[NEWS] CoinBest changes name to "OSL Japan" - "Confident of growth in the Japanese market"

On the 6th, domestic cryptocurrency exchange CoinBest announced that it would change its name to "OSL Japan." CoinBest was acquired in November last year through a subsidiary of OSL Group Limited, which is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

The company will be represented by founder Luo Dongsheng. At the press conference, Luo said, "As a member of the OSL Group, we will work to expand our services."

In addition, Kevin Cui, CEO of OSL Group, said about entering the Japanese market, "We are confident that Japan is a market that will grow significantly in the future." He emphasized that the company will be able to utilize the knowledge it has gained from developing services in compliance with regulations in Hong Kong.

Cui also commented on the current state of the Hong Kong market, predicting that stablecoins “may see results within this year.”

OSL Japan will develop services that are tailored to its customer base. In addition to providing OTC trading to wealthy individuals, it will also provide custody services for crypto assets and the development and deployment of tokenized products for RWA (real-world assets) for institutional investors, as well as services for individual investors.

Luo said that as the company expands its services, it will work to build a strong team that will capture customer needs. The company also plans to expand services to meet customer segments and contribute to the cryptocurrency community. In particular, it said it feels there is a certain need for OTC trading at the moment, and indicated its intention to focus on this area.

Last year, CoinBest received an order from the Kanto Regional Financial Bureau to improve its IEO operations. Luo said that they are still working on improvements, and said that they hope to resume exchange services "when the system is in place." He did not disclose the specific time when services will resume.

OSL Group obtained a cryptocurrency license from the Hong Kong Securities and Exchange Commission in 2020. According to the company, it boasts a 76% share of assets under custody in Hong Kong's cryptocurrency spot ETF custody business.

Mr. Luo also answered questions from Iolite in an exclusive interview.

Among the several domestic exchanges, the OSL Group decided to acquire CoinBest. When did talks of the acquisition begin?

Luo: The talks began around January last year. Of course, there may have been other exchanges that we approached, but I think it was also largely due to the timing overlapping with the fact that we were originally thinking of focusing on OTC services aimed at the wealthy.

Until last year, retail trading was not possible in Hong Kong, so the OSL Group has strengths in services for institutional investors. I hope that we can share know-how in such areas and create synergy.

A business improvement order was also issued during the process of the acquisition talks. Did this have any impact anywhere?

Luo: There was no particular impact. Rather, the relationship has become stronger since then, and we are working to build a better system and improve our internal operations.

As users, I think there are some negative aspects to the impression that an exchange that has been issued a business improvement order has been issued. With the company name now changed and a fresh start in mind, do you have a vision or plan to turn things around?

Luo: First of all, I think we need to complete our business improvement. We have taken your advice seriously and feel that it was very much appreciated. Based on that, we are gathering talented people and working to build a strong team. To repeat, we will first focus on establishing an internal structure.

Along with the business improvement order, an order to suspend IEO operations was issued. Is there a possibility that we will try again once our internal structure and coordination with the authorities have settled down, or are you still interested?

Luo: At the moment, we are focusing on establishing a structure and working on business improvement, but I think it will depend on the management decision at that time. Having received your comments, we have a deeper understanding of the areas where we need to make careful decisions, and on that basis, we will first communicate closely with the authorities.

At the press conference, it was indicated that the business will be developed based on the current service, but are there any plans for a fundamental review?

Luo: We won't go as far as to completely overhaul our operations, but we do want to handle new crypto assets. I think that will also lead to our focus on OTC trading. Basically, we want to build on our current services and strengthen each of them to meet their needs.

It's impressive that you emphasized the development of services tailored to each customer base, but when do you expect to provide these services?

Luo: It's difficult to answer at this point, as we will have to make management decisions each time. As I've said many times before, the first priority is to properly organize our internal structure.

Also, as we have received an order to improve our business operations, we have to communicate with the authorities, so it is difficult to clarify the schedule. We are currently in the defensive stage, but we will work to be able to go on the offensive as soon as possible.

As you start afresh, are there any goals you are aiming for in the future?

Luo: As I've said before, we will first organize our internal structure. With that as a given, our goal is to steadily expand our fast and safe OTC operations. We are currently considering how much we will expand our services for individuals, so we plan to first focus on developing services for the so-called wealthy.

Image: Iolite

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