Hong Kong: Institutional participation in cryptocurrencies across Asia is entering a more mature phase as regulators establish clear frameworks for stablecoins and exchange-traded funds. Large players now prefer market-neutral strategies and regulated vehicles over direct and directional exposure to digital assets.
Vicky Wang, president of Amber Premium, highlighted this change during a panel discussion at Consensus Hong Kong. He noted that while transaction volumes reached $2.3 trillion by mid-2025, capital allocation remains cautious. “I would say institutional involvement in Asia is real, but at the same time it is very cautious,” Wang said. He noted that institutions prefer a “profitability and market neutrality strategy” to aggressive directional bets.
Fakhul Miah, CEO of GoMining Institutional, pointed to the recent approval of ETFs and perpetuals in Hong Kong as a major liquidity driver. He noted that even traditional “megabanks” in Japan are now working on stablecoin solutions. These developments allow traditional capital to enter the space through family structures. Miah explained that institutions must go through “risk committees and operational governance structures,” which historically did not exist for on-chain products.
The focus of many Asian institutions has shifted towards tokenizing real-world assets and liquidating stablecoins. Wendy Sun, chief brand officer at Matrixport, noted that while these themes are popular, there remains a gap in internal treasury adoption. “For the domestic treasury-based stablecoin, we are still waiting for the standard to come out,” Sun said. He argued that the behavior of these institutions is becoming more “rules-based and programmed” rather than chasing short-term profits.
Wang concluded that the future of the industry depends on the convergence of artificial intelligence and digital assets. “In the future, digital assets will not simply be an alternative asset class or an alternative financial system,” Wang said. “It will be the financial layer of AI.”
