HONG KONG, August 29, 2025 – Aether Holdings, through its media subsidiary Alpha Edge Media, brought together leading global investors, innovators, and financial executives at the Alpha Edge Summit Hong Kong 2025, with sessions spotlighting the role of Bitcoin, digital asset treasuries, and tokenised investments in shaping institutional finance.
The summit, held at Cloud 39 in The Henderson during Bitcoin Asia Week, carried the theme “Where Alpha Meets Access: Institutional Strategies for a Digital Financial Future” and featured a curated programme of keynotes, fireside chats, and panel discussions.
Keynote insights and sentiment-driven markets
Opening the event, Aether’s Chief Financial Officer Suresh Iyer outlined the company’s perspective on the evolving digital asset landscape. This was followed by a fireside chat titled “How Memes Move Markets — Sentiment as Alpha in Web3”, led by Patricia Auer of Factor VC and featuring Frank Cid, Vice President of Business Development at Aether. The discussion examined the influence of online communities, cultural narratives, and sentiment in shaping Web3 markets
The first panel, “Bitcoin as a Treasury Asset: Strategy, Risk, and Opportunity”, moderated by Tamir Abdel-wahab, Co-founder and CEO of Preferences AI, gathered executives including:
- Stacey Sun, Director of Capital Markets, Aether
- Brian Hoonjong Paik, Co-founder & CEO, SmashFi
- Tiena Sekharan, Head of Reserve Solutions, Fiscus
- Eddy Travia, Co-founder & CEO, Coinsilium
The speakers debated Bitcoin’s role as a reserve asset for corporates, central banks, and startups, highlighting both the risks and the long-term strategic opportunities. Panellists shared experiences ranging from small enterprises using Bitcoin to survive economic downturns to listed companies adopting it for treasury diversification.
Industry perspective: mobility and blockchain
Gold sponsor CSTS Enterprises & Connexus Travel delivered a keynote titled “Where Legacy Meets Ledger: How a Travel Legend is Quietly Building the Future of Mobility.” The presentation underscored how traditional industries are adopting blockchain and digital finance to reshape operations and customer experiences.
The second panel session, “Maximising Strategic Value in Digital Asset Treasuries”, moderated by Esther Ng, Head of Events at Aether, featured:
- Lu Yin, APAC, Solana Foundation
- Colin Verhaegen, Head of APAC, Kiln
- Josh Du, Chief Investment Officer, Animoca Brands
The discussion centred on the use of decentralised networks and blockchain platforms to enhance treasury efficiency, liquidity management, and strategic asset deployment.
The final panel, “From Stablecoins to RWAs – The Evolution of Digital Asset Investing”, moderated by Esther Jiang, Head of Asia at Conflux Network, included:
- Alexander Feenie, Founder & CEO, STRIDE
- Constance Waing, Co-founder, Pacifica
- Kevin Loo, CEO (HK), DigiFT
- Sean Lee, Co-founder, IDA
The conversation highlighted how institutional investors are moving beyond stablecoins to tokenised real-world assets (RWAs), signalling a broadening of the digital finance landscape and opening new avenues for portfolio diversification.
The summit concluded with closing remarks from Aether Holdings and a networking cocktail party, offering attendees the opportunity to forge new partnerships against the backdrop of Hong Kong’s skyline.
Nicolas Lin, Chairman and CEO of Aether Holdings, said the summit aimed to be “where the future of institutional digital finance gets debated, challenged, and defined,” reinforcing the company’s commitment to bridging traditional markets and the fast-growing digital asset sector.