Asia's first offline Ethereum community center officially opens

Asia's first Ethereum offline community hub, ETH Hong Kong Hub, officially opened its doors on April 21, 2026. Supported by the Ethereum Foundation's Ethereum Everywhere (EE) team and jointly operated by SNZ and ETHTAO, the establishment of this physical community space marks Ethereum's first long-term, open, and sustainable offline community center in Asia, further solidifying Hong Kong's critical position in the global digital asset and technology innovation landscape.

The opening event brought together key figures from the global Ethereum ecosystem, institutional representatives, and technical communities. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum Foundation President Aya Miyaguchi, Hong Kong SAR Legislative Council Member (Technology & Innovation) Duncan Chiu, Director of the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES) Peter YAN, SNZ Founder Gilles Shi, Sharplink CEO Joseph Chalom, Hashkey Group Chairman and CEO Dr. Xiao Feng, and others attended and shared their insights. The event attracted over 1,500 registrants, with developers, institutions, and innovators from around the world participating, making it one of the most anticipated events during this year's Hong Kong Web3 Carnival. A total of 16 founders/CEOs and 10 SVPs or business leaders were invited as keynote speakers and panelists representing their organizations.

The ETH HK Hub Grand Opening & Meetup was sponsored by Spark, Lido, Galaxy Digital, and Zand Bank, jointly fostering communication and development within the Ethereum ecosystem in Asia.

Making Hong Kong a Place Builders "Can Come Back To"

ETH Hong Kong Hub is more than just a physical space; it is a long-term operational offline community center connecting developers, institutions, and entrepreneurs, driving deep integration between Web2 and Web3.

Henry Chen, Chief Business Officer of SNZ Holding, stated:

"With core Ethereum figures like Vitalik and Aya coming to Hong Kong, the city is once again becoming a gathering point for global builders – a place they can 'come back to.'"

"Hong Kong is Asia's financial and technology innovation center, and one of the world's most active and well-regulated Web3 hubs. Located in the heart of West Kowloon, ETH Hong Kong Hub connects the world."

"Over the past ten months, we have built this space from scratch together with the Ethereum Foundation. Its official opening today feels more like a 'new beginning' – a community that requires everyone to participate in and grow together."

ETH Hong Kong Hub serves as the community gathering center within this 'home,' allowing builders from diverse backgrounds to meet, collaborate, and grow. The Hub will provide community center members and Ethereum builders with one-stop services ranging from office space, event venues, and localized support (including enterprise services and talent solutions) to ecosystem empowerment, incubation investment, and business collaboration. 'A vast shelter for all,' a true community fosters a sense of belonging for everyone."

Vitalik: The Inflection Point Has Arrived, A New Building Cycle Begins

In the opening fireside chat, Vitalik Buterin and Duncan Chiu conversed in Mandarin, reviewing Vitalik's over-a-decade-long connection with the Chinese-speaking community and delving into topics such as Ethereum's latest roadmap, L2s, AI, and quantum resistance.

Vitalik stated that with the maturation of Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZK) technology and artificial intelligence significantly lowering development barriers, a new generation of developers is gaining unprecedented opportunities. He pointed out:

• L2s should complement L1, not simply replicate it
• L1 remains the irreplaceable native settlement layer
• Future scaling includes not only data scaling but also compute scaling

When discussing AI and quantum-resistant technologies, Vitalik said these challenges are "entirely solvable, but require serious advancement," emphasizing the need for infrastructure to prepare for long-term future changes.

He also encouraged builders in the Chinese-speaking community to start from real-world needs, exploring the integration of Ethereum with AI, open-source hardware, and other directions to create new application forms distinct from the past.

Aya Miyaguchi: Building a Long-Term Sustainable Ecosystem with a "Subtraction Philosophy"

In another fireside chat, Ethereum Foundation President Aya Miyaguchi shared the core philosophy behind the long-term development of the Ethereum ecosystem.

She stated that the Ethereum Foundation's goal is not to dominate or control the ecosystem, but to ensure the system's ability to operate independently over the long term. She proposed that Ethereum needs to pass what she calls the "Walk-away test," meaning that at some point in the future, the protocol and ecosystem should be able to run stably even without the Foundation.

"The system needs to be able to continue operating without the Ethereum Foundation."

Aya pointed out that this philosophy stems from the "subtraction philosophy" long adhered to by the Ethereum Foundation. During the ICO boom, the Foundation faced external suggestions to expand its team and establish a corporate structure (e.g., creating positions like CTO or CMO), but ultimately chose a different path, supporting the ecosystem through "coordination rather than control."

She further explained that this design allows the Ethereum ecosystem to evolve continuously without relying on a single center of control, constantly generating new innovations.

Aya also mentioned that community spaces like ETH Hong Kong Hub are a manifestation of the Ethereum ecosystem's spontaneous evolution, reflecting the continuous development and activity of the global community across different regions.

Joseph Chalom: Ethereum is Becoming the "Global Financial Ledger"

Sharplink CEO Joseph Chalom, in his keynote speech, systematically elaborated on Ethereum's long-term value from an institutional financial perspective.

He stated that the current global financial system is undergoing profound transformation, hindered by inefficient traditional trust mechanisms:

• Trade settlements still take 1-3 days
• Numerous siloed databases exist globally
• High costs are incurred by intermediaries and trust establishment

He noted: "Ethereum is becoming the global financial ledger and trustware."

Joseph further stated that Ethereum has established a leading advantage in security, liquidity, and institutional trust. The development of stablecoins, Real World Assets (RWA), and DeFi is building a new on-chain financial system.

He emphasized that as regulation becomes clearer and institutions accelerate their entry, blockchain technology is moving from the experimental stage towards mass adoption.

Animoca Brands × EVG: AI Agents Are Reshaping Business Models and On-Chain Economic Structures

In another fireside chat, Allen Ng, Co-founder and Co-CEO of EVG, and Yat Siu, Co-founder and Executive Chairman of Animoca Brands, discussed AI Agents and Web3 applications.

Yat Siu stated that AI Agents are evolving from informational tools into systems with execution capabilities, able to participate in real-world tasks and form large-scale automated collaboration networks in the future. He pointed out that as users increasingly access information through AI rather than clicking links, the traditional advertising-centric internet business model is being challenged.

"The key in the future is no longer traffic, but small-value, high-frequency payments driven by Agents."

He further emphasized that as the scale of interaction and transactions between Agents grows, blockchain's low-cost, real-time settlement capabilities make it the essential infrastructure for supporting the Agent economy.

Allen Ng added that AI Agents will significantly lower the barrier to entry for Web3, allowing users to perform on-chain operations via Agents, thereby driving broader application adoption.

From AI to On-Chain Finance: Agenda Outlines a Comprehensive Application Landscape

The opening event of ETH HK Hub focused on key application directions within the Ethereum ecosystem. The agenda, spanning infrastructure, AI × blockchain integration, on-chain finance, and real-world assets, systematically presented the complete path from technological evolution to scaled application for Ethereum.

During the "Institutional Crypto Adoption" panel, Samuel Chong (Lido), Leroy Lin (Galaxy Digital), Jaewon Yu (SignalPlus), and Shan Shan Shui (Morpho) discussed institutional crypto adoption, exploring dimensions such as liquid staking, institutional trading services, and on-chain lending, examining how institutional capital is gradually entering the on-chain ecosystem.

In his keynote, "100X Ethereum L1: The ZK Path to Infinite Compute," Brevis Co-founder and CEO Michael Dong shared insights on Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZK) and verifiable computation. He proposed that by "decoupling computation and verification," it is possible to overcome the performance bottlenecks caused by redundant computation in blockchains, offering an infrastructure path to massive scaling for Ethereum.

In the "Future AI on Blockchain" panel, Yi Zhang (CEO, Codatta), Rui Ding (Co-founder, Quantum Quills), Jordan Liu (Founder & CEO, Alsa), and Ran Yi (Co-founder, Starchild / Orderly) discussed the convergence of AI and blockchain. They believe AI Agents are transitioning from tools to economic participants, and blockchain will provide them with a decentralized payment and settlement network.

In his keynote, "Building Verifiable Agents for the Autonomous Economy," Primus Co-founder and CEO Xie Xiang proposed that future AI Agents need not only execution capabilities but also verifiability. He stated that an on-chain Verification Layer will become critical infrastructure supporting automated Agent transactions and trusted collaboration.

During the panel "From Stablecoins to Real Settlement: Building Global Liquidity on Ethereum," Larry Ma (Chief Strategy Officer, SNZ Holding), Christian Li (Founder, Infini), Yolanda Liu (Co-founder, Pay Protocol), Gigi Yip (Global Head of Business, Cap Money), and Michael Chan (CEO, Zand Bank) discussed stablecoins, on-chain settlement, and global liquidity. They pointed out that stablecoins are driving capital migration on-chain, gradually building a financial system with blockchain as the settlement layer.

Niki Ariyasinghe, Vice President for APAC & Middle East at Chainlink, shared the latest developments in on-chain compliance, asset tokenization, and cross-border asset distribution from an institutional perspective in her keynote, "Integrating TradFi with Web3: Growth in Asia." She noted that Hong Kong is becoming a key hub for global institutions driving on-chain finance.

In her keynote, "On-chain Financial Infrastructure for the Age of AI," Serena Wang, Head of HashKey Chain, introduced the layout of on-chain financial infrastructure serving institutions, developers, users, and AI Agents. She emphasized connecting traditional capital markets with the on-chain economy through compliant DeFi, RWA issuance, and institutional-grade service systems.

Yuxin, representative of GCC, shared the organization's long-term support for open-source infrastructure, privacy networks, and developer communities from the perspective of public goods and open-source ecosystems. She emphasized that the long-term development of Web3 relies not only on commercial drivers but also on the continuous investment from public goods and non-profit funding.

Overall, the opening agenda, structured around the themes of "Institutional Adoption – Technology Scaling – AI Agents – Payments & Settlement – On-Chain Finance – Public Goods," comprehensively presented the evolutionary path of the Ethereum ecosystem from underlying innovation to real-world applications.

Hong Kong: A Key Coordination Node in the Global Ethereum Ecosystem

As a vital hub connecting Asian and global capital, Hong Kong possesses unique advantages in regulation, finance, and cross-border resource integration.

Duncan Chiu stated that the establishment of ETH Hong Kong Hub will further strengthen Hong Kong's position as an international technology and digital asset hub, providing an open and compliant platform for exchange and cooperation for global developers and enterprises.

Unlike short-term events, the core of ETH Hong Kong Hub lies in its sustainability:

• Regularly open offline collaborative space
• Regularly hosted technical sharing and community events
• Long-term connection of developers, institutions, and entrepreneurs

With this positioning, the initial launch of ETH Hong Kong Hub has already attracted over 30 projects, institutions, and enterprises from the Ethereum ecosystem, covering areas like infrastructure, DeFi, institutional services, and emerging applications, forming an initial offline ecosystem network with diverse collaborative capabilities.

About ETH Hong Kong Hub

ETH Hong Kong Hub is Asia's first Ethereum offline community hub. Supported by the Ethereum Foundation's Ethereum Everywhere team, it is jointly operated by SNZ and ETHTAO. The Hub is dedicated to connecting Eastern and Western ecosystems, merging Web2 and Web3, and promoting the long-term development and application of Ethereum in Asia through continuous community building, technical exchange, and resource collaboration.