Event Draws Over 11,000 Attendees
Consensus Hong Kong wrapped up its second day on Thursday with more than 11,000 participants in attendance, marking a successful conclusion to CoinDesk's latest Asian conference. While the opening day catered primarily to institutional investors and professional traders, the second day shifted its attention toward the developer community and blockchain scaling solutions.
Blockchain Communities Address Scaling Challenges
Representatives from Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana communities took center stage to discuss the ongoing challenges of network scalability. The sessions explored the infrastructure and tooling requirements necessary to support their expanding user bases, highlighting the technical hurdles that major blockchain platforms continue to face.
World Liberty Financial Unveils Cross-Border Payment Solution
World Liberty Financial, the cryptocurrency project associated with U.S. President Donald Trump and his family, revealed plans to launch a foreign-exchange platform called World Swap. According to co-founder Zak Folkman, the platform will focus on cross-border transfers and leverage the USD1 stablecoin to offer significantly lower fees than conventional remittance services.
Traditional money transfer providers can charge up to 10% per transaction, a cost that World Swap aims to undercut substantially. The announcement signals the project's ambition to compete in the global remittance market, which has long been criticized for high fees.
Cardano Announces LayerZero Integration and Midnight Launch
Charles Hoskinson, founder of Cardano and CEO of Input Output Global, made two significant announcements during his stage appearance. The institution-focused LayerZero blockchain will be ported to the Cardano network, expanding interoperability options for developers and users.
Additionally, Hoskinson confirmed that the privacy-focused Midnight mainnet will launch next month. During a question-and-answer session, he clarified that Midnight would not target hardcore privacy advocates who typically use ZCash and Monero, suggesting a different positioning for the privacy-focused network.
Binance CEO Responds to Liquidation Event Criticism
Binance co-CEO Richard Teng addressed allegations that his exchange played a disproportionate role in the October 10 liquidation event, which resulted in $19 billion worth of liquidations. Teng defended Binance's position, attributing the mass liquidations to broader market downturns triggered by macroeconomic shocks rather than platform-specific issues.
Competition Winners Announced
The second day of Consensus Hong Kong also featured the announcement of two competition winners. ZkME took home top honors at the Consensus PitchFest, while FoundrAI emerged victorious in the Easy A x Consensus Hackathon.
Both competitions will return when CoinDesk hosts its flagship North American event, Consensus 2025, scheduled for May 5-7 in Miami.
Looking Ahead to Miami
The successful Hong Kong event sets the stage for the upcoming Miami conference, which typically draws even larger crowds and features more extensive programming across institutional, developer, and retail-focused tracks.
Coinasity's Take
Consensus Hong Kong's developer-centric second day underscores the blockchain industry's ongoing maturation. While institutional adoption dominated day one, the technical discussions around scaling Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana networks reveal that infrastructure development remains critical to the industry's future growth. World Liberty Financial's entry into cross-border payments represents the continuing convergence of traditional political figures and crypto ventures, while Cardano's announcements demonstrate that established platforms are actively expanding their ecosystems through strategic integrations. The focus on practical solutions over speculative hype suggests a healthier, more sustainable phase of industry development.
DISCLAIMER
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Cryptocurrency investments involve substantial risk and extreme volatility - never invest money you cannot afford to lose completely. The author may hold positions in the cryptocurrencies mentioned, which could bias the presented information. Always conduct your own research and consider consulting a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.
About ajbcoinasity
Core Developer at Coinasity.com | Blockchain Researcher
Leading the tech behind Coinasity, this account shares insights from a core dev focused on secure, scalable blockchain systems. Passionate about infrastructure, privacy, and emerging altcoin ecosystems.
