The forum “Digital Leap: Convergence and Opportunities Between Digital Assets and Traditional Finance”, co-hosted by CEIBS Alumni Finance & Investment Association, ForthTech, and OnePort, was successfully held at JW Marriott Hong Kong. The event brought together key players from digital asset management, fintech, blockchain infrastructure, and compliance services to explore institutional adoption, global asset allocation, and emerging regulatory paradigms.
Opening Remarks
Jun Yang, Vice President of the CEIBS Alumni Finance & Investment Association and Chairman of Centurial Insurance Asset Management, delivered the opening remarks on behalf of the organizers. He emphasized that digital assets are reshaping global capital markets and that Hong Kong, as a vital gateway between East and West, is uniquely positioned to lead in this transformation.
Keynotes: Global Allocation and Infrastructure Innovation
ForthTech’s leadership presented two keynote speeches focused on digital asset allocation strategies and infrastructure deployment.
CIO James Bernesi outlined the restructuring of the global financial landscape, noting that digital assets are transitioning from speculative fringe to core institutional portfolios, enhancing both hedging capabilities and return potential.
Co-founder Darren Chan reviewed the evolution of quantitative investment in digital assets and shared ForthTech’s experience in building AI-driven infrastructure. He highlighted that integrating traditional financial standards with agile and building digital asset-native systems is critical to maintaining a competitive edge in today’s market.
Panel I: Digital Assets in Portfolio Strategy Amid Uncertainty
The first panel, moderated by Alex Zhang, Co-Chair of the Hong Kong Blockchain Association, brought together a distinguished group of speakers including Gao Nan, Founder of Xuanwu Family Office; Ashley Li, Rotating Head of Fosun Asset Management; Cynthia Wu, COO of Matrixport; Bing Zhang, Managing Director at Avenir Group; and Rui Wang, Partner at IOBC Capital. The discussion centered on how family offices and asset managers are navigating digital asset allocation. Panelists expressed strong conviction in digital assets’ long-term role in wealth management and emphasized the need for more productized, client-friendly solutions.
Panel II: Practical Compliance in a Global Regulatory Environment
The second panel, moderated by Vincent Wang, COO of ForthTech, brought together leading compliance and infrastructure experts, including Eugene Cheung, CCO of OSL; Katie Liu, Director of Business Development at Copper; Davy Kong, Managing Director at Ascent; and Ronald Poon, Executive Director at Amina Bank.
Panelists discussed the respective roles of exchanges, custodians, fund administrators, and banks within the digital asset ecosystem, and shared how their institutions are addressing security, compliance, and transparency. They also examined the evolution of regulatory frameworks, highlighting both current and emerging challenges and opportunities. Finally the session concluded with practical insights into evaluating and selecting high-quality service providers—underscoring shared confidence in the sustainable, compliance-driven growth of the industry.
Participants broadly acknowledged the strategic value of digital assets in institutional portfolios and proposed actionable paths for integration. There was strong consensus on the sector’s regulatory progress and long-term growth potential. ForthTech remains committed to fostering a compliant and resilient digital finance ecosystem in close collaboration with global partners.
About ForthTech
Founded in 2017, ForthTech is a pioneering digital asset quantitative trading and investment management firm. Leveraging artificial intelligence, machine learning, and deep learning, the company has built a systematic investment framework and developed proprietary infrastructure, including data systems, trading execution platforms, risk management engines, and strategy development platforms.
ForthTech holds multiple regulatory licenses worldwide and has provided institutional-grade digital asset investment and trading solutions to a broad range of high-net-worth individuals and institutional investors. By empowering traditional financial institutions to enter the Web3 space, ForthTech is at the forefront of capturing long-term growth opportunities in the digital asset market.
Disclaimer:
This content is for informational purposes only. Information verification has been done to the best of our ability. Still, due to the nature of the blockchain (cryptocurrency, NFT, mining, etc.) sector as a whole, you are advised to conduct your own additional research and exercise caution. Investments in these fields are inherently risky and should be approached with due diligence.