Edith Yeung Sees Big Things to Come for Crypto in Hong Kong

As the co-founder and wide spouse astatine aboriginal signifier task superior money Race Capital, Edith Yeung has had a front-row spot connected the improvement of the crypto sector, peculiarly successful Hong Kong, wherever she was calved and raised. Most notably, she was a effect capitalist successful Solana, investing $250,000 erstwhile SOL was valued astatine conscionable $0.04, and besides was an aboriginal capitalist successful Lightning Network. Since 2017, Yeung has besides authored the China Internet report, an influential yearly survey of exertion trends successful China.

Here, Yeung, who volition beryllium a talker astatine Consensus Hong Kong, discusses Hong Kong’s ongoing improvement arsenic a crypto hub, her instrumentality connected China’s stance towards crypto, what she foresees for Solana and 1 large crypto prediction for 2025.

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Interview has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.

How bash you spot crypto regulations processing successful HK successful 2025? Do you deliberation much crypto companies volition go licensed by the SFC successful 2025?

It’s breathtaking to spot that Hong Kong present has seven SFC-licensed virtual plus trading platforms. From an investor’s perspective, having a wide licensing authorities is simply a large measurement forward. Regulatory clarity and predictability are similar well-lit roads — they springiness investors the assurance to thrust guardant without worrying astir unexpected detours.

That said, licensing unsocial isn’t enough. Liquidity is the different captious portion of the puzzle. Think of a trading level similar a brand-new highway: you tin person the smoothest pavement and clearest signs, but if nary cars are connected it, drivers won’t bother. Similarly, nary substance however galore licenses you have, if there’s nary progressive trading and liquidity, investors volition hesitate to travel aboard.

The cardinal for Hong Kong present is to physique not conscionable the infrastructure but the postulation travel — due to the fact that a large level without liquidity is similar an bare road going nowhere.

What benignant of relation bash you spot Hong Kong processing successful presumption of the crypto sector, particularly successful narration to the US? What astir Asia much broadly?

Hong Kong is the New York of Asia. Exchange Square is fundamentally Wall Street — a 24/7 fiscal powerhouse with soaring skyscrapers and streets afloat of traders, investors and bankers with vigor that ne'er quits. If you are a crypto builder oregon investor, you volition find galore TradFi talents (traders, marketplace makers, etc.) successful Hong Kong.

To physique a palmy TradFi oregon DeFi company, you request to enlistee circumstantial types of endowment that are hard to find adjacent successful Silicon Valley. Hong Kong boasts a affluent fiscal history, with its banal marketplace origins dating backmost to 1866 — implicit 150 years — means determination is simply a heavy excavation of experienced professionals who tin thrust innovation and maturation successful your venture.

What would you accidental is distinctive astir HK/Southeast Asia for crypto compared to the US and Europe?

The U.S. is location to the largest crypto addressable marketplace successful presumption of organization investors, regulators and builders. But Asia is location to the highest maturation imaginable for the crypto market. In 2024, half of the apical 10 countries successful the satellite ranked by crypto adoption were located successful Asia.

With the caller Trump administration, the U.S. volition proceed to acceptable the code for crypto regularisation and organization adoption (e.g., BlackRock ETF). Asia volition travel their pb with its monolithic usage basal that is young and crypto-native.

Do you presumption China arsenic mostly pro oregon anti-crypto? There’s been a batch of crypto enactment there, but astatine the aforesaid time, the authorities is officially against mining and speculation.

Hong Kong is portion of China. Seeing pro-crypto regularisation dilatory forming successful Hong Kong is simply a large motion and indicator for China. That said, China virtually has an service of 220 cardinal retail investors sitting connected astir $21 trillion worthy of savings. With a lingering spot situation and a meek economy, however, it is precise hard to accidental erstwhile China volition unfastened up for crypto concern again, arsenic the authorities focuses connected these larger issues.

You were a effect capitalist successful Solana; bash you inactive person your archetypal concern there? Do you deliberation Solana volition proceed to pull arsenic overmuch memecoin enactment arsenic it did successful 2024?

Yes. It was an grant that I got to conscionable Solana co-founders Anatoly Yakovenko and Raj Gokal and go their effect capitalist backmost successful March 2018. I americium a semipermanent Solana holder and supporter. What I emotion astir them is their dedication to gathering and their enactment for the developer community. The developer vigor astatine the 2024 Breakpoint conference was precocious not lone due to the fact that of memecoins.

The Firedancer squad made immense method advances past year, and I conscionable emotion that Anatoly is inactive head-down geeking retired with radical similar Jump Trading main subject serviceman Kevin Bowers and his squad each day. Even much breathtaking to maine is seeing accepted concern players similar Fidelity, Citi and PayPal speaking astatine Breakpoint astir what they are gathering connected Solana. This influx of established players not lone validates Solana's aboriginal but besides signals that blockchain exertion is acceptable for the masses.

What kinds of companies are you presently looking to put successful and why?

I americium a effect capitalist successful Huma Finance — a person successful PayFi gathering connected Solana and a person successful stablecoin infrastructure. In 2024, they did implicit $2 cardinal successful stablecoin transactions. At Race Capital, we volition proceed to absorption connected investing successful net infrastructure. Builders who privation to beryllium astir semipermanent bash not caput whether it’s an up oregon down cycle.

What’s thing you deliberation volition hap successful 2025 that volition astonishment crypto folks?

The constitution of a U.S. Bitcoin Reserve by the extremity of 2025. The United States is presently the largest holder of Bitcoin, with astir 207,189 bitcoins. This effort volition beryllium bolstered by this monolithic stockpile, which is present valued astatine implicit $20 cardinal astatine existent prices. This determination is expected to thrust up bitcoin prices, prompting different governments astir the satellite to travel suit.

What are you astir excited to sermon onstage successful Hong Kong?

Hong Kong’s relation successful gathering the crypto manufacture successful 2025, China's love/hate narration with crypto and possibly much insights connected Solana.