Hong Kong – Institutional crypto participation across Asia is moving into a more mature phase as regulators establish clear frameworks for stablecoins and exchange-traded funds. Major players now prefer market-neutral strategies and regulated vehicles to direct, directional exposure to digital assets.
Vicky Wang, president of Amber Premium, highlighted this shift during a panel discussion at Consensus Hong Kong. She noted that although transaction volume reached $2.3 trillion by mid-2025, capital allocation remains cautious. “The institutional participation in Asia, I would say it’s real, but at the same time it’s very cautious,” Wang said. She noted that institutions prefer “market neutral and return strategy” to aggressive directional bets.
Fakhul Miah, CEO of GoMining Institutional, pointed to the recent approval of ETFs and perpetuals in Hong Kong as a key driver of liquidity. He noted that even traditional “mega banks” in Japan are now working on stablecoin solutions. These developments allow traditional capital to enter the space through familiar structures. Miah explained that institutions must pass through “risk committees and operational governance structures” that historically did not exist for onchain products.
The focus of many Asian institutions has shifted towards real-world asset tokenization and stablecoin settlement. Wendy Sun, Chief Brand Officer at Matrixport, noted that while these topics are popular, there is still a gap in internal financial management. “For the internal treasury-based stablecoin, we are still waiting for the standard to come out,” Sun said. She argued that the behavior of these institutions is becoming more “rule-based and planned” rather than pursuing short-term gains.
Wang concluded that the future of the industry rests on the convergence of artificial intelligence and digital assets. “In the future, digital assets will not be a fair alternative asset class or an alternative financial system,” Wang said. “That will be the financial layer of AI.”
