Web3 developments are only in their early stages with much more potential to disrupt and decentralize, according to Whampoa Digital’s Jeffrey Ma, calling the current period «the very tip of the iceberg».
Headline developments in Web3 – a catch-all term for a new iteration of the internet that incorporates concepts like decentralization, blockchain and crypto – have been all the hype, capturing the attention of investors, financial firms, consumers and beyond.
According to Whampoa Digital’s co-chief investment officer (CIO) Jeffrey Ma, there are parallels between the Web3 space now and the internet era in the early 2000s, when the market was also being introduced to a nascent technology.
«We see the current period [is] actually very similar. There's so much that web3 can actually disrupt, and decentralize. And right now, we're only seeing the very tip of the iceberg,» said Ma in a conversation with finews.asia.
Crypto Winter
One case of a parallel is the simultaneous occurrence of negative downturns with positive industry developments. Within the ongoing crypto shakeout, for example, the fall of several exchanges drove higher standards of governance as market participants sought to close the gap with traditional finance.
«We saw this downturn flush out a lot of the bad actors and some of the not best behavior of the industry will pass,» Ma added.
VC Fund
Singapore-based Whampoa launched its digital arm, Whampoa Digital, in December 2022 and named ex-Binance executives Ma and Peter Huo as co-CIOs. The newly established unit aims to invest about $100 million mainly in early-stage ventures that develop blockchain infrastructure as well as Web3 applications.
Whampoa is a Singapore-headquartered multi-family office. Its founders include renowned figures from the city-state including Amy Lee, niece of the late Lee Kuan Yew, and Lee Han Shih, member of the OCBC banking family.
