Interviewer: Alma, Founder of Techub News
Interviewee: Paolo, Ecological Partner of Victory Securities / Chief Strategy Officer of VDX
Content Organizer: Peter_Techub News
In the context of rapid transformation in global fintech, Hong Kong, as an international financial center, is actively embracing blockchain technology and digital asset innovation. Alma, the founder of Techub News, recently interviewed Paolo, the ecological partner of Victory Securities and Chief Strategy Officer of the virtual asset trading platform VDX. Paolo has 10 years of experience in traditional venture capital (VC), having served as an investment director at a leading dollar VC, and is a certified financial analyst (CFA). He is now deeply involved in the Web3 field, balancing strategic planning and ecological cooperation for both Victory Securities and VDX, while sharing industry insights through his media IP "Old Pao Says." This interview delves into Paolo's career transition, Victory Securities' practices in coin-stock linked trading, real-world asset tokenization (RWA), and digital asset treasury listed companies (DAT), as well as the current state and future of Hong Kong's digital financial market.
From Traditional Finance to Web3: Transformation and Opportunities Amid Compliance Trends
Alma: Paolo, what was the opportunity that led you from traditional VC to the Web3 field? What is the background of your joining VDX and Victory Securities? How does your experience in traditional finance support the development of Web3?
Paolo: My career started in Hong Kong's international investment banking, focusing on Hong Kong and U.S. IPOs. I then completed my MBA at UCLA and entered the VC industry, accumulating 10 years of investment experience. As early as 2017, our fund invested in the Web3 field, but at that time, industry regulation was not mature, and many projects were in a "wild growth" phase. The DeFi Summer of 2020-2021 marked the beginning of large-scale blockchain applications, and our fund increased its focus on Web3. At the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023, Hong Kong released a policy declaration on virtual assets, moving the industry towards compliance, and I officially joined the Hong Kong Web3 industry, focusing on compliant virtual asset business.
Victory Securities, based on forward-looking layout and firm transformation, positions itself as an Asian Robinhood-style one-stop asset allocation platform. It is the first brokerage in Hong Kong to obtain licenses for virtual asset (VA) business upgrades, keenly seizing the opportunity presented by virtual asset policies, and has completed a comprehensive layout from license compliance, IT/products, customer acquisition, to asset innovation. At the Hong Kong Web3 Carnival in April 2025, Victory Securities publicly disclosed that its VA trading volume exceeded HKD 10 billion, becoming the largest brokerage in Hong Kong by virtual asset trading volume at that time. In the recently released semi-annual report for 2025, the company's total revenue grew by over 300% year-on-year, with virtual asset business growing by approximately 2000%.
VDX is a related company of Victory, currently applying for a VATP exchange license. Its core differentiation is adopting a B2B2C model, linking brokerages and banks with financial institutions, positioning itself as the "Hong Kong Stock Exchange of the virtual asset field." This model facilitates win-win cooperation between VDX and financial institutions, helping them expand incremental virtual asset business in a one-stop manner while assisting exchanges in rapidly achieving user growth and AUM. With the approval of license upgrades for Chinese brokerages, VDX has signed nearly 50 medium to large brokerage clients for VA cooperation.
Combining my 10 years of VC investment experience, market practice and landing cases from frontline VA brokerages, as well as in-depth research and ecological cooperation in the Web3 track, I am responsible for strategic planning, ecological cooperation, and capital operations at Victory Securities and VDX, while sharing industry insights through my media IP "Old Pao Says," helping more users and institutions understand compliant virtual assets.
The Value, Risks, and Investment Opportunities of the DAT Model
Alma: The DAT model has recently gained attention. How do you view its value, risks, and sustainability?
Paolo: The essence of DAT (Digital Asset Treasury Listed Companies) is the mainstreaming of digital asset investment channels. Its inherent value and premium stem from: 1) facilitating mainstream capital allocation (for example, some fund mandates cannot directly allocate digital assets but can allocate DAT stocks), 2) amplifying volatility through off-exchange leverage, and 3) enjoying other benefits from underlying assets (such as staking, etc.). Mainstream cryptocurrencies, due to strong consensus and good liquidity, are more suitable for the DAT model; while non-mainstream coins (Altcoins) have varying intrinsic values and may face significant challenges at cyclical turning points. The popularization of the DAT model effectively opens up mainstream financing channels for digital assets in the stock market, allowing listed companies to have faster and longer-term allocations compared to traditional investors, bringing stronger purchasing power to underlying assets.
However, the development of DAT also brings systemic risks, necessitating caution regarding regulatory policy changes, agency risks, leverage, and liquidity risks. At cyclical turning points, it may trigger systemic risks of Davis double kills and deleveraging, and investors should rationally assess and evaluate.
DAT essentially provides tools for trading volatility, amplifying the price fluctuations of underlying assets, suitable for investors with rich trading and risk management experience who can withstand volatility, and also offers good trading opportunities within specific ranges. In comparison, ETFs (such as the Hong Kong Bitcoin ETF) track spot prices and are more robust long-term allocation tools.
RWA and Everything on the Chain: A Comparison and Outlook Between Hong Kong and the U.S.
Alma: How do you view the differences between the U.S. and Hong Kong in the RWA field? How is the development of tokenization in U.S. stocks? Is tokenization of Hong Kong stocks feasible?
Paolo: By studying the policies and statements of the Trump administration and SEC Chairman Atkins, we believe that the on-chain finance strategy may have risen to a national top-level strategy in the U.S. The push for on-chain finance in the U.S. is very aggressive, achieving 24/7 trading, on-chain open finance, on-chain leverage, and structured allocation through the tokenization of U.S. stocks. The core goal is to consolidate the global influence of dollar assets, siphoning global liquidity, and actively establishing a presence in the new on-chain battlefield.
Hong Kong, on the other hand, needs to balance maintaining its status as a financial center with preventing systemic financial risks, thus being more prudent. Apart from money market funds (TMMF), current RWA cases in Hong Kong mainly involve privately placed non-standard assets, targeting PI clients and emphasizing investor protection, with no secondary market trading opened yet.
The value of tokenization of Hong Kong stocks lies in reducing costs and increasing efficiency for financial institutions' clearing and settlement, pushing quality Chinese assets to global users and funding sources, especially enhancing attractiveness to users in regions with weaker financial infrastructure. However, its implementation needs to address compliance framework design and potential conflicts with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's exclusivity, requiring joint exploration by regulators and the industry.
Alma: When will the secondary market for RWA in Hong Kong open? What is its relation to stablecoin licenses?
Paolo: The secondary market for RWA is expected to gradually open, but at a steady pace. The advance of stablecoin licenses can bring on-chain capital accumulation, increasing user numbers and allocation demand, providing a foundation for richer and more diverse RWA asset allocation and trading. It is expected that as licenses are issued and the scale of stablecoins expands, the overall issuance and trading volume of RWA will rise.
RWA Service Practices of the Company and Advice for Corporate Clients
Alma: What services can Victory Securities and VDX provide for corporate clients looking to engage in RWA? What advice do you have for enterprises?
Paolo: In the RWA field, Victory Securities and VDX can provide one-stop full-process services for companies intending to issue, and have successfully implemented several benchmark listed company cases in the past. Services include consulting and strategic positioning, framework design, asset standardization and tokenization, third-party service agency connections, and full-process innovative cooperation.
For enterprises, we prioritize selecting high-quality, differentiated assets, considering fixed-income assets with strong credit enhancement and brand endorsement, or equity assets with high growth potential, and will provide guidance and resource connections through salons and closed-door meetings. We advise enterprises to clarify their positioning and project goals, avoiding blindly pursuing on-chain fundraising for non-standard assets.
Alma: Victory Securities has performed impressively in the RWA field in Hong Kong. Can you share specific landing cases? What role does Victory Securities play in these projects?
Paolo: Victory Securities is a pioneer in the RWA field in Hong Kong and has officially announced several projects, such as "Xunying Group" and "Cao Cao Mobility," with several more projects in progress. Taking the "Xunying" case as an example, Victory and VDX collaborated with Ant Group, Conflux blockchain, and other institutions to standardize and tokenize the non-standard asset of new energy battery swapping stations, completing the exploration of early non-standard asset tokenization.
In RWA projects, Victory Securities acts as the issuer of the Hong Kong LPF fund with license No. 9, while VDX and Ant Group provide on-chain technical support. We not only build compliant asset issuance frameworks but also participate in asset selection, model design, and ecological coordination, ensuring that projects are both compliant and market-attractive. As we accumulate experience, our role has gradually expanded from primarily compliance and issuance in the early stages to distribution cooperation and product design innovation, progressively extending from fixed-income to equity assets.
Currently, the Hong Kong RWA market mainly focuses on primary market subscriptions and redemptions, with secondary market trading not yet open, but we are exploring the possibility of issuing and trading equity assets in sync with regulators.
Secondary Market for Digital Assets and Investment Advice
Alma: What advice do you have for new investors entering the digital asset field?
Paolo: Digital assets are highly volatile and cyclical. New investors should prioritize allocating to core assets like Bitcoin, while also paying attention to leading asset distribution channels, such as Robinhood and other coin-stock targets. DAT investments require strong timing and risk control capabilities, or investors must be able to withstand significant stock price fluctuations.
For relatively cautious users, they can also consider quantitative and arbitrage strategies linked to underlying digital assets, or structured products linked to Bitcoin, such as dual-currency wealth management/snowball/FCN. Victory Securities offers a diverse range of product configurations and will share deeper market insights through offline salons and investment research discussions, welcoming inquiries and exchanges from all sectors.
Interview Summary
Paolo's insights provide an in-depth analysis of the current state and potential of Hong Kong's digital financial market, from the compliance exploration of RWA to the global trends of DAT, and the entry paths for traditional enterprises and investors. The pioneering advantages of Victory Securities and VDX in Hong Kong's virtual asset field, along with Paolo's profound insights into the industry, offer valuable perspectives for understanding the integration of Web3 and traditional finance. Hong Kong is steadily moving towards becoming a global digital financial center through policy support and technological innovation, and we look forward to more breakthroughs and collaborations in the future!
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