In the global Web3 wave, Hong Kong is standing at a critical crossroads. Recently, facing the challenge of many well-known trading platforms withdrawing or returning their license applications, market confidence has been fluctuated, and questions about "where is Hong Kong's Web3 road going" have been raised one after another. At this critical moment, the WCS Hong Kong Summit [full name: 2024 Web3 Connect Summit (Hong Kong)] was successfully concluded on June 25 at the HKU Founding Square on the 40th floor of Exchange Square 2 in Central, Hong Kong.
The event was hosted by the WCS Organizing Committee, co-hosted by DeRing, and undertaken by Web3TOP, News3.ai, and Huoxun Finance. The core value of the conference is "deep connection, brand breakthrough". The summit brought together academic bigwigs, policy makers, outstanding entrepreneurs, technical elites, star entrepreneurs, well-known investors and other heavyweight guests to conduct high-level dialogues, offer suggestions, explore ways to break the deadlock, and jointly draw a blueprint for the future of Hong Kong Web3, as well as the infinite possibilities of Hong Kong in virtual asset policies and business innovations.
1. Web3TOP Accelerator was officially established and many big names came on stage to witness the launch
At this summit, the official launch of Web3TOP accelerator became the focus, and many global industry leaders gathered together to witness this milestone moment. Guests participating in the launch ceremony: Fok Chun-yu (director of Fok Ying-Tong Group, member of Guangzhou CPPCC, standing committee member of Beijing Youth Federation, director of Hong Kong Youth Federation), Zou Yu (well-known university scholar, former director of JPMorgan and Citibank, director of Rothschild Family Office), Kong Depeng (co-founder partner of Web3TOP), Li Haolong (Vice Chairman of Financial Big Data Research Center of National Engineering Laboratory, co-founder of Web3TOP, Chairman of GBA Capital, Greater Bay Area Capital Group), Yu Jianing (President of Uweb), Long Dian (co-founder of Web3TOP, founder of Huoxun Finance), Shi Bohan Morgon Stone (co-founder of Web3TOP), Huang Weihua Welson (co-founder of Web3TOP, founder of Zhihuashi Strategic Agency, Chairman of Xingyan Cloud Network, and founding partner of TenetVC), etc.
(From left to right: Huang Weihua, Zou Yu, Long Dian, Li Haolong, Huo Zhenyu, Shi Bohan, Kong Depeng, Yu Jianing)
Web3TOP is a pioneer accelerator in the Web3 field based in Hong Kong and radiating globally. It aims to incubate future unicorns and top projects in the Web3 field through its team's deep industry experience and global resource network. Its core members are practitioners in the blockchain Web3 field for more than seven years. Their deep insight into the industry and practical experience will provide strong support for the project. Web3Top's goal is to discover unicorns and top projects that can become Web3 world in the next 20 to 30 years through the development direction of Web3.
Morgon Stone said that the Web3TOP platform will gather global wisdom in a decentralized way to build an open, inclusive and innovative community, so that every participant can find their own stage here and face future challenges together. "We hope to incubate projects, share knowledge and experience through various activities, and continuously enhance the cohesion and influence of the organization. At the same time, we also welcome more like-minded friends to join our Web3TOP organization and contribute applications and strength to the development of the Web3 industry."
(Morgon Stone, co-founder of Web3TOP)
Long Dian said that Web3 is the cornerstone of the business world in the next 30 years. In the past 30 years, Internet technologies represented by Web1 and Web2 have completely changed the world and brought human civilization into an unprecedented high-speed growth stage. With the rapid popularization of AI, which represents the ultimate productivity, he believes that Web3, which represents the ultimate production relationship, can play an indispensable value and role in future business. All aspects of the business world will be integrated with Web3. This is precisely the early stage of Web3 development, and more people are needed to join this business transformation. It is hoped that the Web3TOP platform can help more excellent projects that want to transform in Web3 to become the leaders of the future business world.
(Co-founder of Longdian Web3TOP and founder of Huoxun Finance)
2. RWA Research Institute is officially established: empowering high-quality assets and opening up new horizons for RWA
The establishment of RWA Research Institute was also officially announced at the summit. RWA Research Institute is a research institute jointly initiated by Web3TOP and Hong Kong Baoheng Investment Co., Ltd., focusing on the RWA field, and is committed to promoting the RWA of high-quality assets. At the launch conference, five representatives including Shi Xingguo (founder of Paralism Parallel Chain, member of CCF Blockchain Committee, Vice Chairman of China Embedded Software Association, former chief engineer of Internet Laboratory of Chinese Academy of Sciences), Yan Minghui (founder of Huike Capital), Zhao Yidan (co-founder of Web3TOP, co-founder of Huoxun Finance), Wu Meiling (Founder of Rare Whisky Fund), and Yu Zhong (founder of The Whisky Firm) attended the launch ceremony.
(From left to right: Yan Minghui, Zhao Yidan, Wu Meiling, Shi Xingguo, Yu Zhong)
Hong Kong Baoheng Investment Co., Ltd. ("Baoheng") has successfully launched a rare whisky fund with a size of more than 10 million US dollars and manages different whisky investment portfolios with a total size of 20 million US dollars. Baoheng holds Type 4 and Type 9 investment advisory and investment management licenses, and is actively applying for crypto asset management related licenses.
At the launch ceremony, Simon Aaron, a veteran whisky collector from Scotland, founder and CEO of Cask Trade, delivered a video speech and congratulated the successful holding of the WCS Summit.
(Simon Aaron, Founder and CEO of Cask Trade)
3. DeRing DAO is established: global layout, healthy DAO ecosystem emerges
At this summit, it was also noteworthy that the co-organizer DeRing announced the establishment of DeRing DAO, a user-centered global health incentive platform. The establishment of DeRing Hong Kong Community, European Community, and Australian Community marks the first step of DeRing's global layout. In the future, more community nodes will be established to form a DAO ecosystem in the health field.
Frank, a representative of the DeRing Hong Kong community, introduced that DeRing uses smart rings as a data collection portal and uses incentive mechanisms to encourage users to continue to accumulate health data. Through the user-centered health DAO, a global health DePIN node is established to accumulate diverse health sample data. Ultimately, the AI medical model will be gradually optimized based on massive user health data, and exclusive health solutions will be provided to global users in reverse, allowing more people to live healthier lives. He revealed that at present, DeRing reservation purchases and whitelists have been opened, and reservations can be made on the official website dering.io.
Kevin Lee, the European community representative of DeRing and founder of German media Zeitflix, said that they will use Germany's favorable geographical location to develop markets and communities in 40 European countries and regions for DeRing.
(Kevin Lee DeRing, European community representative, founder of German media Zeitflix)
Olver Hou, representative of DeRing Australian community and general manager of iRelax, said that iRelax has been committed to the health industry for many years and has established many offline stores across Australia. He invited Australian friends to join the DeRing Australian community.
(Olver Hou DeRing, Australian community representative and general manager of iRelax)
4. Experts offer suggestions and jointly draw a blueprint for the future of Hong Kong Web3
In the global Web3 wave, Hong Kong is standing at a critical crossroads. Recently, facing the challenge of many well-known trading platforms withdrawing or returning their license applications, market confidence has been fluctuated, and questions about "where is Hong Kong's Web3 road going" have been raised one after another. At this critical moment, many industry leaders gathered at the WCS Hong Kong Summit to offer suggestions, discuss in depth how to break the deadlock, and jointly draw a blueprint for the future of Hong Kong's Web3.
Wang Shiyu, a senior Chinese investment banker, global M&A expert, founder of D12 and DVI, and senior researcher of Taihe Think Tank, emphasized in his video speech that the technological innovation and system innovation of Web3.0 must be deeply rooted in Hong Kong's financial soil. Digital investment banks and digital REITs (real estate investment trusts) are not only configuration tools for digital assets, but also digital mappings of the real economy. Virtual digital assets require transaction support from the real physical world, and Hong Kong, with its financial environment advantages and the huge market and industrial foundation of mainland China, is fully capable of becoming the world's Web3.0 capital, RWA capital, and ETF capital.
(Wang Shiyu, senior Chinese investment banker, global M&A expert, founder of D12 and DVI, senior researcher at Taihe Think Tank)
Zou Yu, a well-known university scholar, former director of JPMorgan Chase Bank and Citibank, and former director of Rothschild Family Office, discussed in depth the trend and significance of virtual asset allocation from the perspective of family offices. He emphasized that by increasing investment in virtual assets, using technological innovation to improve investment efficiency and security, focusing on long-term wealth management and inheritance, and ensuring compliance, family offices can achieve sustained wealth growth and sound asset management in a complex financial environment.
(Zou Yu, a well-known university scholar, former director of JPMorgan Chase Bank and Citibank, and former director of the Rothschild Family Office)
Livio Weng, COO of HashKey Group and CEO of Hasheky Exchange, publicly revealed for the first time at the WCS Hong Kong Summit that HashKey Group had achieved monthly profitability for the first time in May this year. Regarding the future of Hong Kong's virtual asset market, he specifically mentioned that the core of Hong Kong's virtual asset policy declaration is the development route of "stability and success", that is, stability first and development later. "531 is the end of the process of feeling the stone, and the focus will be on development next." He said that the SFC has selected a group of institutions that have no historical baggage, follow Hong Kong rules, and have traditional financial capabilities and experience. Such institutions are expected to become the main force for Hong Kong's rapid landing of business. Regulators are changing their thinking, allowing experienced people to make bold innovations and speed up the approval of licenses. It is expected that this will bring about a huge migration from ideas to actual results, especially in terms of institutional entry. At the same time, he expects Hong Kong to significantly slow down the upgrade speed of traditional financial licenses such as No. 1, No. 4, and No. 9, and accelerate the cross-integration of traditional finance such as securities, banks, and insurance that have been verified in the market for many years with Web3. In terms of market asset selection, in addition to Bitcoin and Ethereum, more currencies are expected to be approved in recent months. At the same time, currencies such as RWA and STO will bring about the leap extension of traditional assets on the blockchain. In addition, Hong Kong approved the Ethereum spot ETF before the United States, which may trigger a reaction in the US market. Hong Kong is expected to launch an ETF with Staking, which may bring subversion to traditional financial management.
(Livio Weng, COO of HashKey Group and CEO of Hasheky Exchange)
In the summit dialogue session, important guests such as Fok Chun-yu (director of the Fok Ying-Tong Group, member of the Guangzhou CPPCC, standing committee member of the Beijing Youth Federation, and director of the Hong Kong Youth Federation), Luo Jinhai (founder of the Quantum School, initiator of 2140 Metaverse, and winner of the Wenjin Award), Long Dian, and Chen Lin (co-founder of Web3TOP, host of Phoenix TV) conducted in-depth discussions on whether the Hong Kong dollar can become a world currency, the role of the Hong Kong dollar stablecoin in the field of digital currency, and Hong Kong's status as an international financial center. The guests unanimously agreed that as an international financial center, Hong Kong's legal basis, inclusiveness, and trustworthiness are the key to attracting foreign investors and talents. As a form of digital currency, the Hong Kong dollar stablecoin is expected to occupy a place in global digital finance and provide new opportunities for the internationalization of the Hong Kong dollar. From the perspective of Web3, the Hong Kong dollar stablecoin has the potential to become the stable basis of international currency.
(From left to right: Long Dian, Luo Jinhai, Huo Zhenyu, Chen Lin)
Yu Jianing, president of Uweb, talked about the future development trend of Web3 in his on-site speech: 1. "Securitization of tokens" and "Tokenization of securities" together constitute the main line of future Web3.0 development. The physical subscription and redemption mechanism of Hong Kong's virtual asset ETF has been actively recognized by the market, opening a highly compliant and large-capacity access channel in Asia, and seamlessly connecting with other products in the Hong Kong capital market, adding a large number of available financial instruments, and laying the foundation for a new round of industry innovation. 2. RWA tokenization will be gradually implemented in the next three years, and "Mini IPO" and global circulating assets will promote the comprehensive upgrade of the financial system. 3. DePIN promotes the deep integration of the Internet of Things and the Internet of Value, becoming a new promoter of the industry's overseas expansion. 4. Distributed AI promotes the transparency, openness, and sharing of generative AI, builds a global new computing power network, and improves the fairness of value distribution in the AI era.
(Yu Jianing, President of Uweb)
In his online video speech, Justin Sun, founder of TRON, pointed out that Hong Kong, China, took the lead in launching spot ETFs for Bitcoin and Ethereum, which will serve as a model for the development of the Web3 industry in Asia. When talking about how to accelerate the integration of Web3 with the real world, Justin Sun pointed out that RWA is an inspiring attempt in the Web3 industry in the past two years. RWA can create more investment opportunities and investment channels for users, such as real estate/precious metals/art collections and other physical investments, providing more possibilities and is one of the important scenarios for the application of industry technology in the future. DePIN expands the practice and innovation of the web3 industry in the industrial field, and improves the utilization efficiency of resources by rewarding resource providers, while reducing energy consumption and achieving the goal of green development.
(Justin Sun Sun, founder of TRON)
At the roundtable forum "Web2 Entering the New Paradigm of Web3", the guests discussed in depth how Web 3.0 technology affects our health, wealth and artistic life. Ma Heting, Chairman of Shenzhen Bely Technology Co., Ltd., shared his views on how to promote healthy living habits through technological innovation and model changes. Shi Xingguo, founder of Paralism Parallel Chain, member of CCF Blockchain Committee, Vice Chairman of China Embedded Software Association, and former Chief Engineer of Internet Laboratory of Chinese Academy of Sciences, mentioned that the development of parallel blockchain technology will provide possibilities for high-frequency and low-cost applications, laying the foundation for application scenarios in the Web 3.0 era. Wang Zijian, member of the G20 Youth Federation, Forbes China columnist, and founder of crypto artist Number.art, shared his experience of improving living habits through DeRing, highlighting the application potential of Web 3.0 technology in personal health management.
(From left to right: Shi Xingguo, Ma Heting, Zou Yu, Wang Zijian, Shi Bohan)
At the roundtable forum "How far is Hong Kong from the global virtual asset center?", Kennix Chan, Executive Director of Victory Securities, Paolo Chan, CSO of VDX, Li Haolong, Vice Chairman of the Financial Big Data Research Center of the National Engineering Laboratory, Co-founder of Web3TOP, Chairman of the Greater Bay Area Capital Group (GBA Capital), Yu Peiheng, Managing Partner of Lin Yu Law Firm, and Huang Weihua, Co-founder of Web3TOP, Founder of Zhihuashi Strategic Agency, Chairman of Xingyan Cloud Network, and Founding Partner of TenetVC, discussed the potential, challenges and future path of Hong Kong to become a global virtual asset center. The guests generally believe that Hong Kong has the potential to become a global virtual asset center. Hong Kong's status as an international financial center, government policy support, and close ties with the mainland have all provided a solid foundation for the development of virtual assets. However, challenges also exist. Geopolitical factors, fierce international competition, and the need to balance innovation and compliance are all issues that Hong Kong needs to face. The guests suggested that Hong Kong needs to strengthen the construction of the regulatory framework while maintaining an open attitude to promote the healthy development of the virtual asset industry.
(From left to right: Li Haolong, Chen Chen, Yu Peiheng, Chen Peiquan, Huang Weihua)
At the roundtable forum "2024: DePIN Ecosystem Explosion Moment", Zheng Yushan, founding partner of Waterdrop Capital, Wang Qiheng, founder and CEO of SmartMesh, founder of W3A, LingoAI, and MetaLife consultant, Xu Quan, co-founder of X-Labs, Yan Minghui, founder of Huike Capital, and Zhao Yidan, co-founder of Web3TOP and co-founder of Huoxun Finance, shared their unique insights and foresights around the industry outlook in 2024 and the potential of DePIN in the Greater Bay Area. With its multiple advantages in policies, talents, technology, and market openness, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is gradually building a solid foundation for the development of DePIN. With the advent of the AI era, DePIN is not only a test field for financial innovation, but also an indispensable infrastructure for the future smart economy. The insights of the four guests reveal the broad prospects of the Greater Bay Area in the field of DePIN, indicating that it will become a key force in promoting the global Web3.0 revolution.
(From left to right: Zheng Yushan, Wang Qiheng, Xu Quan, Yan Minghui, Zhao Yidan)
In his video speech, Yang Jinyan, Secretary General of the Hong Kong Virtual Asset Industry Association, talked about Hong Kong's advantages under the multi-center development pattern. He emphasized that the virtual asset industry is currently adapting to the global multi-center development pattern. As a traditional financial center and rule-making center, Hong Kong has complete legal support for the development of the virtual asset industry. The Hong Kong government has intensively introduced a series of support policies to promote the development of the industry. Hong Kong has great potential in the field of virtual assets, and the government is actively promoting the development of the industry. The Hong Kong government is pragmatic and has limited intervention, which provides a large space for the development of the industry.
(Yang Jinyan, Secretary General of the Hong Kong Virtual Asset Industry Association)
Jack Kong, founder of Nano Labs and director of Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited, said that since the Hong Kong government paid attention to the Web3 field, Hong Kong has made significant progress in the Web3 industry. In the past year or so, 300 Web3-related companies have settled in Cyberport. He emphasized the important position of Hong Kong in the Web3 industry, especially as a bridge connecting mainland Chinese with the global Web3 industry.
(Jack Kong, founder of Nano Labs and director of Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited)
Overall, although Hong Kong faces many challenges in the Web3 field, the suggestions and advice from industry leaders have pointed out the direction for Hong Kong's future development. With the gradual clarification of regulatory policies and the continuous optimization of the market environment, Hong Kong is expected to stand out in the global Web3 wave and become an important force leading the development of the industry.
