Hong Kong–based digital asset platform OSL Group said on Friday it had completed $300 million of equity financing, the latest sign of feverish investor interest in cryptocurrencies.
The deal, which the company said was the biggest publicly disclosed equity raise in Asia’s digital asset space, comes days before Hong Kong‘s stablecoin bill takes effect on August 1, and could add fuel to a rally in shares related to virtual assets. OSL shares have surged 120% so far this year.
Hong Kong‘s de facto central bank on Wednesday cautioned against growing frothiness of the market around stablecoins, saying the hype had led to “excessive exuberance”.
Proceeds from the share sale would be used to support global initiatives including stablecoin development, licensing efforts, and the build-out of a digital payment network, OSL said in a statement.
“The funding will accelerate our global build-out – particularly in regulated stablecoin infrastructure and compliant payment rails,” said Ivan Wong, chief financial officer of OSL Group.
In a statement to the Hong Kong bourse, OSL said the share placing price is HK$14.90 per share, representing a 15.3% discount to its closing price on Thursday, and a 16.2% discount to the average closing price in the last five trading days.
Shares of OSL opened down more than 10% in Hong Kong on Friday, as the market reacted to the dilution impact and the discounted placing price.
Since transforming last year into a company fully dedicated to digital assets, OSL has secured an exchange licence in Australia and completed acquisitions in Japan and Europe.
OSL has also said it would step up investment in the so-called Real-World-Assets business, converting traditional assets into digital tokens.
Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies pegged to assets such as fiat currencies. Hong Kong is racing against the U.S. in setting up a licensing framework for stablecoin issuers.
Reuters
