Consensus 2026 Hong Kong: What Endures When Markets Mature? The Answer from Stellar and Topnod

Market maturity shifts focus from speculation to infrastructure, with stablecoins and real world assets becoming foundational.

Web3 adoption requires abstraction layers that remove friction around accounts, chains, gas, and data for mainstream users.

The Stellar and Topnod partnership highlights how secure distribution and RWA depth can drive the next phase of global Web3 growth.

WHEN NARRATIVES FADE, INFRASTRUCTURE REMAINS

On stage at Consensus 2026 Hong Kong, the conversation between Raja Chakravorti and Antonio Liu was not about price targets or market timing. There was no attempt to energize the room with bullish sentiment. Instead, they focused on a deeper question. When markets truly mature, what actually stays?

This is a question that goes beyond cycles.

Over the past decade, Web3 has grown through narratives. Digital gold. DeFi summer. NFTs. Metaverse. Restaking. Modular chains. Each wave brought new users and strong momentum. Each wave also left noise behind. The industry expanded quickly, but it also corrected itself again and again.

In Hong Kong, a global financial hub, the tone felt different. The focus shifted from price performance to structure. From tokens to assets. From chain speed to what chains can support.

Raja pointed out a clear trend. Stablecoins and real world assets are becoming the foundation. Tokenized US Treasuries are now common among institutions. Money market funds on chain are no longer experiments. RWA is no longer a demo. It represents real capital moving on chain.

Antonio added another key point. Asia is not simply copying the West. Asia has its own asset structure and regional liquidity dynamics. Many local assets were once limited to local markets. Tokenization changes that. Once these assets move on chain, they gain global distribution.

The real shift is not that assets are on chain. The real shift is that assets can now travel across borders.

When markets mature, speculation fades. Infrastructure remains.

FROM BUILDING FOR WEB3 TO PREPARING FOR WEB2

Antonio made an important observation. For more than ten years, Web3 has been building mainly for itself.

Infrastructure, protocols, bridges, DeFi strategies, staking models. Most products were designed for native Web3 users. These are users who understand seed phrases, gas fees, and cross chain mechanics.

But that situation is changing.

Web3 is no longer limited to crypto native communities. Ordinary Web2 users now talk about stablecoins, tokenized stocks, and on chain yield. These topics appear in social conversations and online discussions far beyond technical circles.

This means Web3 narratives are expanding outside their original audience.

The challenge is no longer technical readiness. Infrastructure is complex and mature. The question is whether it is ready for non technical users.

Antonio compared today’s Web3 to the early internet. Decades ago, people needed to understand DNS, HTTP, and dial up modems. The technical barrier stopped many from participating.

Web3 feels similar today.

Seed phrases, gas fees, multiple chains, bridges, swaps, staking, restaking. For professionals, these are tools. For average users, they are obstacles.

Mass adoption will not come from teaching Web2 users to become Web3 experts. It will come from hiding Web3 complexity behind familiar experiences.

When technology becomes invisible, the market is truly mature.

FOUR LAYERS OF ABSTRACTION: MAKING THE CHAIN INVISIBLE

Topnod’s approach is not to build a flashier wallet. It is to build a smoother entry point.

Antonio described four layers of abstraction.

The first is account abstraction. Seed phrases are powerful for security, but they create stress. Topnod allows users to register with social accounts or email. Private keys are protected through trusted execution environments and device level security modules. The wallet remains non custodial. Only users control their assets. But users no longer need to remember complex phrases.

The second is chain abstraction. Users should not need to see the blockchain. They should see what they can do. Trade assets. Invest in RWA. Explore yield strategies. View their portfolio performance. Stellar operates underneath, but it does not need to appear in the user interface.

The third is gas abstraction. For Web2 users, paying a transaction fee in a different token makes little sense. Topnod handles gas in the background. The system can manage costs and adjust later within the flow. Users do not need to understand gas at all.

The fourth is data abstraction. Different chains and DeFi protocols present information in technical formats. Topnod converts these into clear portfolio views and simple reports. Users see gains, losses, and allocations. They do not see contract logic.

Together, these layers reduce friction.

The blockchain does not disappear technically. It disappears from the user’s awareness.

When users no longer talk about the chain, the infrastructure has succeeded.

SECURITY, EXPERIENCE, AND THE ROLE OF STELLAR

Raja raised a long standing issue in the industry. There is often a trade off between security and usability.

The traditional view treats this as a zero sum choice. Improve security and you reduce convenience. Improve convenience and you weaken security.

Antonio offered a different perspective. If technology does not improve, resources are fixed. But when technology advances, total capacity grows. It becomes possible to improve both security and user experience at the same time.

Account abstraction, mobile hardware security, and trusted execution environments are examples of this shift.

In this context, choosing the right blockchain matters.

Topnod selected Stellar not because of marketing claims about speed, but because of asset depth. Stellar already hosts a wide range of real world assets and stablecoins. It has a complete ecosystem with DeFi protocols, bridges, and swap infrastructure.

For a wallet targeting Web2 users, the key question is simple. Are there meaningful assets available? Are there real opportunities to invest and trade?

Distribution unlocks value, but it must be built on secure and reliable infrastructure.

At Consensus 2026 Hong Kong, the message was clear. The next phase of Web3 will not be defined by more complex protocols or faster chains.

It will be defined by simplicity.

When users only see assets and results, and no longer see the complexity behind them, that is when markets have truly matured.

〈Consensus 2026 Hong Kong: What Endures When Markets Mature? The Answer from Stellar and Topnod〉這篇文章最早發佈於《CoinRank》。