Hong Kong Web3 Festival: The Agent Economy and RWA Reshaping Global Finance Beyond the Event

HONG KONG, June 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Jointly hosted by Wanxiang Blockchain Labs and HashKey Group and organised by W3ME, the 4th Hong Kong Web3 Festival continues to resonate globally well after its conclusion. Drawing tens of thousands of participants worldwide, the event not only generated meaningful economic activity in Hong Kong but also reinforced the city's role as a convening hub for regulators, traditional financial institutions, technology innovators and investors.

What sets the Hong Kong Web3 Festival apart from many other industry gatherings is its unusually high concentration of decision-makers. International attendees accounted for over 60%, including founders, institutional investors, listed company executives and high-net-worth individuals. Delegations led by economist Ren Zeping, HKU Business School executive education cohorts, and senior executives from listed firms all point to a clear shift: Web3 is moving beyond crypto-native discourse into a strategic agenda for mainstream capital and the real economy.

Beyond networking and discussions, the festival delivered a series of clear policy signals, technology roadmaps and commercial directions. The Honourable Paul CHAN Mo-po, GBM, GBS, MH, JP, Financial Secretary of the Government of Hong Kong, described the convergence of Web3 and artificial intelligence as a transformative force capable of reshaping industries and business models. Mr Joseph H. L. CHAN, JP, Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau, Hong Kong, highlighted the four-pillar "LEAP" framework introduced under Hong Kong's Digital Asset Development Policy Statement 2.0, noting that legislative work is underway and draft bills are expected in 2026.

Further reinforcing Hong Kong's commitment to digital asset development, Dr. YIP Chee Hang, Executive Director of Intermediaries, Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong, announced that licensed virtual asset trading platforms would be allowed to facilitate secondary market trading of authorised tokenised funds, widely seen as one of the most significant regulatory developments of the festival. Duncan Chiu, Legislative Council Member (Technology & Innovation Constituency), Hong Kong, also emphasised that regulatory clarity is fundamental to industry growth, adding that Hong Kong's stability and transparency remain key competitive advantages in attracting compliant global projects.

Technology development was another central theme of the event. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin outlined a roadmap focused on scalability, security and long-term resilience. In the near term, Ethereum's priorities include broader deployment of zkEVM technologies and preparations for a future shaped by quantum computing.

At the same time, discussions increasingly moved beyond infrastructure and toward the future economic systems that emerging technologies may enable. Dr. Xiao Feng, Chairman of Wanxiang Blockchain, Chairman and CEO of HashKey Group, argued that the convergence of AI tokens, blockchain tokens and privacy-preserving computing will give rise to an "Agent Economy", with programmable digital currency as its core foundation. He added that AI tokens should be viewed as productive assets rather than money, while the "lifeblood" of future systems will be programmable money designed for machines.

Discussions around RWA and tokenisation highlighted a broader shift from product-centric to service-based models, where tokenisation lowers access costs to high-value assets and enables subscription or usage-based pricing structures. Industry participants noted that this model is increasingly relevant to emerging sectors such as robotics, drones and intelligent equipment. Looking ahead, intelligent devices are expected to carry their own digital identities and wallets, with machine-to-machine payments gradually complementing human transactions. Stablecoins, with their programmability, 24/7 availability and borderless nature, are widely seen as the preferred settlement layer for a machine-driven economy. The consensus is that large-scale adoption will be driven by utility and real economic demand rather than education or speculation.

The growing involvement of traditional financial institutions further underscored the industry's evolution. Fu Peng, Chief Economist of Bitfire Group, argued that digital assets are following a trajectory similar to fixed income, currencies and commodities markets, evolving toward a "FICC+C" allocation framework. Participation from institutions such as Sharplink, BlackRock, JPMorgan underscores the accelerating convergence between traditional finance and the digital asset sector.

After four editions, the Hong Kong Web3 Festival has gradually evolved into a key global platform for digital asset dialogue, fostering sustained engagement among policymakers, enterprises and investors. As Hong Kong continues to advance a development strategy that balances regulatory clarity with technological innovation, its digital asset ecosystem is entering a new phase of growth. Under the dual engines of compliance and innovation, Hong Kong's digital economy is accelerating into a more complex and structurally deeper phase, further reinforcing its institutional strengths and resilience as an international financial centre.

SOURCE Hong Kong Web3 Festival