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Background:

Web3, sometimes referred to as the “Semantic Web”, enhances the machine readability of web content and could usher in a more intelligent, interconnected, and decentralised internet, turbocharging decentralised finance and fintech blockchain applications.

These innovations have the potential to reshape financial services to be more inclusive and equitable, greatly enhancing international trade and the competitiveness, and reputations, of financial centres that are at the forefront of innovation.

However, DeFi applications also have the potential to bring certain risks, such as the ease of fraud and money laundering, strip protections from customers. Such risks require careful regulatory attention to prevent negative impact on national economies and the global financial system.

Given these dual potentials, an enabling regulatory framework for innovation is crucial, and financial regulators are the bodies that must walk a tightrope between these two outcomes – too heavy handed an approach will see innovation stifled and businesses fleeing to overseas competitors, too light a touch will result in damage to markets.

This webinar looks at how financial centres can support Web3 and FinTech whilst protecting markets and customers, and unveils the latest research from Z/Yen, which was commissioned by Hong Kong’s Financial Services Development Council. Our speakers will unpick the challenges facing various stakeholders in the ecosystem, including regulators and the private sector. They will examine different approaches to foster an enabling regulatory framework for innovation and reveal the insights gained from exchanges with web3 innovators in Hong Kong on the island’s efforts to stimulate innovation in Web3 and Fintech.

Agenda:

09:00 BST   Introduction

09:05 BST   A Hong Kong perspective

- Jupiter Zheng, Partner, Liquid funds & Research, HashKey

- Sean Lee, Co-founder & CSO, IDA; Co-Chair, Policy & Regulatory Subcommittee, Web3 Harbour; Senior Advisor, Crypto Council for Innovation

09:25 BST   An Enabling Regulatory Framework For Innovation: Web3 & FinTech: Simon Mills

09:40 BST   Q&A

09:45 BST   Close

Speakers:

Sean Lee is an experienced leader in Web3 and Fintech, devoted to regulatory advocacy and transformation of digital assets and currencies. Currently, he is the co-founder and CSO of IDA, leading the strategic direction of its stablecoin and digital asset business.

Sean is also a senior advisor for the Crypto Council for Innovation, a global alliance engaging with regulators and policymakers to advocate for digital assets and cryptocurrencies.

Previously, he was the CEO of the Algorand Foundation, an MIT-incubated layer-1 blockchain protocol that reached the top-10 by network valuation under his leadership.

Sean is currently a mentor at the MIT Entrepreneurship & Fintech Innovation Node and an elected member of the Cyberport Entrepreneurship Committee Advisory Group of the Hong Kong SAR Government. Before crypto and blockchain, Sean held leadership positions in cloud computing and open-source software development companies, working closely with leading financial services institutions on Wall Street and in Asia.

Jupiter Zheng, CFA, is a partner at HashKey Capital. He is responsible for licensed fund investment，ETF, blockchain and digital asset research business. He has previously worked at Zhongtai Securities International and Bocom International, where he served as the Chief Researcher in the Research Department for many years and is familiar with international financial markets. He has professional and systematic research experience in equity, financial technology, and digital asset management. He holds dual master's degrees in Operational Research and Business Statistics from the University of Kent in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong Baptist University, as well as a bachelor's degree in Applied Physics from Beihang University in China.

Simon Mills is a senior consultant at Z/Yen and former corporate policy manager for at the City of London. He is the author of numerous reports including Developments In Maritime Finance & Maritime Financial Centres, The Future Of UK Fraud - Challenging High-Volume, Automated Crime, International Financial Centres: Facilitating Financial Inclusion Via Digitalisation and Responsibility Without Power? The Governance Of Mutual Distributed Ledgers.