Key Highlights
- The Hong Kong-based stablecoin issuer, First Digital Group’s FDUSD, announced a definitive agreement to go public via a merger with a U.S.-listed SPAC
- Despite an 80% decline from its peak supply, FDUSD has processed over $785 billion in transactions
- Amid the regulatory clarity with new regulations, the GENIUS Act, the total market capitalization of stablecoin has soared $316.04 billion in 2025
Hong Kong’s First Digital Group, a stablecoin issuer, has announced its plan to become a publicly traded company in the United States by merging with a special purpose company (SPAC).
This revelation shows that the company is planning to achieve legitimacy and growth through traditional public markets, especially in the U.S., where recent laws have created a clearer path.
According to the report, the company behind the FDUSD stablecoin aims to merge with a SPAC called CLSM Digital Asset Acquisition Corp III. This SPAC is listed on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker KYON.
The deal is expected to value First Digital at a major sum, with industry experts estimating between $1.5 billion and $2.5 billion.
To support the merger, large investment firms have already committed $100 million. These backers include well-known names like Singapore’s Temasek Holdings and the U.S.-based Andreessen Horowitz.
For First Digital’s Chief Executive, Vincent Chok, this is a calculated step toward greater influence. In a company memo, Chok mentioned that stablecoins have evolved from experimental digital tokens into their main infrastructure.
He believes that accessing public markets will provide the transparency and scale necessary for the next phase of growth.
FDUSD Steps Up Amid Stablecoin Boom
First Digital launched its FDUSD stablecoin in June 2023. The token is designed to always be worth pegged 1:1 USD, backed by reserves of cash and short-term U.S. government debt.
The company is supported by major financial institutions in Asia, including the Hong Kong-listed FWD Group. FDUSD found early success as a trusted alternative to other stablecoins, becoming a key trading pair on giant exchanges like Binance.
By late 2025, the amount of FDUSD had fallen sharply to about $907.9 million, according to CoinMarketCap.
Despite this drop in circulation, the company’s underlying business remained strong. The company continues to generate healthy revenue, estimated at $50 million per year, primarily from earnings on its reserve assets.
This is not the company’s first attempt to go public. An earlier plan for a listing in Hong Kong was paused due to market instability. The currency SPAC route is faster than traditional initial public offerings.
If successful, the merged company would trade on the Nasdaq, potentially under the ticker symbol FDUSD. The deal is expected to be finalized by the second quarter of 2026, as it requires pending approval from regulators and shareholders.
The Global Stablecoin Boom
The entire stablecoin market is experiencing explosive growth. These digital tokens, pegged to stable assets like the USD, are becoming vital tools for global finance.
They are used for everything from international remittances and business payments to trading in decentralized finance. The total value of all stablecoins in circulation sharply soared from $200 billion at the start of 2025 to approximately $300 billion by the third quarter, according to CoinMarketCap.
However, the leading issuers are dominating this space. Tether’s USDT remains the largest, comprising 60% of the market with $162 billion in circulation. Circle’s USDC holds a 23% share, valued at $64 billion, and is often praised for its transparent operations. Newer models are also emerging, offering features like built-in yields to attract users.
Stablecoins are rapidly becoming popular in the Asia-Pacific and Latin America. In these areas, stablecoins provide a fast and cheap way to send money across borders, drastically reducing the high fees charged by traditional services.
In 2025, the stablecoin market soared thanks to the regulatory framework. Major laws in the United States, the European Union, Hong Kong, and Japan are creating official rulebooks for stablecoin issuers.
JPMorgan estimates that stablecoins could support 10% of all global payments by the year 2030. Some analysts project that the total market could swell to nearly $2 trillion by the end of the decade.
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