The Web3 Scholars Conference 2025 (WSC 2025), hosted by DRK Lab and The Research Centre for Blockchain Technology of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, co-hosted by AltLayer and PolyU and Cybaverse Academy Joint Lab on Law and Web3, concluded successfully as part of the Hong Kong Web3 Festival at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on 8 April 2025.

This year’s Web3 Scholars Conference brought together leading academics, researchers, and industry experts to explore technical and organizational innovations in the blockchain ecosystem, spanning topics such as security, cryptography, MEV, tokenomics, decentralized AI. The conference aimed to advance both theoretical understanding and practical application, aligning with Hong Kong’s strategic vision of becoming a global Web3 hub.

The conference began with warm welcome remarks delivered by Ms. Audrey Tang, Founder of DRK Lab, and Professor Daniel Xiapu Luo, Associate Dean (Research) of the Faculty of Computer and Mathematical Sciences and Director of the Research Centre for Blockchain Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University setting the stage for the day’s discussions and extending a warm welcome to all speakers and audiences. Their remarks were followed by an opening speech from Legislative Council member Hon. Duncan Chiu, Mr. Chiu emphasized the government’s support for Hong Kong’s tech development, highlighting efforts to bridge innovation and commercialization through funding, talent cultivation, and community building.

A major highlight of the day was the keynote address by Mr. Vitalik Buterin, Founder of Ethereum, who shared his vision for significantly accelerating Layer 2 transaction speeds across the Ethereum ecosystem. His insights set the stage for in-depth conversations on the future of blockchain infrastructure.

The conference featured four themed sessions. The first session focused on blockchain security and optimization, with presentations by Professor Zhong Shao, Thomas L. Kempner Professor of Computer Science, Yale University and President of CertiK; Professor Daniel Xiapu Luo, Professor and Associate Dean (Research) of the Faculty of Computer and Mathematical Sciences and Director of the Research Centre for Blockchain Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University; Professor Yajin Zhou, Professor, Zhejiang University and CEO, BlockSec; Dr. Qiang Tang, Associate Professor, The University of Sydney; and Professor Feida Zhu, Aptos Move Chair Professor and Associate Dean, School of Computing and Information Systems, Singapore Management University. The session explored multi-angled approaches to strengthening blockchain systems, from enhancing the safety and liveness of consensus protocols to large-scale key generation, storage optimization, and on-chain data analytics.

The second session explored how next-generation technologies, such as Layer 2 proving systems and the integration of agentic AI in Web3 are converging to reshape the foundations of digital infrastructure. Speakers include Professor Ed Felten, Co-Founder & Chief Scientist of Offchain Labs; Dr. YQ Jia, Founder of AltLayer; Dr. Yonatan Sompolinsky, Research Affiliate, Harvard University and Kaspa Originator and Dr. Sumeet Chougule, Team Lead of ChaosChain, Nethermind.

The third session focused on the application of cryptography in Web3, particularly in advancing privacy and preparing for a post-quantum future. The speakers included Professor Man Ho Allen Au, Professor and Associate Head (Research and Development) of the Department of Computing, and Director of the PolyU and Cybaverse Academy Joint Lab on Law and Web3 of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Professor Yu Yu, Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

The fourth and final session of the day, turned the spotlight to zero-knowledge proofs, showcasing cutting-edge approaches to scalability, verifiability, and interoperability. With presentations by Professor Eli Ben-Sasson, Co-Founder & CEO of StarkWare; Mr. Anurag Arjun, Co-Founder of the Avail Project; Ms. Uma Roy, Co-Founder & CEO of Succinct; Mr. Michael Dong, Co-Founder of Brevis, and Mr. Jacob Everly, Boundless Product Lead at RISC Zero. 

The Web3 Scholars Conference, in its third year, continues to serve as a key gathering point for researchers and practitioners dedicated to the advancement of Web3 technologies. As the ecosystem matures, the conference remains committed to fostering deep collaboration, supporting impactful research, and advancing the development of an open and trustworthy ecosystem.

For more information and to see the recordings of this and past WSC conferences, please visit https://www.web3scholar.org/.