2026-01-09 08:22:46

By 2025, the digital asset market has undergone significant upheaval, and the industry is entering a phase of deep adjustment and consolidation. A recent Web3 Global Elite Forum held in Hong Kong brought together top scholars from academia, leading VC institutions, and experienced practitioners to jointly explore the future direction of the industry.

The core highlight of this forum was not about hype around concepts, but rather an in-depth analysis centered on the three pillars of "compliance, security, and asset on-chain (RWA)," using data and technological logic to outline a roadmap for industry upgrades in 2026.

An academic speech at the opening of the forum was particularly interesting. The speaker analyzed the awkward situation of traditional gold in the wave of digitalization. On the surface, gold's position as the king of safe-haven assets remains unshaken, but the underlying trading structure is quite revealing — approximately 90% of transactions in the London OTC market are "unallocated gold," which is essentially just a paper IOU, and investors do not actually hold the physical gold, let alone have direct ownership. Worse still, such gold cannot serve as an efficient liquid collateral in the DeFi ecosystem.

This is precisely the entry point for RWA (Real-World Asset on-chain). When the pain points of traditional financial assets are so obvious, tokenizing and making them transparent through blockchain technology not only allows investors to gain true ownership but also significantly enhances the liquidity and usability of assets. Stablecoins serve as the hub connecting all of this, providing a trustworthy value scale for the on-chain financial ecosystem.

Overall, the signals released by this forum are very clear: the future of Web3 is no longer a playground for hype concepts but is gradually evolving toward compliance, transparency, and digital assetization. Projects that truly address real financial pain points are the ones worth paying attention to.

RWA-1,87%

DEFI5,04%

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PumpAnalyst

· 6h ago

Are 90% of gold assets just paper IOUs? That's hilarious. Traditional finance has been cutting leeks for decades and still dares to claim it's safe [Thinking] This wave of RWA does have some substance, but don’t be fooled by project teams. The key is whether there are real-world scenarios. Talking about compliance sounds nice, but who actually defines compliance? Regulatory standards vary by country. I agree that stablecoins are a hub, but the premise must be backed by real assets; otherwise, they are just air coins. Forums like this are full of storytelling experts; it depends on how things are implemented later. Where is the support level? Has the technical breakdown occurred? Don’t just listen to concepts; let the data speak. No matter how good the words, they can't change the fate of leeks. Be careful of chasing highs and getting caught. Valuable RWA projects are rare; most are just hype. Distrust big forums like this—they're usually just paving the way for certain coins. Wait and see. This wave might still need to build a bottom; don’t jump in too early.

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GhostAddressMiner

· 8h ago

90% of London's gold is just IOUs... Now this is getting interesting, the skin of traditional finance is finally about to be peeled off. But speaking of which, has anyone traced the flow of funds behind those projects promoting RWA? It just feels like this narrative shift is too smooth.

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PumpDetector

· 22h ago

ngl that 90% unallocated gold thing is wild... basically admitting the whole thing's been a ponzi scheme dressed up fancy lol. rwa's gonna be the real move if anyone actually builds it right, not another token launch disguised as "innovation"

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DefiPlaybook

· 01-09 08:51

90% of gold is undistributed? Now I understand, we've been trading paper IOUs all along. RWA definitely hits the sweet spot of traditional finance, but how well the assets can actually flow on-chain still depends. Compliance, transparency, digital assets—sounds great, but the actual implementation is another story. Stablecoins are truly a hub, but only if they can withstand scrutiny (thinking of those stablecoins that went bankrupt...). Honestly, the tone of the forum is pleasant, but are there really projects doing these things in a bear market? Or is it just another round of hype? Looking at on-chain data, what's the current TVL of RWA? Is there real entry data? If this works out, we could all start earning from traditional finance in the future, but the risks need to be properly assessed. Without smart contract bugs, this is indeed more solid than many liquidity mining projects.

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ConsensusDissenter

· 01-09 08:44

90% paper gold? So traditional finance is just dressed up in new clothes. RWA is indeed a solution idea, but how many projects have actually been implemented? Compliance is easy to talk about, but in practice, policies vary greatly across countries. Stablecoin hub? The prerequisite is to avoid another collapse. No matter how beautiful the forum looks, it depends on whether there are actual cases later on. The projects eliminated in this round of adjustment are all just air projects; only those with real substance dare to boast now. Putting gold on the chain indeed exposes the soft underbelly of traditional finance, but could it just be another hype of new concepts? It depends on who can truly make transparent asset ownership happen, not just creating another scam.

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BearMarketBuilder

· 01-09 08:40

90% unallocated gold? That's why I still trust on-chain assets more Gold also plays paper games, but DeFi is actually more transparent, which is ironic Compliance sounds good, but there are only a few projects that can truly achieve it RWA has been popular for so long, but where are the reliable products that have actually been implemented? Let's wait and see Stablecoins are really the key; without them, DeFi is all just virtual Is this another round of hype for concepts? Or is there really a change happening? London OTC operations... are even more questionable than some projects in the crypto space Finally, someone has exposed the bugs in traditional finance; it was about time The direction of on-chain assets is correct, but don’t turn it into another wave of air coins again

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BearMarketBro

· 01-09 08:31

Damn, 90% paper gold? Someone should have said this a long time ago. RWA is indeed interesting this time, but projects that can actually be implemented are rare. The toughest part is probably compliance; regulators in different countries are doing their own thing. Stablecoins are the core; without good pricing tools, everything else is useless. Honestly, from hype to practical application, there are too many pitfalls in between. Again and again, every year they say they will integrate, but what’s the result? I’m optimistic about the prospects of RWA, but don’t believe the usual rhetoric on forums. How long have they been hyping up the tokenization of gold? Where are the real users? Standardization is a hurdle; all promises are empty. Feels like just building castles in the air. Let’s wait and see how 2026 turns out.

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