoming core assets in on-chain financial systems; the reasons are not complicated; they retain the technical advantages of blockchain's global circulation, real-time settlement, and programmability while possessing the stable attributes of traditional finance——priced in fiat, auditable, and regulated, and even capable of embedding more financial rules within compliant frameworks.

This is also why more and more traditional financial institutions are beginning to pay serious attention to stablecoins; at least for global small to medium-sized enterprises, the true value of stablecoins lies not in speculation, but in more efficient cross-border payments and fund management.

Perhaps it is in this context that OSL places USDGO in such a central position.

Ultimately, to understand OSL's strategy, it is critical to understand what USDGO truly represents because it is not a stablecoin aimed at the trading market in the traditional sense, but rather resembles an on-chain account system and capital pipeline connecting TradFi and Web3:

Enterprises can still invoice in fiat currency, issue USD invoices, and generate standard audit reports, but they have simply replaced "cross-border capital movement" from SWIFT with a more efficient and convenient on-chain settlement network, In this process, enterprises do not need to understand Web3 culture, nor do they need to hold any volatile assets to enjoy a payment channel that is faster, cheaper, and still compliant.

Source: OSL

Overall, whether it is HashKey's commitment to a Web3 ecosystem or OSL's bet on a stablecoin financial network, both paths are fundamentally trying to answer an ultimate question: Where is the second half of the compliant crypto asset industry? What can compliant crypto assets really be used for?

Looking back at the first decade of the crypto industry, the core narrative has always revolved around "trading." However, with the development of stablecoins, RWA, and on-chain finance, more and more institutions are realizing that the real opportunity may not lie in new exchanges or new tokens, but in building the crypto financial infrastructure itself.

Therefore, as HashKey and OSL take two different routes, they also represent two futures that the entire industry is exploring.

In Conclusion

It has been over three years since the release of the Hong Kong virtual asset policy declaration, and during these three years, market cycles have replaced each other, and the regulatory system has gradually improved. The initial two licensed institutions now stand at different crossroads.

Which path will lead further still comes down to two most fundamental questions: What real pain points have been solved? Where is the network effect?

The answers need time, but at least one thing has become clear:

The two most representative licensed institutions in Hong Kong are no longer on the same path.

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