The “2040 POPUP-How to Build a New Asian Digital Ecosystem Center in HK” Event Ended Successfully

Hong Kong today, with its mature financial infrastructure and virtual asset market window, is becoming the focus of the global Web3 space, which is attracting the attention of local and global Web3 and traditional investment institutions in Hong Kong. On April 11, Cabin VC and Axia8 Ventures hosted “2040 POPUP — How to Build a New Asian Digital Ecosystem Center in HK”, which was successfully held with over 50 global top Web3 VCs, over 60 projects in various fields, and more than 200 domestic and overseas participants.

The event was hosted by Cabin VC and Axia8 Ventures, co-hosted by HKbitex, Hailstone Capital, Kardia Chain, Obsidian Ventures, Chinese Ape Club, and Everest Ventures Group, organized by Blocklike, supported by InvestHK, and sponsored by VirgoCX, Web3 Analytics, Meowpawsome, and MG.land. The event covered VCs and projects from Hong Kong, Vietnam, Taiwan, Singapore, and other parts of Greater Asia to discuss the new Asian digital ecosystem.

Vivian Meng, the co-founder of Cabin VC, shared the portfolio of Cabin VC and the achievements of Eco Fund I. She also introduced the business plan for 2023 and the investment plan and strategy of Cabin Eco Fund II. In the second half of the year, Cabin VC will launch Cabin Eco Fund II and focus on four types of ecosystems and applications.

These are L0, L1, and L2 ecosystems that have the technology and market barriers and are in value pockets, new public blockchains such as Aptos and Sui, application-specific blockchains, and strong ecosystems such as NFT and DeFi. In addition to organizing intensive Web3 events in Hong Kong, Blocklike, Cabin VC’s media brand, will also start a number of events including the Digital Ecology Conference to further expand industry communication.

Zoe Peng, the general partner of Axia8 Ventures, introduced Axia8 Ventures from its portfolio, core business, investment strategy, post-investment management strategy, and capital management strategy. Zoe believes that the best value in venture capital comes from aligning the interests of projects and investors and that the best investments have their inherent growth logic. Next, Axia8 will focus on projects in the infrastructure, tools, DeFi, social entertainment, and gaming categories.

The event also invited Terry Chan, the senior manager of FinTech of InvestHK, Dr.Waishun Lo, the adjunct professor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Ken Lo, the co-founder of HKBitEX, to deliver keynote speeches on Web3 and compliance in Hong Kong.

Terry Chan explained the HK policy declaration of virtual assets, the regulation of virtual assets in HK, and the policy support of the SAR government, etc. The current development of virtual assets in Hong Kong is progressing in an orderly manner, and Hong Kong now has two licensed virtual asset trading platforms and has completed a pilot program to issue a Hong Kong government green bond with blockchain technology, and the mileage of virtual asset development in Hong Kong is also continuing to increase.

Dr. Waishun Lo shared the advantages and benefits of Hong Kong as a virtual asset center, the differences in the regulatory policies of virtual assets in Singapore, Japan, and other regions, and the types of virtual asset businesses that currently exist in Hong Kong. He also highlighted the differences between the Hong Kong Virtual Assets Licence (VASP) and the current Type 7 licence. The VASP licensing regime will be applicable to all eligible virtual asset exchanges, regardless of whether the virtual assets on their platforms are “securities” or not. He believes that Hong Kong, as a virtual asset hub, will become China’s sandbox.

Ken Lo shared his views on the virtual asset policy and regulatory landscape in Hong Kong, the opportunities for regulated/compliant infrastructure, and some of the new investment products such as STO, VA Fund, and more. He thinks that Hong Kong’s favorable virtual asset policies will help accelerate the participation of traditional capital market intermediaries, and the challenges faced by Western banks and the attitude changes from Chinese banks will provide unprecedented opportunities for Hong Kong-regulated virtual asset players.

With the global development and innovation of virtual assets, Web3 primary market investment also needs a constant source of projects and quality targets, and the industry is still looking forward to a more mature development atmosphere. In this event, VirgoCX, an innovative digital currency trading platform, Web3 Analytics, a next generation of web3 data portal and center driven by AI technology, MeowPawsome, a third-person multiplayer online fantasy open-world sandbox adventure, and MG.land, an open NFT metaverse integrated with Web3 social, event, gaming and trading, presented their project roadshows respectively.

What are the advantages and challenges for the future development of Web3 in Hong Kong? What are the market trends in 3–5 years? Devin Huang, the founder of CabinVC, Wayne, the founder of Axia8 Ventures, Chris Jin, the managing partner of SAIF Partners & Creek Labs, John, the head of gaming and investment of KardiaChain, and Jerome Wong, the co-founder and CBO of EVG, started a panel with the theme of “2023, Primary Market Investment and Layout in the New Cycle”.

The guests shared their investment experience and layout ideas from a VC perspective and discussed the future investment trends in the market. When it comes to the future development trend of the Web3 market, the underlying technology and infrastructure are still the focus of the investment market, and under the premise of technology development, the market will usher in a big explosion of applications, which will bring an explosion of assets and traffic.

They also expressed their expectations for Hong Kong to become one of the Web3 major areas in Asia, and the opening of Hong Kong to virtual assets will bring more new energy to the Web3 industry and the Web3 market as a whole. The current Web3 development in Hong Kong is still in its early stages and needs more innovative and feasible policies, practices, and Web3 talent support.

As we can see, there are more challenges for Web3 projects and companies to develop in Hong Kong, and compliance means a higher scale of operation, which also ushers in more opportunities. Hong Kong has the potential to become the next Web3 financial center in Asia, attracting more innovative teams and potential projects, and is expected to be a window for Web3 technology iteration.