CEO, OSL Digital Securities
Opening Remarks by Wayne Trench (OSL Capital Introduction Conference II)
After the success of the inaugural OSL Capital Introduction conference in March, OSL is delighted to bring the 2nd Digital Asset ...
About Wayne Trench
Wayne Trench, CEO of OSL Digital Securities, has stated that 2021 was a breakout year for institutional adoption of digital assets and that this trend was accelerating in 2022. He predicted that traditional finance firms would invest in infrastructure for client access to cryptocurrencies and prepare for a wave of security token offerings (STOs). Trench also said that central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) would ramp up as central banks embrace digitization, and that at least one ETF would launch in Asia Pacific. He described OSL as providing an institutional-grade platform with brokerage, exchange, and custody capabilities, and noted that the company had expanded its global footprint with a joint venture with Standard Chartered and the launch of OSL Americas. Trench has emphasized the importance of regulation, custody, and institutional-grade infrastructure as catalysts for adoption. He stated that OSL is the only SFC-licensed platform in Hong Kong to trade digital assets and that the company has benefited from what he called a "regulatory-led changing of the guard." He has also discussed the role of volatility, saying that as more institutional activity enters the space, volatility is expected to subside. Trench has highlighted OSL's focus on compliance and transparency, including its membership in the ATOM industry body to promote fair and orderly markets.
Transcript (9 segments)
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Matt Long0:03
Hello and welcome to the OSL Digital Asset Capital Introduction Conference. My name is Matt Long, I'm the Head of Distribution and Prime Brokerage at OSL.
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Jesse Huang0:12
And my name is Jesse Huang, Head of Institutional Sales at OSL Digital Securities. Welcome all.
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Matt Long0:19
So we will be your MCs for the evening, for the morning, or the afternoon depending on where you are. We're really delighted that you could join us. At OSL we're a world leader in digital assets, very focused on providing education and connecting allocators of capital to means of investing into digital asset markets. The shape of this conference provides some of the best speakers globally, some of the best panelists that really want to touch on four key areas of real interest to people in the industry and those thinking of moving in and investing: the ongoing pace of regulation and how it's impacting adoption; the role of ESG, a very topical discussion over the last 12 months; product innovation continues to evolve in markets, with the evolution of ETF markets globally; and finally the growth in NFTs, with some really interesting institutional perspectives. The conference is structured across a range of fireside chats, panels, and breakout groups. Perhaps one of the most interesting parts will be the sessions where digital asset managers and businesses provide elevator pitches — that will take place in about four hours. The Airmeet platform provides the opportunity to mingle. Use the lounge area outside of the breakout, look for OSL staff members who will be wandering around and on various tables, and you can ask them for directions, introductions, or any other assistance. Let me stop there. Jesse, over to you.
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Jesse Huang3:18
Yes, again thank you very much for joining us. I'd like to kick us off with our first guest for today. It's welcomed by our CEO, Wayne Trench. Over to you.
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Wayne Trench3:32
Thanks Jesse and thanks Matt. Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening wherever you might be. My name is Wayne Trench and as Jesse said, I'm the CEO of OSL. It's my absolute pleasure to welcome you to the second OSL Capital Introduction Conference, one of the industry's only dedicated digital asset forums bringing together allocators of capital with investment ideas in the space. We're super excited to have everyone join us from all over the world and are really thrilled to follow up our successful inaugural OSL Cap Intro conference held in March with another world-class event today. Our team has worked really hard to assemble a stellar lineup for this landmark event with some of the most prominent industry leaders ready to share their insights.
In many ways the timeliness of this conference could not be better, with markets showing real resilience and strength, but perhaps even more importantly from our perspective, with institutional participation gathering pace at unprecedented levels. On that note, we've seen several ETFs debut across the Pacific in both North and South America, a meteoric rise in interest in NFTs, and growing interest around ESG implications. We're fortunate to have experts touching on all of those topics today. So look — the team at OSL is all about fostering engagement between investors and our host of presenters. But before we begin, please allow me to share a little more about OSL. We've been working tirelessly over a number of years with a very institutional and regulated approach to digital assets. For those less familiar, OSL's parent company BC Technology Group is a Hong Kong main board listed public company under the ticker 863 HK. Under the OSL brand we operate two key businesses: first, our market-leading direct-to-customer digital asset platform, OSL, which delivers prime brokerage, exchange, and custody services to a global client base in more than 50 countries, operating out of three trading operations in Hong Kong, Singapore, and the Americas. Second, our technology infrastructure business, which allows us to deliver scalable B2B2C software service solutions to high-quality regulated intermediaries and institutions.
As far as progress in recent times, we've delivered on a significant number of strategic milestones. In the interest of time, I'll share a few. Firstly, earlier in the year we welcomed the start of a new joint venture with Standard Chartered in the UK and Europe to establish a digital asset brokerage and exchange platform under the Zodia Markets brand — a super exciting partnership we look forward to launching soon. Our global footprint has also expanded with the launch of OSL Americas. While early trading was centered around our prime brokerage offering, I'm really pleased to share that as of this week, the OSL exchange is available to traders across Latin markets, and starting next month it will be available for approved North American customers. At a corporate level, our parent company BC Technology Group is very pleased to welcome Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC into our list of strategic investors following a significant share placement of around $70 million USD. This investment came on top of the $90 million US dollar placement by Morgan Stanley earlier in the year, together allowing us to accelerate the expansion and capability of our platform.
We've had numerous other commercial successes, but perhaps more importantly what has become abundantly clear is that the appetite for digital assets has simply never been stronger, buoyed in particular by demand from the institutional and professional investor segment. In addition to soaring levels of institutional interest, we've also seen numerous other significant-sized platforms in the digital asset space targeted by regulators, leading to the off-boarding of millions of customers or restriction of product lines to conform with regulatory guidance. For the team at OSL, this is exactly what we've been preparing for over many years, as we felt very strongly that regulation was going to be a key ingredient for digital assets to go mainstream. We pride ourselves on delivering a safe, secure, and compliant platform and count ourselves fortunate to be the beneficiary of what we call a regulatory-led changing of the guard. That time is upon us now.
Before I pass back to Jesse and Matt, I'd like to thank all the speakers joining us today. I feel my team has curated a very rich agenda of topics and themes and set the perfect stage to help those still in the curiosity phase make better decisions for their next phase investing in digital assets, while also providing the more seasoned investor with the opportunity to learn and engage with other quality participants in the ecosystem. I really hope you come away excited, entertained, and perhaps better informed about the future of digital assets. Please enjoy the sessions and I look forward to hearing your feedback. Thank you.