From HSK to USDGO: Hong Kong's two major licensed institutions begin to "decouple"

Written by: River

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

Most likely OSL and HashKey. As some of the earliest licensed exchanges in Hong Kong, they have long been regarded as the two most representative flags in the landscape of Hong Kong's crypto finance.

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

Interestingly, the two institutions recently announced new listings just one day apart:

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

At first glance, this seems like a typical listing action, but when viewed in a larger strategic context, it appears to represent a divergence in two different paths: one continues to delve into the Web3 native trading ecosystem, while the other begins to bet on stablecoin financial infrastructure.

This also reflects the deep changes occurring in Hong Kong's crypto asset industry, making it an excellent slice for observing the evolution of Hong Kong's crypto finance landscape.

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

First, let's talk about HSK, which HashKey has just listed.

As is well known, HSK is the ecosystem token under HashKey Group. In the official narrative, it is used across all business scenarios of HashKey, serving multiple functions such as ecosystem incentives, community governance, and payment of gas fees on its self-developed blockchain, HashKey Chain.

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

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

Exchange (traffic entry) → Self-developed blockchain (underlying infrastructure) → HSK (value capture) → Web3 ecosystem (closed loop).

The core of this logic is that platform tokens bind users, users amplify network effects, network effects activate ecosystems, and the prosperity of the ecosystem in turn boosts overall valuation, thus its target audience is also very clear—more aimed at 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 that as a listed company (3887.HK), HashKey not only has HSK as its platform token but also publicly issued shares, which means it must face a unique reality of "two skins": 3887.HK represents shareholder interests and financial returns, while HSK carries the weight of ecosystem growth and community incentives. How to delineate the boundaries of these two logics and achieve long-term synergy is a question that similar models need to address.

In fact, HashKey has long structurally separated the listed entity from the ecosystem token. For example, the prospectus clearly states that the price fluctuations of the HSK token are legally and structurally separate from the stock price of the listed company. However, this does not mean that the tension disappears: the capital market and the Web3 ecosystem are inherently different in rhythm, goals, and evaluation systems, and clearer narratives and boundaries are still needed for explanation.

From market performance, since HSK was listed, it has dropped from a historical high of $2.5 to a low range of $0.15. This trend itself may also reflect the market's wait-and-see attitude towards this "two skins" model.

Now let's discuss OSL's newly listed USDGO.

One often overlooked detail is that OSL has not chosen to issue a platform token to date. Instead, at the beginning of this year, it focused on launching this new stablecoin, which, from a strategic weight perspective, can almost be seen as the "quasi-favored child" of the OSL Group.

USDGO is pegged 1:1 to the US dollar and is issued by Anchorage Digital Bank, a federally regulated crypto bank in the United States, which undergoes strict third-party audits. The globally licensed OSL is responsible for brand operation and distribution. This compliance endorsement and product form clearly distinguish it 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," with its main target audience not being ordinary crypto speculative traders, but enterprises and institutional clients with cross-border payment and fund settlement needs.

In terms of trading form, USDGO has launched RFQ flash exchange services and professional spot trading on the OSL Global platform, gradually smoothing the inflow and outflow paths of stablecoins 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. However, this funding is not a traditional retail airdrop but is aimed at corporate 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 clearly different from the incentive logic represented by HSK's platform token.

Ultimately, the newly launched HSK and USDGO present a 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 fund flows.

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 entirely different futures.

2. The Divergence Moment of Two Paths and Two Bets

The two listings may not be enough to draw conclusions, but looking back since 2025, it is clear that this divergence did not happen suddenly.

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

HSK was listed on multiple platforms such as HashKey Global, HTX, KuCoin, and Gate.io before landing on HashKey Exchange. In January 2026, it further landed on Kraken, opening trading pairs with USD and EUR, continuously expanding the token's circulation map.

At the same time, HashKey Chain is still under construction. The direction of the entire layout, from exchanges to public chains, from platform tokens to ecosystem incentives, maintains a strategic focus within the compliant framework, continuing a set of Web3 native growth logic: building ecosystems, creating networks, and forming incentives and value capture through platform tokens, aiming to establish itself as a compliant crypto traffic entry point from Hong Kong to the world.

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

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

It is against this backdrop that the launch of USDGO becomes particularly crucial. It is not just a stablecoin; it is the core tool in OSL Group's entire payment network, dedicated to solving real-world fund flow issues with stablecoins, following a "TradiFi + Digital Finance" implementation route.

When a company uses USDGO for cross-border settlement, the entire process roughly goes as follows: fiat currency entry → on-chain stablecoin settlement → account management and fund aggregation → treasury optimization → fiat currency exit. Coupled with OSL's own BizPay enterprise payment and collection functions, as well as its licensed network laid out in multiple global markets, the entire chain can be completed without relying on the traditional SWIFT system, and the entire process is compliant, regulated, and auditable.

Thus, we see an interesting picture: one entity is continuously building a "exchange + public chain + platform token" Web3 ecosystem matrix, while the other is accelerating its transformation into a "stablecoin + payment network + compliant license" global financial infrastructure.

There is no inherent superiority between these two paths; they simply bet on different directions, revealing the different understandings of their roles by the two institutions:

• HashKey is building a Web3 native ecological network centered around trading, public chains, and platform tokens, with the core logic being "traffic × ecosystem": with an ecosystem, there is traffic; with traffic, there is valuation; with valuation, there can be a feedback loop to the ecosystem, attempting to replicate the most classic growth myth in the crypto space within the compliant framework of Hong Kong;
• OSL is attempting to embed stablecoins as a financial infrastructure tool into the payment and settlement system serving the real economy, with the core being "license × network": with compliant licenses, there is institutional trust; with a payment network, there is real demand; with real demand, there is sustainable income, trying to find a real application for "compliant digital assets";

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

Zooming out a bit, the divergence between HashKey and OSL can also be seen as a microcosm of a larger experiment taking place in the Hong Kong crypto asset market.

The regulatory approach in Hong Kong has never been simply "either/or."

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

On one side is Web3 native innovation, and on the other is crypto financial infrastructure. The two may not be in competition but rather represent different levels of market division of labor.

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

It is important to note that from the initiation of regulatory consultations in 2022, the launch of regulatory sandbox tests in 2024, to the high vote approval of the "Stablecoin Regulation Draft" in May 2025 and the formal enactment of the regulation in August of the same year, Hong Kong's stablecoin regulatory framework has undergone years of refinement and is now essentially taking shape. With the licensing system about to be implemented, the stablecoin market will officially enter a phase of compliance.

From a broader industry trend perspective, stablecoins are becoming core assets in the on-chain financial system. The reason is not complicated: they retain the technological advantages of global circulation, real-time settlement, and programmability of blockchain while also possessing the stability attributes of traditional finance—fiat currency valuation, auditability, and regulatory compliance, and can even embed more financial rules within a compliant framework.

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

Perhaps it is against this backdrop that OSL places USDGO in such a core position.

Ultimately, understanding OSL's strategy hinges on understanding what USDGO really is, because it is not a stablecoin aimed at the trading market in the traditional sense, but more like an on-chain account system and fund pipeline connecting TradFi and Web3:

Enterprises can still use fiat currency for valuation, issue USD invoices, and produce standard audit reports, but they have simply replaced "cross-border fund flows" from SWIFT with a more efficient and convenient on-chain settlement network. In this process, enterprises do not need to understand Web3 culture or hold any volatile assets to enjoy a faster, cheaper, and still compliant payment channel.

Source: OSL

Overall, whether it is HashKey's persistent Web3 ecosystem or OSL's bet on the stablecoin financial network, both paths are essentially 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 beginning to realize 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 embark on two different paths, what they represent is also two futures that the entire industry is exploring.

In Conclusion

It has been over three years since the release of Hong Kong's virtual asset policy declaration. During these three years, market cycles have changed, and the regulatory system has become increasingly refined. The initial two licensed institutions now stand at different crossroads.

Which path will go further ultimately returns to two fundamental questions: What real pain points have been solved? Where are the network effects?

The answers still require time, but one thing is already clear:

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