BIT founding partner Cynthia Wu attended the 2026 International Fintech Forum: On-chain capital demand drives the accelerated development of RWA

The 2026 International Fintech Forum will be held in Hong Kong on November 4. Cynthia Wu, founding partner and Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) of BIT, was invited to attend and participate in a roundtable discussion on the topic of Digitalisation and Personalisation: Navigating Wealth Management's AI Revolution.

Cynthia analyzed the underlying logic of the rapid rise of RWA (Real World Assets) over the past two to three years from the perspective of supply and demand, sharing BIT's practices in the field of tokenized assets and providing industry insights on how Hong Kong can leverage blockchain and AI technology to strengthen its position as a wealth management center.

1. The Rise of RWA Originates from Real On-Chain Capital Demand

Cynthia stated that she usually views issues from the perspective of supply and demand, and the reason RWA has become a focus of the industry in the past two to three years is fundamentally due to the emergence of real capital demand on-chain.

She pointed out that the current total market value of on-chain assets is approximately $2.6 trillion, with stablecoins accounting for about $300 billion. Meanwhile, major jurisdictions around the world are intensively advancing stablecoin regulation: the United States has passed the GENIUS Act, while Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, and South Korea have established their own stablecoin regulatory frameworks, and Europe has MiCA. "This is almost a global collaborative effort aimed at introducing more capital in a digitalized and tokenized form." She anticipates that the issuance of on-chain stablecoins may grow tenfold in the next three to five years, with application scenarios covering payments, investments, trading, and more.

2. On-Chain Capital Requires More Diverse Asset Allocation Targets

In Cynthia's view, as the scale of on-chain capital expands, there will inevitably be a need for allocatable assets. Native crypto assets like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana are no longer sufficient to meet demand; investors are looking to build more diversified portfolios and achieve more reasonable risk-return profiles, which has greatly accelerated the rapid development of RWA, with stocks, funds, credit, real estate, precious metals, and other assets almost simultaneously initiating the tokenization process.

"Three years ago, on-chain RWA hardly existed, but now it has formed a considerable scale." She believes that in the next three, five, or even ten years, investing in various tokenized underlying assets using stablecoins is likely to become a common investment method.

3. BIT's Practice: From Crypto Exposure to Diverse Assets

Regarding BIT's own development, Cynthia mentioned that a few years ago, clients approached BIT mainly to gain exposure to Bitcoin or crypto assets and to seek excess returns; now, clients want to do more with their stablecoins, and BIT has continuously adjusted and expanded its business accordingly:

1. In 2023, launched Asia's first tokenized U.S. Treasury product;
2. From 2024 to 2025, will launch tokenized gold backed by LBMA standard physical gold and provide physical delivery services in Hong Kong and Singapore;
3. This year, BIT supports clients to deposit stablecoins and directly trade U.S. and Hong Kong stocks.

She further stated that as stock trading infrastructure continues to evolve, the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ may fully migrate their trading infrastructure and systems on-chain next year. "At that time, clients will not need to withdraw stablecoins for currency exchange; they can directly deposit into brokerage accounts, which will then deposit into exchange accounts for direct trading of tokenized stocks. We are seeing not only clients expressing such demands but the entire financial ecosystem preparing for this."

4. Hong Kong's Advantages: Using Blockchain and AI to Propel Wealth Management into a New Phase

When discussing Hong Kong's development advantages, Cynthia pointed out that Hong Kong is the only city in China that allows blockchain financial services, and the Hong Kong regulatory authorities have taken a quite proactive attitude in regulating and guiding industry development.

She believes that Hong Kong is already a mature international wealth management center, and what should truly be grasped is the first-mover advantage in policy, resources, and blockchain and AI technology, thereby performing better in its existing advantageous fields. "Specifically, this means product innovation, investment consulting, and investor protection. This is precisely the opportunity that will lead Hong Kong into the next era."

About BIT
BIT (formerly Matrixport) was established in 2019 and is a leading global digital asset financial services group. The group is headquartered in Singapore and has offices in seven countries and regions worldwide, connecting traditional finance and digital asset markets through a robust governance system, technological capabilities, and compliant operations.

BIT provides comprehensive digital asset services to global institutions and professional investors, covering trading, custody, asset management, liquidity, and financing services, and supports the on-chain introduction and application of Real World Assets (RWA). Its entities hold relevant licenses and are regulated locally in Singapore, Hong Kong, Switzerland, the UK, the US, and Bhutan, including a Major Payment Institution license (MPI) in Singapore and a collective asset management license issued by FINMA in Switzerland.

Currently, the group manages assets exceeding $6 billion, with a monthly trading volume exceeding $7 billion, having paid a total of over $2 billion in interest to clients, and is valued at over $1 billion, having been included in the 2024 Hurun Global Unicorn List and the 2025 Singapore Fintech Unicorn List.

Disclaimer

This content is for reference only and does not constitute investment advice, an investment offer, or an invitation to purchase any financial products, nor does it constitute a public offering or promotion of the products mentioned in any jurisdiction. The information contained herein should not be viewed as a recommendation for any specific investment strategy or product. The prices of digital assets are highly volatile, and investments involve risks; past performance does not represent future returns.