The "barbaric growth" era of Hong Kong, which has been somewhat sluggish, is back in the spotlight and standing at a crossroads of fate.

On August 27, Binance founder CZ unexpectedly visited the University of Hong Kong to have a dialogue with Professor Lin Chen. In the crypto circle, founders rarely need to shape their personal image by sharing their macro insights, making roundtables and forums often seem empty. However, CZ came well-prepared this time, sharing many valuable viewpoints. At the end of the dialogue, CZ gently put down the microphone: "I once thought I would never return to the Chinese-speaking world, but today in Hong Kong, I know the story is just beginning."

As CZ and Hong Kong's story begins anew, the wheel of the crypto world is also quietly turning. By 2025, the crypto industry has undergone significant changes. Over the past year, ETFs have gradually become the infrastructure of crypto finance. Once considered limited in imagination, RWA, stablecoins that exist more as infrastructure, and the DAT field originally cultivated solely by MicroStrategy have gained widespread attention this year, attracting joint focus from the Web3 and financial circles, becoming the "three driving forces" guiding industry development.

Data can prove this. As of the second quarter of 2025, the total market capitalization of tokenized RWA projects has exceeded $25 billion, growing 245 times over five years. By 2025, DAT companies cumulatively hold over 790,000 bitcoins (about 4% of the circulating supply) and 1.3 million ethers (about 1% of the circulating supply), with a total market value exceeding $100 billion. As of June 2025, the total scale of the stablecoin market is approximately $255 billion. Meanwhile, national teams have also stepped in, with the U.S. Congress, European Central Bank, Hong Kong Monetary Authority, and Securities and Futures Commission successively formulating regulatory measures.

Under the pull of these three driving forces, Hong Kong, which has been somewhat sluggish in the "barbaric growth" era, has finally returned to the spotlight and stands at a crossroads of fate.

DAT: The Natural Testing Ground of the Hong Kong Stock Market

DAT (Digital Asset Treasury Strategy Company) is a new species in the capital market. They have stockified the ability to hold and increase positions, allowing ordinary retail investors and institutional funds to indirectly hold bitcoin and ether. In the past few years, MicroStrategy has been cultivating this field in the U.S. stock market, almost becoming synonymous with DAT. However, by 2025, this model has spread globally: Metaplanet is trading at a high premium on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, while companies like SharpLink and Semler have also emerged.

However, the differences between the U.S. and Hong Kong stock markets suggest that Hong Kong may become another experimental ground for DAT.

• Differences in market capitalization and narrative: U.S. stock investors tend to focus on a company's fundamentals and sustainability, while the Hong Kong stock market has long accommodated more "theme-driven" companies. DAT itself is a product linked to narrative and assets, making it naturally suitable for incubation in the Hong Kong stock environment.

• Differences in corporate structure: In Asia, many tech companies, smaller market-cap industrial firms, and even traditional industry companies are exploring how to enter the crypto world through holding and issuing tokens. These companies face high listing thresholds and compliance costs in the U.S., but can find a foothold more easily in the Hong Kong market.

• Differences in investor structure: Hong Kong stock investors include local funds, capital flowing in from mainland China, and overseas capital. For alternative asset entries like DAT, investors are more likely to accept short-term premium-driven and cyclical opportunities, rather than demanding stable cash flow.

This means that the Hong Kong stock market can become a natural window for Asian companies to DAT-ify. Here, unlike the pattern of U.S. stock giants dancing alone, a number of smaller, diversified DAT companies may emerge: some focusing on single assets and passively holding long-term; others pursuing active trading to amplify cyclical returns; and even some balancing ecological investments by directing part of their funds into familiar on-chain tracks.

This diversification is gradually becoming evident. Recently, HashKey announced the launch of its DAT strategy, establishing a multi-currency treasury fund focused on the long-term allocation of core assets like bitcoin and ether; at the same time, it has partnered with Huajian Medical to help it become the first to incorporate ether into its reserves in the Hong Kong stock market, establishing a compliant holding and disclosure system. Such cases illustrate that Hong Kong can not only attract companies to try the DAT model but also has the institutional and infrastructural support to allow different strategies of DAT companies to find a foothold.

Stablecoins: From Sovereign Strategy to Hong Kong Opportunity

In the global financial landscape, stablecoins are quietly rising from being a "safe haven" in the market to becoming a national-level strategic reserve tool. In the past, the global influence of the U.S. dollar relied more on SWIFT, the offshore dollar market, and U.S. Treasury bonds; today, dollar stablecoins like Tether and USDC are also included. These tokens correspond to real dollar assets, especially U.S. Treasury bonds, allowing overseas investors to hold dollar assets in digital form without directly entering the U.S. financial system. It can be said that stablecoins have become a new entry point for the globalization of the dollar, playing an increasingly important role in global currency competition.

Because of this, stablecoins are not just supporting roles for exchanges but are gradually becoming strategic reserves that sovereign nations must face. The U.S. passed the GENIUS Act this year, enshrining the legality of stablecoins in law and clearly distinguishing them from central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). The underlying logic is that central bank currencies are not flexible in cross-border circulation, while market-driven stablecoins can maximize the international reach of the dollar.

Against this backdrop, Hong Kong stands at the intersection of politics and institutions. On one hand, it is the most open financial center under the Chinese system, with a mature capital market and a regulatory environment that allows for free flow of foreign exchange; on the other hand, it is closely connected to the global financial system, making it a potential experimental ground for the institutionalization and compliance of stablecoins. This means that Hong Kong has the opportunity to position itself as an international clearing port for stablecoins: it can connect with dollar-pegged stablecoins while also incubating local fiat stablecoin products.

However, the other side of opportunity is challenge. Hong Kong's financial regulation traditionally emphasizes risk control, so its stablecoin draft places greater emphasis on KYC, custody, and information disclosure, which creates some tension with the market's demand for convenient circulation. If regulation is too tight, it may weaken innovation momentum; if too loose, it may struggle to gain the credibility expected of an international financial center. Finding a balance between risk and innovation will determine whether Hong Kong can secure a place in the future stablecoin landscape.

Ultimately, the rise of stablecoins is an inevitable result of changes in the monetary system. As a financial node connecting China and the U.S., as well as Asia and the world, Hong Kong is both a bearer of challenges and potentially an amplifier of opportunities in this process.

RWA: Price Discovery and Hong Kong's Unique Role

The tokenization of real-world assets (RWA) has become a focal point in the capital markets in recent years. Stablecoins have demonstrated the feasibility of asset tokenization with U.S. Treasury bonds, while more types of financial products—from short-term bonds, fund shares to real estate and commodities—are gradually entering the blockchain experimental field. The global RWA market capitalization has achieved hundreds of times growth in five years, reflecting that institutions and investors are seeking a more efficient and transparent way to carry assets.

The development of RWA faces three key challenges. The first is liquidity. Many assets do not fluctuate much in traditional markets, and after being tokenized, they lack sufficient trading depth to attract enough buying and selling power. The second is regulatory complexity. Different jurisdictions have vastly different definitions of securities, commodities, and tokens, often facing multiple compliance pressures in cross-border operations. The third is product mechanism. Ideally, tokenized assets should remain closely linked to real assets, but currently, some products face issues where price discrepancies cannot converge, making arbitrage logic difficult to establish.

In this context, Hong Kong has unique market value. Hong Kong connects mainland capital, international investors, and local funds, while encompassing diverse products such as stocks, bonds, commodities, and funds. This market structure gives Hong Kong a natural validation function: in a scenario where different assets and market participants converge, it can test whether tokenized products truly possess price discovery capabilities. Through unified trading standards, Hong Kong can provide a more transparent and credible pricing environment for RWA, thereby reducing efficiency losses caused by fragmented markets.

This process requires reliable market infrastructure. Licensed exchanges and public chains play a crucial role here. For example, HashKey promotes the pilot of tokenized money market funds through compliant exchanges while also exploring compliant and secure ETF custody solutions using its own public chain, both of which effectively support the market. Such parallel practices provide real-world cases for tokenizing different types of assets.

For Hong Kong, RWA is a window to showcase its competitiveness as a financial center. Existing cross-border investment and financing experience, mature financial infrastructure, and a gradually improving regulatory framework make Hong Kong a key place for validating and promoting RWA. If this positioning is effectively implemented, Hong Kong can not only establish a leading advantage in the Asia-Pacific region but may also play a more far-reaching role in the global tokenization wave.

Conclusion

"Today in Hong Kong, the story is just beginning." This phrase carries the sentiment of a wanderer returning home and reflects the tangible changes happening in Hong Kong's Web3 ecosystem.

Hong Kong is gradually becoming a clearing port, bringing together offshore dollar stablecoins, overseas companies' DAT holdings, and the flow of Asian capital into a single matching pool. Institutions and markets intertwine here, forming new mechanisms for price discovery and capital circulation. The future landscape may feature parallel infrastructures. Licensed platforms like HashKey are building bridges, each seeking breakthroughs in custody, matching, tokenized products, and corporate services. Their collective efforts will determine whether Hong Kong can truly realize this role as a clearing port and write a new chapter in the global financial landscape.

免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。