HK Web3 Festival Roundtable: Asia-Pacific's "RWA Moment": Hong Kong vs Singapore

ChainCatcher on-site report, Celine Tan, Head of Liquidity Distribution at BNY Mellon Investment Management Hong Kong Limited, Mirae Asset Securities (HK) Limited Digital Asset Strategy Head Kelly Sohn, Hamilton Lane Digital Asset Head Victor Jung, and JPMorgan Chase Global Investment Banking Managing Director Xu Ping jointly attended the HK Web3 Feastival roundtable discussion sharing “The RWA Moment in Asia-Pacific: Hong Kong vs Singapore”.

The participating guests generally believe that currently, RWA is moving from concept validation to broader implementation, driven mainly by gradually maturing technology, increasingly clear regulatory frameworks, and rising market demand for stable, income-generating asset allocations.

Kelly Sohn stated that this round of RWA warming is different from previous instances and is not driven by a single factor, but rather the combined effect of technology, regulation, and capital flow. She also pointed out that assets more suitable for tokenization at this stage include money market funds, commodities, and other standardized products, and that the combination of stablecoins and tokenized assets will further enhance on-chain trading and settlement efficiency.

Xu Ping said that Singapore has become more cautious overall after the FTX incident, with a focus more on institutional investors; in contrast, Hong Kong has advantages in retail access, licensing systems, and market innovation tolerance, making it more attractive to exchanges, stablecoin issuers, and custodians. She also mentioned that banks will play key roles in infrastructure, custody, and payment settlement within the RWA ecosystem.

Victor Jung stated that the market has previously focused too much on institutional narratives, but retail is also an important source of demand for tokenization. He summarized the current demand into two categories: one is to gain more returns through on-chain activities, and the other is to reduce costs by improving efficiency. In his view, the industry’s driving force has shifted from early-stage technology supply to genuine investor demand.

The roundtable discussion also mentioned that for RWA to further expand applications in the next stage, issues such as regulatory clarity, institutional infrastructure readiness, and investor education still need to be addressed, as these factors remain key variables influencing further market development.