Speech by FS at Hong Kong Web3 Festival 2026 (English just) (with photos/video)
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Following is the speech by the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, at the Hong Kong Web3 Festival 2026 today (April 20):
魯偉鼎董事長 (Deputy to individuals’s National Congress, Vice Chairman to All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Wanxiang Group, Mr Lu Weiding), Dr Xiao (Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of HashKey Group, Dr Xiao Feng), identified visitors, girls and gentlemen,
Great early morning.
It is a satisfaction to join you at the Hong Kong Web3 Festival 2026 – an event of dreamers, innovators and financiers who are checking out and constructing the next generation of monetary and technological facilities.
When Web3 fulfills digital intelligence
We are fulfilling at an essential minute, as 2026 is quite a turning point. On the one hand, Web3 is growing, with its applications extending into more parts of the genuine economy. All over the world, banks are progressively utilizing digital properties and tokenisation to improve effectiveness, cut expenses, reduce settlement times, and create ingenious items for customers.
More kinds of possessions – from cash and bonds to genuine possessions and future earnings – are being represented in tokens that can move quickly and be available in smaller sized, more available systems. This is developing brand-new methods to invest, fund jobs, and share dangers throughout a broader neighborhood of individuals.
On the other hand, driven by AI, universal connection and omnipresence of information, digital intelligence is being embedded into the economy. The increase of agentic AI this year is another impressive turning point. They can evaluate info, make choices, and perform actions by themselves, consisting of engaging straight with other systems.
No doubt, the crossway of Web3 and AI is a video game changer. We can anticipate a future where AI representatives evaluate info and act at maker speed, making complete usage of blockchain facilities in the background. Together, they will raise deal effectiveness to a brand-new level, improving a vast array of activities – from financing and trade to wealth management, supply chain operations and logistics.
The concerns to be dealt with
This mix will produce enormous brand-new chances. It likewise raises a number of concerns that we need to attend to together.
The speed space. If AI can act in milliseconds, then the associated facilities, consisting of payments and settlement systems, need to keep up. Deals can not wait on days, and even hours. Here, the difficulty is not just about innovation. In the international Web3 environment, we likewise require typical requirements and close cross-border co-operation, so that activity can be identified, processed and monitored in a broadly constant method throughout jurisdictions.
Second, human control and security. Agentic AI has the capability to make choices autonomously. This indicates that we should guarantee that its behaviour stays foreseeable, traceable and open up to human intervention. We require clear guardrails so that individuals remain in control; therefore that abuse, control or cascading mistakes can be found and dropped in time.
Third, guideline and responsibility. As AI-driven activity crosses numerous platforms, items and markets, we should ensure that guideline and governance structures do the same so that financiers, users and customers are appropriately safeguarded. With the growing power of AI, we should likewise deal with threats such as cybersecurity hazards, frauds and system predisposition in a co-ordinated method.
Above all, decentralisation and digital intelligence do not indicate weaker responsibility or lower requirements. Rather, they can make it possible for smarter methods to develop compliance and oversight into the monetary system, enhancing its general stability.
Hong Kong’s vision and path
Due to these advancements, you might have an interest in the position that Hong Kong takes. Let me set out our technique.
On Web3 and AI, Hong Kong’s technique has actually been clear and constant. Under the “one country, two systems” concept, Hong Kong, as a worldwide monetary centre, welcomes development and brand-new innovations. Web3, tokenisation and AI are now ending up being crucial foundation for the future of mainstream financing. Our doors are open to Web3 business owners and organizations worldwide who wish to construct and scale their organization here.
As we chart our course in these locations, a couple of concepts will continue to direct our method and policies.
We preserve a well balanced, forward looking routine directed by the concept of “same activity, same risks, same regulation”with a strong concentrate on danger management and financier defense.
Second, our company believe that the genuine worth of blockchain innovation and digital properties depends on resolving real-life issues, decreasing expenses, accelerating settlements, enhancing openness and making monetary services more inclusive.
Third, we are securely professional development. Our regulators bring a double required: sensible guideline and market assistance. They work side by side with innovators through sandboxes and pilots, checking brand-new tools in a regulated environment, recognizing dangers early and offering prompt, useful feedback.
These concepts are main to our method to digital properties. An example is stablecoins, for which we released 2 provider licences previously this month. Stablecoins have considerable capacity to deal with enduring discomfort points in financial activity, specifically in cross-border trade and payments. At the very same time, we should securely secure users, the larger public and the stability of the monetary system. That is why we have actually embraced a sensible, detailed technique, with a strong compliance culture and ability as a requirement for any stablecoin provider.
We are taking the lead in motivating more tokenisation. We have actually provided several rounds of tokenised green and facilities bonds totaling up to over US$ 2 billion. These deals have actually assisted show how tokenisation can enhance settlement effectiveness and expand market involvement. We have actually now regularised such issuances.
We are figured out to drive more ingenious usage cases in tokenisation. Structure on Project Ensemble, the HKMA (Hong Kong Monetary Authority) introduced EnsembleTX last November. This pilot permits market individuals to utilize tokenised deposits in cash market fund deals, and to handle liquidity and treasury positions in genuine time.
With AI ending up being such an effective force, our objective is to harness it to empower various markets. We call this “AI+”That is why, as detailed in this year’s Budget, we will develop the Committee on AI+ and Industry Development Strategy. The merging of Web3 and AI, and the chances and difficulties they produce for financing and other sectors, will be one focus location for this Committee.
Closing
Looking ahead, there is still much to do as we go into a sped up stage of Web3 and AI. This will need us to motivate and support more ingenious applications, while continually gaining from experience and boosting our structures to equal modification.
By preserving an open and well balanced mindset, I am positive that Hong Kong will end up being a center where the next generation of innovations are established, used and scaled – ambitiously and properly.
I welcome all of you – innovators, business owners and financiers – to join us as we move on.
On this note, I want the Hong Kong Web3 Festival every success, and all of you the very best of health and company. Thank you quite.