How Web3 attracts senior executives in the traditional finance world? Chris Lee, a former Chief Financial Officer who served multiple listed companies, recalls his first encounter with the concepts and technologies of Web3 in 2013. "When I heard about this technology, I thought, wow, the world is going to change."
Chris was amazed at its potential to disrupt the entire payment value chain. That moment, he was at his peak in the traditional finance career, enjoying a prestigious reputation in the industry, with blue-chip listed companies chasing him for job offers. However, he chose to spend his time studying blockchain, travelling to Silicon Valley, and witnessing the industry's rapid revolution. Then, he accepted the invitation to join a cryptocurrency exchange OKEx as CFO in2016, being appointed the CEO of OKx two years later. "I asked myself, why not give it a try? I then took a significant pay cut to join this industry.And of course, many thought I was fooled not to work for a larger listed traditional company instead," Chris said. He believes civilisation would benefit from Web3 and is seeing its PayFi to be a major hit.
In his Web3 journey, besides OKX, he served also as the CFO for Huobi, becoming the first HongKonger to hold key positions in two major crypto exchanges. During his time at Huobi, he led the application for compliance licenses in Japan and developed key financial infrastructures.Leaving Huobi, he founded Merkle 3s Capital, aiming to be the first hybrid crypto venture capital fund originated from Hong Kong.
Born in China, moving to Hong Kong in his teenage years , Chris is now a frequent traveller to Hong Kong, Singapore, and the UnitedStates. Comparing the Web3 development in these three regions, he described the U.S. as a current leader and is recently adopting Web3 as a national strategy. That being said, the tax rate and operating costs are high there; Singaporeis very conservative, with a lower acceptance of cryptocurrency compared to Hong Kong.Obtaining asset management licenses is also extremely difficult. "After the FTX incident, theSingapore Government has been very skeptical in developing Web3." In contrast, Hong Kong is more progressive as compared to Singapore, with multiple investment products available. “HongKong has its unique “Front Shop, Back Factory”model, he said. We have world-class financial infrastructures in the city, and at same time have a strong technological backbone with talents inChina.
Despite the above, he agrees that Hong Kong's policies are lacking behind. To facilitate industry-wide growth, governmental institutions and the private sector need to establish a collaborative mechanism to continue pushing for more open yet compliant system. He witnessed many previous successes in Hong Kong, such as
the rise of Animoca Brands co-founded by YatSiu. This leads him to believe that the hope forWeb3 in Hong Kong lies with everyone devoting to it. He has currently invested in about six HongKong based projects, not seeking short-term profit, but to support Hong Kong’s youth in developing Web3. "Web3 in Hong Kong has a future for certain. But the key question is: When?We need to accelerate, but as a Chinese, we always say more haste, less speed. I think we need to be a bit more patient."
"I can't be as grounded and as touched when I Leave Hong Kong. I still want to eat pineapple buns and go to Mong Kok for fish balls," Chris laughed,noting also Hong Konger’s fast-paced work ethic,professionalism, and "can-do" spirit, which makes him proud of his Hong Kong Chinese heritage.After all of his global voyages, he still cherish the emotional ties to this hometown and plans to return and settle here in the future, continuing to "Make Impact for Hong Kong."
