Hong Kong — Institutional participation in crypto in Asia is entering a more mature phase as regulators establish clear frameworks for stablecoins and exchange-traded funds. Large players now favor market-neutral strategies and regulated vehicles over direct, directional exposure to digital assets.
Vicky Wang, president of Amber Premium, highlighted this change during a panel discussion at Consensus Hong Kong. She noted that even though trading volumes reached $2.3 trillion by mid-2025, capital allocation remains prudent. “The institutional participation in Asia, I would say it is real, but at the same time it is very cautious,” Wang said. She observed that institutions prefer “a neutral market and yield strategy” rather than aggressive directional bets.
Fakhul Miah, managing director of GoMining Institutional, highlighted the recent approval of ETFs and perpetuals in Hong Kong as a major driver of liquidity. He noted that even traditional “megabanks” in Japan are now working on stable solutions. These developments allow traditional capital to enter the space through familiar structures. Miah explained that institutions must go through “risk committees and operational governance structures,” which historically did not exist for blockchain products.
Many Asian institutions are now focusing on tokenizing real-world assets and settling stablecoins. Wendy Sun, chief brand officer at Matrixport, noted that while these topics are popular, there remains a gap in internal treasury adoption. “For the internal treasury-based stablecoin, we are still waiting for the standard to be released,” Sun said. She argued that the behavior of these institutions is increasingly “rules-based and programmed” rather than seeking short-term gains.
Wang concluded that the future of the industry lies in the convergence of artificial intelligence and digital assets. “In the future, digital assets will not just be an alternative asset class or an alternative financial system,” Wang said. “This will be the financial layer of AI.”
