OSL Institutional Monthly Recap | February 2026
February marked another month of rapid progress for institutional digital asset adoption. Across payments, trading infrastructure, and industry collaboration, we saw a clear signal: digital assets are increasingly moving beyond speculation and into the operational fabric of global finance.
At OSL, our focus remains consistent — building open, secure, and licensed infrastructure that allows financial institutions, brokers, and enterprises to participate in digital assets with confidence. From advancing stablecoin payment rails to expanding regulated brokerage partnerships and convening industry leaders around market structure, February reflected how institutional crypto is evolving from an emerging asset class into core financial infrastructure.
Research Findings: Stablecoins Move From Trading Tools to Global Payment Rails
One of the clearest industry trends today is the transformation of stablecoins from simple exchange collateral into what many now describe as "shadow dollars" — digital representations of fiat that move seamlessly across global markets.
OSL's joint research with Artemis highlights just how quickly this transition is happening. Between January 2023 and August 2025, cumulative attributable stablecoin settlement volume reached $136 billion, underscoring the rapid expansion of blockchain-based payment infrastructure.
Within the OSL ecosystem itself, this shift is already visible in market activity. Since the beginning of 2025, stablecoin trading has accounted for nearly 70% of total trading volume across OSL platforms, reflecting a clear institutional preference for stable, liquid settlement assets.
Importantly, the majority of this growth is being driven by business-to-business (B2B) payments, which now account for nearly two-thirds of global stablecoin transaction volume. Financial institutions, brokers, and trading firms are increasingly using stablecoins to settle transactions instantly across borders, reducing the friction, cost, and delay associated with traditional payment rails.
Our partnership with Anchorage Digital to launch USDGO, a federally overseen U.S. dollar–backed stablecoin, represents another step forward in this direction. By integrating stablecoins into regulated infrastructure, OSL is helping build the foundation for a 24/7 global financial system where value can move as seamlessly as information.
Read more: https://www.osl.com/hk-en/bits/article/osl-research-n1-2026-1-14?channel=PPXtZS*
Partnership: Enabling Regulated Digital Asset Access for Financial Platforms
Institutional adoption of digital assets increasingly relies on one key factor — regulated infrastructure that integrates seamlessly into existing financial platforms.
In February, OSL deepened this vision through our collaboration with SoFi Hong Kong. By powering SoFi's digital asset offering through OSL Omnibus Pro, we provide the institutional-grade infrastructure required to support secure trade execution, custody, and wallet management within a Hong Kong SFC-licensed framework.
At the same time, the integration preserves the seamless and intuitive user experience expected by retail investors. The partnership demonstrates how compliant infrastructure can allow fintech platforms to expand into digital assets without compromising regulatory standards or operational security.
The launch is particularly significant as it marks SoFi's first expansion of its digital asset services outside the United States, illustrating how regulated digital asset infrastructure developed in Hong Kong can support global financial platforms entering the market.
As brokers, banks, and fintech firms increasingly explore digital asset services, solutions such as omnibus brokerage and regulated custody are becoming essential building blocks for scalable adoption.
Events & Institutional Engagements: Institutional Conversations
Institutional Roundtable: Defining Best Execution in Digital Asset Markets
At a VIP roundtable hosted by OSL, Talos, and Amazon Web Services (AWS), industry leaders and senior institutional participants convened to examine what truly defines best execution in digital asset markets.
The discussion moved beyond headline pricing to focus on deeper execution fundamentals, including liquidity quality, execution certainty, and governance standards required by institutional trading desks.
Key takeaways from the discussion included:
🟢 Order book depth does not equal tradable liquidity. Institutions increasingly evaluate execution quality through measurable indicators such as price impact across trade size, spread stability, fill probability, and exposure to adverse selection — particularly during periods of market stress.
🟢 Execution design requires strategic frameworks. Participants discussed how institutions determine when to use RFQ versus central limit order book (CLOB) models, how smart routing and execution algorithms reduce market impact, and how firms manage information leakage around large trades.
🟢 Best execution must be provable. Robust and auditable transaction cost analysis (TCA), transparent trading data, documented decision processes, and full trade reconstruction are essential to meeting both investment committee and regulatory expectations.
The discussion reinforced a key point: best execution is not a marketing slogan — it is an operational discipline built on infrastructure, governance, and measurable trading outcomes.
CypherAsia: Unlocking the Next Phase of Tokenized Finance
At CypherAsia, co-hosted by Finloop HK, Avalanche, TengYun Capital, exSat Network, Fosun Wealth Holdings, and OSL, OSL Chief Commercial Officer Eugene Cheung delivered a keynote exploring how compliant exchanges and licensed brokers can collaborate to unlock the next phase of tokenized finance.
As regulatory frameworks continue to mature and institutional participation deepens, stablecoins and real-world asset (RWA) tokenization are moving beyond experimentation and into practical financial infrastructure.
The keynote highlighted the importance of regulated infrastructure — including licensed custody solutions, omnibus brokerage models, and compliant tokenized product distribution and enabling traditional financial institutions to participate in digital asset markets securely and at scale.
At OSL, our mission remains clear: to build trusted, institutional-grade financial rails that bridge traditional finance with the efficiency and programmability of blockchain technology.
CryptoFi Forum: The Institutional Path Forward for Digital Assets
During Consensus Hong Kong, Eugene Cheung joined industry leaders at the CryptoFi Forum to discuss the evolving institutional landscape of digital assets.
The panel brought together participants from Cicada Finance, Pando Finance, Amber Group, GoFintech and Quantum to explore how market structure, regulation, and emerging technologies are reshaping the digital asset ecosystem.
Key themes from the discussion included:
🟢 Market cycles are evolving — the traditional four-year Bitcoin halving cycle is becoming less dominant, with macroeconomic conditions, monetary policy, and institutional capital flows increasingly influencing market dynamics.
🟢 Regulation is shaping global hubs — mature financial centers such as Hong Kong are emphasizing rigorous oversight to build institutional trust, while emerging markets continue to drive adoption through high-growth opportunities.
🟢 AI and crypto convergence is accelerating — blockchain is increasingly positioned as foundational infrastructure for AI-driven value transfer and payment systems.
As Hong Kong continues to establish itself as a leading regulated digital asset hub, institutional infrastructure and cross-industry collaboration will play a defining role in the next phase of crypto finance.
OSL remains committed to building secure, compliant bridges between traditional finance and the on-chain economy.
Looking Ahead
As we move into the next quarter, the direction of institutional digital assets is becoming increasingly clear. Stablecoins are evolving into global settlement infrastructure, regulated brokerage models are enabling mainstream financial platforms to integrate digital assets, and institutional trading standards are continuing to mature.
At OSL, we remain focused on building the trusted financial rails that connect traditional finance with on-chain innovation — enabling institutions worldwide to participate in the digital economy with security, transparency, and regulatory confidence.
The next phase of digital asset adoption will not be defined by speculation alone, but by infrastructure, compliance, and real-world utility.
And that future is already taking shape.