ETH Hong Kong Hub Monthly Newsletter (Sep&Oct, 2026)

September and October brought significant developments across Ethereum's institutional ecosystem. ARK and Baillie Gifford advanced fund tokenization on Ethereum, while new initiatives in stablecoin infrastructure, privacy, and institutional deployment continued to expand the network's real-world applications. The launch of Ethereum Institutional's deployment directory also marked an important step in making institutional adoption more visible and accessible.

For ETH HK Hub, a major milestone was the Ethereum Ecosystem Summit during TOKEN2049 Singapore, which received over 1,800 registrations. Bringing together leaders from Consensys, Sharplink, Visa, Lido, Baillie Gifford, and other organizations, the summit explored Ethereum's long-term development, institutional infrastructure, tokenization, and agentic payments. We were also pleased to welcome United Stables, Nethermind, and Cross River as new members of our growing community, bringing together expertise in stablecoin infrastructure, Ethereum engineering, and regulated financial services.

Looking ahead, we will continue engaging with builders and institutions through ETHShenzhen 2026 (October 24–25), the Devcon Hong Kong Community Convention (November 3), and Hong Kong FinTech Week. Through these initiatives, institutional dialogues, and ecosystem partnerships, we will continue connecting Ethereum builders with financial institutions, technology partners, and developer communities across Asia.

Follow us on X and join our Telegram for the latest ecosystem updates.

Ethereum Ecosystem Summit @ TOKEN2049 Singapore

During TOKEN2049 Singapore, Sharplink and BlockUnion hosted the Ethereum Ecosystem Summit, co-hosted by Lido Institutional and ETH HK Hub. Drawing over 1,800 registrations, the landmark side event convened global builders, financial institutions, and protocol leaders to chart Ethereum’s next decade of institutional adoption and onchain finance.

Key discussions and announcements from the summit included:

Ethereum’s Next Decade: Joseph Lubin (Consensys & Sharplink), Joseph Chalom (Sharplink) and Michael Camarda explored how credible neutrality, zero-knowledge proofs, and smart-contract agentic limits build a foundation for unified global liquidity and user autonomy.
Institutional Infrastructure: Panelists from Ethlabs, EthSystems, Lighter, Lido, and Nethermind tackled enterprise requirements, focusing on faster L2 execution proofs, open-source compliance libraries, and segregated staking vaults.
Agentic Payments & Programmable Finance: Executives from Visa, Anchorage Digital, and HashKey Capital analyzed stablecoin rails and autonomous agents, emphasizing Know Your Agent (KYA) frameworks and corporate treasury optimization.
Lido Lend Announcement: Isidoros Passadis, Chief of Staking at the Lido Ecosystem Foundation, introduced Lido Lend, a proposed decentralized lending protocol built on a modified fork of Morpho Blue.
Tokenization & Product Utility: Leaders from Baillie Gifford, Superstate, Upshift, and Offchain Labs discussed evolving tokenized funds into software products featuring native issuance, secondary liquidity, and custom L2 chains.
Academic & Regional Growth: Research from Nanyang Technological University unpacked digital asset market dynamics, while the Ethereum Foundation and Devfolio highlighted India's developer ecosystem and Devcon's regional impact.

Ethereum Ecosystem Highlight

Institutional adoption continued to advance through tokenized funds, bank-backed stablecoins, and new trading infrastructure. Privacy applications also became more practical, while Ethereum’s development teams outlined priorities for scaling and long-term security.

1 | ARK and Baillie Gifford Advance Fund Tokenization

In September, ARK and Securitize announced the tokenization of the ARK Venture Fund on Ethereum. Meanwhile, Baillie Gifford's Enhanced Yield Fund ($BAGEY), launched in August 2026, continued to demonstrate the potential of native fund tokenization, with fund units issued directly on Ethereum and the blockchain serving as the legal register of ownership.

These developments extend Ethereum’s role in fund issuance and administration. Tokenization does not, however, automatically change investor eligibility, redemption terms, or the liquidity of underlying assets.

Sources: ARK announcement | BAGEY overview

2 | European Banking Consortium Qivalis Secures License for Euro Stablecoin

On October 14, Qivalis, backed by 37 European banks, received an electronic money institution license from the Dutch central bank. The consortium reportedly plans to launch its euro stablecoin first on Ethereum.

The approval advances banks’ participation in onchain euro settlement. As of October 15, the token had not launched, and additional requirements remained outstanding.

Sources: Licensing update | Ethereum launch plans

3 | ICE and OKX Plan Tokenized Securities Trading Using Uniswap v4

In October, OKXICE, a joint venture between ICE and OKX, disclosed plans for a tokenized securities venue using Uniswap v4 liquidity pools on X Layer. A dedicated hook would enforce trading and liquidity-provider permissions.

The proposal illustrates how traditional financial institutions can incorporate DeFi infrastructure while retaining identity checks and market controls. The disclosure describes a planned venue, rather than a completed launch.

Source: OKXICE public notice

4 | Privacy Applications Expand Across Payments and API Access

In September, zk.money returned as a self-custodial privacy wallet on Aztec. In October, the Ethereum Foundation and Open Anonymity Project introduced zkAPI, a mainnet system that uses zero-knowledge proofs to separate API payment credentials from service usage.

Both bring privacy into concrete user workflows. Their protections have defined boundaries: wallet deposits and withdrawals remain public, and API payment privacy does not hide request contents from the service provider.

Sources: zk.money launch coverage | EF: Introducing zkAPI

5 | Ethereum Aligns Scaling Plans with Long-Term Security

In September, the EF Protocol team published shared priorities covering fast finality, privacy, state management, zkEVMs, and a target of post-quantum readiness by the end of 2029. The Glamsterdam upgrade was activated on the Sepolia testnet on October 6, with the Hoodi testnet activation scheduled for October 26. The mainnet activation date has not yet been confirmed.

Together, these updates connect near-term scaling work with longer-term security requirements. The roadmap remains a development plan, with implementation and mainnet timing subject to testing and coordination.

Sources: EF Protocol priorities | Glamsterdam testnet announcement

6 | Ethereum Institutional Launches Institutional Deployment Directory

On October 8, Ethereum Institutional launched a new website and a public directory documenting institutional deployments on Ethereum and its Layer 2 networks.

The directory gives banks, asset managers, and ecosystem teams a clearer view of existing implementations, helping discussions move toward practical deployment decisions. Its entries cover products launched across different periods, rather than October launches alone.

Source: Ethereum Institutional briefing

7 | Aave Proposes a Foundation to Protect Protocol Intellectual Property

On October 2, Aave Labs proposed an independent foundation to hold and protect the protocol’s trademarks and related intellectual property. The initial phase covers incorporation and independent appointments; asset transfers would follow through subsequent governance processes.

The proposal addresses a practical challenge for mature DAOs: establishing durable legal ownership of community-funded assets while keeping protocol decisions, budgets, and service-provider selection under DAO governance.

Source: Aave Foundation governance proposal

ETHShenzhen 2026 | October 24–25, Shenzhen

On October 24–25, ETH Shenzhen 2026, hosted by OpenBuild and ETHTAO, will bring together developers, founders, researchers, and open-source contributors for two days of building, collaboration, and discussions at the intersection of AI, Ethereum, and crypto.

The event will explore emerging opportunities in the agent economy, privacy-preserving technologies, and verifiable AI, connecting builders and innovators across the Greater Bay Area.

💻 October 24 | Hackathon Build Day & Demo Day

Hands-on building, technical workshops, mentorship, and project demonstrations.

🎤 October 25 | Main Conference

Keynotes, panel discussions, hackathon awards, and community networking.

Join us in Shenzhen to connect with fellow builders and explore the next generation of Ethereum-powered applications.

👉 Register Now

🇭🇰 Devcon Hong Kong Community Convention | November 3, HK

On November 3, the Ethereum Foundation, ETHTAO, and ETH HK Hub, in collaboration with the Devcon team, will host the Devcon Hong Kong Community Convention at the Hong Kong Ethereum Community Hub.

Bringing together developers, researchers, and community members from across Asia’s Chinese-speaking Ethereum ecosystem, the event will feature frontier research, technical talks, and community discussions centered on Devcon’s core themes.

Join us in Hong Kong to connect with fellow builders, exchange ideas, and explore the future of Ethereum together as we celebrate the spirit of Devcon 8.

📅 Date: November 3, 2026

📍 Venue: Hong Kong Ethereum Community Hub

🔗 Register Now

BlockUnion is proud to be a Gold Sponsor of Hong Kong FinTech Week 2026.

As part of the event, we will host an exclusive panel discussion and VIP dinner, alongside a dedicated exhibition booth. We look forward to connecting with industry leaders and exploring the future of digital assets and financial innovation.

United Stables Limited:

United Stables Limited is the issuer of $U, a U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin designed to unify liquidity across trading, payments, DeFi, and institutional settlement. According to its reserve framework, $U is intended to be backed by liquid reserve assets, including cash and eligible fiat-backed stablecoins, while supporting emerging AI-driven payment applications.

Nethermind:

Building High-Performance Ethereum Infrastructure for Institutions

Nethermind is a blockchain research and engineering company developing one of Ethereum's leading execution clients. Its work spans protocol development, institutional infrastructure, staking, security research, and developer tooling. By combining deep Ethereum expertise with enterprise-grade engineering, Nethermind helps financial institutions, builders, and enterprises develop and operate onchain applications.

Cross River:

Powering embedded finance and regulated Web3 banking infrastructure

Cross River is a U.S.-regulated technology-driven bank providing embedded financial services and API-based banking infrastructure. Its offerings include payment processing, fiat and stablecoin payment rails, and banking solutions for fintech and digital asset businesses. Through its regulated infrastructure, Cross River helps connect traditional financial services with emerging onchain payment ecosystems.

Address: Block B, New World Town Hall, 83 King Lam Street, West Kowloon, Hong Kong

Contact Us: ethereumhkhub@snzholding.com

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