Backed by mainland China's talent pool, Hong Kong has the potential to become a leading city in Web3.
Article author: 0x9999in1
Source: MetaEra
Recently, MetaEra Hong Kong Zone was launched, and the "Hong Kong Crypto New Policy Two-Year Anniversary Celebration" series of activities took the lead in the launch. One of the important parts is "High-end Dialogue: Hong Kong Web3.0 Influential Leaders". The person interviewed in this issue is Wang Feng, the founder of Linekong Interactive.
Introduction
Wang Feng, founder of Linekong Interactive, initiator of Mars Finance, and co-founder of Element. He holds a Master of Business Administration from Peking University and has over 20 years of experience in the Internet industry. He founded Linekong Interactive in March 2007 and has experienced three eras of the Chinese game industry, from PC games, web games to mobile games.
In 2018, Wang Feng founded Mars Finance. With the ace column "Wang Feng's Ten Questions", the platform rose rapidly and received investments from OK, Huobi, Binance and MitrixPort. In 2021, Wang Feng co-founded the NFT trading platform Element, and in the same year received $11.5 million in financing led by Sequoia, SIG, Dragonfly Capital and other capitals. Wang Feng's contribution to the Web3 field is not limited to starting businesses and investing, but also includes his promotion and education of Web3 concepts. For example, he has shared important topics such as the ten important relationships between the NFT market and the Web3 world.
Highlights
● The emergence of opportunities must have signs and clues. Big opportunities are supported by cutting-edge concepts and are highlighted by significant symbolic events.
● I believe the SAR government has reason to see the value of cryptocurrencies in financial market innovation.
● In Europe back then, many powerful forces were vying for supremacy, and whoever started the industrial revolution first would lead the world.
● I think two things worth looking forward to in Hong Kong are stablecoins based on the Hong Kong dollar and the exploration of tokenization of listed company assets.
● Backed by mainland China’s talent pool, Hong Kong has the potential to become a cutting-edge city for Web3.
● Many listed companies have successively participated in cryptocurrencies, which seems to be a natural thing.
● Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai are all Asian cities. It seems that Asia is not an orphan of Web3.
Full Interview
MetaEra: You started from Kingsoft Software in the earliest Web 1.0 era, and then worked hard in the Internet era, seizing the trend of web games and mobile games, and founded Linekong Interactive, a Hong Kong listed company. In the Web3 era, you successively founded blockchain media Marsbit, NFT trading platform Element and other entrepreneurial projects. "Serial entrepreneur" must be one of the labels given to you by others. How do you view this identity of a serial entrepreneur?
Wang Feng: In the process of continuous entrepreneurship, I have always maintained a competitive spirit and curiosity to seize opportunities. I will also try and error in the tracks that I am interested in, and have been improving my product and team building capabilities.
MetaEra: In the past two years, in the wave of Web3, you have focused part of your energy on Twitter operations, often appearing as a KOL with sharp opinions and a likable attitude. Your Twitter nickname is "Xiaoyin New Decade". What are the deep meanings of "Xiaoyin" and "New Decade"?
Wang Feng: I don’t think I’ve found a suitable name yet. It was just a small incident. I was not familiar with Twitter at the beginning, so I just came up with it on the spur of the moment. It doesn’t really have much deep meaning.
MetaEra: In your recent tweet, you mentioned that "investment is not about chasing the rising market, but the ability to squat." Is this an investment logic that you have adhered to for many years? You have been deeply involved in early Internet investment and investment in the Web3 era. What are the differences between the investment attributes of the two?
Wang Feng: The logic of investment is to predict the changes that are happening. In his book Professionalism, Kenichi Ohmae, a world-renowned management guru, clearly explains the four necessary abilities of international professionals: foresight, conception, discussion, and the ability to adapt to contradictions. Among them, foresight can be learned and trained. In my opinion, there must be signs and clues for the emergence of opportunities. Big opportunities are supported by cutting-edge concepts and are highlighted by significant symbolic events.
MetaEra: After reading your resume, you will find that you have huge advantages in game development, design, and operation. However, after entering the Web3 era, you chose to do media, NFT transactions, and investments. However, in terms of the game itself, you launched the NAGA Web3 game platform, but did not make drastic changes to this Web3 game. What are your considerations?
Wang Feng: Frankly speaking, it is not clear whether blockchain will become an important opportunity in gaming.
As for NAGA, it is a tool incubated by our internal team. We will promote it to the outside world as a one-stop Web3 game platform that provides a full range of solutions for game developers and players, integrating modules such as game task system, multi-chain game library, on-chain data, and Web3 game identity system.
MetaEra: On October 31, 2022, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region issued the "Policy Declaration on the Development of Virtual Assets in Hong Kong", which also aroused great attention to Hong Kong Web3 at home and abroad. You also moved from the United States to Hong Kong. On the second anniversary of the Hong Kong New Deal, how do you view this event? Has it touched you or your company?
Wang Feng: Hong Kong is part of the global financial market, and the Hong Kong dollar is pegged to the US dollar. It is also a port for the Chinese market to participate in the liquidity of the global financial market. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has issued a "Policy Declaration on the Development of Virtual Assets in Hong Kong". I believe that the SAR government has reason to see the value of cryptocurrency to financial market innovation.
MetaEra: "It's not that Web3 needs Hong Kong, it's that Hong Kong needs Web3." This view also comes from your observation. In your opinion, what fleeting opportunities and potential challenges will the development of Web3 in Hong Kong face?
Wang Feng: Let me give you an example. In Europe back then, many powerful forces were vying for supremacy. Whoever initiated the industrial revolution first would lead the world.
I think there are two things worth looking forward to in Hong Kong: first, the launch of a stablecoin based on the Hong Kong dollar, which is likely to be implemented and executed, and can develop smoothly to the next stage; second, exploring the tokenization of listed company assets. If it can be done, it will also be a major event in the RWA concept of the cryptocurrency market.
MetaEra: The global Crypto City competition has begun. Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai are competing with each other in the direction of Web3. You also figuratively compare this to a "A Tale of Three Cities". What do you think are the focuses of these three regions in the direction of Web3? Who can become the new generation of Web3 metropolis?
Wang Feng: Hong Kong, Singapore, and Dubai are all Asian cities. It seems that Asia is not an orphan of Web3. Generally speaking, the three cities have a relatively developed financial service foundation. Especially Hong Kong, the unique advantage is that it is backed by the talent resources of mainland China. Hong Kong has the strength to become a leading city in Web3.
MetaEra: First, Cai Wensheng's Meitu purchased Bitcoin as a reserve asset, and then Linekong Interactive purchased Bitcoin to enter Web3. In addition, JD.com's Hong Kong subsidiary JD CoinChain Technology Co., Ltd. also recently entered the sandbox list of the Hong Kong dollar stablecoin. It seems that more and more traditional companies are pouring into Web3 through various means. Do you think your company needs the support of Web3, or does the Web3 world need an influx of fresh blood?
Wang Feng: Just this year, with the approval of Bitcoin ETF in the US market and the launch of Ethereum ETF in the Hong Kong market, it marks a new stage of integration of digital assets and traditional financial systems. Many listed companies have successively participated in cryptocurrencies. There is no such thing as I need you or you need me. This is more like a natural thing. Moreover, this process not only provides investors with new asset allocation options, but also further consolidates Hong Kong's position as an international financial center and virtual asset hub.
MetaEra: From your personal perspective, what suggestions do you have for Web3 startups in terms of partners, strategic deployment, business models, etc.?
Wang Feng: The essence of Web3 is an application-oriented solution built on a decentralized network, so its form is puzzle-like and composable.
In addition, more exploration should be done on the integration of Web3 and AI technologies, which is crucial for building the next generation of Internet infrastructure and releasing the value of data and computing power. This integration can not only promote technological innovation, but also reshape the digital economy and bring more autonomy and value to users. With the continuous advancement of technology and the expansion of application scenarios, the integration of Web3 and AI will undoubtedly become an important trend in future development.
