Blockchain Week Reflections: Industry Developments and Market Insights from a Multi-City Perspective
2023.10.12
Share Share to X (Twitter)
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insights
Share to WeChat
Share to WeiboShare to WeChat
Share by Link
Share by Image
TechFlow Selected TechFlow Selected
Blockchain Week Reflections: Industry Developments and Market Insights from a Multi-City Perspective
The first major gathering of Chinese professionals after three years of pandemic, with about 80% of industry practitioners forced to go overseas due to mainland China's restrictive policies.
2023.10.12 - 00:36:33
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsThe first major gathering of Chinese professionals after three years of pandemic, with about 80% of industry practitioners forced to go overseas due to mainland China's restrictive policies.
Written by: BTS Labs
Blockchain Week originated as a conference format initiated by decentralized communities, focusing on blockchain industry education and resource exchange. As seasoned players in the Asia-Pacific market, we (BTS Labs) hosted the Web3 Global Tour during key events in 2023: Hong Kong Web3 Festival in April, Istanbul Blockchain Week in August, Korea Blockchain Week in September, and Singapore’s Token2049.
This article will focus on sharing interesting ideas and insights gathered throughout this journey:
🇭🇰 Hong Kong
- From the perspective of Hong Kong's Web3 support policies, local authorities have conducted extensive research and industry analysis, formulating strategies that are more flexible and forward-looking compared to mainland regions. Despite starting later than Singapore, Hong Kong still holds immense potential due to its existing market share, strong traditional financial infrastructure, and access to talent, markets, and policy support from the mainland.
- Hong Kong serves as China’s gateway to embracing the Web3 industry, demonstrating remarkable openness toward emerging fintech sectors including blockchain and AI. Institutions like InvestHK are actively participating and investing directly. As one KOL remarked: "Seeing XXX attend four events in one day—I didn’t even plan to collaborate, but after running into them so many times, we ended up exchanging contacts anyway (the KOL said with slight embarrassment)." This highlights the high level of engagement driven by both event appeal and government encouragement.
- The first major gathering for Chinese communities since the three-year pandemic, this event saw around 80% of Chinese professionals having previously gone overseas due to mainland restrictions, with some settling abroad long-term. Attendees came not only from tier-one and tier-two cities but also from provinces such as Hubei, Shanxi, and Xinjiang. It was an Asian industry celebration and a reunion for Chinese practitioners—most side events were primarily conducted in Chinese. While acceptable for now given it’s the first time, continued dominance of Chinese may hinder inclusivity for non-native speakers going forward.
- Discussions centered increasingly on Ethereum Layer 2 ecosystems, particularly focused on improving code integration efficiency (e.g., bundling services, API integrations), reducing contract interaction latency, and low-code development challenges. However, many legacy developers continue working on generic cross-chain solutions and decentralized matching protocols.
- BRC ecosystem and decentralized social development frameworks gained significant traction during the week. Topics like BRC20, Nostr, and Lens Protocol began being frequently discussed.
- For the first time hosting an event of this scale in the Web3 space, Asian faces made up the majority, while international representatives from VCs, project teams, and quant firms remained relatively few.
PS: 10 notable organizations worth visiting in Hong Kong: Hashkey Group, Animoca, InvestHK, Spartan Group, Cyberport Management Co. LTD, GBV Ventures, EVG, Sandbox, Kenetic Capital, Double Peak Group.
🇹🇷 Istanbul Blockchain Week (IBW)
- In this high-risk trading environment, female users outnumber males and show stronger preferences for derivatives and high-leverage contracts. Besides experienced traders with traditional finance backgrounds, numerous local communities operate based on contract signal-sharing and copy-trading, achieving substantial profits. Community activity resembles Southeast Asia’s Vietnamese market, yet Turkish users generally have higher education levels, leading to more “romantic FOMO” behavior… Regarding whether launching a new derivatives exchange in Turkey would be profitable—our impression and estimation is: definitely worth trying. This market offers complementary advantages especially suitable for Asians, particularly Chinese participants.
- Home to the largest cash OTC market between Europe and Asia. Due to its geographical position, cultural context, and government policies, OTC trading in Turkey is exceptionally developed, giving rise to well-known sayings such as “Must visit Grand Bazaar for OTC.” Dual citizenship is permitted, and individuals or companies do not need to pay additional taxes on earnings from Web3 activities. With OTC being convenient, transparent, and secure, major financial and Web3 players from Russia, UAE, Qatar, North America, and beyond have chosen to settle in Turkey—even if not permanently, they often invest in real estate there.
- “Spend today’s money today; exchange dollars into lira.” The Turkish lira has depreciated 30% against the dollar year-to-date. If you deposited 1 million at the beginning of the year, it would now be worth only 700,000. As a result, some upscale restaurants accept only euros or dollars to stabilize cash flow. Many young locals prefer salaries paid in USD or EUR, converting only part into lira for daily use, while keeping the rest for contracts or speculative investments. This drives robust foreign exchange activity and shapes distinct consumption habits—such as low savings rates—very different from Chinese communities.
- Given its vast market potential, Turkey presents abundant opportunities for Chinese teams to explore. Industry awareness is already high, lowering user education barriers and enabling smoother adoption of mainstream products. Whether considering local talent, policies, market culture, or data, there is much to study. Additionally, domestic projects and venture capital remain limited, with developer presence underdeveloped—the ecosystem currently revolves mainly around exchanges, KOLs, and community groups.
PS: 10 notable institutions/KOLs worth engaging in Turkey: 0xWilds, Bitci, AltcoinTürk, Coin Mühendisi, Muhabbit, Crypto House, Mete Baskaya, ErkanG, BTCTurk, Paribu.
🇰🇷 Korea Blockchain Week (KBW)
- GameFi remains one of the most discussed topics. Among the Korean friends old and new we met offline, over 70% are involved in gaming or have backgrounds in broader entertainment industries. Key strengths include strong IP foundations, game designs that accommodate both Web2 and Web3 user behaviors, greater accessibility, and enhanced monetization potential. Development capabilities and aesthetic sensibilities are strong, creating fertile ground for breakout games, supported by a wealth of talent from the entertainment sector.
- South Korean regulators continue rolling out new crypto regulations, significantly impacting exchanges, project teams, and VCs. The Luna incident affected Korea more severely than anticipated, and FTX’s collapse further intensified public and governmental concerns about DeFi. Exchange oversight—especially compliance reviews by domestic leaders Bithumb and Upbit—has led to forced delistings of projects unable to fully disclose their fund sources, particularly those suspected of manipulating secondary markets or involving unclear funding origins.
- The entire Korean NFT scene is buzzing about the new NFT standard 6551. Cross-industry collaborations involving NFTs are accelerating, with deeper discussions on NFT value propositions, practical applications, and sustainability. Korean NFT users exhibit strong loyalty and are often passionate art enthusiasts themselves.
- **Content**: Content creation holds critical importance in both traditional and Web3 industries in Korea. During our conversation with Hashed, we learned that their incubated K-pop girl group TripleS represents a core component of content-making strategy.
- **Reputation and Brand**: Due to Korea’s small, tightly-knit community (with population concentrated in Seoul) and strict regulations, local teams place great emphasis on reputation and branding. Meanwhile, teams pursuing bolder, riskier strategies tend to relocate operations from Korea to Southeast Asia.
- **Creativity and Lag**: Among the Korean projects we spoke with, many are revisiting trends and models from two to three years ago. Tokenomics often follow conventional designs, and operational thinking/globalization efforts fall slightly short. That said, marketing approaches and brand creativity remain commendable.
- Korean users remain pivotal to digital asset markets. On the day major projects like Aptos, Sui, Sei, and CyberConnect launched on Korean exchanges, trading volumes surpassed other platforms—including Binance—by multiples, almost single-handedly challenging global participation.
PS: 10 notable organizations worth visiting in Korea: Hashed (UNOPND), Xangle, Klaytn, WEMIX, PlayDapp, DeSpread, ALTAVA, FactBlock, Onbuff, KIMPGA.
🇸🇬 Token2049
- Remains Asia’s central Web3 hub, with the most mature and comprehensive regulatory framework.
- Most balanced and international mix of participants and speakers—Token2049 brings together Web3 professionals and enthusiasts from all corners of the globe.
- Exhibitors are dominated by exchanges, payment providers, code auditing firms, and quant funds. Most featured projects are established and well-known.
- Early-stage project teams spend the entire Token2049 period seeking investors—some side events are so dense that pitching to investment firms can happen even en route to the restroom.
- Mature legacy projects or prominent new ones use Token2049 primarily to declare: we’re still evolving.
- Healthy competition among L1 and L2 projects creates a harmonious atmosphere: chains share stages, discuss collaboratively, and support each other. Beyond early partners like BNB Chain, Ton was the most frequently encountered public chain during the week. As panel guests for our Assembly event, we look forward to upcoming market performances from Taiko, Shardeum, and Layer N.
- Investment firms are banding together, forming alliances or LP structures for mutual support.
- A notable downside: lack of fresh narratives. Conversations largely revolve around recurring topics such as ERC4337, ERC6551, RWA, L1s, and compliance.
PS: 10 notable organizations worth visiting in Singapore: Amber Group, Matrix, Bybit, Nansen, Avalanche, Mask Network, DeFiance Capital, Saison Capital, Dorahacks, Matrixport.
Join TechFlow official community to stay tuned
Telegram:https://t.me/TechFlowDaily
X (Twitter):https://x.com/TechFlowPost
X (Twitter) EN:https://x.com/BlockFlow_News
Add to Favorites
Share to Social Media
@btslabs_global
