Lion Group Holding Ltd. is investing up to $12 million in an Indonesian financial technology company developing a rupiah-backed stablecoin, expanding the Nasdaq-listed firm’s digital asset strategy as Southeast Asia’s largest economy moves toward regulated blockchain-based payments.
The investment in PT Nusantara Bumi Sangkara will be made through an investment participation and economic interest arrangement with Meili Capital Management Ltd., Lion Group said.
Rather than paying cash, Lion Group will issue ordinary shares or other equity-linked securities in exchange for a 10% indirect economic interest in Nusantara Bumi Sangkara through Meili or its designated investment vehicle.
The transaction follows a strategic cooperation memorandum signed by the parties and forms part of Lion Group’s broader strategy to expand its digital asset treasury alongside investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Nusantara Bumi Sangkara is developing NIDR, a stablecoin pegged one-to-one with the Indonesian rupiah and backed by reserve assets.
The token is designed to facilitate lower-cost cross-border payments and digital value transfers while supporting broader blockchain-based financial services.
The company is also building infrastructure that combines blockchain technology, smart contracts, artificial intelligence-powered risk management and automated decision-making for digital financial services.
The investment comes as stablecoins gain traction beyond cryptocurrency trading, with banks, fintech firms and governments increasingly exploring their use in cross-border payments, settlements and tokenized financial assets.
Indonesia has also been moving to strengthen oversight of digital assets, creating a clearer regulatory framework for blockchain-based financial services.
Lion Group said Nusantara Bumi Sangkara has received regulatory approvals or confirmations from Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority (OJK), positioning it to become one of the country’s early compliant stablecoin issuers.
For Lion Group, the investment broadens its digital asset treasury beyond existing allocations to Bitcoin and the Hyperliquid ecosystem while increasing its exposure to Southeast Asia’s fast-growing digital finance market.
The deal also complements Lion Group’s proposed acquisition of Aquila Hash Inc., a U.S.-based artificial intelligence infrastructure company that develops AI factories, GPU cloud platforms and AI-native services.
The company said it sees opportunities to combine AI with blockchain applications in areas such as digital payments, fraud detection, real-world asset tokenization and decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN).
“This strategic participation through Meili marks a significant milestone in our expansion into Southeast Asia’s digital economy,” Chief Executive Officer Wilson Wang said in a statement.
“By leveraging stock consideration in a non-cash transaction, we preserve capital while gaining exposure to a promising stablecoin and digital payments platform that aligns seamlessly with our digital asset treasury strategy and AI infrastructure ambitions,” he added.