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roundtable

first_img HK Web3 Feastival Roundtable: From Wall Street to Blockchain, the Practical Logic and Future Vision of Global RWA Issuance

ChainCatcher reported live that Li Baiwei, Partner at HashKey Tokenisation, John Cahill, Chief Operating Officer of Galaxy Digital Asia, Abdelhamid Bizid, Managing Director of BlackRock, and Min Lin, Managing Director and Head of Global Business Development at Ondo Finance, attended the HK Web3 Feastival roundtable to share insights on "From Wall Street to Blockchain: The Practical Logic and Future Landscape of Global RWA Issuance."The attendees generally agreed that the core value of RWA and asset tokenization is no longer just an innovative narrative at the conceptual level, but a realistic path for upgrading financial market infrastructure. John Cahill stated that blockchain is essentially a superior "underlying pipeline" for financial markets, and in the long run, the ultimate goal of financial markets will be "tokenization of everything"; what truly needs attention is not whether tokenization will happen, but whether market participants have already begun preparing for this endgame.Abdelhamid Bizid pointed out that from the perspective of traditional asset management institutions, the current tokenized products primarily serve clients who do not wish to move funds out of the on-chain ecosystem but want to achieve stable returns and compliant asset allocation tools. BlackRock has seen a clear demand for on-chain yield products and will continue to launch more new products. However, he also emphasized that the real bottleneck in the industry at this stage is not technology, but rather institutional adoption, demand validation, liquidity depth, regulatory clarity, and non-technical barriers such as costs and taxation.Min Lin, drawing from Ondo's practice, stated that the key to tokenized stocks is not just moving U.S. stocks onto the blockchain, but transforming stocks that are originally static in brokerage accounts into programmable financial instruments that can serve as collateral, margin, and lending assets in DeFi, further unlocking capital efficiency. He mentioned that the main demand currently observed by Ondo still comes from retail and crypto-native funds in regions like Asia, Southeast Asia, and Latin America, which find it difficult to directly access the U.S. stock market. This indicates that tokenized stocks at this stage are more like "global asset access tools" rather than mainstream trading venues for institutional funds.

first_img HK Web3 Feastival Roundtable: The "RWA Moment" in Asia-Pacific: Hong Kong vs Singapore

ChainCatcher reported live that Celine Tan, Head of Liquidity Distribution at BNY Mellon Investment Management Hong Kong Limited, Kelly Sohn, Head of Digital Asset Strategy at Mirae Asset Securities (HK) Limited, Victor Jung, Head of Digital Assets at Hamilton Lane, and Xu Ping, Managing Director of Global Investment Banking at JPMorgan, attended the HK Web3 Feastival roundtable to share "The RWA Moment in Asia-Pacific: Hong Kong vs Singapore."The attendees generally believe that RWA is currently transitioning from proof of concept to broader implementation, driven mainly by the gradual maturity of technology, increasingly clear regulatory frameworks, and the rising market demand for stable, yield-generating asset allocations.Kelly Sohn stated that this round of RWA warming is different from the past, not driven by a single factor, but rather the result of the combined effects of technology, regulation, and capital flow. She also pointed out that the assets currently more suitable for tokenization include standardized products such as money market funds and commodities, and the combination of stablecoins and tokenized assets will further enhance on-chain transaction and settlement efficiency.Xu Ping mentioned that Singapore has become more cautious overall after the FTX incident, with a greater focus on institutional investors; in contrast, Hong Kong has advantages in retail access, licensing systems, and market innovation inclusiveness, making it more attractive to exchanges, stablecoin issuers, and custodians. She also noted that banks will play a key role in infrastructure, custody, and payment settlement within the RWA ecosystem.Victor Jung indicated that the market has previously focused too much on the institutional narrative, but the retail side is also an important source of demand for tokenization. He summarized the current demand into two categories: one is to obtain more yield through on-chain solutions, and the other is to reduce costs by improving efficiency. In his view, the industry driving force has gradually shifted from early technology supply to being driven by real investor demand.The roundtable discussion also mentioned that for RWA to further expand its application in the next phase, it still needs to address issues such as regulatory clarity, institutional infrastructure readiness, and investor education, as these factors remain key variables affecting the further development of the market.

first_img HK Web3 Feastival Roundtable: From "Asset Registration" to "On-chain Issuance", Bridging the Last Mile of RWA Cross-border Compliance

ChainCatcher reported live that Tang Bo, Assistant Dean of the Financial Research Institute at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Fei Si, Partner at King & Wood Mallesons, Diao Zhi Hai, Head of International Wealth Management at China International Capital Corporation, and Gavin Wang, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of SNZ Holding & SNZ Capital, jointly attended the HK Web3 Feastival roundtable discussion, sharing insights on "from asset registration" to "on-chain issuance," bridging the last mile of RWA cross-border compliance.Fei Si pointed out that the so-called "from asset registration to on-chain issuance" essentially establishes a replicable, sustainable, and legally compliant channel for "domestic assets, overseas issuance." He believes that the most critical aspect at this stage is to first establish a solid transaction structure and top-level product design, clarifying whether the product is classified as equity or debt, as this will directly determine the corresponding regulatory authorities, communication methods, and subsequent legal document arrangements.Diao Zhi Hai approached the issue from the practical perspective of traditional financial institutions, stating that the biggest challenge currently is not a single isolated pain point, but how to systematically connect multiple compliance nodes to form a truly implementable closed-loop mechanism. He indicated that RWA cross-border projects involve not only financial regulation but also data cross-border, cybersecurity, foreign exchange management, and other departmental collaborations. Therefore, it is essential to examine whether the underlying assets can be clearly defined and mapped on-chain, who qualifies as the issuer and controlling entity, and whether the non-financial regulatory requirements throughout the process have been incorporated into the plan.Gavin Wang entered the discussion from the investment and market demand perspective, emphasizing that the global trend of asset tokenization is certain, and that high-quality Chinese assets are still significantly undervalued overseas. This means that as long as the cross-border compliance path is opened, market demand genuinely exists. He believes that investment institutions are most concerned with whether the entire project has clear compliance boundaries and marketability: red lines cannot be crossed, and gray areas must be approached with caution. What is truly worth investing in are those asset types with clearer regulatory expectations that investors can more easily understand and accept. In the long term, he is optimistic about two types of Chinese cross-border RWA targets: one type is large, high-quality Chinese assets that are easily understood by overseas investors, and the other type includes high-end manufacturing, robotics, AI, and pharmaceutical pipelines that are still undervalued overseas but possess global competitiveness.

first_img HK Web3 Feastival Roundtable: From the Ground Up to the Entry Point, the Path of Crypto Assets to Mainstream Finance

ChainCatcher reported live that Franklin Bi, partner at Pantera Capital, Mykolas Majauskas, senior policy director at Bybit, and Zeng Yuchao, managing director at Futu Group, jointly attended the HK Web3 Feastival roundtable to share "From the Ground Up to the Entry Point: The Path of Crypto Assets to Mainstream Finance."Zeng Yuchao introduced that Futu is the largest retail brokerage in Hong Kong, with a market share of over 50%. In January this year, it obtained the VATP license, and last month removed all additional conditions to achieve full integration of securities brokerage and crypto trading. Last year, Futu collaborated with Huaxia Fund to issue a tokenized money market fund, allowing T+0 same-day subscriptions and redemptions. In terms of AI, Futu has launched the Agent skill feature, enabling users to set strategies through natural language and execute trades automatically. He believes that in the future, there will be a transformation from graphical interfaces to AI interfaces.Mykolas Majauskas pointed out that companies currently complaining about regulation will miss this honeymoon period in the future, as larger-scale regulation is on the way. He analyzed global regulatory differences: Europe leads with MiCA, the U.S. supports private issuance, China supports government digital currency, and Hong Kong serves as a tokenization gateway. He warned that many native crypto companies claim to disrupt traditional finance but are actually being acquired by traditional institutions. He believes the fundamental change in AI is at the front end: users only need to express their intentions, and AI autonomously decides to execute strategies. Bybit is building a one-stop financial platform that integrates IBAN, cards, payments, and investments. He believes many traditional wealth management companies will be eliminated because they have historically made you feel wealthy rather than truly helping you accumulate wealth.Franklin Bi stated that blockchain is the perfect technology for building financial systems for AI Agents. When Agents choose between traditional accounts and stablecoins, they are opting for stablecoins, marking the beginning of an exponential trend.

first_img HK Web3 Feastival Roundtable: The Present and Future of Cross-Border Payments and Asset Digitization

ChainCatcher reported live that KGA Managing Partner Kevin M. Goldstein, Binance Co-CEO Richard Teng, Stable CEO Brian Mehler, JPMorgan Asia Pacific (Payments) Fintech Industry Head Akhil Devmurari, and Bitstamp by Robinhood President Leonard Hoh jointly attended the 2026 Hong Kong Web3 Carnival roundtable discussion, focusing on "The Present and Future of Cross-Border Payments and Asset Digitization."Richard Teng pointed out that the existing financial infrastructure is extremely outdated, with bank transfers taking two to three days and high fees, while cross-border remittance rates can be as high as 11%. In contrast, stablecoin transfers are instant and cost very little. He revealed that with the passage of the U.S. Genius Act, stablecoin transaction volume has increased by over 70% year-on-year, surpassing Visa's transaction volume, and its market capitalization has grown by over 50% year-on-year. He also mentioned that Binance started trading precious metals in January this year, and within three months, its trading volume has exceeded that of many traditional commodity exchanges. Additionally, it has launched products such as petrochemical products, stock tokens, and Pre-IPO offerings, aiming to create a multi-jurisdictional, multi-asset trading platform serving over 310 million users. Regarding AI, he believes that stablecoins will become the native currency of AI, with the payment ecosystem for intelligent agents built around blockchain and AI.Akhil Devmurari pointed out from JPMorgan's perspective that the Asia-Pacific region has a population of 4.8 billion and over 90% fintech adoption rate, with cross-border payments being the biggest pain point. Digital currencies present a significant opportunity as an alternative payment track. He stated that JPMorgan's payment platform processes $12 trillion daily, focusing on tokenized deposits and tokenized assets, and applying blockchain technology to fund flows to reduce friction. He emphasized that the current market capitalization of digital currencies accounts for only about 1% of total payment volume, with 99% still in fiat currency, indicating huge growth potential, but compliance is a key link in ecological development. He defined the relationship between traditional finance and crypto as "co-opetition," stating that banks need to collaborate with the industry to drive ecological growth.Leonard Hoh stated that Bitstamp, as an exchange and infrastructure provider, has observed that trading and payment counterparties are adopting a "stablecoin-first" strategy, whether for prepayments, settlements, or credit collateral, with both traditional finance and crypto-native institutions feeling secure about this technology. He pointed out that the industry currently faces growing pains from excessive fragmentation—there is an oversupply of stablecoin issuers, Layer 1 solutions, and regulatory frameworks relative to market size, and exchanges need to address interoperability challenges across chains and borders. He believes that the key to unlocking the next stage lies in the development of non-U.S. dollar stablecoins and on-chain foreign exchange markets.Brian Mehler pointed out from the perspective of Layer 1 public chains that the technology itself is already functioning normally, with traditional cross-border payments charging about 6.5% fees for a $200 transaction, while on-chain it only requires 1% or even less. The real issue lies in the fragmentation of compliance, as regulatory frameworks in different countries operate independently. Therefore, compliance elements such as whitelist, blacklist, and travel rules must be embedded in the infrastructure layer of the chain to achieve true global interoperability. He also mentioned that PayPal has introduced PYUSD to the Stable chain, and traditional financial institutions are actively seeking to establish a presence on-chain, with Layer 1 not aiming to replace banks but to become a settlement layer.

first_img HK Web3 Feastival Roundtable: Balancing Regulation and Innovation to Co-build a Sustainable Digital Financial Ecosystem in Asia

ChainCatcher reported live that Li Guoquan, Dean of the Global Fintech Academy, Hong Kong Legislative Council member (Technology and Innovation Sector) Kenneth Lau, Chief Public Mission Officer of Hong Kong Cyberport, Chan Sze Yuen, and Executive Director of the Japan Virtual Currency Exchange Association (JVCEA) & Japan Crypto Asset Business Association, Koji Takeda, attended the HK Web3 Feastival roundtable discussion, focusing on "Balancing Regulation and Innovation to Co-build a Sustainable Asian Digital Financial Ecosystem."Kenneth Lau stated that the legislative process has been significantly advanced, and he hopes to see innovation-driven developments next, exploring how to leave space for new products and business models while improving the regulatory framework. He cited the startup exemption mechanism in U.S. legislation as an example, emphasizing the importance of a nurturing environment for innovation. He also pointed out that the Hong Kong stock market currently does not allow for a market maker system, and the liquidity provision rules in virtual asset trading will be addressed in legislative discussions within the year. Regarding prediction markets, he personally believes that Hong Kong currently does not have the conditions to open them.Chan Sze Yuen introduced that Cyberport launched a pilot subsidy program for blockchain and digital assets last year, with nine projects participating, more than half of which involve RWA tokenization, aiming to promote projects from proof of concept to commercialization. He stated that Cyberport has gathered over 300 Web3 companies from 19 countries and regions, emphasizing that trusted digital identity (KYC/AML compliance) is the foundation for scaling RWA and payment projects, while secondary market liquidity determines whether tokenized assets can become real market products.Koji Takeda revealed that the Financial Services Agency (FSA) of Japan submitted a new bill to the Diet on April 10, proposing to move the regulation of crypto assets from the Financial Services Act to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, which means the government officially recognizes the investment attributes of crypto assets, marking a significant shift. He also pointed out that Japan had previously seen over 200 companies relocate to places like Singapore due to strict regulations, but recently, through adjustments to corporate tax systems and discussions on personal crypto tax reforms, companies are gradually returning.Host Li Guoquan summarized that the various jurisdictions in Asia are not in competition but are part of the same ecosystem. Excessive compliance costs may push quality institutions into gray areas, and how to lower compliance thresholds in regulatory dialogues and promote responsible innovation is a common challenge facing the Asian digital financial ecosystem.

ChainCatcher "From Cryptocurrency to Smart Economy" Roundtable: Crypto is shifting from speculation to practical value, with compliant RWA and AI payments becoming the core engine of the new cycle

At the "Crypto 2026: From Cryptocurrency to Smart Economy" themed forum held in Hong Kong, guests including Sign partner Sarah, HashKey Chain Senior Business Development YuYi, Monad Greater China Ecosystem Head Harvey Chen, OmenX Chief Marketing Officer Gisele, and SVP Chain Market Head Celest engaged in a roundtable discussion on "The Revaluation of Crypto and the New Cycle."Regarding why they remain firmly invested in Crypto amid the AI boom, Sarah pointed out that the hotter AI gets, the more use cases there are for Crypto assets, and future transactions between AI Agents will rely on digital assets. YuYi believes that the bear market is precisely when the wheat is separated from the chaff, with compliant RWA (such as Hong Kong's first physical silver token) being implemented, speculative assets being eliminated, and the era of on-chain infrastructure arriving. Harvey Chen stated that high-performance public chains are the foundation for supporting large-scale applications, and Monad is committed to this. Gisele noted that Crypto addresses fairness and value transfer, complementing AI's focus on efficiency. Celest emphasized that AI lacks a native value system and increasingly requires Crypto to provide value authentication and decentralized trust.On the changing understanding of Crypto's value, the guests unanimously agreed that the industry is shifting from "issuing tokens for the sake of issuing tokens" to pursuing sustainable business models, with greater focus on capital efficiency, low costs, and 24-hour settlement as practical values. The value of public chains should be assessed based on real business scenarios and user transaction volumes, rather than narratives and financing.Regarding future growth engines and entrepreneurial advice, the guests generally expressed optimism about compliant RWA, AI payments, and sovereign blockchain directions, advising entrepreneurs to focus on real application scenarios, avoid empty concepts, and maintain a long-term construction mindset.

ChainCatcher "From Cryptocurrency to Smart Economy" Roundtable: AI Agents are shifting from conversational to executable, with trust and verifiability becoming key bottlenecks for scalability

At the "Crypto 2026: From Cryptocurrency to Smart Economy" themed forum held in Hong Kong, guests including KiteAI's Asia Pacific head Laughing, Sentient's Asia Pacific head Anita, Brevis content director Nic Tang, Mentis product head Jerry, and Predict.fun's Asia Pacific BD head Ah Huang Ricardo engaged in a roundtable discussion on the theme "AI × Crypto --- The Foundation of the Next Generation Digital Economy."Regarding whether the outbreak of open-source AI Agents (such as "raising lobsters") is a short-term sentiment or a long-term trend, Laughing believes this marks a paradigm shift of AI from "conversational" to "executive," signaling the beginning of a long-term trend. However, Agents lack a physical identity, making it difficult for merchants to trust their trading behavior, and issues of data leakage and uncontrollability remain obstacles that must be overcome for scaling. Jerry pointed out, based on his own usage experience, that current Agents face security risks such as memory fuzziness, token consumption in dead loops, and accidental file deletion. Although newly emerged Agents have improvements, they still have shortcomings. Ah Huang Ricardo stated that behind the short-term sentiment is real user demand, but truly reproducible profitable trading Agents are still very rare, and there is a long way to go.Addressing core bottlenecks such as trust, security, and verifiability, Nic Tang emphasized that the current execution process of Agents is like a black box, where users cannot verify whether their decisions are executed as promised. Zero-knowledge proof technology can mathematically prove the source of an Agent's output and compliance with behavior, while not exposing privacy. Anita added that Sentient is committed to building an open and collaborative AI agent network, promoting the deep integration of AI and blockchain in identity, data, and incentive layers, providing foundational support for the next generation digital economy.Regarding the application scenarios that are likely to scale first, the guests generally believe that the programming field is relatively mature, and Agents in prediction markets perform better than humans in specific tracks due to their rationality and lack of emotions. In the short term, they are optimistic about API Marketplace and cross-platform consumer shopping Agents, while in the medium term, they are optimistic about content creation AI (such as AI influencers). Agent-to-Agent interaction and the Agent/Skill Marketplace are seen as important future trends.

ChainCatcher "Build and Scale 2026" Roundtable: It is a critical time for building infrastructure, as Web3 is moving from concept to addressing real pain points

At the recent "Build and Scale in 2026" themed forum held in Hong Kong, guests including Lulu, the APAC market head of Billions, Laughing, the APAC head of KiteAI, Carter Feldman, founder and CEO of Psy Protocol, and Bitcoinmaodu, CEO of Huazhi Education RWA, engaged in a roundtable discussion on the topic of "Web3 New Phase: From 'Technological Vision' to 'Mainstream Consumption'."Lulu, the APAC market head of Billions, pointed out that the fundamental challenge in the AI era is the issue of identity and trust. She emphasized that future infrastructure must strike a balance between privacy protection and regulatory auditing, and believes that by 2026, the market's core will shift from speculation to infrastructure, particularly in meeting the identity and accountability verification (KYA) required by AI agents.Laughing, the APAC head of KiteAI, focused on the payment security of AI agents. He stated that blockchain technology is needed for permission control and behavior auditing of AI agents, establishing a "responsibility attribution closed loop" to build a secure and trustworthy payment system.Carter Feldman, founder and CEO of Psy Protocol, believes that the current blockchain cannot support the billions of concurrent transactions brought by AI agents. They are building a high-performance blockchain that supports AI scale and protects privacy. He pointed out that AI agents will ultimately bring massive users and sustainable transaction fee revenue to blockchain, driving the industry into a profit-driven phase.Bitcoinmaodu, CEO of Huazhi Education RWA, shared the Web3 practical path of Huazhi Education in the private education sector. He stated that education is a long-underestimated real asset, and RWA provides a new organizational method for private education. By assetizing course content, faculty contributions, and learning outcomes, Huazhi Education is promoting the transformation of traditional private education from a "cost center" to a "sustainable value network," making education a truly accumulative and replicable asset system.The attending guests unanimously agreed that the current period is crucial for building infrastructure, as Web3 is moving from concept to addressing real pain points. Identity verification, agent payment security, and RWA compliance in the AI era will become the core driving forces for industry development in 2026.
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