I. It's here! HashKey Group and Wanxiang Blockchain Labs present the inaugural Hong Kong Web3 Festival 

HashKey Group has partnered with Wanxiang Blockchain Labs to bring to life the inaugural Hong Kong Web3 Festival, to be held on 12-15 April 2023 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center (HKCEC).

The festival is expected to attract more than 10,000 attendees, 300 distinguished industry speakers, 100 Web3 projects, venture capitals and media partners from around the world. Representatives from the HKSAR government will also be invited to speak and dive into the latest digital asset regulation policies. 

Held across five stages at the HKCEC, the event will offer attendees an invaluable opportunity to learn about the intricacies, cutting-edge technology and infrastructural solutions of Web3. Web3 enthusiasts will also get a chance to converse face-to-face with key influencers and project founders through speaker AMAs ("Ask Me Anything"). 

Follow us on Twitter to stay up to date with the latest of the Web3 Festival. 

II. HashKey Capital Raises US$500 Million from Sovereign Funds, Corporations for Web3 Fund

HashKey Capital, a global asset manager specialising in crypto and blockchain, has raised another US$500 million for investments in the Web3 ecosystem. It has closed its third fund, HashKey FinTech Investment Fund III, receiving strong support from institutional investors including sovereign wealth funds, corporations and family offices.

“HashKey Capital has weathered at least three cycles in the industry. These unique experiences and insights will be invaluable to us in navigating through turbulence,” Deng Chao, CEO of HashKey Capital and Head of HashKey Singapore said in the announcement. 

“Fund III will follow our time-tested investment principles while also looking for game-changers, which would be those that will propel the industry forward into the next stage.” said Dr. Xiao Feng, Chairman of HashKey Group. “The HashKey Group was the inspiration behind the name ‘Shanghai Upgrade’ for Ethereum. As one of the earliest institutional investors in Ethereum and the host of Devcon2, we have maintained since the first day that the power of blockchain and crypto innovation can create a better future." 

Follow us on Twitter to stay up to date with the latest of HashKey Capital. 

III. Crypto Stories of the Week

Cathie Wood-backed 21shares offers first staking index ETP
21Shares has launched a new crypto exchange-traded product (ETP) offering diversified staking yield. The 21Shares Staking Basket Index ETP tracks proof-of-stake cryptocurrencies including Binance Coin, Cardano, Cosmos, Polkadot, Solana and Tezos.

National Australia Bank to launch AUD-backed stablecoin
National Australia Bank, one of the four largest banks in the country, plans to launch a stablecoin on Ethereum. The stablecoin, AUDN, will be backed 1:1 by Australian Dollars held in a trust at the bank. Business customers of the bank can use AUDN stablecoin in carbon credit trading and overseas money transfers, among other purposes.

South Korea launches metaverse replica of Seoul
The city government of South Korea’s capital Seoul officially launched its own metaverse platform. Residents can use avatars to explore a virtual replica of Seoul, receive career counselling service and obtain licenses, among other public services. Known as Metaverse Seoul, the platform is now available through Apple’s App Store and Google Play Store.

Polygon completes hard fork to reduce gas fee
Ethereum Layer-2 network Polygon successfully completed a hard fork targeting to smooth out gas fee spikes during network congestion. Polygon Labs announced the software upgrade had occurred at 10:45 UTC on Tuesday. The hard fork also tackles the disruptive chain reorganizations, known as “reorgs” and improves transaction finality on Polygon.

Animoca portfolio firms Forkast, CrytoSlam merge to form new media
NFT data tracker CryptoSlam and Hong Kong-based crypto media Forkast.News, both portfolio firms of Animoca Brands, will merge to form Forkast Labs. The new firm will focus on providing market news as well as market data analytics and asset tracking tools. Animoca Brands founder Yat Siu helped engineer the merger, according to Bloomberg.



IV. Key Weekly Data
Market Data (as of 19 January 2023)
• Total market value: US$968.74 billion  (-2.26% 7D) (Source: CoinMarketCap)
• Daily exchange volume (7DMA): US$24.72 billion (Source: The Block Research)
• Total exchange volume of Bitcoin and Ethereum (7DMA): Bitcoin - US$15 billion; Ether - US$3.92 billion (Source: The Block Research)
• DEX 7-day growth: US$14 billion (+89% compared to last week) (Source: Dune Analytics)


Contact:
Ben Ng
Marketing and Client Strategy Manager
ben.ng@hashkey.com