Solana focuses on tokenization and payment solutions during the Accelerate APAC event in Hong Kong.

From ETFs to stablecoins to AI infrastructure, Solana’s pitch in Hong Kong was clear: less memecoin mania, more internet capital markets.

Solana Accelerate APAC in Hong Kong on Feb. 11, 2026. (Ali Ghorbani/Consensus)

What to know:

• During Solana’s Accelerate APAC event in Hong Kong, developers and speakers characterized the network as the execution layer for continuous “internet capital markets” in Asia, facilitating trading, lending, and settlement without conventional intermediaries.
• The conference maintained a notably institutional atmosphere, with discussions on SOL ETFs, tokenized securities, stablecoin payment systems, and regulated products that included prominent asset managers and infrastructure companies such as Mirae Asset, ChinaAMC, CME Group, Fireblocks, and Cumberland.
• In the context of a market decline, the conversations emphasized practical aspects such as compliance, custody, scalable stablecoin infrastructure, user-friendly wallets, and tokenization systems capable of withstanding regulatory examination.

Solana aims to establish itself as the execution layer for “internet capital markets” in Asia, or platforms where users can issue, trade, borrow, lend, and settle assets online, around the clock, without relying on traditional exchanges, banks, or clearing houses.

At least, that was the perspective of participants and speakers at Solana’s Accelerate APAC event in Hong Kong on Wednesday. Presenters adopted a distinctly institutional tone, with panels and keynotes concentrating less on hype cycles and more on payments, tokenization, and the infrastructure necessary to integrate traditional finance at the conference, which took place alongside CoinDesk’s Consensus Hong Kong.

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The agenda for the day reflected this transition. Topics covered included SOL staking exchange-traded funds (ETFs), digital asset trusts, stablecoin systems, tokenized securities, and regulated exchange-traded products.

Asset managers such as Mirae Asset and ChinaAMC shared the stage with infrastructure entities like CME Group, Fireblocks, and Cumberland, demonstrating the ecosystem’s efforts to engage traditional financial institutions.

Payments also played a significant role. Numerous sessions focused on payment systems, compliant stablecoin infrastructure, and cross-border applications, with a clear focus on real-world adoption rather than speculative trading.

Infrastructure and AI constituted another major theme. Presentations from Alibaba Cloud and various crypto-native developers underscored the increasing integration between blockchain settlement layers and AI-powered applications, reinforcing Solana’s long-held narrative about speed and scalability.

The general sentiment in Hong Kong was straightforward and remarkably consistent: Build.

Not the “buidl” that appears during bull markets as a vibe check, but the kind that emerges when prices drop 70% over the course of a year, interest wanes, and no one is pretending the recent months have been enjoyable. However, that was not the perspective from which the event operated.

Panels continually returned to the same practical inquiries: How do stablecoins function at scale? How do you onboard institutions while maintaining compliance? What key metrics matter when marketing on-chain systems to asset managers and banks? How can wallets be made to feel less like experimental projects? And how do you create tokenization infrastructure that can withstand a regulator’s first serious audit? These topics were central to discussions.

If anything, the downturn appeared to refine the messaging, with diminishing emphasis on narratives and greater focus on settlement, custody, payments, identity, and the mundane operational details that determine whether “real adoption” is substantial or merely a meme.

A significant takeaway was not that Solana is impervious to market fluctuations, but rather that the individuals developing on it are striving to operate as if the cycle does not dictate what is important.