asia

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.

ChainCatcher reported live that HashKey Capital CEO Deng Chao and Sharplink CEO Joseph Chalom jointly attended the 2026 Hong Kong Web3 Carnival roundtable discussion, exploring "From Finance to Strategy: How Public Companies Are Positioning Themselves Based on Digital Assets."Chalom, who worked at BlackRock for 20 years, began leading BlackRock's blockchain and digital assets team six years ago, during which he launched Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, raising about $100 billion at its peak. He stated that the choice to establish a digital asset treasury with Ethereum rather than Bitcoin is because Ethereum is a "native productive asset," which can earn nearly 3% returns through staking, while Bitcoin can only be held in anticipation of appreciation. Sharplink has been listed on Nasdaq and has raised billions of dollars to purchase Ethereum since launching its digital asset treasury strategy last June, currently holding approximately 770,000 ETH and earning about 17,000 ETH and over $35 million in rewards for investors through staking.Regarding industry trends, he pointed out that Ethereum is dominating three major use cases: stablecoins (over 60% occur on Ethereum), asset tokenization, and decentralized finance. He specifically warned that currently over 95% of stablecoins are denominated in US dollars, and if stablecoins are to become the payment rail for trillions of transactions in the AI economy, Asian regulators should not allow them to be dominated by the US dollar and US Treasury bonds, as this will trigger a geopolitical competition to advance local stablecoin legislation.Discussing market cycles, he noted that the crypto market has experienced significant pullbacks since last October, with short-term prices being unpredictable, but in the long term, the current risk-reward ratio is at its best level in a long time. He emphasized that digital asset treasuries are not passive investments; Ethereum is a high-volatility asset, and volatility is a characteristic of capital appreciation rather than a defect.

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.

KiteAI Asia Pacific Head Laughing confirmed attendance at the "Crypto 2026: From Cryptocurrency to Smart Economy" themed forum to be held in Hong Kong on April 19, and will participate in a roundtable discussion. This event is co-hosted by ChainCatcher and RootData, and is one of the important peripheral activities of the Hong Kong Web3 Carnival.Kite AI is building the foundational layer of the Agentic Internet, aiming to create a vertically integrated artificial intelligence ecosystem to promote the realization of real business value and the long-term sustainable development of the network. This forum will focus on the paradigm shift under the deep integration of AI technology and crypto networks, engaging in in-depth discussions on cutting-edge tracks such as AI Agent economy, smart payments, RWA, and crypto infrastructure. At the intersection of technological leaps and economic restructuring, this themed forum not only provides insights into the current state of the industry but also offers a forward-looking reflection on the future intelligent economic system.

On April 12, ARCB officially held the Asia Launch Ceremony in Malaysia, gathering over a hundred representatives from government agencies, the business sector, the education sector, and youth students to witness the event, marking its official entry into a new phase of expansion in Asia.During the event, ARCB signed strategic cooperation memorandums with Kanzun Ventures and Rakyat Trustee, and the three parties will engage in deep cooperation in areas such as capital synergy, financial product development, and the construction of sustainable development mechanisms.At the same time, ARCB also completed the signing of a tripartite cooperation agreement with ReSkills and JLM AI Agent, focusing on education and the cultivation of technical talent. In addition, ARCB allocated 1.2 million USD in special funds to UiTM University to promote the JLM AI Agent artificial intelligence project into the campus system.

Gobi Partners announced an investment in Transak. Founded in 2019, Transak provides fiat and digital asset exchange capabilities through a single API for financial institutions, unifying KYC, AML, risk monitoring, and local payment integration.This investment aims to support Transak in expanding into the Asian market. Transak has established its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Hong Kong and plans to deepen integration with payment networks and banking partners in the ASEAN region.

According to CoinDesk, SBI Ripple Asia has completed the development of a token issuance platform based on the XRP Ledger and has registered as a prepaid payment tool issuer in Japan. Corporate users can now issue tokenized payment tools through this platform.

On April 8, the Frontier Digital Intelligence Ecosystem 2026 Asia-Pacific Summit will be held at the Anxiang Ruilai Ke Hotel in Hangzhou Xiaoshan, gathering 500 core practitioners from the Asia-Pacific region to focus on the deep integration of AI and Web3, and to jointly explore the next growth pole of the digital intelligence ecosystem.FRONTIER is a Web4.0 decentralized prediction market platform initiated by a subsidiary of Hard Rock International, built on the X208 protocol. With a "win-win" mechanism, it breaks the traditional single gameplay of prediction markets, and the golden track, heavily invested in by giants like Binance, Coinbase, and Robinhood, is welcoming new definers.

According to official news, the OpenClaw version 2026.3.31 was released this morning. The new version adds QQ bot integration (supporting private chat, group chat, and guild chat as well as media), LINE media sending capabilities, and real background task flow management (which can list, view, and cancel tasks), enhancing automation reliability.This version update emphasizes expansion into the Asian market, including better context, memory, and TTS support for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, as well as WhatsApp emoji reactions and Matrix room history streaming, aiming to cover developer communication channels beyond Slack or Discord.This update has received widespread praise from the community, but a few users reported excessive Exec approval prompts / Approval issues after the update, and a very small number of users reported occasional crashes or instability after the update.

According to Jin Shi's report, Lloyd Chan from Mitsubishi UFJ Bank stated in a research report that the Middle East conflict may become prolonged, and risk-averse sentiment along with high energy prices will drive up inflation in the United States, leading to sustained high U.S. interest rates, which will support the dollar.Chan pointed out that Asian currencies such as the Indian rupee, Philippine peso, South Korean won, and Thai baht face significant risks, as these countries rely on imported energy and are sensitive to high oil prices. Data shows that the dollar rose 0.5% against the Philippine peso to 60.763, having previously reached an intraday all-time high of 60.776.

According to tracking data from the Web3 asset data platform RootData X, in the past 7 days, the Asian cryptocurrency marketing agency Mango Labs has gained the most new followers among X (Twitter) top personalities. New influential figures following this project include Australian lion BroLeon (@BroLeon), crypto KOL Yuyue (@yuyue_chris), and Crypto Brave (@cryptobraveHQ).In addition, the project with the most followers among X top personalities also includes Megapot.

According to FinanceFeeds, the Central Bureau of Investigation of India has arrested suspect Sunil Nellathu Ramakrishnan (also known as Krish), who is suspected of being involved in a transnational human trafficking network related to Southeast Asian online fraud activities, and is identified as a key coordinator of the cross-border fraud network.This network lured Indian citizens to Thailand through fake recruitment and then transported them to scam hubs in Myanmar, Cambodia, and other places, forcing them to engage in activities such as cryptocurrency investment fraud and romance scams. Law enforcement agencies stated that such crimes utilize cryptocurrency assets for cross-border fund transfers, increasing the difficulty of tracking, and related investigations are still ongoing.

According to The Block, Animoca Brands announced an investment in the Avalanche blockchain native token AVAX and reached a strategic cooperation with Avalanche developer Ava Labs to jointly promote the development of the Avalanche ecosystem.A spokesperson for Animoca Brands declined to disclose the scale of the investment and other terms. In terms of cooperation, both parties will focus on deploying capital to Avalanche ecosystem projects, exploring product integration, and providing advisory support, with key areas including real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, entertainment, and digital identity. In terms of regional layout, the initial focus will be on Asia and the Middle East, with Animoca Brands stating that it has established regional infrastructure and institutional relationships in these two areas for commercial deployment of Avalanche ecosystem projects.

According to Jin10 data reports, there are market rumors that Japan and other Asia-Pacific countries plan to reach a $30 billion energy and mineral agreement with the United States.

Goldman Sachs analysts pointed out in a research report that the protraction of the Middle East conflict could put pressure on emerging economies in Asia. Goldman Sachs estimates that if the Strait of Hormuz is closed for six weeks, oil prices could rise to $85 per barrel.In this scenario, the region's inflation rate could increase by about 0.7 percentage points, with the highest sensitivity in the Philippines and Thailand. Supply disruptions could average a 0.5 percentage point drag on the region's real GDP growth, with Singapore being the most severely affected. Goldman Sachs added that almost all countries in the region could see a deterioration in their current account balances, led by Thailand and Singapore.