He bought 500 bitcoins with his red envelope money at the age of 15, starting from scratch in his youth; he is a crypto whale, managing a fund worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and in 2025, he earned 4.4 million tokens through the aster airdrop; he is a master in poker, almost winning the runner-up in the World Series of Poker, integrating GTO game theory into trading; he is also a seasoned trader who has experienced multiple liquidations and black swan events but can quickly recover — he is Wesley, a top player in the crypto market, poker table, and gaming world.

In this episode of OKX "Dialogue with Traders," @mia_okx has an in-depth conversation with Wesley, breaking down his growth path to becoming the helm of a billion-dollar fund.

👇 Below are the highlights of the full dialogue, with both video and text content organized for your viewing pleasure.

I. Childhood Enlightenment: From Yo-Yo Champion to Early Bitcoin Player, the Key to Success Hidden in Interests

First Experience with Bitcoin at 15: The Journey of Crypto Investment Started with Red Envelope Money

Mia: I heard you got into crypto early; is it related to your childhood experiences?

Wesley: I was obsessed with yo-yos at that time, and not many people in the country studied the techniques. I learned yo-yo skills from abroad and brought them back, eventually winning first place in Chongqing and second in Guangdong, and I even became the yo-yo coach for an actor in the TV series "Firepower Youth King." Back then, I practiced for several hours every day after school, and my middle finger developed bone spurs. Looking back, that kind of perseverance in research was planted in me since elementary school.

Mia: How did you first come into contact with Bitcoin?

Wesley: My family was relatively well-off, and my parents were very open about my financial management. Before middle school, I received 10,000 to 30,000 yuan in red envelopes each year, and my dad never interfered with how I used it, allowing me to manage my own funds. At that time, to earn pocket money, I bought Amazon gift cards with Bitcoin on Paxful and sold them at a high price on Taobao for arbitrage, gradually getting into Bitcoin. Later, I bought a couple of hundred bitcoins for less than 100 yuan each on Bitcoin China (founded by Li Qiyuan, brother of Litecoin founder Li Qiwang), marking my official entry into the crypto space.

Mia: Did you encounter any pitfalls in early investments?

Wesley: Yes. When Bitcoin rose to around 3,000 to 4,000 yuan, I sold it to trade stocks, but I hit the 2015 stock market crash, especially with LeEco, which directly dropped to the limit, wiping out all the profits I made from Bitcoin. After that, I never bought A-shares again and focused solely on the crypto market. Looking back now, the trial and error I experienced in my youth were very important, helping me understand the risk boundaries of different markets.

II. Trading and Poker: Strategies from the Same Source, Earning "Long-term EV" in Information Asymmetry

Entering Poker During a Bear Market: Experiencing a 20 Million Loss, Finding Poker as a "Stress Relief + Strategy Training Ground"

Mia: Why did you turn to the poker circle in 2022?

Wesley: At that time, Bitcoin had risen to its peak of about $69,000, and I was still adding positions, thinking it could reach $100,000. But then Bitcoin quickly dropped to over $50,000 in just two or three days, falling very fast, and I had to cut my losses and exit, resulting in a loss of about $20 million. Looking back, it was mainly due to being too greedy and overly excited during the bull market. I had already made a lot of money and exited, but I was infected by the FOMO sentiment in the market and re-entered, which led to such a large loss. I wanted to find something that could both relax me and be strategic. Poker happened to fit that need. Even if I lost tens of thousands every day, I wouldn't lose $20 million in a year, making it more controllable than trading losses, allowing me to temporarily forget the pressure of the bear market. This characteristic of having a "clear risk boundary" helped me gradually emerge from the anxiety of the bear market and even start to think about trading strategies from poker.

Mia: Can poker strategies be applied to trading?

Wesley: Absolutely. Both poker and trading are games of information asymmetry, unlike chess or Go, where information is transparent. The core is the GTO (Game Theory Optimal) theory; it's not about winning through a single decision but distributing actions based on probabilities, pursuing long-term positive EV (expected value). For example, in poker, you might raise with a 10% probability and fold with a 20% probability; in trading, it's the same — you don't stubbornly stick to one direction but lay out positions based on probabilities to ensure long-term profitability.

Mia: You went from a poker novice to almost winning the World Series of Poker (WSP) runner-up. What efforts did you put in along the way?

Wesley: At first, I was just playing for fun on a TV show because I have a flamboyant personality and like to show off my skills at the poker table. The production team found it interesting and often invited me. But when I really wanted to play well, I hired one of the best poker players in China as my coach and kept learning because learning poker is a tedious process, much like solving math problems; you have to memorize and internalize a lot of information.

III. Responding to Black Swans: Recovering Quickly with a Volatility Strategy After a $5 Million Liquidation

Mia: What was your personal experience during the black swan event on October 11? Can you elaborate on the liquidation process?

Wesley: At that time, I thought the U.S. government would announce the ETF results for Litecoin, Solana, and Dogecoin, and I was confident it would pass, so I kept going long. However, on that day, Dogecoin dropped 70%, and Litecoin fell from 130 to a low of 51, and I got liquidated at that price of 51, with all accounts totaling over $5 million in liquidation, not counting the losses in spot trading. Later, I found out that a certain exchange's system crashed, and the market makers didn't place orders, leading to an instant loss of liquidity, causing positions that shouldn't have been liquidated to be liquidated.

Mia: After losing so much money, how did you quickly adjust your mindset to recover?

Wesley: Later, a certain exchange offered compensation, but they didn't publicly disclose what the problem was. I felt that dwelling on past losses was meaningless and would affect future judgments; one must look forward. I revisited the book "Cycles," and one quote left a deep impression on me: everything and everyone has a cycle. We can't always stay at the peak, so after falling from the peak, how to stabilize your mindset and strive for a new high is very important.

For this market, the primary reason for the crash was the X exchange's downtime, along with catalysts like the sharp drop in U.S. stocks and some very aggressive statements from Trump regarding the trade war.

From the perspective of market long-short dynamics, the long positions had accumulated too much, including long positions like ours in ecological coins, which instantly cleared all our leverage. This crash required a lot of momentum, and we were that momentum for the crash. Once that momentum is gone, the market will end the trend of crashing and shift to a range-bound phase. So after the crash, I traded based on volatility; when close to the bottom, I went long, and when it rebounded to the previous pressure level, I went short. I made several trades, and the results were quite good.

Mia: Do you review your trades after losses? How do you adjust your trading strategy?

Wesley: I definitely review my trades. For example, after losing $20 million, I realized through the review that it was due to my greed, being influenced by FOMO, and the issue of path dependence; during the black swan event, I recognized the risks of exchanges and the importance of liquidity in extreme market conditions. In terms of adjusting strategies, I now focus on spot trading, using very little leverage. I used to use ten times leverage, but now I only use a maximum of 0.5 to 1 times leverage to avoid liquidation risks. I also adjust based on market conditions; for example, after the black swan, I judged it to be a range-bound period, so I used a range-bound approach instead of stubbornly sticking to a trend.

IV. Trading Philosophy: Trend is King, Prioritize Capital Management, Reject Path Dependence

Mia: You excel at trend trading; what is the core logic of this trading model? How do you judge trends and seize opportunities in practice?

Wesley: I mainly look at three dimensions to judge trends: macro fundamentals, K-line structure, and mindset. First is the macro cycle, such as whether we are in a rate hike cycle or a downgrade cycle. Second is the K-line; the larger the level you trade, the simpler the K-line you look at, which increases your win rate. The third point is having a good mindset; since I've made money and lost money, I can handle large floating losses and gains. I don't always try to swing trade; for example, some people want to short when it rises and go long when it falls. But I can hold my positions well. These three points are my trading principles.

Mia: You said "capital management comes first." How do you effectively manage capital? What are the differences in position allocation between mainstream coins and meme coins?

Wesley: My capital management focuses on "mostly spot trading, with a small portion using a bit of leverage." Even if the leverage gets wiped out, it won't harm me too much. I used to use ten times leverage, but now I only use a fraction of that, and I won't be as aggressive as before.

In terms of asset selection, when large funds do trend trading, they generally choose the top ten or fifteen coins, preferably those that have launched ETFs for higher certainty; for meme coins, the most important factors are the themes and narratives, and I also use Bubblemaps to check the degree of chip dispersion, as well as which leading coins to follow. However, I only play meme coins with small positions; for example, I bought a certain meme coin for $150,000, which could have returned $5 million at its peak, but I didn't hold on and took profits.

Mia: You've experienced several rounds of bull and bear markets. How do you avoid "path dependence"? For instance, why can't you just replicate the strategies that worked in the last bull market in this one?

Wesley: Path dependence can be very dangerous in the long run. For example, if you made money from ICOs in 2017, continuing to do ICOs in 2018 would definitely lead to losses; the rolling strategy that worked well in the last bull market, like rolling from Bitcoin breaking $20,000 to $60,000, doesn't work this time because the market is moving very slowly, with many pullbacks, and it might even reverse directly, making it easy to get liquidated if you keep rolling. The market is always changing, and the iterations are getting faster; if you don't learn, you'll fall behind. I now pay more attention to the voices of retail investors, such as entering communities and looking at KOL opinions on Twitter, combining that with my own experience to make judgments, rather than sticking to old strategies. For example, many people are still using the "diamond hands" approach this time, but they end up on a roller coaster because they didn't see that the market structure is different from before.

Mia: Since you studied computer science, have you considered doing quantitative trading? Isn't quantitative trading more stable with lower drawdowns?

Wesley: I don't think this has a direct connection to studying computer science. I've been in the crypto space for over a decade, and many who do quantitative trading end up losing everything. During this recent black swan event on October 11, many market makers lost everything due to the exchange's downtime. You might maintain a steady profit of several dozen percent a year, but one downtime or black swan event can wipe you out completely. I believe quantitative trading can earn slowly, but it can't withstand a black swan event. Howard Marks once said that in investing, risk and return are proportional; things with high returns should have low risks, and things with high risks are bad because they can easily lead to total losses. Moreover, more professional institutions are entering the quantitative field. If I were to do quantitative trading, I would rather give my money to some professional institutions because they would do it better than I could. I don't excel in that area. I have a bias against quantitative trading because I've seen too many quantitative funds lose everything, which has led to my strong prejudice against it.

V. Meme Coin Trading: Practical Cases and Selection Criteria

Mia: In this bull market, after returning to crypto trading, you've had impressive performances in meme coin trading. When did you start getting involved with and trading meme coins?

Wesley: I started with Dog Wif Hat (WIF) this round. Since I'm in the U.S., I got to know the Western crowd that was initially playing with Solana pretty well, so I bought and played with all kinds of meme coins. This includes Pepe, and also a new dog adopted by the owner of the original Dogecoin called Neiro; I bought this meme-related asset early on as well.

Mia: Do you have any memorable specific trading experiences in meme coins?

Wesley: Yes, for example, with "4," I bought 1% of it when its market cap was $15 million, but I didn't hold on and missed out on about $4 million in profits. At that time, I bought it using OKX's DEX feature, and now my position is worth about $2 million, peaking at $5 million.

Then there's Azuki, this NFT, which I publicly traded. In the last bear market, I publicly sold a portion, making about $5 million from that trade, which can be seen on-chain. At that time, I was the 13th largest holder of Azuki globally, as Azuki has a ranking for holdings. My address became famous because of my profile picture, which was nearly worth $1 million at the time. I kept it as a collection and didn't sell, while I sold off some other rare and floor-priced items, including some small beans (Azuki-related derivative NFTs). I still have a few very rare Azuki profile pictures, which are worth nearly $1 million, marking a successful bottom-fishing and top-exiting trade in the last bear market.

Mia: How did you learn the trading logic for meme coins, and how do you filter meme coin assets?

Wesley: It really comes down to engaging more and listening to everyone's opinions without bias. First, you need to be grounded and integrate into the retail investor community. I often join many groups, and I have my own community where I listen to everyone's views on different meme coins; I also follow various KOLs I like on Twitter who share insights about meme coin dynamics. Simply put, meme coins are about "consensus." Their value essentially comes from what people believe they are worth. So, I first listen to what the narrative around a meme coin is, then combine that with my own trading experience to assess whether that narrative resonates with me — this is a relatively subjective judgment. If the narrative moves me, I consider buying in.

Mia: You always manage to seize opportunities with new meme coins promptly. What’s the key to maintaining that sharpness?

Wesley: On one hand, it's the resources around me; for example, some community-oriented assets are recommended by friends. Like aster, it was a junior of mine who is an important staff member in aster that encouraged me to support it. I invested less than $30 million, and they were offering a 20% annualized return. I didn't even care how much airdrop I could get, and unexpectedly, the project took off completely. In the end, I also received airdrops worth $5 million, which was a stroke of luck, possibly a bonus from helping others. On the other hand, I don't shy away from new things, whether it's meme coins or NFTs. As long as it's new and has community heat, I actively seek to understand it without dismissing it outright. Coupled with the information gathering I mentioned earlier, I can seize opportunities in a timely manner.

VI. Advice for Beginners: Bitcoin is the Top Choice for Long-term Allocation, Don't Obsess Over Quick Riches

Mia: If a beginner has only $5,000 or even less to invest, what specific advice would you give for asset allocation?

Wesley: For long-term asset allocation, I would only recommend buying Bitcoin. I believe we will definitely see Bitcoin rise to $1 million in our lifetime. No matter when you buy, holding it long-term is reliable, and you don't need to worry about short-term fluctuations; this is the most stable approach. There's no need to touch those unknown altcoins; the risks are too high.

Mia: If a beginner wants to get rich quickly, like you did starting from scratch in your youth, what would you advise them?

Wesley: First of all, I have to say that I didn't get rich quickly; I benefited from the early crypto market boom, and it was through long-term accumulation that I reached where I am now. The opportunities in the crypto space are pretty much gone now; it's not like before when you could randomly buy an altcoin and make money. If you want to make money, you need to first ask yourself, "What is my advantage?" What makes you think you can earn more than others? Before figuring this out, don't rush in blindly; first, learn, wait for good opportunities, and be cautious to survive. Many beginners get a little profit at first and become overconfident, leveraging recklessly, and end up losing everything. It's better to first learn how not to lose.

Mia: Besides trading skills, what else do you think beginners need to pay attention to? For example, mindset and life aspects.

Wesley: The core is not to have too much obsession with getting rich quickly; trading is just a part of life. For me now, health and safety are the most important. I have security 24 hours a day, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars a year on safety. No matter how much money you have, it’s useless without health and safety. Additionally, maintain a learning mindset; the crypto space evolves too quickly, and if you don't learn, you'll fall behind. I still read books and communicate with other traders; even while managing a billion-dollar fund, I dare not stop learning.

VII. Book Recommendations and Future Plans: Using Influence to Voice for the Chinese Community

Mia: You often recommend the book "Cycles." What insights from this book have influenced you the most? Besides trading books, what other types of books do you enjoy reading?

Wesley: The core of "Cycles" is that "everything and everyone has cycles" — whether it's the market, stocks, or people, nothing can stay at its peak forever. After falling, how to stabilize your mindset and strive for new highs is particularly important for trading. Howard Marks wrote this book to compile his decades of memos to investors, and even Buffett loves reading his memos; the content is very solid and worth revisiting. Besides trading books, I enjoy reading novels, such as "Snowy Path of the Knife" and "Dao of the Strange Immortal" — these novels have now been adapted into TV series, and the protagonists embody a rebellious spirit, emphasizing the unity of knowledge and action, which has greatly influenced my character.

Mia: You are still active in the crypto front line. What are your future plans?

Wesley: I want to accumulate more influence now. It's not for money; I feel that influence is too important in this era, as it can solve many issues that money alone cannot. More importantly, I want to do something for the Chinese community and elevate our status in the U.S. In America, there are too few Chinese willing to speak out; everyone is used to making money quietly, but we actually need someone to stand up for our rights. For example, if there’s an opportunity in the future, I’d like to try being a congressman, using influence to do real things like Musk and Trump. Even if there are risks, doing the right thing is worth it.

Disclaimer

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