From Hong Kong cryptocurrency trading legalized last June, Western blockchain projects have been paying more attention to the Asian financial center. Aptos, the a16z-backed blockchain network developed by a group of former Meta employees, is one of them.
Started by some of the original creators of Meta's abandoned crypto payment project DiemAptos is set to host a DeFi event in Hong Kong this April. Decentralized finance, or DeFi, which attempts to replace traditional banking intermediaries with decentralized technology, has so far been a prominent use case in the blockchain space.
“I was in Hong Kong twice last year within a span of three months,” said Mo Shaikh, co-founder and CEO of Aptos, which is a Layer 1 blockchain, meaning it doesn't rely on existing decentralized networks like Ethereum or Solana. .
“And what I noticed was that there is an incredible resurgence when it comes to the appetite to build, to disrupt and a massive focus on the web3, whether it's meeting with people like Alibaba or Tencent, and even meeting with other financial institutions like HSBC and the incubators that exist. So when we see that level of activity, that level of interest in Aptos, obviously we have to make sure that we can't ignore it,” he added.
In fact, an X/Twitter Space Aptos presented in Mandarin Chinese this week attracted more than 45,000 listeners.
While mainland China bans all forms of cryptocurrency trading, the government leaves the option open in Hong Kong, a move many industry observers see as a sandbox for Beijing to play with web3 without potentially incurring financial volatility for the rest of the country.
Aptos already works with Alibaba to reach web3 developers in Asia. In November, the two partners announced that they planned to jointly host hackathons using Move, the open source programming language developed by Meta.
On the Aptos chain, Move is used to write smart contracts, which are lines of code that automatically execute predetermined agreement terms. Solidity is the primary language used to program smart contracts on Ethereum, the largest blockchain by developer activity.
Aptos has its eye on all emerging markets. One of its most ambitious efforts is JamboPhone, a joint effort between blockchain and jambo, a Congo-based startup that aims to be Africa's “web3 super app.” Priced at $99, the phone comes pre-installed with the Aptos-compatible Petra wallet and is sold in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.
Layer 1 blockchain Telephone from the Solana saga It clearly targets a different demographic with its $1,000 price tag.
“The good of [JamboPhone] That is, imagine you have new forms of digital money, a stablecoin, the eHKD or even the Singapore dollar, that money can now be instantly available on these devices and expanded to create real value for people who are often left out of the money. Finance system. ”Shaikh suggested.
When asked when Hong Kong users will have access to Aptos-based DeFi services, the founder said he cannot speculate on regulation.
“I think Hong Kong regulators are moving things in the right direction and moving forward and providing clarity for entrepreneurs to build on. And I think it is a very healthy sign that we should continue to lean on,” he added.