Aptos Foundation Highlights Global DeFi Ecosystem Leaders, Underscores OpenFi Value to TradFi with DeFi Days Summit in Hong Kong

[PRESS RELEASE – Cayman Islands, Cayman Islands, April 25th, 2024]

Aptos Foundation successfully hosted its first-ever DeFi Days – a multi-day summit held between April 2-5, 2024 and set in Hong Kong – dedicated to moving the world towards the future of finance.

Attracting over 150 attendees, thirty Aptos ecosystem teams, and more than ninety investors, DeFi Days’ agenda focused a diverse group of global finance leaders around a single goal: collaborating to deliver a more accessible, democratized future to market for the industry and for society.

The agenda featured panels and talks from members of the Aptos ecosystem – such as Aptos Labs, Merkle Trade, Helix, Ondo Finance, Jambo Technology, Econia, and Thala Labs – and external players like Foresight Ventures, Amber Group, and Fortwest Capital. The throughline: painting an all-inclusive picture of what the next era of finance could look like—along with clear context and technical perspective on what it will take to bring that future to life.

The first two DeFi Days’ programming focused largely on DeFi projects within the Aptos ecosystem. Topics covered included onboarding the next one billion users, VC versus founder perspectives on DeFi, capturing opportunities in Asia, and more.

Avara Founder and Chief Executive Officer Stani Kulechov, Panora Chief Technology Officer Shraddha Agarwal, and Econia Labs Chief Executive Officer Alex Kahn came together on a panel to unpack why Move and DeFi protocols and apps work so well together. Another panel on real world asset (RWA) tokenization highlighted projects from Aptos ecosystem partners Propbase, Qiro Finance, Øxprop, and HELIX. Aptos Labs Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer Avery Ching also gave a keynote speech about parallelism – the ability of a blockchain network to execute multiple transactions simultaneously – and why it’s such an important part of building a DeFi that works for everyone.

Following the ecosystem-centered program, a third day co-hosted with BCG lasered in on traditional finance (TradFi) institutions and the crucial role these organizations will play in bringing Open Finance (OpenFi) into the mainstream. Representatives from HKT Digital Ventures and Hanseng Bank discussed the willingness within institutions to experiment with permissionless environments – a significant shift in mentality compared to the private network solutions that have been used until now.

“The heft of the Aptos ecosystem was on full display in Hong Kong with leaders representing DeFi protocols, apps, real-world asset management platforms, and other Web3 pioneers bridging the TradFi-DeFi gap,” said Kevin Ang, Head of Developer Growth, Aptos Foundation. “Every panel, talk, and conversation made it abundantly clear that builders, developers, and engineers are at the heart of every success story on Aptos and in Web3, generally.”

“Everything about Defi Days was inspiring – from its location in the heart of Hong Kong to attendees jet setting to attend from every corner of the DeFi (and literal) world, to the presentations from leaders of thriving Aptos ecosystem projects that are actively putting Web3 into people’s hands at scale,” said Alix Musset, Head of Ecosystem, Aptos Labs. “We’ve said it before, we’ll say it again: the future of finance is here. And because of the unmatched throughput, security, and performance Aptos Labs has contributed to the ecosystem, it’s happening on Aptos.”

“At DeFi Days, we were able to build strong connections with the Aptos Foundation, Aptos Labs, and Aptos ecosystem teams,” said YK (Youngkyun) Rha, Chief Operating Officer at Merkle Trade. “Unlike other L1 ecosystems, the Aptos ecosystem is truly collaborative and supportive. Everyone shares the same goal: to build the future of DeFI and Web3 on Aptos. The hefty on-stage program, opportunities to connect with fellow builders, and compelling side convos at DeFi Days was evidence of that.”

Together with ecosystem partners and traditional finance institutions, the Aptos Foundation will continue bringing the world closer to a decentralized future of finance. For more on DeFi on Aptos, users can visit https://aptosfoundation.org/ecosystem/projects/defi

About Aptos Foundation

Aptos Foundation, is dedicated to supporting the development of the Aptos protocol, decentralized network and ecosystem and driving engagement with the Aptos ecosystem. By unlocking a blockchain with seamless usability, Aptos Foundation aims to bring the benefits of decentralization to the masses.

Aptos Network

Aptos is a next-generation Layer 1 blockchain. Aptos’ breakthrough Technology and programming language, Move, are designed to evolve, improve performance and strengthen user safeguards. Users can visit https://www.aptosfoundation.org for more information on the Aptos blockchain.