Anthony Sar: «Crypto Guys Were Putting on Ties»
Cryptocurrencies are entering the mainstream not only via compliance with regulatory requirements but also through attire, Finoverse co-founder Anthony Sar told finews.asia.
During the Hong Kong FinTech Week (HKFTW) x StartmeupHK Festival 2025 earlier this month, there was much optimism about the future of digital assets in the city with increasing regulatory clarity, including the introduction of a new stablecoin regime that went into effect on August 1.
According to Anthony Sar, co-founder and CEO of global tech network, Finoverse, members of traditional finance and crypto were increasingly merging, not only in terms of their strategic direction but also their choice of attire at the event.
«We saw bankers removing their ties and, in some cases, putting on T-shirts to show that they were trendy and crypto-friendly. At the same time, the crypto guys were putting on ties and saying that they are very compliant and all for regulations,» Sar said in an interview with finews.asia. «Historically, the world of traditional finance and fintech were separated and fragmented but we really saw more consolidation of these two conversations this year.»
DeFi Ideals as Ideals Only?
On one hand, the decision for crypto leaders to become fully compliant, regulated entities will enable much greater business growth and potentially better avoid involvement in criminal activities such as money laundering. On the other hand, this will effectively make them fall under more centralized control, contradicting one of the original purposes of crypto, which was to create a form of decentralized finance.
«I think that we were never really going to completely realize the ideals of decentralized finance,» Sar explained.
«Nonetheless, the industry has still made a profound impact. For example, innovations like stablecoins have allowed people in countries facing very high inflation, such as Argentina, to be able to store and retain the net value of their money more easily.»
Voice AI: «Samantha»
On HKFTW, Finoverse served as the organizer and its role was not only to gather traditional finance and fintech leaders but also to offer a smooth experience for attendees.
On the latter goal, it leveraged voice AI capabilities through a so-called community host called «Samantha» that was able to understand user needs, curate event content, answer day-to-day questions and even organize meetings, all through a five-minute call. According to Finoverse, 3,500 attendees spoke with Samantha in English and Mandarin, resulting in more than 1,000 meetings arranged.
«Few will admit this but what often happens at conferences is that people spend a few days and have multiple conversations but there is very little return on investment,» Sar noted. «The feedback [on Samantha] was so positive and we even had chief technology officers at big banks approach us to tell us they were impressed.»
Next Steps
In the short-term Sar said the firm is focused on continuing to serve the existing user base by facilitating more post-event connections. And in the longer term, it hopes to extend what he calls an industry-first capability to become more than just a conference app.
«However, we do not intend to create something for people to engage in extensively like other tech companies,« he added. «We believe people are already spending so much time on screens. Our mission is to facilitate building in-person relationships between humans, not replace them.»
