Compiled by: BlockBeats
From April 6 to April 9, the Web3 Carnival was held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. As a focal point of industry attention, this carnival gathered top global Web3 talents. Compared to the bustling crowds of previous years, this year's conference seemed notably quieter based on participants' shared photos.
However, the conference was still not lacking genuine builders, with the density of core industry participants even higher than in previous years. Topics covered not only regulation, technical infrastructure, public chain ecosystems, AI, Depin, RWA, Payfi, crypto finance, and other Web3 industry focuses, but also spanned diverse fields from Web2 to Web3, traditional finance, academic research, security and privacy, interactive entertainment, and industrial-level application implementation. Moreover, the 2025 Hong Kong Web3 Carnival used the four seasons as a framework, interpreting the Web3 spirit through traditional Chinese poetic imagery, showcasing a unique narrative of technology and humanities fusion.
BlockBeats has selected four conference insights from participants, covering market sentiment, technological trends, investment directions, and more. The full text is reproduced below:
Princess Christine @0xsexybanana
[The rest of the translation follows the same professional and accurate approach, maintaining the original structure and meaning while translating to English.]12: I know there's nothing to invest in the market, and some friends are turning their gaze to WEB2. But be cautious when investing in WEB2 projects in the crypto. In project execution and implementation, there are many pitfalls to fall into. Moreover, most of these project teams lack a sense of belonging and identity. They have listened to too many "experts", resulting in poor execution, and when encountering troubles, they think about scamming VC money and running back to WEB2.
13: VCs cannot invest in MEME, but they can invest in MM and conspiracy groups.
13.5: Go travel more, traveling won't lose money! Why don't you go traveling with me.
As for the leeks:
14: Don't be a leek, they don't know why they live, nor why they die.
15: Here's a point I discovered during my offline lectures. Now, too many leeks only have communities and Twitter as information channels. Communities are full of abstract and noisy content, and you can hardly meet real big shots. The community quality is a hundred levels lower compared to 17-18. Twitter is not a good channel either, because there are too many garbage KOLs, and you can't determine their level or how they make money. Identifying KOLs is a low-return task. Think more, learn more, connect with real big shots, and showcase yourself! The crypto is great because as long as you're excellent, you always have a chance to touch the top. The top always humbly listens to voices from below. The "Tree of Establishment" has never been cut down.
16: Don't be a leek, they don't know why they live, nor why they die.
Some random thoughts:
The industry has basically solidified, with fewer opportunities. Many top-tier bosses have already laid flat. Mid to high-level experts, driven by passion and life pursuit, are still shining. Chatting with them is enjoyable because we don't discuss projects or collaborations. Discussing past achievements reveals each other's capabilities and reliability. K-lines have recorded our lives and connected us, which is the unique charm of blockchain.
Too many newcomers are distracted by noise and focus on meaningless projects and KOLs. However, detours are inevitable. I never despise KOLs. They are part of the ecosystem, and the crypto needs them to attract retail investors. I'm happy to have met many excellent juniors who are about to take the stage.
At a private gathering, during a night of drinking, a boss brought a BD girl who kept wanting to meet some "big shots" at the next table. The boss casually remarked: Can those "big shots" make money for you? In their eyes, you might just be a pretty girl, and they might just want to drink and have fun with you.
The girl was a bit angry but didn't say much. I could see she didn't understand, so I told her: "Your job is to maintain big clients, and it's understandable to meet these people. But essentially, you're earning a salary. Because you don't have the ability to connect with those bosses, you don't even know which ones are real bosses or who has money."
The girl, recently graduated with a master's degree, nodded half-understanding. I saw her as my past self. To become strong, become valuable, use your value to connect with others, create new value, and gradually move to a higher ecological position. This is the only thing to do in the crypto, the only path to success.
The Hong Kong conference ended. The industry's focus, core, and future have never been in a chicken pot restaurant or nightclub. True value only exists at the intersection of pioneers' paths. They can spark new value by casually chatting in a coffee shop and confirming they're the right people.
AB Kuai.Dong @_FORAB
Winter under song and dance?
1. This should be the coldest Hong Kong conference I've attended. Exhibition friends generally complain about difficult merchant recruitment this year, while media friends complain that project orders are becoming fewer.
2. Many colleagues from big firms are somewhat wanting to return to trading platforms this year. Although the salary is fixed and somewhat like a screw, it's good to have a paycheck + a big platform that sounds impressive, again confirming the saying: want to hustle in bull market, want to work in bear market.
3. Project teams who completed token issuance years ago are pondering what to do during this bear market, so they can issue tokens again in the next bull market. Recently token-issued guys are basically worried, feeling like everything they do is wrong.
4. VC peers this year are generally showing a polarized state. For example, previously invested projects were valued too high and have been heavily cleared by the market. However, new projects encountered subsequently have very cheap valuations.
5. An event where CZ and Vitalik appeared simultaneously, unexpectedly CZ was more popular than V God, causing everyone to rush for photos with CZ, who joked, "You can also go find Vitalik."
6. Last year, everyone was still arguing about whether Ethereum had problems. This year, there seems to be a complete consensus. Whether at Vitalik's appearance site or private occasions, there are questioning and discussion everywhere.
7. After asking several market makers and institutions, most are looking at ETH dropping below 800, mainly betting on panic exits from cyclical loans and ICO participants. However, in June 2022, everyone also thought similarly and ultimately only touched around 880.
8. Western white participants this year are clearly fewer, even at technical sessions, the proportion of foreigners is less. 2 years ago, everyone was very FOMO about the Hong Kong story and willing to come from far away. This year, that enthusiasm seems gone.
9. This time I met many airdrop veterans. To some extent, some veterans have indeed changed their family's economic situation through airdropping. The token issuance season from late last year to early this year, while some workstations were buried by Sybil attacks, it also made a batch of people wealthy.
10. Although everyone's assessment of Hong Kong's compliance push remains difficult, Hong Kong has become an interesting crypto exchange center. Undercurrents are surging. Many projects that can't go back are generally coming from Singapore, while crypto trading veterans are generally coming from mainland China, creating interesting friction and collisions.
11. Some Chinese top bloggers' industry layouts are not just in crypto, but also involve trendy brands, medical beauty, and listed companies, gradually forming a substantial industry network, increasingly resembling European and American agency investment companies.
These are the observations from this Hong Kong conference. I can finally sit back at my computer, and I will continue to share more information with everyone. Thank you for reading.
Fourteen Jun
Reading link: 《Looking back on these three years at the Hong Kong Carnival: Passion, Disenchantment, and Crossing》
