Author: Wu Says Blockchain

This interview revolves around the career journey of the new CEO of New Fire Technology, Qiye (Weng Xiaoqi), his judgment on the trend of compliance in the cryptocurrency industry, the new strategic phase of New Fire Technology (targeting high-net-worth clients with "private banking-level digital asset management" and "special layout for U.S. stock treasury"), as well as his observations on the current market cycle and the migration of capital pricing power. Key points include: compliance and integration with traditional finance are seen as a long-term main line; New Fire Technology plans to engage high-net-worth clients with high accessibility and full-chain services; and plans to establish a large-scale special participation in the U.S. stock "Treasury/DAT" wave.

Statement: The content of this article reflects only the personal views of the interviewee and does not represent the views of Wu Says. It does not endorse any tokens, and Wu Says has no financial interest in New Fire Technology. Readers are advised to strictly comply with the laws and regulations of their location and not to participate in illegal financial activities.

1. Guest Introduction: Qiye (Weng Xiaoqi) from Huobi, HashKey to New Fire's New Phase Positioning

Colin: Hello everyone, in this episode of the podcast, we invite Qiye (Weng Xiaoqi). He previously served as CEO of Huobi Global, then as Group COO and CEO of the Exchange Business Group at HashKey, experiencing multiple industry fluctuations, and now he has arrived at a new business platform. This is also Qiye's first interview since joining New Fire Technology, where he will share future development plans. First, please introduce yourself, as some listeners may not be familiar with your background.

Qiye: Hello everyone, first of all, thank you Colin for the invitation. I am Weng Xiaoqi, English name Livio, a graduate of Tsinghua University’s School of Software, and a junior of Li Lin. The most familiar part of my resume is that I started serving as CEO of Huobi Global in 2018, experiencing the cycle from 2018 to 2021; in 2023, I went to HashKey Exchange as CEO, responsible for the establishment and implementation of the exchange.

I continued to work in management positions and left in 2024. Since the beginning of this year, I have had many communications with General Li Lin. At that time, New Fire was lacking overall management for a period and was relatively lagging in business. Li Lin invited me to take New Fire, a listed company, as an entrepreneurial platform to continue to rebuild the trading-related business we are familiar with. We both agreed that this is an exciting direction. Last month, I joined New Fire through a private placement and was officially appointed as CEO of New Fire Technology starting August 26. I am very pleased to have the opportunity to communicate with everyone in this new capacity. Thank you.

Colin: Good, everyone has a general understanding of Livio's resume. Qiye, could you elaborate on your experiences and insights since entering the cryptocurrency industry? Including your different feelings at Huobi and HashKey—from being an offshore exchange comparable in size to Binance at that time, to participating in the creation of the most important compliant exchanges in Greater China/Hong Kong, and now joining a Hong Kong-listed company, especially with the current booming stock market. What interesting thoughts or different feelings have you had at each stage?

Qiye: I personally got involved with cryptocurrency quite early. In 2013, I was arbitraging between Huobi and OKCoin, as the price difference was very large at that time. I officially entered the industry after that, maintaining close contact for several years but not directly joining. In 2018, I joined Huobi, where the main theme of my work was leading various compliance initiatives. For example, at that time, Hainan planned to "list" virtual currency exchanges, and we often competed with Binance and OKCoin in the same arena.

During that phase, the entire industry was eager for compliance and transparency, hoping to become "regular troops." Many exchanges made significant efforts for this. General Li Lin and I were also laying out the listed company at that time—New Fire Technology should be one of the earliest crypto concept stocks globally (in 2018). The core logic at that time was to take compliance as the path and complete the layout in advance. Around the same time, General Xiao Feng was planning a licensed exchange in Hong Kong from 2018 to 2019. By 2022, HashKey's license was established, and we officially began to build the trading team. Overall, if I were to summarize in one sentence, it would be "compliance": this is a reflection of the cryptocurrency industry's journey towards compliance under the opportunities of the times.

Since 2018, everyone wanted to pursue compliance, but there were no avenues. By 2022, with the formal licenses in Hong Kong, we began to officially invest in the operation of licensed exchanges in Hong Kong, building the most crucial part of this ecosystem. Now, we see that the recent ETFs are actually a simplified trading vehicle, which has become the largest channel for net asset inflows over the past two years. From a strategic perspective, the impact of U.S. stock ETFs on the world is comparable to that of the three major exchanges back in the day.

Recently, the "Treasury/DAT" model is another simpler method. Many people do not yet have the habit of purchasing ETFs, but individual stocks are something most global investors have encountered, so DAT, which we refer to as MicroStrategy, along with the recently popular BitMine, Hong Kong's Boya Interactive, and Japan's Metaplanet—all focus on different cryptocurrencies, but overall belong to the same category: the Treasury model DAT. This type of DAT has become a simpler, more lightweight way for traditional investors to allocate cryptocurrency assets.

So, if I were to condense my experience in the industry to now, it would be "compliance." This is a major trend; the overall integration of traditional finance and the cryptocurrency industry has brought in a massive influx of new capital. In recent years, whether in the U.S. or Hong Kong, we can see various licenses being promoted and the global compliance process advancing. I believe everyone has felt this deeply. The future will also be the same; under the guidance of the compliance process, the entire industry will undergo significant changes and create massive incremental opportunities. This also brings great imaginative space for New Fire and our future work.

2. Historical Context of New Fire Technology: One of the Earliest Crypto Concept Stocks

Colin: Understood. Regarding the historical context of New Fire Technology, could Livio help us sort it out? I actually don't know much about it; it seems to have tried different directions at different stages.

Qiye: Actually, I don't know much either. We can start from the origin. In 2018, Huobi Group decided to transition to compliance, and the first step was to take New Fire Technology as an important target; at that time, the company was called "Tongcheng Holdings." We invested a significant amount of resources (all publicly disclosed) and sent different management teams to participate in the management of New Fire. New Fire is not only one of the earliest crypto concept stocks globally but may also be the world's first licensed asset management platform in Hong Kong that can invest 100% in virtual assets.

Due to various reasons, including Huobi's subsequent development and equity disposal, the team underwent several changes; the team taking over was unable to significantly expand the business influence for various reasons, so its history is quite long. The current—accurately speaking, former—CEO Du Jun, due to his numerous personal businesses, including investment funds, media, incubators, SaaS, etc., New Fire was relatively just a part of his vast investment portfolio, leading to a period where he existed merely as a "nominal CEO." In this round of adjustments, General Du transitioned from executive director to non-executive director but remains one of the major shareholders and will continue to promote the development of New Fire.

I have always had a good relationship with him, being both a mentor and a friend since 2018. To some extent, my formal entry into the industry was inspired by the industry exchange meeting organized by Du Jun back then; it was at that meeting that I began to systematically understand how practitioners view this industry. We will continue to collaborate to promote the development of New Fire, just with different divisions of labor—I will push more on the business front, while he will inject resources and assist in managing the company in his capacity as a shareholder and non-executive director. Having a full-time CEO to help manage the company gives the major shareholders more peace of mind. We have had good synergy in the past, and we have had several meetings recently, so I am very confident about the future management team and management system.

Colin: Understood, but from the perspective of the shareholder structure, General Li or his family office should still be the largest shareholder of New Fire Technology, right?

Qiye: Yes, Avenir is General Li's family office, which is a new industry player derived from General Li's family office. New Fire and Avenir are, to some extent, brother companies, both within General Li's investment portfolio, and they maintain strategic synergy in many businesses, including asset management, custody, etc.; at the same time, the other party is also an important client of New Fire. From the perspective of the Avenir Group, there are many businesses that can be developed at New Fire.

3. Personal Motivation and Return: Returning to the Frontline After Handling Family Emergencies, Gaining Support from Multiple Parties to Join New Fire

Colin: In fact, many people in the industry knew General Li Lin back then. However, in the past two years, he has been relatively low-key, and some readers or newcomers may not know who he is or be unfamiliar with his resume. A brief introduction: he is the founder of Huobi, later exited and sold Huobi to Sun Yuchen. After that, Li Lin mainly carried out overall asset management and other businesses through his family office Avenir.

I would like to ask a question: Previously, we also discussed that you planned to take a break after leaving HashKey. Was it ultimately General Li who persuaded you to come out and take on "New Fire"? What was the opportunity? Additionally, it seems that General Li has gradually shifted from being low-key in the past to being more proactive in asset management and other businesses, returning to the listed company to continue promoting related layouts. What are his thoughts on this?

Qiye: General Li Lin is a very representative figure in this industry; his personal experience is, to some extent, "half the history" of the Chinese cryptocurrency circle. He got involved with virtual assets early on, officially founded Huobi in 2013, later sold Huobi, and then established Avenir in Hong Kong. Everyone is familiar with his earlier experiences; since founding Avenir, he has shifted from "hibernation" to "layout." This round of overall layout around New Fire is mainly driven and led by him.

What many people may not know is that after selling Huobi, he made many rearrangements for the original team members and personally supported many former executives in their entrepreneurial endeavors, establishing various industry funds and projects. He has directly or indirectly participated in investments in many projects, helping many former Huobi colleagues to go out and develop.

Additionally, among the new executives entering New Fire this round, a considerable number were recommended by Li Lin to Xiao Feng to join HashKey. As for myself, it was also due to Li Lin's recommendation—he said I was good at taking businesses from 0 to 1, so he recommended me to Xiao Feng. Initially, I had some concerns about joining HashKey, but after learning it was Li Lin's recommendation, I decided to give it a try.

I had a great time at HashKey for the past two years, and we did many things from 0 to 1 in the industry. Of course, any breakthrough in compliance paths requires a longer cycle. Therefore, we believe HashKey has a bright future, but there is still a long way to go. The reason I left HashKey is still due to family reasons as previously announced: an important family member had a sudden illness, which many close friends around me know.

Now that they have received proper treatment, I have returned to the market. After leaving HashKey, I maintained a good personal relationship with Xiao Feng, and we often discuss industry trends. This time, it was General Li who persuaded me to join New Fire through a private placement. You may have seen or guessed that General Li is increasing his strategic layout for New Fire. I also consulted with General Xiao about this, and he encouraged me to come.

Before the current market rally started, he keenly predicted that "the linkage between cryptocurrencies and stocks" would become a new trend. He believes that from the perspective of stocks, the cryptocurrency industry targets in the Hong Kong market are still scarce, which encouraged me to come. This is also interesting: initially, we went to HashKey to work with Xiao Feng due to Li Lin's push; this time returning to New Fire to work with Li Lin is driven by Xiao Feng. I personally feel honored to work alongside these two industry giants, which is the greatest fortune of my career. We have not only achieved some business accomplishments together but have also built deep mutual trust and friendship in the process. Recently, we are also brewing a larger strategic cooperation, which will be disclosed at the appropriate time.

When I went to HashKey, I brought many former senior executives from Huobi, mainly from the exchange's engineering line. That same year, everyone joined me at HashKey to build a complete management system for the exchange and cultivate a large number of management talents. We have a tradition of talent cultivation: from old Huobi to HashKey—old Huobi was once called "the Whampoa Military Academy of the cryptocurrency circle," while HashKey later became the "Whampoa Military Academy" of the compliant track in Hong Kong. Many exchanges that have since obtained licenses or are applying for licenses, when they need RO or operational talents, will first think of headhunting from HashKey. We once encountered situations where employees were poached with two to three times their salary. Some practitioners who had worked for many years even joined HashKey as "interns." We were curious why they did this; they said that after "gilding" at HashKey, having a HashKey background would bring obvious identity premiums.

HashKey has cultivated many compliance talents, some of whom have now followed me to New Fire, while a larger portion chose to stay. I personally encourage more people to remain at HashKey—after all, I am still a shareholder of HashKey, and we maintain a connection at the equity level. HashKey is also in a phase of rapid development; we will maintain close cooperation between New Fire and HashKey, and a collaborative project is nearing implementation. The Hong Kong market is limited, and here we believe that HashKey and New Fire will become two very representative companies, jointly promoting the development of the track.

In the future, General Li Lin will use New Fire as the main business vehicle and increase investment in the market. We believe that under his guidance, New Fire will extend more businesses that have a significant impact on the industry.

4. First Principles: Anchoring on User Needs and Focusing on Market Gaps

Colin: Understood. For me, I don't know much about the previous businesses of New Fire. My impression is that it has done MPC and custody-related businesses, right? Additionally, you will certainly have many businesses to promote in the current or upcoming phases, but could you introduce the order and focus to everyone?

Qiye: The problem with New Fire in the past was that it is actually a well-established virtual asset listed company, even one of the earliest, but when it comes to its business, people have no "memory points." This is a big taboo in the industry—outsiders do not know what you are actually doing. The past businesses you mentioned include asset management, MPC wallets, and even New Fire's OTC (over-the-counter trading) once had a significant trading volume, but none of these formed strong memory points.

So when I decided to join New Fire, I was thinking: how to transform such a long-established company with a complete license (almost complete except for license 7, holding licenses 1/4/9 and a trust license, all capable of VA uplift and conducting virtual asset-related businesses) into a "delicacy" recognized by the market. If I compare myself to a chef, having scarce ingredients like seafood, the key is how to "cook" them into delicious dishes that the market recognizes. This is what I have been thinking about for the past month. The solution is actually simple: return to first principles—we must do what the market needs; there is value only when there is market demand. For example, many people intuitively think that since we come from HashKey, we should simply replicate HashKey's license 7 business at New Fire; but this is something that most mediocre teams would do.

Qiye: We return to first principles—what do customers really want? Where are the customer needs? We start more from user needs. From the current supply side, exchanges are no longer scarce. The major offshore exchanges globally are large and mature, and without particularly strong differentiating factors, it is difficult to break through.

For example, during the 2018-2019 wave, many platforms relied on differentiated long-tail coins ("small coins") to drive growth, pushing some second-tier exchanges into the first tier and third-tier exchanges into the second tier. Similarly, during the DeFi cycle, platforms that seized the DeFi dividend (like the then FTX) benefited significantly.

There is also the contract track. After BitMEX fell due to compliance issues, a large number of new contract exchanges emerged; now, the largest platforms mostly launched their contract businesses during that phase. Without similar large-scale industry variables, it would be very difficult to go from "emergence" to "surpassing" by rashly starting another exchange.

At the same time, the exchange format itself is also changing: from the early non-licensed full-stack exchanges, it has evolved into a "lighter" trading vehicle. For example, if you only want to buy Bitcoin or Ethereum, you may not necessarily need to use a very "heavy" exchange; U.S. or Hong Kong ETFs are also options. The "license 7" in Hong Kong is no longer scarce, with more than ten already existing.

Qiye: Ultimately, it comes back to "who can survive." We see that leading platforms are struggling, and those applying for licenses will struggle even more due to the lack of first-mover advantages. At this stage, if New Fire were to become a full-stack exchange, this strategy is not completely ruled out, but it will not be the first step for a cold start. So what should we do in the cold start phase? This is our core question. To this end, we conducted market research: in this bull market, especially since the second half of this year, driven by stablecoins and RWA, more people have begun to understand this industry. Everyone realizes that if billions of people "go on-chain" in the future, cross-border settlement costs will be lower, and assets will flow more freely; in many financially underdeveloped long-tail countries, even those "without bank accounts" can obtain bank-like services with just a wallet.

At the same time, a large amount of incremental capital is on the way—mainstream financial institutions, traditional family offices, and high-net-worth individuals in traditional stock markets have realized that cryptocurrency is gradually moving towards the mainstream. They are eager to enter the market, but there are many issues. I am almost asked repeatedly every month by friends from traditional industries (mostly high-net-worth individuals, even those with hundreds of millions to billions in wealth): Can this coin still be bought? Where to buy, where to open an account? Are platforms like Binance and OKX safe? What price is more suitable for buying? How to prevent asset theft? Where is it safer to store after buying (custody/self-custody)? How to withdraw funds compliantly to avoid "frozen cards"? More advanced clients will ask: Can holding coins generate stable interest? Friends who already hold a large amount of assets will ask: How to achieve family inheritance and cross-generational arrangements? These are the most urgent "pain point issues" for new entrants.

5. New Fire's Phase One Strategy: Private Banking in the Cryptocurrency Circle and Family Trusts

Qiye: The current license 7 does not serve high-net-worth individuals well. License 7 is more aimed at a broad retail audience, providing a low-touch platform service—giving you an app to operate on your own. But many new clients do not even understand what "market orders and limit orders" are. How to provide personalized services for these high-net-worth clients? There is a clear market gap here. In the past, non-licensed exchanges often operated in a "hidden" manner, making it difficult to openly provide comprehensive services to clients, resulting in a long-term service gap.

We were thinking: can we provide "private banking-level" cryptocurrency concierge services for high-net-worth individuals and traditional new users? From account opening, funding, trading, to custody/self-custody and asset management after buying coins, as well as family inheritance covered by our trust capabilities, the entire chain is guided and serviced by "private banking-level concierges." We jokingly call it "private banking in the cryptocurrency circle." This is not only a relatively blank market positioning but also a relatively lighter and easier business direction to break through quickly. This demand is not mere speculation—I have personally seen a high-net-worth client at HashKey planning to buy several million dollars' worth of Bitcoin: the compliant exchange opened an account for him but only provided an app for him to place orders on the market.

He first placed a market order of 1 million dollars. Due to poor liquidity on the new platform, the system quickly intercepted it and did not execute the order. So he changed to splitting the order into 10 thousand dollars each; we could see the price on the market "spiking" up and down, with multiple "spikes" appearing, incurring significant slippage costs; after buying, he encountered many issues during the withdrawal process.

There are many similar examples. Investing in virtual assets involves a series of complex steps and concepts, including buying coins, storage, and subsequent "coin generation." For new users entering the market, this is simply a "disaster curve." If these issues are not systematically resolved, this client group—especially the newly added high-net-worth and institutional funds—will find it difficult to effectively release their true value.

Qiye: Therefore, we have done a lot of thinking and innovation regarding the account opening, trading, holding, and inheritance phases for new clients. For example, for account opening, we can provide on-site, personalized one-on-one concierge services; with complete documentation, we promise to open accounts within 7 days. In terms of trading, we will establish dedicated service groups—similar to traditional private banking customer service—where dedicated personnel will answer questions 24/7; clients can also directly communicate their intentions, such as "I want to buy 1 million dollars' worth of Bitcoin today." We will provide estimated prices and total costs, and after client confirmation, we will execute orders through multiple exchanges using smart routing, striving to complete the transaction in the best way. If funds need to be withdrawn, we will provide dedicated banking channels.

As a licensed financial institution and a listed company, we have good credit backing. Focusing our services on high-end clients helps keep the channels "clean," significantly reducing the probability of encountering bank risk controls like "frozen cards," and ensuring smooth withdrawals. In the holding phase, assets can be held in our trust accounts or placed in designated compliant exchanges (like Coinbase, HashKey); clients with stronger hands-on abilities can also customize MPC (Multi-Party Computation) wallets that support private deployment. Once in the holding phase, clients can also entrust our fund for coin investment and integrate it with traditional stock investments, achieving coordinated allocation of cryptocurrency and securities assets, enhancing capital efficiency.

Qiye: We have also pioneered a trust scheme based on virtual assets like Bitcoin: it can be established using pure Bitcoin for family trusts, or it can include both coins and traditional assets (like stocks) within the trust structure. This addresses many "inheritance challenges" faced after making substantial profits in the cryptocurrency market. I wonder if Old Wu has also thought about this issue? I have considered many ways: writing little notes at home, using cold wallets, etc., but none are perfect solutions. I once handed a cold wallet to a family member and later asked, "Is that USB drive I gave you still around?" The other party had already forgotten. This shows that the actual operational process is very complex. Now, you can even directly use coins to establish family trusts, along with corresponding will arrangements.

For example: I have 100 Bitcoins that I want to leave to my son after a hundred years; another 100 Bitcoins for my daughter; the remaining portion will be allocated according to the plan. Through trust tools, we can systematically solve the inheritance issues of virtual assets—this is a necessity for many OGs.

In summary, we adopt a high-touch "private banking-level concierge" model, targeting high-net-worth clients with asset scales exceeding 10 million Hong Kong dollars, providing personalized services to help them solve the full chain of needs from entry configuration to secure holding and earning, and finally to asset inheritance.

Essentially, we are making a "subtraction" in our crowd selection phase: temporarily setting aside the retail market in Hong Kong and the Greater China market, focusing on high-net-worth clients, while simultaneously revitalizing New Fire's existing asset management, MPC wallet, and OTC trading businesses. This is what we consider a more elegant first-phase strategy. We have conducted extensive research around this direction, and the current feedback (including customer acquisition and conversion) is quite positive. We believe this strategy can open up new opportunities.

6. New Fire's Phase Two Strategy — "Treasury Special" Focused on Major Assets like ETH and SOL

Colin: Understood. I feel Livio has already provided a detailed introduction: New Fire Technology will focus on advancing "private banking services" for high-net-worth clients in Hong Kong and the Greater China region, which is the current work focus. Is my understanding correct? I have a small question: It is well-known that General Li Lin's family office holds a large amount of ETFs. Is it possible that New Fire Technology will transform into a similar "reserve-type" company in the future? In other words, whether from General Li Lin or other investors, will a large amount of cryptocurrency be injected into the listed company to make it a "treasury company"?

Qiye: We did discuss this route when planning New Fire—whether to make New Fire a Treasury-type company, whether it be holding reserves of Bitcoin or Ethereum, theoretically, it is a feasible option, and General Li Lin's family office indeed holds a considerable amount of digital assets.

Later, we found that the reason this model has worked in the U.S. stock market is largely due to the flexibility of the U.S. market (including the efficiency of the ATM—At-the-Market issuance mechanism). In contrast, the structure of the Hong Kong stock market is not as compatible in this regard. Therefore, regarding New Fire itself, we will not immediately shift to DAT business.

However, you have precisely pointed out our second strategy: we plan to establish a DAT special fund of about $500 million for strategic participation, and even to lead some DAT projects in the U.S. stock market or other stock markets. This theme is currently very hot, and we see several mainstream institutions in the U.S. accelerating their entry: from MicroStrategy's early allocation of Bitcoin to the recent focus on Ethereum as a primary target. We believe that the "spark" has ignited, and it is expected to continue to heat up, with potential DATs centered around Solana and others.

At the same time, these assets will also become preferred configurations for our private banking clients. Many institutions or high-net-worth individuals may encounter a lot of cumbersome issues, such as structural design, if they participate in their own name, making the operation "too heavy." By participating in these plans, relying on New Fire's credit backing and capital capabilities, clients can obtain a better asset package—essentially, we complete the complex work in advance and provide it to private banking clients in a simplified form. This is another very important strategic choice for us.

Colin: I have a follow-up question. Recently, the focus seems to have shifted to BNB and Solana, with a lot of U.S. capital pushing for Solana's treasury company in the past few days, and many Asian capitals (including Huaxing Capital in Hong Kong) starting to establish BNB treasury companies. If you set up a fund to invest in these DATs, would you focus more on traditional BTC and Ethereum, or pay attention to relatively emerging BNB and Solana, or even smaller altcoins?

Qiye: We may look at both the first and second categories. In the past, New Fire and Avenir have actually encountered these opportunities, and we are advancing with several initiators to substantial stages. As for longer-tail assets, we have observed that the pricing power in the cryptocurrency market is significantly more concentrated on Wall Street this round. The targets that Wall Street understands and is willing to invest in are still skewed towards the major assets, making it difficult for particularly long-tail coins to gain dividends through DAT. Of course, it is not ruled out that at the market peak stage, some favorable small coins may experience a surge through this channel by "telling stories," but that will not be the main theme, so we will lean more towards the first two categories you mentioned.

7. Internationalization and Licensing Path: Starting in Hong Kong, Expanding to the U.S. and Global Compliance

Colin: You mentioned earlier that whether in terms of pricing power or overall situation, the dominant players are still Wall Street in the U.S. We also know that General Li Lin often travels to the U.S. and will have many actions there. Will New Fire's current business still focus on Hong Kong, or will it simultaneously promote international layout, including actions in the U.S.?

Qiye: Yes, this is a very good question. Hong Kong is the first step in New Fire's new phase strategy. After all, we are a Hong Kong stock company, with both the business entity and main licenses located in Hong Kong. Therefore, the first-phase strategy mentioned earlier—"private banking-level digital asset management"—will focus more on Hong Kong and its surrounding markets and regions.

We also own a profitable exchange in Japan, BitTrade. We will apply for and obtain licenses in other regions globally and gradually launch a global strategy. The reason for initially choosing the "private banking" positioning is to enhance the speed of strategic implementation: we are re-packaging and repositioning existing businesses as a small Pareto-style improvement. Therefore, the advancement will be quick—the new product website is expected to go live tomorrow. This is my consistent style with the team: first, adapt to industry changes and iterate quickly; second, take one step and look three steps ahead. Expanding out of Hong Kong and radiating to surrounding markets is the first step.

Our second strategy is DAT, mainly focusing on the U.S. and U.S. stock markets. The third step is the global strategy: around the current heat of stablecoins and RWA, as well as the trend of cryptocurrency-stock integration and global licensing, we will promote subsequent internationalization layouts. We have also completed the positioning of key resources in advance.

Colin: Yes, Livio has clearly explained the overall logic: the first step is to promote "private banking services" for high-net-worth clients in Hong Kong based on existing resources; the second step focuses on the DAT investment fund in the U.S.; the third step is global compliance layout.

I have a question that does not involve your own business: it seems that the focus is shifting from BTC to BNB and Solana. You are not really competitors with OSL and HashKey; they are doing compliance globally—especially HashKey, which has obtained licenses in places like Singapore and Dubai. OSL has been very aggressive in the past six months, seemingly completing financing and acquiring licensed listed companies globally. How do you view such strategies? Are there any lessons to be learned? Also, can this business of "collecting licenses" in different countries truly be profitable, or is it more about filling into the listed company system for market value management and boosting stock prices?

Qiye: Yes, we have indeed seen surrounding partners increasing their efforts to obtain global licenses, even entering a "race" state. HashKey is my past "home," and they remain good friends and future partners; OSL is also part of Li Lin's portfolio, and Li Lin participated in this round of financing, making them our partners as well. First of all, we will maintain a cooperative relationship with them—because we do not engage in their license 7 business, there is no direct competition. In many aspects (including trading, storage of coins, etc.), we are in a cooperative relationship: wherever clients need to go, we assist in completing it. From a strategic perspective, I believe this is a group of high-level individuals looking to make future-oriented layouts.

However, whether the strategy can succeed hinges on the two points you just mentioned: first, the "speed at which the future arrives," and second, whether capital flow management can achieve a perfect match. If this chain cannot form a perfect match, it may face challenges at some stage; if it can match, it may grow into a "behemoth" like Coinbase—having endured the immense pressure of obtaining global licenses early on. This round, whether it is purely a "exchange license" or purely a "payment/finance (PayFi) license," both have long-term value. As for who can run the longest, it depends on each party's financial strength and operational level.

8. What Stage is This Market Cycle Currently In?

Colin: Finally, let's discuss a question that everyone is more concerned about: what stage has this market cycle reached? We know that whether it is General Li Lin's family office, asset management, or your personal asset management team, there must be a lot of analysis and research being done, from macro to specific operational levels. Because there have been different voices recently in the market. Wall Street has been "bullish," and it cannot simply be called speculation—treasury companies (DAT) essentially rely on the continuous rise in coin prices for the flywheel to turn. Therefore, some people are calling out target prices like "Ethereum 10,000, 20,000," such as Arthur Hayes and the recently popular Tom Lee.

On the other hand, we have sensed in the public market and in some private occasions and interviews that many funds in Asia seem to have started to reduce their positions. In the past few days, an early whale sold tens of thousands of Bitcoins on-chain; a well-known fund I interviewed previously even believes that the market may see a 50% adjustment in the coming year. From your research or judgment, what kind of trend do you think will emerge in the next year?

Qiye: Actually, there is a saying that can answer most similar doubts: since 2017, a global trend has been that the Eastern world (including Chinese people) is continuously selling, while the U.S. is continuously buying. This is related to the impact of the U.S. compliance process and the expectations of interest rate cuts.

So the market remains very hot; Asian investors outside this atmosphere may not feel the enthusiasm and the influx of large amounts of capital. Historically, Asia as a whole entered the market earlier—whether in China, South Korea, or Japan. The entry of Europe and the U.S. was relatively late. Early Asian investors have already seen considerable gains on paper (many targets have increased several times), and naturally, they will worry about pullbacks and tend to "cash out." However, the entry point for U.S. and European funds is mostly in the tens of thousands of dollars range (taking Bitcoin as an example), and they may feel that "the revolution has just begun," leading to a significant difference in mindset.

I personally lean towards the view that since the pricing power is in the U.S., we should observe the indicators from U.S. institutions more—under the backdrop of "interest rate cut expectations," what kind of trends and performances will emerge before and after the rate cuts, which may determine the subsequent direction. In fact, just this year, we have seen many old OGs "get off the bus" and never be able to get back on. Therefore, I want to remind you: holding long-term while frequently trading is very dangerous. No one can accurately judge the top and bottom of a trading range; however, from a long-term perspective, the trend of industry development is relatively clear. If we consider the next ten years, I believe that now is definitely not the highest point, but rather in a relatively median or slightly below median range—this is probably the only certainty.

The rest depends on personal choices. For example, if someone sells Bitcoin at 120,000 and feels satisfied regardless of whether it rises to 200,000, 300,000, 500,000, or 1,000,000 in the next ten years, thinking the return is already ideal, then they should execute according to their mindset and allocation. Others who do not sell at 120,000 and see the price drop to 70,000 or 80,000 may feel very uncomfortable. Different people have different risk tolerances and return goals; the key is to make decisions that are responsible for themselves. My personal judgment is that the current price is neither the lowest point nor the highest point. Maintaining a long-term mindset, valuing long-term value, and progressing together with the industry may ultimately yield more substantial returns.

Colin: Finally, I might help friends looking for jobs to ask if New Fire is currently hiring? Are there any talents needed from the market?

Qiye: Thank you very much. New Fire is indeed vigorously advancing its business, and we urgently need a group of experienced and potential industry elites. We emphasize "elites"; we do not seek a large team, but a strong one: one excellent talent can often replace three mediocre talents, and their management cost is only about one-third of that of ordinary people, which is a better choice.

We have seen that many mediocre teams have problems with hiring too many people too quickly, leading to dilution of value and culture; as a result, some people "lie flat," some are busy with upward management, and those who actually do the work become very tired, leading to complaints over time, and ultimately unwilling to continue investing. This is a common situation for most mediocre teams. Therefore, if you believe you are a top talent in the industry, you are welcome to submit your resume to New Fire. Being able to listen to Wu's podcast and persist until this point indicates that you possess strong learning ability and resilience, and are in a stage of rapid growth—you are likely the talent we are looking for. Welcome to join us.

免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。