May 2025 Community Updates
Bitcoin once again reached an all-time high this year, driving bullish sentiment across the cryptocurrency market. Over the past month, the market showed signs of bullishness while investors sentiment remained cautiously optimistic.
Macroeconomic factors contributed to uncertainty, including Trump’s tariff announcements, a Moody’s U.S. credit downgrade, and shifting expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts. However, institutional confidence remained robust, highlighted by MicroStrategy’s purchase of Bitcoin and other companies following suit to add digital currency as their reserve.
Stablecoin regulation in the U.S. is advancing rapidly with the GENIUS and STABLE Acts, fostering integration with traditional finance while addressing risks. The market continues to grow, driven by institutional adoption and regulatory clarity, positioning stablecoins as a critical bridge between crypto and global finance. We are excited to cover this in the coming month to take a look at what this means.
On the Ground in Hong Kong
We’ve been participating at key tech events in Hong Kong, Asia’s innovation hub, to stay ahead of the curve on the latest trends shaping digital transformation and user adoption.
The AWS Summit Hong Kong 2025, celebrating its 10th year at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, was a dynamic dive into cloud computing, generative AI, and digital transformation. Regional leaders like HKTV Group, Crypto.com, InvestHK and Octopus Card Ltd fueled discussions on AI’s potential, particularly agentic systems.
While corporations get to showcase their AI use cases in their workflow, there are plenty of networking platforms among VCs and startups discussing their take on AI applications and impact.
Hong Kong’s startup ecosystem shone brightly, with Nathaniel Chan of BetatronHK emphasizing the city’s accessible capital and robust support from programs like Cyberport and HK Science Park, advising founders to pitch sustainable products over fleeting trends, not incorporating AI for the sake of it, rather the technology should elevate the core business model.
Anita Wong of Green Tomato introduced “Digital Humans,” AI-driven personas for roles like newscasting, product promotion or companionship, signaling a shift in media engagement as these tools unlock new creative and marketing potential.
Meanwhile, the Tech Fest Summit 2025, also at the Convention Centre, zeroed in on AI’s dual role as a powerful tool and a cybersecurity risk. With over 50 exhibitors and speakers from PCCW Solutions, HSBC and Crypto.com sharing their way to protect themselves from attacks.
While AWS was all about what you can create and automate with AI, Tech Fest was about how you can safeguard your operations from all kinds of virtual attacks with the help of AI. As the event discussed the need for scalable cybersecurity to match AI’s rapid evolution, with experts highlighting AI’s transformative role in cyber defenses.
We also want to celebrate the success of the HK Tech 300 Expo, held on May 23-24, 2025, at City University of Hong Kong. This global start-up competition showcased 300 innovative start-ups across Biotech, AI, Advanced Tech, and Fintech. Attracting talent from nine countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Turkey, and Vietnam, it partnered with 11 universities and five accelerators. Since 2021, HK Tech 300 has supported over 900 start-ups, with 190 receiving up to HK$1 million in funding, fostering innovation and connecting young entrepreneurs worldwide.
We’re thrilled to be sharing the latest narratives with you in AI, Web3, and broader innovation happening in Hong Kong. As we continue to make meaningful connections on the ground. And this isn’t a one-sided conversation, as we are always engaging with projects who share the same passion with our community.
Community Activities and Highlights
We always value hearing from our vibrant OAX community! A week ago, we conducted a poll to understand your thoughts on our research and your vision for our future direction.
The results are in, and your feedback is instrumental in guiding the OAX Foundation’s focus. It seems like AI is still dominating a good portion of market interest, and we hear you! It’s certainly an exciting new frontier of technology and innovation, we can’t wait to see more use cases for AI in the Web3 space as well.
We’d like to congratulate all 10 winners - the team will be contacting all winners on X on the campaign thread, so keep a lookout on your notifications!
Thank you to all participants and winners who contributed your insights, your engagement is crucial in shaping our community’s path forward. We’ll be integrating more polls and community feedback mechanisms into our content as we look towards the next phase.
Going Forward
At the OAX Foundation, we are committed to staying at the forefront of innovation, and AI is a transformative force we cannot overlook. Its impact is reshaping industries in ways we’re only beginning to understand. As we continue to integrate AI into our roadmap, we aim to deliver practical knowledge from our experience to our community.
Stay tuned as we continue to evaluate new decentralised models that aim to drive the space forward.
Disclaimer: The above is an opinion piece written by an authorized author, but in no way represents the official standpoint of OAX Foundation Limited, nor should it be meant to serve as investment advice.
