SINGAPORE, Dec. 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Lotusia Group ("Lotusia") today announced the continued appointment and expanded leadership portfolio of Co-CEO Jacob Tao who has served in the role since 2024. As the Group accelerates its cross-border advisory, digital compliance, and China-ASEAN business connectivity initiatives, Jacob's leadership will remain central to strengthening Lotusia's regional footprint and community programmes.
"Jacob has played a pivotal role in shaping Lotusia's identity as a trusted connector between Singapore, China and Southeast Asia," says Huo Jincheng, CEO of Lotusia Group. "His deep expertise in cross-border structuring, government-to-business engagement and ecosystem-building has enabled us to support fast-growing companies while contributing meaningfully to society. We look forward to continuing this momentum under his joint leadership."
A Track Record in cross-Border Advisory and Regional Ecosystem
Before joining Lotusia, Jacob built a strong foundation in corporate advisory and international market entry. He previously supported Chinese technology firms in establishing their Singapore presence, co-organised two SME Exchange Summits (2018–2019), and contributed to regulatory and corporate structuring for blockchain and fintech clients.
In 2022, he facilitated his firm's onboarding into the Singapore Economic Development Board's Connections Concierge, further strengthening Singapore's position as a global headquarters hub.
At Lotusia, Jacob has been a key figure in advancing business cooperation under the China–Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity (CCI). He actively leads delegations, facilitates two-way business exchanges, and supports high-growth founders entering the ASEAN market. These efforts form the foundation for Lotusia's next phase of development, which will centre on the firm's digital compliance and incorporation platform, Bizzkey.
"Our goal is to turn policy intent into operational reality," Jacob says. "Lotusia's strength lies in giving founders clarity and confidence as they scale across borders."
Strengthening Bilateral Relations Through Education and Cultural Exchange
Alongside business leadership, Jacob has contributed significantly to education and cultural development. Since 2022, he has donated annual sets of a Chinese prose anthology to the National Institute of Education (NIE), supporting literary appreciation among students under Assoc. Prof Tan Chee Lay. In 2023, he collaborated with the Goh Loo Club to sponsor its cultural seminar series, promoting dialogue and heritage exchange between Singapore and China.
In recent years, Jacob has also supported talk shows and cultural programmes aimed at deepening bilateral understanding.
Beginning in 2026, Lotusia plans to deepen its engagement with education institutions through school talks and industry-sharing initiatives. These efforts aim to provide students with practical insights, mentorship and exposure to real market-entry and digital compliance work. This reflects the firm's commitment to nurturing globally aware graduates who are equipped to navigate Southeast Asia's fast-evolving business landscape with confidence.
Driving Social Impact Through the Lions Club of Singapore Lotusia
Jacob currently serves as President of the Lions Club of Singapore Lotusia, where he has expanded the club's outreach and community involvement. During Singapore's 60th National Day celebrations, he led members in the "Keep Singapore Clean" movement as Environmental Ambassadors. He also introduced "Inclunema," a sensory-friendly cinema experience designed for children with intellectual disabilities, where lighting, sound and seating were adapted for comfort.
In December 2025, he spearheaded "Little Hands, Big Joy," a festive collaboration with MINDS Raintree SSCC that brought student's handmade Christmas socks to public display at Fernvale Community Club. These efforts were supported by youth volunteers and corporate partners, reflecting his belief that CSR must be meaningful, accessible and community-led.
In 2026, the club will extend its initiatives with new youth-led volunteering programmes, cross-organisation collaborations, and support networks designed to strengthen community participation and inclusion.
Jacob believes community work must be continuous and grounded. "CSR should be part of how we operate, not an afterthought. It must be meaningful, accessible and community-led," he says.
Lotusia Group's Next Phase of Development
Looking ahead, Lotusia's next phase of growth reflects a broader and more integrated approach to supporting clients across different stages of their journey.
One key area of focus is Bizzkey, Lotusia's digital incorporation and compliance platform. The firm will continue to advance Bizzkey as a core pillar of its digital transformation, leveraging AI-driven solutions to digitalise business operations, enhance compliance management and streamline cross-border workflows. Through Bizzkey, Lotusia aims to redefine industry standards by offering clients a more transparent, efficient and scalable way to start, manage and grow their businesses across Southeast Asia.
Alongside this, Lotusia is expanding into wealth management, broadening its service capabilities beyond corporate advisory. The Group has already obtained the relevant SFC licence in Hong Kong and is in the process of establishing a dedicated wealth management team in Singapore. This expansion will enable Lotusia to provide more integrated solutions that align corporate structuring, cross-border expansion and long-term wealth planning for entrepreneurs, business owners and families.
Together, these developments strengthen Lotusia's positioning as a holistic cross-border platform, supporting clients across both business growth and wealth preservation.
About Lotusia Group
Headquartered in Singapore, Lotusia Group supports high-net-worth individuals, entrepreneurs and businesses across Asia in navigating international growth. With a regional footprint spanning major Asian business hubs including Singapore, Mainland China, Hong Kong SAR, Tokyo, and Bangkok. The group specialises in global expansion, investment migration and cross-border business structuring.
By integrating tailored overseas landing services with end-to-end execution, Lotusia Group ensures clients experience a seamless journey across company setup, relocation, and operational compliance.
For more information, visit www.lotusiagroup.com or follow Lotusia Group on LinkedIn.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Shermin Chen
Head of Marketing, Lotusia group
shermin@lotusia.com.sg
+65 9762 7783
** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **
Lotusia Group Highlights the Leadership of Co-CEO Jacob Tao as the Company Enters a New Phase of Cross-Border Expansion and Community Impact
Lotusia Group Highlights the Leadership of Co-CEO Jacob Tao as the Company Enters a New Phase of Cross-Border Expansion and Community Impact
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PANAMA CITY, Dec. 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- HTX Ventures, the global investment arm of HTX, has released a new research report titled Pulse in the Cold: How x402 and ERC-8004 Signal Web3's Next Technical Inflection Point. The report examines two emerging but often overlooked infrastructure upgrades—x402 and ERC-8004—and analyzes how they could reshape Web3's payment, identity, and coordination layers as machines increasingly become primary network users.
HTX Ventures points out that periods of cooling market sentiment have historically coincided with the quiet formation of technologies that later define the industry's next growth phase. In the current cycle, as price-driven narratives lose momentum, x402 and ERC-8004 stand out as structurally significant signals pointing to a deeper transformation underway.
It's worth noting that the technical developments of machine economy have caught the attention of the industry leaders. HTX has actively tracked advances in AI agent–driven and machine-economy–oriented infrastructure this year, and has already listed projects associated with the x402 sector, including PING and PAYAI. These listings provide users with early exposure to technologies that may underpin future machine-native markets.
Machines Are Becoming the Internet's New Primary Users
The report places today's market environment in a broader historical context. From NFTs and DeFi to rollups, many of Web3's most consequential infrastructure developments took shape during downturns, when attention shifted away from price action and toward underlying capabilities.
HTX Ventures observes that a similar pattern is emerging today, driven by a fundamental change in who—or what—uses the internet. Automation scripts, API-based services, AI agents, and model inference systems are rapidly increasing their share of global network activity. Unlike human users, these machine users do not rely on interfaces or subjective decision-making. Instead, they operate at high frequency, require fully automated execution, and depend on programmable, verifiable settlement.
This shift places new demands on infrastructure. Traditional Web2 systems, built around human workflows, account-based access, and centralized trust, struggle to support large-scale, machine-to-machine interaction. By contrast, Web3's native properties—programmable payments, on-chain identity, and verifiable execution—are structurally aligned with the needs of machine-driven activity.
x402 and ERC-8004: A Minimal Infrastructure Stack for the Machine Economy
HTX Ventures argues that x402 and ERC-8004 should not be viewed as isolated proposals, but as complementary responses to a single question: how machines can participate in economic activity.
x402 redefines how payment functions on the internet. By reviving the long-dormant HTTP 402 ("Payment Required") status code, x402 turns payment into a protocol-level semantic rather than a user-interface flow. A server can directly specify payment conditions, while a calling machine can autonomously complete the payment—typically via stablecoins—and proceed with execution. In this model, payment becomes machine-readable, machine-executable, and scalable, positioning stablecoins as a natural form of "machine money."
ERC-8004 addresses the problem of trust and cooperation between machines. In a world where software agents can be copied or replaced at will, the default state is not weak trust, but zero trust. ERC-8004 introduces a standardized framework for task description and execution proofs, allowing agent behavior to be recorded, verified, and tracked on-chain. Over time, these records form a data-driven reputation, enabling collaboration based on verifiable history rather than implicit trust.
At a higher level, the report frames x402 and ERC-8004 as forming a minimal closed loop for the machine economy: payment, execution, verification, reputation, and cooperation. Within this loop, machines evolve from passive tools into active economic participants capable of initiating requests, bearing responsibility, and accumulating track records.
Conclusion
HTX Ventures concludes that major technical inflection points rarely coincide with immediate market feedback. Instead, they emerge gradually at the structural level. As machines increasingly become the internet's dominant users, Web3's role is likely to shift—from a human-facing interaction layer to a foundational system for machine payment, execution, and trust.
In this transition, x402 and ERC-8004 may not immediately dominate headlines, but they could become enduring components of future automated systems, forming a critical foundation for Web3's next phase of technical evolution.
About HTX Ventures
HTX Ventures is the global investment arm of HTX, integrating investment, incubation, and research to identify and discover the best and most innovative projects in the market. Visit us here.
PANAMA CITY, Dec. 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- HTX Ventures, the global investment arm of HTX, has released a new research report titled Pulse in the Cold: How x402 and ERC-8004 Signal Web3's Next Technical Inflection Point. The report examines two emerging but often overlooked infrastructure upgrades—x402 and ERC-8004—and analyzes how they could reshape Web3's payment, identity, and coordination layers as machines increasingly become primary network users.
HTX Ventures points out that periods of cooling market sentiment have historically coincided with the quiet formation of technologies that later define the industry's next growth phase. In the current cycle, as price-driven narratives lose momentum, x402 and ERC-8004 stand out as structurally significant signals pointing to a deeper transformation underway.
It's worth noting that the technical developments of machine economy have caught the attention of the industry leaders. HTX has actively tracked advances in AI agent–driven and machine-economy–oriented infrastructure this year, and has already listed projects associated with the x402 sector, including PING and PAYAI. These listings provide users with early exposure to technologies that may underpin future machine-native markets.
Machines Are Becoming the Internet's New Primary Users
The report places today's market environment in a broader historical context. From NFTs and DeFi to rollups, many of Web3's most consequential infrastructure developments took shape during downturns, when attention shifted away from price action and toward underlying capabilities.
HTX Ventures observes that a similar pattern is emerging today, driven by a fundamental change in who—or what—uses the internet. Automation scripts, API-based services, AI agents, and model inference systems are rapidly increasing their share of global network activity. Unlike human users, these machine users do not rely on interfaces or subjective decision-making. Instead, they operate at high frequency, require fully automated execution, and depend on programmable, verifiable settlement.
This shift places new demands on infrastructure. Traditional Web2 systems, built around human workflows, account-based access, and centralized trust, struggle to support large-scale, machine-to-machine interaction. By contrast, Web3's native properties—programmable payments, on-chain identity, and verifiable execution—are structurally aligned with the needs of machine-driven activity.
x402 and ERC-8004: A Minimal Infrastructure Stack for the Machine Economy
HTX Ventures argues that x402 and ERC-8004 should not be viewed as isolated proposals, but as complementary responses to a single question: how machines can participate in economic activity.
x402 redefines how payment functions on the internet. By reviving the long-dormant HTTP 402 ("Payment Required") status code, x402 turns payment into a protocol-level semantic rather than a user-interface flow. A server can directly specify payment conditions, while a calling machine can autonomously complete the payment—typically via stablecoins—and proceed with execution. In this model, payment becomes machine-readable, machine-executable, and scalable, positioning stablecoins as a natural form of "machine money."
ERC-8004 addresses the problem of trust and cooperation between machines. In a world where software agents can be copied or replaced at will, the default state is not weak trust, but zero trust. ERC-8004 introduces a standardized framework for task description and execution proofs, allowing agent behavior to be recorded, verified, and tracked on-chain. Over time, these records form a data-driven reputation, enabling collaboration based on verifiable history rather than implicit trust.
At a higher level, the report frames x402 and ERC-8004 as forming a minimal closed loop for the machine economy: payment, execution, verification, reputation, and cooperation. Within this loop, machines evolve from passive tools into active economic participants capable of initiating requests, bearing responsibility, and accumulating track records.
Conclusion
HTX Ventures concludes that major technical inflection points rarely coincide with immediate market feedback. Instead, they emerge gradually at the structural level. As machines increasingly become the internet's dominant users, Web3's role is likely to shift—from a human-facing interaction layer to a foundational system for machine payment, execution, and trust.
In this transition, x402 and ERC-8004 may not immediately dominate headlines, but they could become enduring components of future automated systems, forming a critical foundation for Web3's next phase of technical evolution.
About HTX Ventures
HTX Ventures is the global investment arm of HTX, integrating investment, incubation, and research to identify and discover the best and most innovative projects in the market. Visit us here.
** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **
HTX Ventures Explores x402 and ERC-8004 in New Report, Signaling Web3's Next Technical Inflection Point
