Since its inception, the Global Chinese Community Round has engaged over 8,000 donors, raising more than $58,000 across GG15, GG18, and GG19. In GG21 GCC evolved into the Asia Round, during which almost $60,000 were raised in donations. Gitcoin has played a crucial role in scaling the GCC Round into the Asia Round, making it an important platform for Asian web3 public goods builders.
By providing a structure to web3 funding that includes mechanisms like Quadratic Funding, Gitcoin has enabled community-driven support for the Global Chinese Community round, aka the Asia round. Hazel Hu, Asia round operator, discussed the impact of receiving Gitcoin’s matching funds after GG19, which was a turning point that encouraged the GCC team to continue and expand their efforts in the Asia Round, "Gitcoin’s matching gave us the confidence to continue.” She also touches on the important role that QF plays in expanding community, "By using the QF mechanism, we’ve been able to attract new ideas, new projects... without this gateway, we would never get the chance to know these people or these projects." The support is enabling the growth of a more inclusive and collaborative public goods ecosystem in the region.
Geographical Context on the Asia Round
Asia, with its 4.6 billion people and over 2,300 languages, is an essential region for web3 public goods adoption. Despite this, the representation of Asian voices in the wider web3 public goods funding ecosystem is limited. To bridge this gap, the Asia Round, evolving from the Global Chinese Community (GCC) Round was launched in GG21. Initially focused on Chinese communities, the round has now expanded to support projects from Taiwan, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
Hazel Hu, Asia round lead, explained, "Asia has very good engineers, very good founders, but sometimes we're lacking enough attention." Hazel noticed the disparity in resources and support between Western and Asian web3 projects, especially through attending the Asia Ethereum Leaders Gathering in Chiang Mai. This realization led to the broader Asia Round, a collaboration between GCC and Pagoda, amplifying diverse voices and nurturing emerging public goods projects in Asia.
The GCC Round initially focused solely on the Chinese-speaking community. Despite its early success, Hazel noted, “The marginal effect was diminishing... we thought that if we start a bigger-scope Asia Round, we can find builders and projects we have never heard of before, outside the familiar ecosystem.” Projects in mainland China for instance often avoid politically sensitive topics, focusing on developer education, while those in Taiwan and Hong Kong address social and environmental issues more freely. The aim was to foster connections between disparate communities, such as those in mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Hazel shared, “There are not so many connections between Mainland China and Hong Kong, or Mainland China and Taiwan. But by hosting this Gitcoin round, we built some connections with the Taiwanese, Hong Kong, and some of the Chinese community overseas. We were able to promote the interactions and communications between different groups and people and built more understanding. I remember some of the projects started to collaborate and host events together after the Gitcoin round.”
The GCC Round has achieved significant milestones since its launch. For instance:
In GG21, the first official Asia Round, participation expanded dramatically. With support from partners like Pagoda, the round engaged 3,900 donors and raised nearly $60,000 for 89 projects, ranking first in overall contributions. The innovative Signal Booster mechanism allowed community thought leaders (advisors, sponsors, community partners, and the GCC Standing Voting Committee) to allocate additional funds, enhancing transparency and impact. $4500 from the matching pool was allocated to a group of 9 individuals, and each member received $500 to distribute among Asia Round projects and publicly shared their allocation strategies, enhancing transparency and community engagement.
The Asia Round has empowered several standout projects:
Looking ahead, the team aims to refine the Asia Round by focusing on specific tracks to deepen engagement and attract larger funding pools. Hazel emphasized, “With each round, we’re not just giving money—we’re building an ecosystem that fosters innovation and cross-border collaboration.” This strategic focus will help uncover more projects and draw interest from international partners. Through running more rounds on Gitcoin, the Asia round is enhancing the sustainability of funding for public goods among Asian communities and unlocking the potential of public goods across Asia.