WebX Conference Highlights: From August 25th to 26th, at the WebX Summit in Tokyo, global cryptocurrency and Web3 thought leaders, entrepreneurs, and policymakers gathered to discuss macro trends, technological innovations, market opportunities, and future challenges. From macroeconomic cycles to specific project applications, from the integration of AI and Web3 to national strategic planning, the conference painted a complex and dynamic picture of the industry. Arthur Hayes (founder of BitMEX) believes the crypto market will experience a super bull run lasting until 2028. He predicts that Ethereum prices will reach $10,000 to $20,000 during this cycle (by 2028). He stated that to cope with global economic competition, the United States will boost its economy through large-scale reindustrialization and fiscal expansion, which will lead to a sustained "money printing" effect. He predicts that stablecoins will become a key tool, and the United States may use them to export dollars globally through social media platforms, thereby financing its massive debt. The stablecoin market is projected to reach $10 trillion by 2028, with Hyperliquid holding a 26.4% share, significantly boosting the DeFi sector. By then, ENA could see a 51-fold increase, and ETHFI could achieve a 34-fold return. He believes Ethereum will outperform Solana in this process and recommends focusing on companies poised to enter the S&P 500. Hayes specifically cited Hyperliquid's token (HYPE) as having a potential 126-fold upside, estimating its annualized fees to reach $258 billion by 2028. He also expressed optimism about projects such as Ethena, Hyperliquid, Ether.Fi, and Codex, believing these platforms will provide innovative investment opportunities for stablecoin holders while weakening the control of national monetary policies. He also emphasized the shift of funds from centralized exchanges to decentralized platforms and recommended investors pay attention to the expansion of new financial services within the stablecoin ecosystem. Changpeng Zhao (CZ, founder of Binance) expressed similar views on the macro environment. He pointed out that the US government's 180-degree shift in its stance on cryptocurrencies, particularly the pro-crypto policies promoted by the Trump administration since taking office, has had a profound impact on the global industry. He believes that the involvement of government and traditional finance will drive the widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies, and is optimistic about the integration of AI and cryptocurrency in the payment sector. Regarding the rapid development of AI, CZ believes that future transactions will be primarily machine-to-machine (M2M) transactions, particularly in high-frequency trading and DeFi, where automation is becoming a trend. Large language models (LLMs) can improve data analysis and transaction efficiency, and cryptocurrency may become a natural payment tool for AI, fundamentally changing how we participate in the financial market. Regarding the tokenization trend, he believes it is still in its early stages. While stablecoins and US Treasury tokenization are developing rapidly, the tokenization of other assets such as gold, real estate, and stocks still faces liquidity and technical verification issues, and the products are not yet mature. In his conversation with a young audience, CZ emphasized the importance of upholding ethics, creating value, and finding something that one is passionate about and that is valuable to others, and using this passion to support long-term efforts. He reminded them that the entrepreneurial journey is full of challenges, and that only with the right values and continuous learning can one persevere through market downturns and ultimately achieve success. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's speech elevated Web3 to the level of national strategy. He likened the current technological transformation to a "once-in-a-century turning point" and identified Web3 and AI as the core of a new industrial revolution. He emphasized that the Japanese government is vigorously supporting emerging industries such as Web3 and AI through the "Five-Year Plan for New Entrepreneurship and Development," while also promoting local economic innovation. For example, the town of Aishida in Shimane Prefecture is using Web3 platforms to address local issues and using a local currency as a reward. Three top analysts—Masato Matsushima of Monex Securities, Tomoya Hasegawa of Bitbank, and Nishiki Nishi of X-Bank—have made predictions for Bitcoin prices. They all believe Bitcoin will continue to rise by the end of 2025, with the highest prediction reaching $200,000. These factors contribute to the upward trend, including expectations of lower US interest rates, the Trump administration's pro-crypto policies, and institutional inflows from Bitcoin ETFs and corporate treasury strategies. However, some analysts are cautious about the price trend in early 2026 due to tax pressures and inflation concerns. AI, DeFi, and the Evolution of Infrastructure Haseeb Qureshi (Managing Partner at Dragonfly Capital) shared his views on the future of venture capital and the crypto industry. He emphasized that successful venture capital investment lies not only in finding outstanding teams but also in entering the market at the right time. He believes that for a project to succeed, the necessary "raw materials," such as a user base and infrastructure, must already be in place. Discussing the integration of AI and crypto, he stated that some current crypto projects that attempt to get users to sell their personal data to AI companies are unrealistic, as AI companies require high-quality, verifiable, or synthetic data, not simply user data. He further noted that the real need for decentralized AI will only emerge when centralized AI becomes extremely powerful and profoundly impacts society, even triggering attempts by governments to fully control it. Regarding blockchain competition, he believes that competition between Layer 1 and Layer 2 is a positive phenomenon. For example, the existence of projects like Solana forces Ethereum to continuously improve and advance, thereby driving the development of the entire ecosystem. Uniswap founder Hayden Adams firmly believes that decentralization will eventually become mainstream, and large centralized exchanges like Coinbase are actively integrating decentralized services to adapt to this trend. He emphasized that the essence of decentralized technology will not disappear despite policy changes. While privacy protection faces complex challenges, public consensus on privacy is crucial. He believes that with less regulatory pressure and technological advancements, DEXs will become more powerful and user-friendly, ultimately eliminating the high intermediary fees in traditional finance. Andrea Baglioni, Head of Capital at the Solana Foundation, shared the foundation's strategy in the DeFi sector, its funding criteria for teams, and its perspective on companies building their own blockchains. He stated that the Solana Foundation receives approximately 300 to 400 grant applications each month, covering areas such as DeFi, NFTs, and infrastructure. The Foundation prioritizes supporting teams that have a real need for speed and low costs and have chosen Solana as their core technology, particularly innovative projects that view Solana as a key technology. The Foundation adopts a milestone-based funding model and provides resource integration, marketing, and recruitment support in the early stages to help teams achieve long-term development. Regarding reports that traditional companies such as Robinhood and Sony are building their own blockchains, Andrea believes that while this is theoretically feasible, in practice it faces challenges with technical maintenance and community operations, and is generally inefficient. He noted that companies building their own blockchains may ultimately migrate to other chains due to technological immaturity. For example, Helium attempted to develop its own blockchain, but due to extreme inefficiencies, it ultimately chose to migrate to the Solana chain to reduce its technical burden and focus on its core business. He also noted that the Foundation has never participated in any meme-coin-related activities or hype. There was a brief trading spike in early 2025 driven by meme coins (such as Trumpcoin), but this subsequently subsided. Andrea emphasized that while meme coins can lead to excessive market speculation, their high volume of trading actually provides a valuable stress-testing opportunity for the Solana network. These tests have helped validate Solana's ability to maintain stable operations despite the trading speeds of Nasdaq-level institutions. He revealed that Jump Crypto is developing a validation client called Fire Dancer to optimize network operations, and is also advancing another network optimization technology called Alpenglow. These upgrades are expected to significantly improve the overall performance of the Solana blockchain. Alex Svanevik (Nansen CEO) noted that market narratives have evolved from DeFi and NFTs to memecoins, the latter of which, due to their lack of fundamentals, are particularly well-suited for pure on-chain analysis. He predicts that future investment analysis will be AI-native, with investors no longer relying on traditional dashboards, but instead engaging with AI through natural language to obtain real-time analysis and data visualization. He believes that the tokenization of RWAs will be the next huge opportunity to drive 100-fold market growth. When real-world assets such as real estate, stocks, and bonds are put on the blockchain, the crypto market could see 100-fold or even 1,000-fold growth. This trend could completely transform the investment landscape. Many companies showcased their strategic plans and innovative products at the conference. Michael Novogratz (Galaxy Digital CEO) revealed Galaxy's plans to launch stock tokenization and believes the tokenization of the stock market will accelerate. He also predicted a surge in cryptocurrency IPOs in 2025, with an improved regulatory environment and a broadening investor base driving market development. He also suggested that Ethereum's price could reach $5,000 in the short term due to buying pressure from digital asset library companies, and believed that Circle's IPO and the passage of the related legislation, "GENIUS," would further boost demand for stablecoins. Remixpoint discussed its transformation from a crypto exchange to a "Bitcoin finance company." Faced with Japan's high 55% tax on crypto gains, investing in shares of publicly listed companies holding Bitcoin has become a tax-saving option. The company is using its own funds to purchase Bitcoin as a reserve and, combined with its energy business, plans to build a sustainable infrastructure that "stores electricity during the day and mines it at night." As of August 2025, Remixpoint has invested approximately 18.9 billion yen in Bitcoin and also holds mainstream digital assets such as Ethereum, XRP, and Solana. Bakkt CEO Akshay Naheta outlined the company's three main businesses: regulated crypto asset trading technology, a global cross-border payments platform called "Bank Agent," and an international Bitcoin treasury strategy. The company plans to transform into a Bitcoin treasury company, initially targeting Japan, with a goal of holding 1.5%-2.5% of the global Bitcoin supply. Japanese fintech company JPYC announced it has received Japan's first money transmitter license, officially ushering in the era of the Japanese yen stablecoin. JPYC will be widely used for everyday payments, carry trading, and corporate financing, with a goal of reaching 85 trillion yen in circulation within five years. JPYC believes stablecoins are essential programmable payment tools for the AI economy. JPYC plans to serve as both an issuer and an intermediary. On the one hand, it will launch JPYC, a stablecoin backed by Japanese government bonds and bank deposits, suitable for DeFi users and self-custodial wallets. On the other hand, it will collaborate with Progmat to launch a trust-based stablecoin, JPYC Plus, which will also support foreign stablecoins such as USDC. In the future, payment companies and convenience stores are expected to introduce JPYC, while also streamlining tax and accounting processes. Bitcoin.com's rebrand shifted from primarily supporting Bitcoin Cash (BCH) to a Bitcoin-centric approach, while maintaining multi-chain support and lowering the barrier to entry for new users through an in-wallet rewards system. South Korea is currently the most active market in the Asian crypto market, while Taiwan and Hong Kong are strong in the financial services sector, and Vietnam is highly active in Web3 games and Play-to-Earn. Animoca Brands announced a partnership with Ibex Japan, Antler's enterprise innovation arm, to launch the Web3 Entertainment Investment Fund, aiming to bring Japanese anime and manga intellectual property (IP) to the blockchain. Initial targets are expected to be announced in the coming months. Elliptic's Chief Crypto Threat Researcher, Arda Arcatuna, noted that fraud is the leading cryptocurrency-related crime in the Asia-Pacific region, far exceeding the scale of darknet markets and often using stablecoins. Furthermore, North Korean hacker groups such as the Lazarus Group remain highly active, targeting not only large protocols but also smaller projects. While criminals exploit cryptocurrencies for illicit activities, the transparency of blockchain makes it possible to track fund flows and combat crime. On the regulatory front, Katherine Dowling of Bitwise noted that spot ETFs provide direct access to the Bitcoin market for funds managed by financial advisors, addressing the previous lack of suitable investment vehicles. At the same time, institutional investors conduct thorough due diligence to ensure compliance with fiduciary duties. Dowling suggested that Japan could leverage successful examples from the United States and other countries to accelerate the development of ETF products. She noted that future innovation in ETF products may focus on spot settlement and staking, which are expected to become the core of the next generation of ETFs. Europe has already implemented these features, and the United States is gradually moving forward, but tax complexity remains a major challenge for staking. She revealed that the US Department of the Treasury is developing relevant guidance to address this issue. Monex Group Chairman Matsumoto and Galaxy Digital CEO Michael Novogratz both predicted that with the improvement of the regulatory environment, cryptocurrency applications will shift from speculation to practical applications within four to five years, becoming core technologies in the financial sector. Matsumoto criticized the Japanese authorities for their slow response and called for a regulatory environment that is in line with global standards. In summary, the WebX 2025 conference sent a clear signal: the crypto industry is moving from the fringe to the mainstream, its influence permeating every aspect of the macroeconomy, national strategy, technological innovation, and traditional industries. An era of a digital economy driven by AI, based on decentralization, and deeply integrated with the real world is accelerating. Bitcoin Asia Conference Highlights Following the WebX Summit in Tokyo, the crypto world's attention turned to the Bitcoin Asia 2025 conference in Hong Kong. The conference focused more on Bitcoin itself and its ecosystem, delving into core topics such as its potential as a global reserve asset, the wave of institutional adoption, the evolution of technical protocols, and wealth inheritance. Eric Trump, Executive Vice President of the Trump Organization, admitted that the Trump family's politically motivated debanking by US financial institutions was a key factor in their entry into Bitcoin. He firmly believed that Bitcoin's price would "undoubtedly" reach $1 million or even higher, and advised investors to buy now and hold for five years. He also improvised the idea of using Bitcoin to pay tariffs in the future. He believed the market was still in its early stages, and volatility presented a buying opportunity, as global institutions, sovereign wealth funds, and wealthy families continued to buy, while supply was limited. He expressed special thanks to David Bailey, CEO of Nakamoto (Kindly), for being the first person to invite his father, then a presidential candidate, to speak at the Bitcoin conference. He stated that the Bitcoin community embraced his father in an unprecedented way, deeply moving his support. He now devotes 90% of his time to the community. He also highly praised the policy adjustments made by his father's administration, saying that upon taking office, he immediately made a "180-degree" shift in US digital asset policy, positioning the US at the forefront of the global "digital revolution." He noted that the US has made more progress in digital assets in the past seven months than in the previous 10 years combined. He believes Bitcoin has created unprecedented financial fairness, providing a level playing field for people around the world. He also disclosed his involvement in several Bitcoin projects, including Japan's Metaplanet and American Bitcoin, which is about to be listed on the Nasdaq. Network School founder Balaji Srinivasan stated that Bitcoin will end the Federal Reserve's control, replacing the traditional interest rate adjustment method that relies on "feelings" with predictable algorithmic monetary policy. He also predicted that when the Bitcoin price reaches between $100,000 and $1 million, half of the world's billionaires will come from the crypto sector, completely upending the traditional fiat currency billionaire landscape. However, he also warned that Bitcoin's victory will face new challenges, including security concerns for code developers, the threat of quantum computing to cryptography, potential 51% attacks on the network, and the risks posed by operating system backdoors.
Market Analysis: Bullish Consensus and the Challenge of Altcoins
Well-known podcaster Stephan Livera believes that Bitcoin prices will continue to rise for the remainder of 2025 and predicts that the current cycle will be extended. He emphasized Bitcoin's unique fundamentals, including its limited supply of 21 million coins, decentralized node network, and global 24/7 operation. He also recommended that investors store 80%-90% of their Bitcoin in cold wallets, with the remaining 10%-20% in high-risk investments, such as Bitcoin-related stocks. He also noted that a growing number of sovereign nations are adopting Bitcoin or conducting sovereign mining, and pointed to Swiss National Bank documents showing its holdings in the BlackRock Bitcoin ETF (IBIT). Citing Bitcoin's power law model, Livera predicted that by 2045, the price of Bitcoin will reach $10 million per coin, with a total market capitalization of $200 trillion. He also criticized the "utility token theory," arguing that value doesn't increase simply because a token is used for gas fees. He believes that most altcoins are merely technology platforms or speculative vehicles, with fundamentally flawed value propositions. Frank Corva, senior business reporter at Bitcoin Magazine, expressed a bullish outlook on the Bitcoin market over the next three months, believing that if history repeats itself, an exciting market will emerge. He noted that more and more institutions and governments are entering the Bitcoin market, creating a trend of "state-level hoarding." He also subscribes to the "dollar milkshake theory," predicting that within the next five to ten years, weak fiat currencies will disappear as the US dollar drains liquidity, potentially leading to a period of "hyperbitcoinization." Lightning Ventures CEO Mike Jarmolish bluntly stated, "There's no reason to be bearish," arguing that the sharp pullbacks seen in the past are unlikely to occur due to the large number of off-market buyers. He also noted that the altcoin season isn't over yet, with Solana's price exceeding $200, and predicted that some altcoin projects will emulate Bitcoin Vault's strategy. He also praised companies like MetaPlanet for their shrewd cash-collateralized put options strategy and discussed "smart leverage" through Bitcoin ETFs, such as lending up to 50% of funds at an annual interest rate of approximately 6%. CZ's Thoughts on Stablecoins, RWAs, DEXs, and AI In his speech in Hong Kong, Changpeng Zhao (CZ) systematically elaborated on his in-depth thinking on several key sectors: Stablecoins: He believes that stablecoins are a natural application of blockchain technology, and that every country should have at least a few stablecoin products in the future. Restricted Transaction Authorization (RWA): He identified three major challenges facing RWAs: liquidity constraints, regulatory complexity, and flawed product mechanisms. He believes that, with the exception of stablecoins, the mechanisms of most RWA products (such as tokenized stocks) have yet to be fully implemented, but this is a strategic direction that must be explored to prevent them from being eliminated. Exchanges: Future exchanges may unify the trading of various global assets, including real estate, celebrity IP rights, and even personal net worth, thereby improving liquidity and price discovery. For Hong Kong, developing a world-class exchange requires breaking away from traditional regulatory thinking and adopting a more open approach to addressing the unique characteristics of the digital currency industry. This includes reducing excessive requirements for localized operations and optimizing its global technology footprint. DEXs: In the future, DEXs will inevitably surpass centralized exchanges in scale. Although Binance remains the largest centralized exchange, its position may be difficult to maintain over time. While DEXs still have room for improvement in user experience and fees, their advantages, such as no KYC requirements and high transparency, promise to become enormous within 5 to 10 years. However, this overly transparent nature can also lead to the complete disclosure of order information, posing certain risks. While DEX fees are currently high, they are expected to gradually decrease with technological advancements. Many decentralized exchanges currently attract users through token incentives, but this approach is difficult to sustain in the long term and may gradually disappear in the future. Crypto Asset Treasurys (DATs): DATs aim to package digital currencies in a stock-like format, making it easier for traditional investors to participate in the crypto space. DATs primarily operate in four modes: passive holding of a single asset, active trading, multi-asset portfolio management, and ecosystem investment. The passive holding model of a single asset is popular due to its low management costs and simple strategy. In contrast, the ecosystem investment model is more complex and requires managers to possess strong decision-making skills and a strong awareness of ecosystem development. Currently supported DATs tend to focus on a single asset, particularly BNB, as this model is easier to assess and requires less management. Publicly listed companies generally benefit in bull markets, but in bear markets, especially in the US, companies may face greater litigation risks, making clear and simple strategies particularly important.
The Convergence of AI and Web3: The currency of AI must be cryptocurrency. In the future, AI agents will enable massive micropayments, increasing crypto-financial transaction volume by a thousandfold. Currently, most so-called AI agents on the market remain at the low-value application stage and lack real economic benefits. Top large-scale model companies are exploring the development of more practical AI tools, but this process requires substantial financial support. In the future, AI as a public good may be more suited to an open source, decentralized model, allowing token holders to share in the benefits and thus achieving universal development.
Corporate Strategy and Project Update
BitPlanet Co-CEO Paul Lee announced the official launch of BitPlanet, the first institutional-grade global Bitcoin vault company, in South Korea. Its investment consortium has acquired a 62% stake in South Korean listed company SGA, investing over $40 million in cash on its first day to execute its Bitcoin strategy. The transaction is debt-free. The company's short-term goal is to accumulate 100,000 Bitcoins, becoming one of the top ten global corporate holders. SGA has reportedly been in operation for 28 years, publicly listed for 24, with 120 employees and stable annual revenue of $20 to $30 million. BitPlanet is committed to being a "Bitcoin-first, Bitcoin-only" company and promoting performance measurement based on Bitcoin. Pakistan's Cryptocurrency Minister, Bilal bin Saqib, revealed that the country has a population of 250 million, 70% of whom are under 30 years old, and approximately 40 to 50 million cryptocurrency users. Pakistan has announced the establishment of a strategic Bitcoin reserve and plans to utilize 2,000 megawatts of excess electricity for Bitcoin mining to promote the development of the cryptocurrency sector. Kip Tiaviwat, chief strategist at Thai hedge fund Kliff Capital, stated that Thailand's capital market is dominated by retail investors, and stock trading utilizes a "T+2 settlement" model (buy now, pay later). Compared to the upfront payment required to directly purchase Bitcoin, trading in Bitcoin Treasury (DATs) is more convenient and popular. Furthermore, DATs provide a shortcut for government-affiliated entities (such as pension funds) to participate in Bitcoin. These institutions can indirectly hold Bitcoin by purchasing DAT shares without having to amend their internal charters, thus bypassing cumbersome political and approval processes. According to Bitfinex's Federico Tenga, Tether (USDT) will be natively issued on the RGB protocol, marking USDT's official return to the Bitcoin network after many years. DDC Enterprise's chief of staff revealed that the company has purchased over 1,000 Bitcoins since May and plans to increase its holdings to 10,000 by the end of the year. As a US-listed Bitcoin vault company, DDC Enterprise views Bitcoin as a crucial reserve asset to hedge against fiat currency devaluation, noting that the money supply has grown by 30% since 2020. Furthermore, approximately 175 publicly listed companies worldwide have announced Bitcoin vault strategies, representing 0.3% of the total, indicating that this sector is still in its early stages. Moon Inc. CEO John Riggins stated that in Hong Kong, it is crucial for listed companies implementing Bitcoin strategies to have a solid brick-and-mortar presence. Moon Inc. has acquired a 30-year-old prepaid card company and plans to leverage this acquisition to launch innovative products such as prepaid Bitcoin cards. Bitcoin Web3 wallet Xverse announced integration with Spark, the Layer 2 network for instant payments. Eric Wall, founder of Taproot Wizards, pointed out Bitcoin's current scalability and privacy deficiencies and proposed introducing Stark/ZK validation through the op_cat protocol upgrade to improve these issues. He predicted that Bitcoin is undergoing a "corporate takeover" and believed that the community's influence on protocol upgrades will be significantly weakened in a year. In short, the Bitcoin Asia 2025 conference depicted a future where institutionalization, globalization, and technological advancements advance hand in hand, with Bitcoin as the foundation of its value. Whether it's grand geopolitical games or sophisticated protocol code upgrades, they are all driving Bitcoin's evolution from "digital gold" to the underlying operating system of the global financial system.
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