Blockchain security expert and Columbia University Associate Professor Gu Ronghui, also co-founder/CEO of CertiK, shared insights with us during the China International Finance Forum Hong Kong Summit. With multiple industry cycles and clearer global regulatory frameworks, the fintech sector now universally recognizes security and compliance as prerequisites for sustainable development.
Academic Entrepreneurship in Blockchain Security Professor Gu's research focuses on formal verification—using mathematical methods to fundamentally validate software system security. His team's "CertiK OS" achieved a breakthrough in 2016 by mathematically verifying operating system kernel security, coinciding with Ethereum's infamous DAO hack that prompted its hard fork. "Blockchain and smart contracts then faced glaring security gaps," Gu noted, explaining why CertiK was founded in 2017 to address these challenges.
The "Seesaw Effect" of Global Regulation As a member of Hong Kong's inaugural Web3 Development Task Force and advisor to Singapore's MAS ITAP, Professor Gu observes that digital asset regulations exhibit a "seesaw effect" across jurisdictions. Early U.S. leniency (e.g., 2013 FinCEN guidance, Wyoming's 2018 SPDI Act) contrasted with strict measures post-2022 Terra/LUNA and FTX collapses. Meanwhile, Hong Kong and Singapore progressed: Singapore's 2020 Payment Services Act regulated digital tokens, while Hong Kong's 2022 policy declaration embraced virtual assets and launched stablecoin pilots. By 2025, however, Singapore tightened rules, driving firms offshore, while Hong Kong advanced with its Stablecoin Ordinance and Digital Asset Development Policy Declaration 2.0—rebranding "virtual assets" as "digital assets" and promoting RWA tokenization.
"Globalization is the antidote to regulatory volatility," Gu emphasized, citing CertiK's strategic focus on core markets (U.S., Hong Kong, Singapore) regardless of shifting policies. He advocates deeper industry-regulator collaboration to align security technologies with compliance needs.
RWA's Next Frontier: Private Equity and Public Asset Tokenization While Hong Kong's mature traditional markets make RWA adoption sluggish, Professor Gu identifies two transformative opportunities: 1) Tokenizing private equity (e.g., SpaceX/OpenAI employee shares), unlocking liquidity for restricted assets 2) On-chain public securities (stocks/bonds), enabling 24/7 trading and overcoming geographic barriers
Though current RWA liquidity remains low, Gu predicts blockchain's efficiency gains—faster settlement, broader access—will drive market expansion. He cautions that even stablecoins, the most successful RWAs, face periodic depegging risks from technical flaws or liquidity crunches.
Hong Kong's Competitive Edge: Talent and Infrastructure Professor Gu highlights Hong Kong's "Top Talent Pass" scheme and robust capital markets as dual advantages over rivals like Singapore. "Clear regulations, talent incentives, and financial infrastructure position Hong Kong as a global blockchain hub," he concluded, urging sustained policy stability to attract enterprises and professionals.