What Builders Miss About the "Supercycle"

Transcript

Right, GMGM everyone. It's an absolute pleasure to be here and present to you today. I'm Nathan Nenter Chow, global CEO of BitMart Exchange, and we've been in this space since 2018. So, much of what I'll share today really draws from my experiences across the broader crypto ecosystem, including evaluating which crypto funds to LP into at BitMart, and my time navigating investments at Animoca Ventures, where we've backed over 100 projects that really blend tech prowess with market realities, particularly in the APAC

region. So, today's topic is what builders miss about the super cycle. Here's the analogy. So, you've built an amazing piece of infrastructure, high-performance engine that's cutting-edge, efficient, and revolutionary. That kind of tech that could really redefine its category. But, without fuel, it's really just a beautiful paperweight. It can't move.

Devs have built various DeFi protocols, high-throughput chains, layer twos, ZK proofs, innovations that really push the boundaries of finance, scalability, and privacy. These are the foundations of Web3. But, the fuel, that liquidity, the capital, the user adoption that actually turns these protocols into thriving ecosystems increasingly resides in APAC. And if we don't bridge these worlds at an early stage, many of these engines risk stalling out before the decade's super cycle even fully revs up.

So, let's talk about the fuel. Why APAC? It's not just population size. It's a confluence of regulatory clarity in key markets, cultural affinity for digital assets, and pure economic momentum. On-chain transaction data backs this up. Chainalysis confirmed that the APAC region is the fastest growing for crypto activity in the last 12 months ending June 2025.

With on-chain transaction volume up 69% year-over-year to 2.4 trillion. Now, this doesn't mean APAC has replaced the US or Europe as the center of gravity. It's still far from it. US spot Bitcoin ETFs drove massive institutional flows, and European regulatory frameworks like MiCA are still setting global standards. But, APAC represents one of the most critical missing variables in how builders think about capital formation, go to market, and distribution strategy.

Let me give you some concrete examples. In Hong Kong, spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs launched in April 2024, which signaled institutional openness and created a regulatory template that complements US scale capital formation. It's early, but the strategic signal matters. APAC financial centers are building on-ramps and not walls. Japan is probably one of the most underrated stories in crypto today.

Japan has integrated crypto asset regulations into its traditional securities framework, creating a gateway for institutional flows that actually feels familiar to TradFi participants. Early 2026 reporting actually suggests that Japan is positioning itself as a digital asset hub with regulatory clarity that appeals to both retail and institutional investors. On the stablecoin and tokenization side, Asia is quietly building a counterweight, so to speak, to US dollar denominated stablecoin infrastructure.

Malaysia, their central bank recently launched a sandbox for programmable payments and ringgit backed stablecoins, working with major banks to experiment with tokenized settlement. And then there's mBridge, the cross-border payment platform that links China, Hong Kong, Thailand, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia. Just through late 2025, it processed over 55 billion in transactions across more than 4,000 settlements, with digital yuan accounting for probably 95% of that volume. But all of this is bypassing Swift and proving

blockchain's role in real-world state-backed finance. This isn't speculative liquidity. This is productive capital, funds deployed in DeFi, RWAs, cross-border trade, and institutional-grade settlement. So, what do builders often miss when they think about this landscape? First, it's the assumption that great tech alone wins.

Protocols often get designed in Silicon Valley or New York with brilliant engineering, but they can oftentimes overlook user behaviors, regulatory nuances, and distribution realities in APAC markets. Second, optimizing for narrative fit instead of economic fit. Digital assets are maturing. What matters now is not whose white paper is the prettiest or whose tech is marginally faster, but who's actually driving the stablecoin settlement, on-chain credit, AI agent transactions, and measurable fee flows.

The marginal buyer in 2026 is increasingly institutional. They're not looking for tokens with clever narratives, they're looking for structures that feel as close to equity or debt as possible. Clear claims on cash flows, governance rights, legally recognizable exits. This is uncomfortable, but it's reality. Many retail participants who drove the last cycle have rotated into equities, commodities, AI narratives, prediction markets.

The users that are still here are more discerning. And institutions almost never buy tokens directly. They prefer equities, Bitcoin, Ethereum, real-world assets, stablecoins. The practical advice from leading investors is very blunt. Build the actual business and solve real-world problems first and then carefully design a token, ideally with revenue share or equity-like features and clear cash flow rights.

Now, everyone knows Hyperliquid has been cited as one of the rare positive examples, right? It has a sustainable model that returns value to token holders through fee sharing and buybacks, effectively creating a self-sustaining economic loop. So, let me illustrate how leading APAC VCs are positioning themselves today.

Good example, Easy Labs. When they back pre-TGE projects like Genius, which is a private high-velocity on-chain trading terminal, you see that pattern very clearly. Infrastructure is only interesting when it directly enables high-value end-user behavior, professional trading, AI-powered commerce, agentic workflows. They're not funding, you know, layer one number 29. They're funding infrastructure that looks and behaves like a product company with users, revenue, and a plausible exit.

Now, you see the same pattern across the ecosystem. Investors are talking about autonomous systems, agentic treasuries, on-chain credit platforms, B2B settlement networks, and consumer dApps that quietly settle in stablecoin under the hood. And this is why some ecosystem funds now launch or co-own dApps directly because they need those mini economies, so to speak, with clear revenue streams and not abstract protocol tokens.

And there's a concrete example of what institutional grade structure looks like in a tokenized real-world asset. One platform originating tokenized home equity lines of credit through on-chain loan origination backed by actual borrower repayments. In fact, that platform has now processed over 22 and 1/2 billion in originations. Now, the psychology of capital in the APAC region has shifted realistically after the last few years.

Many LPs and family offices were frankly burned entering later rounds holding expensive paper with poor liquidity. So, the result is a far more cynical, exit-driven, and structurally sensitive investor base. Capital is scarce, and VCs that have raised during challenging markets with capital to deploy today are no longer excited by just any narrative access. They demand proof of real economic revenue-generating models, APAC-specific product-market fit, i.e., mobile first, embedded finance, stablecoin native,

fair entry valuations, and structures that deliver like equity or credit. Mentioned before, the legal claims on cash flow, realistic lockups, M&A or capital markets exits. So, what does this mean practically? Build towards these patterns. Right? For stable coins and payment rails. Right? Those with real trade or treasury flows. I.E. cross-border payroll, SME tools, settling in stables.

On the RWA side, platforms bridging traditional yields with legal structures that institutions recognize. I.E. actual loan origination, equity tokenization with deed recorded claims as an example. On the AI side, agent and data networks where autonomous agents can drive continuous transaction flow. And enable machine-to-machine economies. And finally, for consumer dApps.

Wallets, financial super apps, AI-driven terminals with clear paths to fees and strategic exits. Localize early. For Asia, explore integrations with LINE if you're in going Japan, UPI for India, Kakao for Korea, or region, you know, regional payment rails and not just MetaMask or any exchange wallet. Design tokens carefully and thoughtfully. Consider revenue share or cash flow claims from day one.

Partner with APAC-based VCs early from day one. They bring the go-to-market expertise, exchange listing strategies, and institutional connections. Show traction metrics that LPs track. On-chain revenue, APAC user growth, agent-driven volume, not just TVL. So, in closing, the coming supercycle isn't just about Bitcoin reaching new highs or another altcoin season.

It's about who controls the fuel and who's building sustainable protocol economies, and who aligns with how capital markets actually work in 2026. So, devs, you've built incredible engines. Now, let's bridge them with the liquidity and the institutional demand that can sustain them, not just in one geography, but globally, with APAC as one critical piece of the puzzle. We're entering a rare window where transparency and clear economic structures can finally be rewarded by the market after many years where,

frankly, open disclosure created a lot of unnecessary risks. Evolving regulatory signals and potential new legislation are finally starting to change incentives in favor of builders who deliver institutional-grade economics. So, if you can build for that reality, you won't just catch the supercycle, you'll really help define it. Thank you so much. Well well well.