Hong Kong Special Commissioner | web3 summit: All young people come here

Guide: In the second piece of news sent to us by Twone, the GreenPill Chinese Community Xiangjiang Commissioner, she traced back to the history of Hong Kong, an old capitalist city. When it meets the young web3, what kind of sparks will it collide with? Does it really understand, or does it despise the younger boys because they don't wear suits and leather shoes?

Author: Twone

Standing in Victoria Harbour, looking at the bright lights on the other side and the scattered lights of the mansions in the middle of the mountain, I vaguely feel that I am in the center of a whirlpool, but I only feel the calm before the storm.

Hongkong. The place where old-fashioned capital and politics are surging has ushered in its own web3 narrative.

After returning from Hong Kong, I started to have a headache and fever. Coincidentally, many of the partners who attended the meeting were also infected with influenza A or the new crown. This article has been delayed for so long, largely because of this reason. I think this pandemic is like a metaphor for the web3 conference in Hong Kong: it spreads like a virus, infects everyone, and spreads web3.

Why Hong Kong?

The Four Seasons Hotel in Central Hong Kong once had an alias: Wangbei Tower. This is a temporary refuge for many bigwigs, because of its excellent location: here are the world's most famous investment banks and law firms. If necessary, they can provide any solution to wealth problems at any time: whitewashing, transfer, concealment . At the same time, it is also very close to the embassies of various countries in Hong Kong. It is also very convenient if you need to immigrate urgently, apply for asylum, or change your status. Downstairs of the hotel, there is a subway directly connected to the airport, and can directly connect to the wharf. The waterway and land transportation are very convenient. Some people describe "Wangbei Tower" like this: "Three functions in one place: you can harvest leeks, change your identity, and run your way."

Wangbei Tower can be said to be a microcosm of Hong Kong. Web3, which is characterized by decentralization and anonymity, provides an outlet for the flow and financing of many funds (including many restaurants and taxis that were criticized by many people at this conference, which can only be paid in cash, and cash itself is an anonymous transaction. the best way). Due to its location as a trading port and the intersection of East and West, Hong Kong also has a large number of middle men and white gloves active. At the same time, if you choose to leave or transit, Hong Kong is still a good choice for Chinese-speaking regions. Sun Yuchen broke through many obstacles and still came to Hong Kong, and appeared at the venue without incident and left gracefully. I think it is also partly due to the characteristics of Hong Kong.

Backed by the mainland, with strong resources and talent reserves in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong's ambition to assume the role of web3 narrative center in the Greater China region can be seen from the representatives of the government and industry representatives who participated in this conference: Chen Maobo (Hong Kong Financial Secretary ), Cai Zhonghui (Hong Kong Securities Regulatory Commission), Qiu Dagen (Member of Hong Kong Legislative Council), Ren Jingxin (CEO of Hong Kong Cyberport), Chen Jiaqi (Hong Kong Monetary Authority), basically covering the main departments related to financial technology. The speeches at the meeting also expressed many positive signals released by Hong Kong's active embrace of web3, including but not limited to policy support, financial support, talent introduction measures, etc. Of course, the regulatory support was also emphasized at the meeting, and it should have learned the lessons of FTX and other thunderstorms. If there are still many sickles who want to come here to arbitrage by exploiting loopholes, it will indeed be difficult.

And the topic that people are talking about is whether Hong Kong's active embrace of web3 implies the mainland's attitude? At the 2023 Digital Economy Summit, Hong Kong Chief Executive Li Jiachao stated that the "14th Five-Year Plan" and the construction of the Greater Bay Area will support Hong Kong's development into an international innovation and technology center. And in the twitter space where Hong Kong Cyberport's web3 support policies are fully interpreted, Chen Jiahao (co-chairman of Hong Kong Digital Finance Association) said that Hong Kong's web3 entrepreneurship will not be affected by mainland policies. The geopolitical economy between China and the United States, especially the technological war, is intensifying. As a buffer zone linking the East and the West, Hong Kong is very suitable for the development of some uncertain new things. At this web3 carnival conference, almost no Chinese capital was seen. On a certain level, not making a statement is the best acquiescence.

Of course, the development of conferences, the establishment of associations, and the holding of various social meetings are Hong Kong's traditional arts, and it is also what it is best at. When the stage is set up, the words are released, and the wind blows, it all depends on how things are done.

What projects are suitable for settling in Hong Kong?

With the favorable policies and funds, many web3 teams also chose to come to Hong Kong and settle in Cyberport one after another. It promises to provide start-ups with shared workspaces and offices, and entrepreneurial teams can apply for Cyberport's CCMF program and incubation program. Cyberport also promises to provide subsidies for Hong Kong's high prices, expensive labor, and expensive services. Perhaps, the web3 entrepreneurs in the mainland just need such a place to settle down.

According to PANews, zCloak Network officially entered the Cyberport Entrepreneurship Center on March 20, becoming one of the new members of the Cyberport community. According to Cyberport, more than 180 companies from around the world participated in the selection for this incubation program, and 45 companies were finally selected for the incubation program, including 6 blockchain technology companies including zCloak. There are still many teams like zCloak who choose to come to Hong Kong, and some project parties are actively preparing for the next round of applications.

However, due to Hong Kong's traditional financial and trade background, I think not all types of project parties are suitable for the atmosphere and development of Hong Kong. For example, at this conference, people focused more on public chains, Defi, exchanges, DID, Game Fi, ZK (zero-knowledge proof), etc., while Desci, network state, etc. are rarely heard in Hong Kong. There are very few people who discuss it, or even understand it.

Also, this Hong Kong web3 conference itself is more of an exhibition format, without any substantive development and cultivation of new projects; many guests did not get rid of Hong Kong's traditional suits and leather shoes, and some participants even complained that they were punished for wearing jeans. contempt. All this reflects the city's lack of innovation atmosphere. At the same time, Hong Kong lacks the development of the entire web2 traditional Internet era, and various Internet infrastructures such as convenient payment and online shopping have not been built. It is difficult to imagine where the web3 ecology can grow.

In contrast, the web3 activities carried out in places such as Tokyo and Montenegro in the same period of time showed completely different characteristics. For example, ETH Global Tokyo in Tokyo has a good technical atmosphere, and the on-site hackathon is in full swing; Montenegro highlights themes such as Desci and social experiments, with smaller circles and closer communication between people, which is conducive to the collision of ideas and in-depth exchanges.

People will always actively migrate to places with lush aquatic plants that are more suitable for living and living. I believe that different project parties can find their own suitable foothold in different ecology and thrive.

Those who come are young people

When the venue ended, crowds poured out of the convention center. As the crowd moved slowly, I heard two Hong Kong people in formal suits in front of me discussing: " All the young people here (all young people here). "

Hong Kong, a place where old-fashioned capital and wind and clouds are intertwined, whether it can understand the young web3, whether it can prop up the sky for the young web3, and whether it can cooperate with the young web3 for a win-win situation still needs to draw a question mark.

However, what is certain is that for a builder with a Chinese-speaking background, and the team development direction is suitable for the financial technology atmosphere in Hong Kong, then this city is a choice that can be considered.