OSL Group CEO Kevin Cui: Why the Shift to a Stablecoin Trading and Payments Platform?

—When Exchanges Move Beyond Matching Trades to Building Payment Infrastructure

While most crypto exchanges are still battling for trading volume, futures dominance, and liquidity depth, OSL Group has chosen a different path.

Executive Director and CEO Kevin Cui explains that the company is evolving from a single-focus trading business into a dual-engine model: trading + payments, with stablecoins at the core.

This isn’t just business diversification—it’s a strategic response to fundamental shifts in the industry structure.

This article breaks down the logic behind the transformation across four layers: the ceiling of the traditional exchange model, why stablecoins are becoming central, OSL’s structural advantages, and broader industry trends.

1. The Ceiling of the Traditional Exchange Model

Most crypto trading platforms rely heavily on a narrow set of revenue streams:

• Spot trading fees

• Futures and derivatives fees

• Market-making profits

• Listing and liquidity services

This model has three clear traits:

✔ High margins
✔ High volatility
✔ Strong cyclicality

The core issue: When markets cool, volumes drop sharply, and revenues contract quickly. Exchange income is tightly tied to market sentiment:

• Bull markets → volumes explode

• Bear markets → liquidity dries up

Pure “trading-focused” platforms are inherently cyclical and vulnerable. That’s why more platforms are asking: How do we reduce dependence on speculative cycles?

2. Why Stablecoins Are Becoming the Core?

Kevin Cui highlights that stablecoin-related on-ramp/off-ramp flows have long accounted for roughly 70% of overall volume—and they’re growing fast.

Three structural signals stand out:

1. Stablecoins are the gateway for capital
   Most funds entering or exiting crypto don’t start with BTC or ETH—they start with stablecoins (USDT, USDC, etc.).
   Stablecoins serve as the settlement base layer of the crypto economy.
   Whoever controls stablecoin rails controls the on- and off-ramps for capital flows.
   Stablecoins aren’t a side product—they’re financial infrastructure hubs.

2. Enterprises are actually using stablecoins
   Historically, stablecoins were mainly for:

• Arbitrage

• Hedging trades

• Risk sheltering

Now use cases are expanding into real operations:

• Cross-border payments

• Supply-chain settlements

• Corporate payroll

• Overseas treasury management

Businesses are embedding stablecoins into everyday workflows.
This marks the shift: from speculative tool to payments infrastructure.

3. B2B stablecoin payments are exploding
   Data shows B2B stablecoin payment volumes grew 300%–700% in the past year—far outpacing spot trading growth.
   This underscores one thing: Stablecoins’ payment utility is strengthening, not just their trading role.

3. Why OSL Has Structural Advantages?

As one of Hong Kong’s earliest licensed digital asset platforms, OSL holds three key edges in this transition.

1. Regulatory foundation
   Under Hong Kong’s licensing regime, OSL benefits from:

• Legal certainty

• Regulatory endorsement

• Banking partnerships

• Institutional trust

For stablecoins to enter the real economy, compliance is the first and highest barrier.
In a tightening regulatory environment, compliance itself becomes a moat.

2. Custody and security capabilities
   Enterprises care less about yield and more about:

• Asset safety

• Key management

• Custody risk

• Internal controls and audits

Institutional-grade custody is a core competitive edge in B2B markets.

3. Different customer logic
   Retail users prioritize:

• Low fees

• Leverage

• Trading depth

Corporate clients prioritize:

• Stability

• Compliant reporting

• Cost control

• Fund transparency

These are fundamentally different markets.
OSL positions itself more as a digital asset service provider than a pure matching engine.

4. Trading + Payments: A Dual-Engine Risk Hedge

This model is essentially structural hedging.

Payments offer lower profitability but deliver:

• Predictable cash flows

• Ties to the real economy

• Weaker cyclicality

The dual model reduces overall revenue cyclicality—closer to traditional financial institutions than pure crypto exchanges.

5. Industry Trend: Stablecoins Entering Phase Two

Stablecoin evolution has two broad phases:

Phase 1: Trading tool

• Settlement bridge

• Arbitrage link

• Risk hedge

Phase 2: Payments infrastructure

• Cross-border settlement

• B2B payments

• Corporate treasury

• Digital dollar circulation networks

As stablecoins move into payments, exchanges may evolve from matchmakers into proto-digital banks.
This is a functional upgrade.

6. Risks and Challenges of the Transition

The shift isn’t risk-free.

1. Regulatory risk
   Stablecoins involve heavy:

• AML/KYC

• Source-of-funds checks

• Cross-border compliance

• Capital flow oversight

Compliance costs are steep.

2. Competition from banks
   If stablecoins erode traditional bank payment revenues, incumbents may push back.
   This is ultimately a battle for payments infrastructure.

3. Margin compression
   Payments typically feature:

• Lower margins

• Scale dependency

• Network effects

Without massive volume, profitability can be limited.

7. Structural Insight: The Future Positioning of Exchanges

Kevin Cui’s strategy answers a deeper question:
Will future exchanges be speculative platforms or financial infrastructure?

Choosing the latter makes stablecoin payments almost inevitable.
As AI, cross-border e-commerce, and global supply chains accelerate, what matters most may not be who has the biggest volumes—but who provides stable, compliant, sustainable capital channels.

8. Bottom Line

OSL’s pivot to a stablecoin trading and payments platform isn’t simple diversification.
It’s a bet on a long-term trend: Stablecoins will become the payment layer of the digital economy.

In an environment of intensifying cycles, the trading + payments dual structure may become the new standard for next-generation platforms.

When stablecoins fully integrate into the real economy, exchanges will no longer just be market matchmakers—they could become core nodes in digital financial infrastructure.

FAQ: Common Questions

1. Why is stablecoin payments seen as exchanges’ “second growth curve”?
Traditional exchange revenue is heavily tied to volumes driven by market volatility, sentiment, and cycles.
Stablecoin payments differ: they feature high-frequency flows, real-economy ties, and long-term enterprise use cases (cross-border settlement, supply-chain payments, corporate finance).
Demand isn’t cycle-dependent—making it a potential non-cyclical revenue source.

2. Will stablecoins fully replace traditional bank cross-border payments?
Not in the short term, but they will create real competitive pressure.
Stablecoins win on 24/7 availability, faster settlement, lower costs, and no reliance on legacy clearing networks.
Banks retain advantages in mature regulation, credit backing, and fiat integration.
The likely outcome: stablecoins become a complementary layer for cross-border flows, not a total replacement.

3. Why is OSL’s compliance edge so critical?
Entering the real economy with stablecoins requires solving AML, source-of-funds checks, reporting compliance, and banking integration.
Hong Kong’s licensing framework gives OSL clear regulation, banking access, and institutional custody strength.
As stablecoin rules tighten globally, compliance becomes a major moat.

4. What’s the profit model for stablecoin payments?
Unlike trading, payments earn mainly through:

• Spreads on conversions

• Channel/settlement fees

• Custody and enterprise services

Margins are lower than high-leverage trading, but the advantages are stable cash flows, high client stickiness, and scalability.
It’s a “low-volatility + long-cycle” revenue structure.

5. Will all exchanges eventually shift to “payments + financial infrastructure” mode?
The trend is emerging, but not every platform can make the leap.
Successful transition requires regulatory licenses, banking relationships, enterprise client bases, and strong risk controls.
Without those foundations, payments won’t take off.
The industry may split into two camps: speculative trading platforms vs. infrastructure-oriented platforms.
OSL is betting on the latter.