An investor who was among the very first financiers in Solana states structure liquidity is now essential to Hong Kong’s advancement as a crypto center.
Upgraded Jan 3, 2025, 6:53 p.m. UTCPublished Jan 3, 2025, 5:09 p.m. UTC
As the co-founder and basic partner at early phase equity capital fund Race Capital, Edith Yeung has had a front-row seat on the advancement of the crypto sector, especially in Hong Kong, where she was born and raised. Most significantly, she was a seed financier in Solana, investing $250,000 when SOL was valued at simply $0.04, and likewise was an early financier in Lightning Network. Given that 2017, Yeung has actually likewise authored the China Internet report, a prominent yearly study of innovation patterns in China.
Here, Yeung, who will be a speaker at Consensus Hong Kong, talks about Hong Kong’s continuous advancement as a crypto center, her take on China’s position towards crypto, what she visualizes for Solana and one huge crypto forecast for 2025.
This series is given you by Consensus Hong Kong. Come and experience the most prominent occasion in Web3 and Digital Assets, Feb.18-20. Register today and conserve 15% with the code CoinDesk15.
Interview has actually been condensed and gently modified for clearness.
How do you see crypto guidelines establishing in HK in 2025? Do you believe more crypto business will end up being certified by the SFC in 2025?
It’s amazing to see that Hong Kong now has 7 SFC-licensed virtual property trading platforms. From a financier’s viewpoint, having a clear licensing program is a significant advance. Regulative clearness and predictability resemble well-lit roadways– they provide financiers the self-confidence to drive forward without stressing over unforeseen detours.
That stated, licensing alone isn’t enough. Liquidity is the other crucial piece of the puzzle. Consider a trading platform like a new highway: you can have the best pavement and clearest indications, however if no automobiles are on it, motorists will not trouble. No matter how numerous licenses you have, if there’s no active trading and liquidity, financiers will think twice to come aboard.
The secret for Hong Kong now is to construct not simply the facilities however the traffic circulation– since a terrific platform without liquidity resembles an empty highway going no place.
What sort of function do you see Hong Kong establishing in regards to the crypto sector, particularly in relation to the United States? What about Asia more broadly?
Hong Kong is the New York of Asia. Exchange Square is generally Wall Street– a 24/7 monetary powerhouse with skyrocketing high-rise buildings and streets filled with traders, financiers and lenders with energy that never ever gives up. If you are a crypto home builder or financier, you will discover lots of TradFi skills (traders, market makers, and so on) in Hong Kong.
To construct an effective TradFi or DeFi business, you require to hire particular kinds of skill that are tough to discover even in Silicon Valley.
