The 2026 Hong Kong Web3 Carnival kicks off, with a four-day agenda setting the new direction for the industry

Day 1: Institutional entry and AI integration, Web3 enters a new phase of compliance

On the first day of the conference, discussions centered on institutional integration, AI-Web3 synergy, and tokenization models, marking Web3's official departure from the grassroots era and its entry into a new era driven by both institutionalization and intelligence. Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan and other political leaders attended and delivered speeches, reiterating Hong Kong's strategic positioning as a global hub for digital assets, and revealing the progress of the implementation of the stablecoin regulatory framework and the issuance of licenses, clearing compliance hurdles for institutional capital to enter the market.

At the forum, traditional financial institutions engaged in in-depth dialogues with Web3 projects. Wall Street giants such as BlackRock and Grayscale shared their practices in asset tokenization and explored the regulatory pathways for the on-chain listing of real-world assets (RWA) such as stocks, bonds, and real estate. The synergy between AI and Web3 emerged as a technological focal point, encompassing areas from smart contract auditing and intelligent on-chain data analysis to AI agent-driven decision-making in decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO). These two cutting-edge technologies have evolved from mere concepts to a deep integration, giving birth to a new paradigm of the intelligent economy.

The next day: Financial infrastructure innovation, with stable coins and digital payments as core engines

The agenda for the second day was set to focus on financial infrastructure innovation, stablecoin development, and digital payments, directly addressing the core pain points of Web3's large-scale application. With the official implementation of Hong Kong's "Stablecoin Regulation" and the issuance of the first batch of stablecoin licenses, compliant stablecoins have become a crucial bridge connecting traditional finance and the cryptocurrency market. The participating guests engaged in discussions around central bank digital currency, cross-border settlement of compliant stablecoins, and decentralized payment networks, exploring a new global payment system that is secure, efficient, and inclusive.

In terms of financial infrastructure innovation, institutional-level DeFi solutions, compliant custody systems, and cross-chain interconnectivity have become hot topics of discussion. The industry consensus is that only by building a secure, transparent, and regulatory-compliant underlying infrastructure comparable to traditional finance can Web3 truly accommodate the entry of trillion-scale funds and move from niche circles to mainstream commercial applications.

Day 3: Advancement in the Ethereum ecosystem, acceleration of industry standardization

The third day of the conference focused on the development of the Ethereum ecosystem and industry standardization. As the largest public blockchain ecosystem of Web3, the evolution of Ethereum directly determines the industry ceiling. Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, and other core developers attended the conference to share key breakthroughs such as the progress of Ethereum 2.0, Layer 2 scaling, and smart contract security optimization. At the same time, ecological application cases such as decentralized social networking, blockchain gaming, and AI+DApp were showcased, demonstrating the full-stack evolution of Ethereum from underlying technology to business scenarios.

Industry standardization has become a core issue, led by the Hong Kong Web3.0 Standardization Association, with global project developers, institutions, and regulators jointly formulating technical, security, and compliance standards. From token issuance regulations and data privacy protection to cross-chain protocol compatibility and anti-money laundering risk control systems, the construction of standardization is accelerating, laying a solid foundation of rules for the global and large-scale development of Web3.

Closing Day: Institutional Asset Management and Safety Guarantee, Building a Solid Foundation for Industry Development

The final day of the conference centered around institutional digital asset management, blockchain security, and academic research, aiming to ensure the long-term stable development of the industry. After institutional funds entered the market, the core topics became the compliant custody, risk control, valuation system, and tax compliance of digital assets. The integration of traditional asset management experience and Web3 technology is driving institutional digital asset management towards professionalization and systematization.

The Blockchain Security and Academic Research Forum focuses on cutting-edge areas such as smart contract vulnerabilities, on-chain attack prevention, privacy computation, and zero-knowledge proofs, with academia and industry jointly tackling technical challenges. Meanwhile, the conference released multiple Web3 academic research reports covering diverse dimensions such as economic models, regulatory technology, and social governance, providing theoretical support and innovative ideas for industry development.