Fosun Group bets on stablecoin

Author: Martin

A giant enterprise with total assets of nearly 800 billion officially joins the stablecoin competition, with the founder personally leading the team to meet with two top financial officials in Hong Kong in one day.

On August 6, 2025, Guo Guangchang, the founder of Fosun International, personally led the core members and executives of the company's stablecoin team to meet with the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, John Lee, and the Financial Secretary, Paul Chan, in one day. As the direct superior of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Financial Secretary plays a key role in the approval of stablecoin licenses!

Behind this efficient meeting is a strategic business decision - Fosun has confirmed its application for a stablecoin license in Hong Kong and has formed a complete application team, marking the beginning of a new financial chess game worth hundreds of billions of dollars.

As soon as the news broke, the capital market reacted quickly. In the afternoon of August 12, the Hong Kong stock market experienced a wave of turbulence. Fosun International (0656.HK) saw its stock price soar over 20%, closing with a 13.3% increase, and its market value surged nearly 6 billion HKD in a single day, setting a new high since March 2023. The trading volume on that day expanded to over 300 million HKD, with Fosun International's latest market value reaching 50.3 billion HKD.

1. The Ticket for Giants

In August, Hong Kong's fintech sector is teeming with undercurrents. On the sixth day after the official implementation of the "Stablecoin Regulation," Fosun founder Guo Guangchang personally led a team into the core office area of the Hong Kong SAR government. This was not an ordinary business visit, but a critical action concerning Fosun's future fintech landscape.

Fosun's bet on stablecoin licensing is by no means a spur-of-the-moment decision. Unlike its other businesses in Hong Kong, founder Guo Guangchang seems particularly invested this time, leading a team to meet with the two highest financial officials in Hong Kong—a rare move in the typically low-profile process of applying for financial licenses.

As the direct superior organization of the Monetary Authority, which is the regulatory body for the approval of stablecoin licenses, the Hong Kong Financial Secretary's meeting occurs during a critical time window for stablecoin license applications in Hong Kong.

According to the schedule of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, after the Hong Kong government releases the guidelines for stablecoin applications at the end of July, institutions intending to apply for a license can officially establish contact with the Monetary Authority and other institutions after August 1, and all application materials must be formally submitted by September 30.

Fosun has long been making moves in the digital asset space. Its subsidiary, Fosun Wealth, has already ventured into Web3 business through the Xinglu Technology platform, participating in the distribution of tokenized products from Huaxia Fund’s money market fund, and developing a platform for the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA). On July 21, Fosun Wealth submitted trademark registration applications for "Xing Coin" and "FosunWealth RWA" in Hong Kong, laying the groundwork for its stablecoin business.

This series of actions indicates that Fosun is accelerating its stablecoin strategic layout, striving to occupy a favorable position in the issuance of the first batch of stablecoin licenses in Hong Kong.

2. The enthusiastic response of the capital market

Behind this major move is a rapidly growing global stablecoin market. As of July 2025, the total market value of global stablecoins has surpassed $250 billion, an increase of over 1100% compared to 2020, with an annual trading volume reaching $36.3 trillion, exceeding the combined transactions of Visa and Mastercard for the first time.

The market reacted quickly and strongly to Fosun's entry into the stablecoin sector. During the trading session on the afternoon of August 12, Fosun International's stock price soared, with a maximum increase of over 20%, closing at HKD 6.44. The trading volume significantly expanded that day, exceeding HKD 300 million, demonstrating investors' high recognition of this strategic transformation.

Fosun International's listed company also performed strongly, with Fosun Pharma's H-shares surging 9.4% at one point in the morning session, marking the largest single-day increase in recent times.

Although the rise in Fosun Pharma's stock is partly due to the $120 million licensing agreement reached with the American biotech company Expedition, the collective unusual movement of the stock prices of Fosun-related companies reflects the market's positive expectations for the group's strategic transformation.

Since the beginning of this year, Fosun's performance in the capital market has been quite remarkable. By early August, the cumulative increase of Fosun Pharma's H-shares had exceeded 40%, far surpassing the 10% increase of A-shares during the same period, and significantly outperforming the Hang Seng Hong Kong-listed Biotech Index.

3. The Global Stablecoin Market Explosion

Fosun's decision to enter the stablecoin sector is based on a thriving global market. By 2025, the total market value of global stablecoins is expected to exceed $250 billion, growing by more than 110% compared to 2020.

This market shows a clear dual oligopoly pattern, with the combined market capitalization of the two major stablecoins, USDT and USDC, accounting for 86.5% of the market, but the pattern is quietly changing.

USDC is expected to achieve an astonishing growth rate of 40.9% in 2025. Based on this growth rate, USDC is likely to surpass USDT and become the largest stablecoin in the world by around 2030.

From the perspective of application scenarios, stablecoins have evolved from tools for trading crypto assets to a new global financial infrastructure:

• Cross-border payment sector: Mexico received remittances amounting to $63.3 billion through stablecoins in 2023, accounting for nearly its total remittance inflow.

• Global Salary Payments: Users in high-inflation countries like Argentina and Turkey use stablecoins as a "digital dollar" hedging tool.

• Supply Chain Finance: Enterprises use stablecoins for cross-border payments, reducing settlement time from 3 days to 5 minutes, saving approximately 1.2% in fees per transaction.

• Real Asset Tokenization (RWA): Boston Consulting Group predicts that the RWA market size will reach $16 trillion by 2030.

Even more astonishing is the actual scale of stablecoin applications, with an annual on-chain transfer total reaching 36.3 trillion USD, surpassing the total annual transactions of traditional payment giants like Visa and Mastercard, becoming the new cornerstone of the global payment network.

From the perspective of user scale, the number of global monthly active stablecoin addresses has exceeded 30 million, and the total number of holding addresses has surpassed 168 million. The proportion of transactions led by real users has increased from less than 15% in 2023 to around 22% currently, with the user structure gradually transitioning from arbitrage bots to enterprises and individual investors.

4. Fosun's Digital Asset Layout

Fosun Group has assets of 796.5 billion yuan, with business segments covering multiple fields such as consumption, wealth, and healthcare. It has several listed entities in Hong Kong, including Fosun Pharma and Fosun Tourism Culture, providing rich scenarios for stablecoin applications.

Fosun's entry into stablecoins is not starting from scratch. Prior to this, Fosun's wealth segment in Hong Kong — Fosun Wealth International Holdings — had already ventured into Web3 business. Public information shows that Fosun Wealth participated in the distribution of three tokenized money market fund products launched by Huaxia Fund, accumulating valuable industry experience.

Fosun Wealth's Xinglu Technology, through its independently developed platform, not only provides traditional financial products but also offers virtual asset products. The company launched a platform this year for issuing RWA (Real World Assets) products.

RWA tokenizes real-world assets through blockchain technology, including hotel leases, photovoltaic power generation, stocks, bonds, commodities, etc., enabling them to be traded, managed, and circulated on the blockchain.

In July, Fosun Wealth submitted trademark registration applications for "Star Coin" and "FosunWealthRWA" in Hong Kong, preparing the brand for its stablecoin business.

Fosun's unique advantages in the stablecoin sector may lie in:

1. Rich industrial ecosystem: Sectors such as healthcare, tourism, and consumption can form a closed loop for stablecoin applications.

2. Cross-border business layout: The Fosun global business network inherently requires efficient cross-border payment tools.

3. RWA first mover advantage: Its subsidiary, Xinglu Technology, has the capability for real asset tokenization.

The market expects that Fosun may be the first to launch stablecoin applications in the following areas:

• Medical Health Payment: Build a medical health payment system in conjunction with the Fosun Pharma ecosystem.

• Travel consumption scenario: Achieving stablecoin payments at resorts and hotels under Fosun Tourism Culture.

• Cross-border trade settlement: Providing efficient settlement tools for Fosun Global Supply Chain.

• Asset Tokenization Platform: Tokenizing real estate, hotels, and other assets under Fosun.

Cheng Kang, CEO of Fosun Wealth, stated at the end of 2024 that Xinglu Technology is a key layout of Fosun Group in the field of fintech, covering over 200 clients and committed to promoting the development of the web3 virtual asset ecosystem. This statement now appears to be a prelude to the cryptocurrency strategy.

V. Hong Kong's Strategic Position and the Challenges and Future of Stability

Hong Kong, as an international financial center, is actively promoting the innovation of virtual asset regulatory systems to attract global capital attention. The Hong Kong stablecoin license is the world's first comprehensive regulatory framework targeting fiat-backed stablecoins.

In terms of regulatory design, Hong Kong requires that stablecoin reserves be fully segregated and custodied at 100%, ensuring the safety of user funds. This strict and clear regulatory framework provides institutional support for financial institutions to participate in stablecoin business.

Local media reports from Hong Kong indicate that multiple international financial institutions and technology giants are actively positioning themselves in the Hong Kong stablecoin market, with application scenarios covering cross-border payments, investment transactions, and consumer settlements.

Fosun, as an important Chinese enterprise listed in Hong Kong, owns several subsidiaries listed in Hong Kong, such as Fosun Pharma and Fosun Tourism & Culture. Its deep accumulation in the Hong Kong financial market has become a unique advantage for its application for a stablecoin license.

For Fosun, it is necessary to prove its key capability to issue stablecoins:

• Reserve asset management capability: ensure 100% sufficient reserves and high liquidity

• Risk control system: Prevent extreme situations such as bank runs.

• Compliance operational capability: Meeting the strict regulatory requirements of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority

Guo Guangchang personally led a team to meet with senior officials of the Hong Kong government, which is a demonstration of Fosun's emphasis on compliance and commitment to regulatory authorities. Such high-level communication at a critical moment of the license application could become an important competitive advantage for Fosun.

From a global perspective, stablecoins are becoming a new battleground for financial competition among major powers. Citibank predicts that by 2030, the scale of stablecoins could reach $3.7 trillion, and Hong Kong's pilot participation in standard-setting can help avoid the complete dominance of the dollar system over the digital financial order.

Although the stablecoin market has broad prospects, it still faces multiple challenges. It is estimated that 70-80% of the stablecoin transfer volume may consist of transfers between bots and exchanges, and the actual usage scale still needs further verification.

The issue of transparency has always plagued the industry, as some mainstream stablecoins have yet to release complete audit reports. The structure of reserve assets and risk exposure have long been points of contention in the market. USDT once experienced a de-pegging due to insufficient reserves, and the market still harbors doubts about its redemption confidence.

The differences in regulatory policies among countries have further increased the complexity of global operations. The "GENIUS Act" being promoted in the United States clearly states that stablecoins are not considered securities, prohibits algorithmic stablecoins, and requires reserves to be 100% high liquidity assets. If officially enacted, it will profoundly impact the operating logic of existing stablecoins and the global compliance structure.

Nevertheless, the future opportunities for stablecoins remain remarkable:

• Traditional financial institutions and tech giants are entering the arena, and payment giants have introduced stablecoins in B2B settlements.

• Users in high-inflation areas view stablecoins as a "digital dollar" hedging tool, with strong demand from emerging markets.

• Stablecoins have become the core infrastructure connecting DeFi and RWA, opening up a trillion-dollar market space.

• Non-US dollar stablecoins are in their early development stage, with the Euro stablecoin having a market value of only $490 million, while the Japanese Yen and British Pound are even smaller in scale, indicating huge potential for future growth.

With only six weeks left until the September 30 deadline for the Hong Kong stablecoin license application, the capital market has voted in favor of Guo Guangchang's decision with a 20% increase.

In the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's first batch of stablecoin sandbox testing list, institutions such as JD.com and Standard Chartered have taken the lead. Meanwhile, Fosun, leveraging its ecosystem spanning health, consumption, tourism, and other industries, could potentially create a closed loop from consumption scenarios to financial services once it successfully obtains a license, building a Fosun ecosystem based on "Xing Coin."

In the global stablecoin market, with a market value exceeding $250 billion, non-USD stablecoins account for less than 1%. When Fosun's "Star Coin" finally emerges, it will carry not only the transformation dreams of a single enterprise but may also become a cornerstone for Hong Kong to reshape its status as an international financial center. The boundaries between traditional finance and crypto assets are gradually dissolving in the footsteps of these giants.

The global stablecoin market is racing at a speed of over 40% per year, with the core range of stablecoin trading volume in 2025 estimated to be approximately $10 trillion (conservative) to $35 trillion (on-chain transfer volume). The Hong Kong region is projected to be $1.5 trillion (accounting for 15% of global cross-border payments). When traditional industry giants meet the new wave of financial technology, this move by Fosun may determine its new positioning in the digital economy era.