Hong Kong Web3 Carnival Recap | Chen Long "The Three Waves of Information Technology and the Three Waves of Fintech"

Written by: Wanxiang Blockchain Laboratory

On the morning of April 20, Chen Long, Secretary-General of Luohan Hall, delivered a keynote speech titled “Three Waves of Information Technology and Three Waves of Financial Technology” at the opening ceremony of the 2026 Hong Kong Web3 Carnival. The following text has been compiled from on-site shorthand, with minor edits that do not affect the original meaning.

Chen Long: Good morning! I’m very honored to be able to attend today’s grand event.

There is a quote that I have always found inspiring. It comes from business thinker Peter Drucker, who once said that the most important job of executives is to find the future that is happening.

In fact, we are in a breakthrough period of the information age. Correctly understanding and participating in this great development is an important matter for everyone. This morning, I listened carefully to the speeches before me. They covered many missions, strategies, and actions, so I cannot add too much in this regard. But I believe that, given these enormous changes, the Hong Kong Web3 Carnival every year is actually a milestone—a milestone for reflection, and also a milestone for looking ahead. Therefore, in this regard, I’d like to share some thoughts.

The topic I will discuss with you today is: the three waves of information technology and the three waves of global fintech. Under this title, I would like to share two viewpoints.

First, I think perhaps it is time for us to rethink what Web3 really is. To understand this, we need to go back to the first principles of information technology. What does that mean? If you think about it carefully, information actually has three fundamental pillars. First, thinking itself is a form of information technology. Digitalized information can now be used to perform increasingly intelligent thinking tasks, from simple calculations to artificial intelligence. Second, connection is also a form of information technology. The internet greatly reduces the costs of communication, interaction, and expansion. Its impact is so significant that we now use the concept of Web3 to describe the enormous potential of the future. Just as importantly, whether it is thinking or communication, information should be easy to verify and worthy of trust. So we need to combine thinking technology, connection technology, and trust technology. The synergy among these three technologies defines our information age.

And these three technologies are also working in concert. For AI thinkers and believers, today it is already possible to expect more intelligent networks of connection. A trust framework that is more friendly to agents, along with smart contracts, actually forms trusted automated contracts. Only now does it truly become possible to deliver on the functions that its name promises. Without trustworthy content, AI may be contaminated, and the financial industry will never properly implement the “Know Your Customer” principle.

So my first core point is this: regardless of whether it is called Web3 or not, a new vision for the information age has emerged. This new vision includes part of the original intent behind Web3, but in many aspects it has also changed. For example, initially many people wanted a world completely free from central authority, but now it has moved toward a hybrid governance model. Initially, many people considered being able to fully bypass traditional banks for settlement, but now banks are still a very important part of the infrastructure, and they must update their underlying architectures to meet requirements for accessibility and compliance. In addition, many people originally imagined permissionless access without institutional support, but now it is a hybrid on-chain system where public and private coexist.

So what I see is a new vision for the information age that goes beyond the original web3 definition. Among the most interesting and most striking aspects are the synergy of these three technologies: they define the future and bring many possibilities.

Why is this important?

Because this is the first principle of the information revolution, and first principles actually determine the future. Just as we used to think about the internet and Web3, and now we discuss artificial intelligence—these are all part of the information revolution. But in reality, it is first principles that guide the future.

Now, let me continue with my second viewpoint.

It is precisely because of the three waves of information technology that we have, in fact, experienced—or are currently experiencing—three waves of fintech. In the past, when we talked about internet finance and Web3, and now when we talk about artificial intelligence, we rarely think this way. Therefore, I think it is worth looking back at the past.

The first wave of fintech can be described as inclusive finance empowered by the internet, and its results have been enormous. Think about payment systems. Today, globally there are more than 3 billion mobile payment accounts. Credit loans can be decided within one second, and loan amounts can be as low as 1 dollar. Data has become a new form of collateral, just as Nobel laureate Bengt Holmstrom described in the beginning. For participants, platforms provide new entry points, but traditional financial institutions also effectively accept the internet. So we end up with a hybrid framework of platforms and institutions. At this stage, China achieved world-leading capabilities. And it’s not only in fintech—anyone living in China can personally feel that this has become a way of life. China leads in a mobile lifestyle, and this part is owed to the first wave of fintech.

The second wave of fintech can be described as the digitization of trust driven by blockchain. It has several periods—each period validates and falsifies itself, learning what constitutes reasonable products and what the correct base infrastructure is. At this stage, we see that trust technology can create valuable new assets, and it can also be programmed into new applications. As a result, trust technology can be used to replace major financial functions. Ultimately, this wave of trust technology can be integrated and standardized, so that it becomes a fundamental component of a new financial system.

Although this stage is still in its early days, the emergence of AI makes it necessary, because in the world of agents, it has become crucial to establish a trust system that requires no human involvement. We are entering the third wave of fintech.

What kind of financial system will emerge with the third wave? Such a financial system will operate more continuously and have stronger real-time capabilities. It will become more transparent from opacity. But within its boundaries—you must prove what you need to prove, and you can hide what you want to hide. This will be a shift from “heavy on the middle layer” to “heavy on the infrastructure.” When you combine the value created by these three stages, we will see many possibilities.

Not long ago, an important figure asked me: since we already have financial markets, why do we still need RWA? If you think about it carefully, this is actually the first time in history that the compliance of financial assets can be programmed, and collateral can be made liquid. At present, 90% of collateral cannot do this. Meanwhile, market access can be pushed further downward, risk can be greatly reduced through settlement, and more asset categories can be covered.

Where are these waves developing the fastest right now? In fact, over the past year, the fastest growth has been in Asia-Pacific, Africa, and Latin America. Why is that? Because these places lack financial infrastructure, or their monetary systems are not truly reliable. So you can see that this provides more potential for financial inclusion, drives real economic development, and has real value.

Just as importantly, a large portion of the use cases for these kinds of assets is to choose them as a hedge against unreliable currencies. Think about tokenized gold or other on-chain assets—the availability of this option is very important. It forces authorities to regulate their own behavior and build a more resilient financial system.

Now, with the help of AI, trust can truly be programmed, intelligence can be verified, and value can be quantified. If we consider financial inclusion, the current coverage is not only about humans—it actually extends to AI agents as well. This is expected to reduce transaction costs by 99%, shorten settlement times to the seconds level, and make capital more efficient, with decision-makers being either humans or AI agents.

Finally, as an economist, let me summarize my thoughts with another quote.

Ronald Coase wrote a famous paper about the nature and boundaries of organizations. Later, another Nobel Prize–winning economist, Douglass North, found through research that in the United States in 1970, 45% of GDP was actually related to transaction costs. Today, from the perspective of these three breakthrough waves in information technology, we can imagine how much potential there is when connection, thinking, and trust technologies are combined.

In the past, China demonstrated world-class advanced digital finance. I believe that in the future, both mainland China and Hong Kong will have enormous development potential. I see a lot of enthusiasm here, and I also see a lot of progress, and I’m very excited. In fact, in Shanghai, I am doing some similar things to promote this process, and I look forward to more exchanges with you all. After all, this is the future—a future that is happening. Thank you all!

More highlights to revisit:

Hong Kong Web3 Carnival Review | Fan Wenzhong “The Integration of AI and Web3: The Rise of Decentralized Autonomous Economy (DAE)”

Xiao Feng and Vitalik Buterin’s full roundtable conversation is here!

Xiao Feng: Innovation in the Intelligent Agent Economy—The Fusion Revolution of AI Token, Blockchain Token, and Fully Homomorphic Encryption

Mountains and seas gather wisdom, winds and clouds witness together! The 2026 Hong Kong Web3 Carnival comes to a successful close

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