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Hong Kong’s Crypto Resurgence: Insights from Edith Yeung

As the co-founder and general partner at early stage venture capital fund Race Capital, Edith Yeung has had a front-row seat on the development of the crypto sector, particularly in her hometown of Hong Kong. A seed investor in Solana when SOL was just $0.04, Yeung brings a wealth of experience and insight into the future of crypto in Asia.

Hong Kong’s Crypto Regulations: Building Liquidity is Key

With Hong Kong now home to seven SFC-licensed virtual asset trading platforms, Yeung sees this regulatory clarity as a major step forward for investor confidence. However, she emphasizes that licensing alone isn’t enough – liquidity is the other critical piece of the puzzle.

“Think of a trading platform like a brand-new highway: you can have the smoothest pavement and clearest signs, but if no cars are on it, drivers won’t bother. Similarly, no matter how many licenses you have, if there’s no active trading and liquidity, investors will hesitate to come aboard.”

– Edith Yeung, Race Capital

Yeung believes the key for Hong Kong now is to build not just the infrastructure but the traffic flow. With its rich financial history dating back over 150 years, Hong Kong boasts a deep pool of experienced TradFi professionals who can drive innovation and growth in the crypto space.

Asia’s Crypto Growth Potential

While the U.S. remains home to the largest crypto market in terms of institutional investors and builders, Yeung sees Asia as the region with the highest growth potential. In 2024, half of the top 10 countries ranked by crypto adoption were located in Asia.

Yeung expects the U.S. to continue setting the tone for crypto regulation and institutional adoption under the new Trump administration, with Asia following their lead thanks to its massive, young, crypto-native user base.

China’s Love/Hate Relationship with Crypto

As Hong Kong is part of China, Yeung views the emergence of pro-crypto regulations in Hong Kong as a positive sign for the mainland. However, with China’s 220 million retail investors sitting on nearly $21 trillion in savings and the country grappling with a property crisis and weak economy, she finds it difficult to predict when China will fully reopen to crypto.

Solana’s Bright Future

As one of Solana’s earliest investors, Yeung remains a long-term holder and supporter. She praises co-founders Anatoly Yakovenko and Raj Gokal’s dedication to building and supporting the developer community.

Yeung was particularly excited by the influx of established TradFi players like Fidelity, Citi, and PayPal speaking at Solana’s 2024 Breakpoint conference. To her, this validates Solana’s future and signals that blockchain technology is ready for mass adoption.

“The developer energy at the 2024 Breakpoint conference was high not only because of memecoins. The Firedancer team made huge technical advances last year, and I just love that Anatoly is still head-down geeking out with people like Jump Trading chief science officer Kevin Bowers and his team every day.”

– Edith Yeung, Race Capital

Bold Prediction: U.S. Bitcoin Reserve by 2025

Yeung’s most surprising prediction for 2025 is the establishment of a U.S. Bitcoin Reserve. With the U.S. currently holding approximately 207,189 bitcoins valued at over $20 billion, she believes this massive stockpile will drive the effort forward.

If realized, Yeung expects this move to drive up bitcoin prices and prompt other governments worldwide to follow suit, potentially changing the global financial landscape as we know it.

As Hong Kong continues to develop as a crypto hub, Yeung’s insights offer a glimpse into the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead. With her finger on the pulse of both the Asian and global crypto markets, she’ll undoubtedly have much more to share when she takes the stage at Consensus Hong Kong in 2025.