HashKey or OSL: picking a licensed exchange

HashKey vs OSL is the comparison almost every Hong Kong buyer ends up making. They are the two stand-alone crypto exchanges with SFC licences and clearly documented retail service, both take HKD by FPS, and both have parents listed on HKEX. Pick either and you are on a regulated platform. But they are not interchangeable: one takes cards and Apple Pay, the other doesn’t; one has a longer pair list, the other has the simpler zero-commission button; and one quietly powers the crypto buttons in ZA Bank and Mox.

Everything below is as of 6 October 2026 and comes from the SFC register, the companies’ own pages and, where marked, secondary sources. Neither company has reviewed this page, and our scores (HashKey 9, OSL 8.8) use the same methodology as our top 10 ranking.

The quick verdict

In one line: HashKey suits people who fund by FPS or eDDA, want a slightly broader menu and may already be using its tech through ZA Bank or Mox. OSL suits people who want to pay by card or Apple Pay without leaving the licensed world, like a one-tap price with no separate commission, or are moving larger sums through an OTC desk.

HashKey vs OSL side by side

Fees: HashKey’s percentage vs OSL’s spread

This is where the two are hardest to compare, because they price differently. HashKey charges an explicit trading fee. Secondary sources (MoneyHero) quote 0.29% maker and taker for regular users, 0.25% at VIP1, 0.15% at VIP3 and 0% maker / 0.05% taker at VIP7. On a HK$10,000 Bitcoin purchase, 0.29% is HK$29. HKD deposits are reported as free. We could not load HashKey’s official fee page, so treat these tiers as a guide and check the app before you trade.

OSL’s Flash Trade, the instant buy button most retail users touch, is advertised at 0% commission. That does not make it free: OSL’s own guide says the cost is built into the quoted price, and the spread is not published as a fixed rate. For the order-book product, a 0% maker / 0.05% taker schedule has been reported by an aggregator but is unconfirmed, and OSL’s fees URL returned an error when we checked. For bigger tickets, OSL says its OTC spreads are “typically within 0.5%”.

In practice, the honest way to compare is to open both apps at the same moment, enter the same HKD amount, and look at how much BTC you get after all charges. On top of the platform’s fee, your bank may charge for FPS or wire transfers, and minimum first deposits of HK$10,000 have been reported for both platforms, though not confirmed on either site.

Deposits: FPS on both, cards only on OSL

For HKD, the two are evenly matched. HashKey supports eDDA, which it brands as Quick Deposit (the platform pulls money from your linked bank account), and an FPS ID deposit where you push money from your banking app; HKD and USD bank transfers from authorised institutions also work. OSL accepts bank transfer, FPS and eDDA in HKD and USD. Either way the money must come from an account in your own name.

The real difference is cards. OSL accepts Visa, Mastercard and Apple Pay, which makes it the one of the two where you can buy with a card. HashKey’s Hong Kong site shows no card rail. Remember that many Hong Kong card issuers book crypto purchases as a cash advance, which means a fee plus interest from day one, so check with your bank before you tap.

Where does CEX.IO fit? It is our editor’s pick for card buyers, but it plays a different game. It is an international exchange, founded in 2013, that serves Hong Kong customers through CEX OVRS LLC in Nevis. It is not SFC-licensed, so Hong Kong investor protection does not apply, and it has no HKD or FPS: you pay in USD, EUR or GBP by Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, Google Pay or SWIFT. What you get in exchange is breadth: 300+ assets, card fees of 0.49% to 4.99% plus a service charge, and spot fees up to 0.25%. New accounts are capped at US$1,000 a day and US$3,000 a month for the first three months, and Apple Pay or Google Pay at US$1,000 a day.

Coins and apps

Retail token lists on licensed platforms are short by design: the SFC only lets retail clients trade large-cap tokens that appear in at least two indices from independent providers. OSL’s retail list is four coins: Bitcoin, Ether, Solana and XRP, the last opened to retail on 29 July 2026 through Flash Trade (XRP/USD) and OTC (XRP/USD and XRP/HKD). Professional investors see a longer list.

HashKey’s homepage shows BTC, ETH, XRP, SOL and DOGE pairs and says retail users can buy “BTC and ETH and more” with HKD and USD. Its Hong Kong hub supports about 40 assets and four fiat currencies, but that count includes professional-investor-only tokens, and we could not confirm the exact retail number. If you want a specific altcoin, check the app after onboarding rather than assuming.

On apps, HashKey made the bigger move recently. On 27 July 2026 it merged its HashKey Exchange and HashKey Global apps into one flagship app that routes you to a hub (Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai or Bermuda) according to your KYC. As a Hong Kong resident you land on the licensed Hong Kong hub. The app is on iOS, Android and as an APK. OSL runs iOS and Android apps too. Neither publishes an official account-approval time for Hong Kong; the “minutes” KYC figures you may see online refer to HashKey Global, not the Hong Kong exchange.

OTC, custody, insurance and the HKDAP stablecoin

OTC. OSL makes OTC a selling point. Its desk runs 24/7 on request-for-quote, settles in HKD, USD, USDT and USDC “in under 24 hours”, and lists institutions, high-net-worth individuals and family offices as clients, with a professional investor option for individuals. Some retail pairs, such as XRP/HKD, also run through OTC. HashKey holds SFC approval for off-platform virtual asset trading and runs an OTC service for professional investors and institutions; it doesn’t publish a minimum ticket, and neither does OSL. For a fuller picture of large trades see our OTC desk guide.

Custody and insurance. As SFC licensees, both must hold client assets through an associated trust entity with most coins in cold storage. HashKey says client funds are held in segregated accounts protected by institutional custody-grade insurance, and it is ISO 27001 and 27701 certified; Mox’s promotion page describes HashKey as custodian with a “mandatory 50% insurance requirement”. OSL describes its custody as insured cold-wallet storage with a SOC 2 Type 2 report; insurance “up to US$1 billion” is widely reported but not stated on OSL’s site.

Listed parents. HashKey Holdings listed on the HKEX Main Board on 17 December 2025 (stock code 3887) at HK$6.68 a share, raising about HK$1.6 billion with the retail tranche 393.7 times subscribed, and debuting at a valuation of about HK$18.5 billion, ahead of OSL Group. OSL Group (stock code 863), formerly BC Technology Group, has been listed for longer and was renamed in January 2024. Old articles calling OSL the only listed platform are out of date.

HKDAP. Both are initial distributors of HKDAP, the HKD stablecoin from Anchorpoint Financial (the Standard Chartered, HKT and Animoca venture licensed by the HKMA on 10 April 2026). It launched on 12 August 2026 for institutions, corporates and professional investors only. Retail access is targeted for as early as end-2026 and is not live as of 6 October 2026, so neither platform can sell it to you yet. More on our HKD stablecoin page.

1. 15 Dec 2020OSL becomes Hong Kong’s first licensed platform

   Under the earlier opt-in regime.

2. 9 Nov 2022HashKey Exchange licensed

   Both were later the first approved for retail (reported August 2023).

3. 25 Nov 2024ZA Bank launches crypto via HashKey

   Reported as Asia’s first bank to offer retail crypto.

4. 17 Dec 2025HashKey Holdings lists on HKEX (3887)

   IPO at HK$6.68.

5. 28 Jan 2026Mox adds crypto via HashKey

   BTC, ETH, now SOL; USD-settled.

6. 27 Jul 2026HashKey’s unified app

   One app routing users to the Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai or Bermuda hub.

7. 29 Jul 2026OSL opens XRP to retail

   Its fourth retail coin.

8. 12 Aug 2026Both distribute HKDAP

   Institutional and professional investor beta.

HashKey or OSL: who should pick which

Choose HashKey if you plan to fund by FPS or eDDA, want the broader pair list, or already like the experience inside ZA Bank or Mox and now want the full exchange with the option to withdraw to your own wallet (after HashKey verifies the address, usually by a message signature from the wallet or a small test payment). Holders of the Shanghai Commercial Bank × HashKey Visa Signature card, launched 14 July 2026, earn rewards as HashKey HKD cash vouchers, a small extra reason to keep an account there.

Choose OSL if you want to buy with a card or Apple Pay on a licensed platform, prefer a single all-in price over a separate commission, want XRP, or expect to trade larger amounts through a 24/7 OTC desk with stablecoin settlement.

Choose neither if what you really want is a long list of altcoins or an instant card purchase in USD; that is the gap an offshore exchange like CEX.IO fills, with the trade-off of no Hong Kong protection. And whichever brand you choose, watch the address bar: the SFC added about 39 HashKey look-alike domains to its Alert List on 14 August 2026, and an OSL impostor (osloip.vip) in March 2025. Always use hashkey.com and osl.com/hk-en.

Want to see the other 11 licensed venues before you decide? They’re all on our SFC-licensed platforms list, with CE numbers and retail access. For deposit walk-throughs, see buying crypto with FPS.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. SFC: Lists of virtual asset trading platforms · checked 6 Oct 2026
2. HashKey Exchange (Hong Kong) · checked 6 Oct 2026
3. HashKey: new flagship trading app · 27 Jul 2026
4. OSL: How to buy USDT with HKD in Hong Kong safely (payment methods, Flash Trade) · 25 Feb 2026
5. OSL OTC · checked 6 Oct 2026
6. OSL: XRP available to retail investors · 29 Jul 2026

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