Gracy Chen Explains Bitget: Why Adopt Aggressive Strategies in a Bear Market?

This article is sponsored by Bitget. This article reflects the personal views of Gracy Chen and does not represent the opinions and positions of WuBlockchain.

Please introduce yourself

Gracy: I graduated from Singapore, majoring in Applied Mathematics. After graduation, I began my career as an anchor and producer for Phoenix Finance and Phoenix Satellite TV’s finance and technology channel. This experience started between 2014 and 2015, which was also my first encounter with the field of cryptocurrency. At that time, I met some industry insiders, including He Yi , who transitioned from a journalist to the CMO of OKCoin (now OKX). It was these friends who recommended that I study the Bitcoin white paper in 2015, and I purchased my first batch of BTC and XRP, marking my initial bond with blockchain technology.

Since 2015, I have been involved in the internet, technology, and VR industries, serving as a co-founder and chief marketing officer, focusing on marketing and innovation. Until early last year, I officially joined Bitget, marking my shift from Web2 to the Web3 field. My joining Bitget was partly due to my early investment in Bitget Keep (now Bitget Wallet). At Bitget, I primarily handle marketing and have recently started to delve into project listings. My experience proves that my skills and experience in multiple industries are transferable and applicable. After joining Bitget, despite encountering industry turmoil such as Terra Luna and the subsequent bear market, Bitget has risen against the odds during this difficult period and become a dark horse in the industry.

Why did Bitget choose to expand its strategy during the bear market?

Gracy: In fact, although many people may have only started to notice Bitget in the past two years, we were actually established five years ago. We’ve been through a complete cycle of bull and bear markets, especially during the last bear market, when we began to take action, somewhat similar to how I entered the industry. Bitget was established in the summer of 2018 when the market was moving towards a bear trend, not turning bullish until the end of 2020 and into 2021. This cycle taught us a lot, like how to build a foundation in a bear market, acquire assets at low prices, and recruit talent in more favorable environments. We believe that those who stick to the industry even in a bear market are the ones who truly have faith in this field. At the same time, asset prices are relatively lower, making it more appropriate to invest or lay out in WEB3 projects and the entire ecosystem during a bear market compared to a bull market. The success of the bull market is largely due to the adequate preparation made during the bear market and the takeoff achieved with the industry growth and influx of traffic.

We have always maintained this mindset. I remember in the middle of last year, during an interview with CoinDesk TV, they mentioned that most exchanges were laying off staff at that time, especially Coinbase, which had severe layoffs. However, according to their statistics, among the top ten large exchanges, we and one or two others were the few that were expanding. At that time, we always believed that the bear market was a golden window for growth, very similar to my previous logic. Assets are cheaper, and the talents who truly stay in the industry are the real believers. Therefore, it’s more appropriate to layout during a bear market. We’ve been through cycles of bull and bear alternation, so we have a deeper understanding and thorough knowledge of these situations.

What achievements has this proactive strategy made? What are the expectations for 2024?

Gracy: By the end of 2023, Bitget’s proactive expansion strategy in the bear market has achieved significant accomplishments. Firstly, from a branding perspective, we have realized significant growth. Particularly noteworthy is our signing with Messi before the World Cup, which was not only a stroke of luck but also a testament to our courage and foresight. At that time, we faced competition from other exchanges that even offered a million dollars more than us, but Messi ultimately chose us. This was due to his knowledge of our collaboration with Juventus and belief that we understand the needs of the football world better. Messi’s victory during the World Cup was a valuable investment for our brand, and we conducted extensive promotion both online and offline.

In terms of listings, We have currently launched over six hundred types of cryptocurrencies, including many high-quality assets. Our listing strategy will become more aggressive, aiming to unearth early high-quality assets for the industry. We have a research team that conducts stringent evaluations to ensure only potential and standard-compliant projects are listed. For instance, despite the popularity of inscription projects, we do not blindly list all inscription projects but carefully select and research them. As for Foresight Ventures, by the end of September, we have invested in 77 projects, putting in over 60 million USD, reflecting our commitment to supporting WEB3 projects. We have made significant layouts in supporting early tokens and public chain collaborations and have achieved good results in the decentralized wallet field.

For 2024, we have three important strategic layouts. First is compliance, especially post-FTX incident, compliance has become increasingly important. We have participated in a series of compliance-related initiatives, such as the obtaining licenses in Poland and Lithuania, which will be key to our future development. Second, we will focus more on emerging markets, such as Latin America and Southeast Asia, which are crucial parts of our globalization strategy. Lastly, we will continue to vigorously develop our WEB3 business, launching projects like DEX and L2, and steadily advance our development plans.

What is Bitget’s coin listing strategy?

Gracy: Bitget’s coin listing strategy primarily focuses on rapidly responding to market hotspots while ensuring the provision of assets with both quality and potential. Our approach can be summarized as “speed over slowness,” offering wealth effects to our users while remaining agile. For example, ARB was an important hotspot we captured in the first half of this year. Before ARB issued its token, we noticed the heat of its ecosystem, especially core projects like GMX. We responded swiftly, directly listing over ten ARB ecosystem projects when the industry demanded this ecosystem, forming what’s known as the “ARB ecosystem package.” This move attracted many users to our platform because we provided the most comprehensive support for the ARB ecosystem in the market.

Our coin listing region also reflects this strategy. For example, we launched specialized MEME, inscription, and Layer2 zones and were the first to list popular cryptocurrencies like BLUR, ORDI, ZERO, and Silly. These are examples of our rapid response and seizing of market hotspots. We are committed to capturing hotspots in real-time and reacting quickly to provide users with early market entry opportunities.

However, speed is not our only consideration. While pursuing speed, we also place great importance on the quality and potential of projects. We have a strict evaluation system, considering multiple dimensions such as liquidity, project team, and investor background. For instance, we conduct in-depth observations of tokens that are initially only on DEX, and only projects that meet our standards for liquidity, among others, will be listed. This balance is very delicate; we aim to maintain agility and a leading edge without sacrificing quality and the interests of our users.

In summary, Bitget aims to find a proper balance between speed and quality. We don’t just want to list coins quickly; we want to grasp market trends and provide the best options for users while ensuring quality and responsibility. This is a continuous learning and adjusting process, and we are committed to being a trading platform that is both fast and responsible.

Is there any synergy between Foresight incubation and Bitget’s coin listings?

Gracy: Currently, Bitget and Foresight operate relatively independently in their decision-making. Foresight primarily focuses on investment returns when making investments, not specifically seeking coin listing projects for Bitget. Although Bitget is one of Foresight’s LPs, it’s not the sole decision-maker. Our decision processes are separate, and Foresight has its own strategies and considerations.

However, we do maintain a linkage with Foresight and many other investment institutions. The backing of a project by a well-known investor has, to a certain extent, already passed through preliminary screening and research, which is an important reference for us. We are also seeking cooperation with mainstream venture capital firms in the United States, such as Shehima Capital, Dragonfly, A16Z, Paradigm, etc., hoping to introduce more high-quality projects through these partnerships.

As for the relationship between Bitget and Foresight, it’s more of a referral relationship. For instance, if a project invested in by Foresight wants to be listed on an exchange, it may be referred to our coin listing team. Then, our listing team will have its own set of evaluation standards, with a dedicated research team conducting project ratings. Different ratings correspond to different listing strategies; for example, SSS-rated projects like Blur or ARB will receive our strong support, while C-rated projects might be directly excluded. This standard is an independent and important part of our coin listing decisions.

Overall, while the investment decisions of Foresight may have certain reference value for us, Bitget has its own independent standards and strategies for coin listings. We aim to ensure a balance between speed and quality while maintaining independence and rigor in our listing decisions. If you want to learn more about Foresight’s investment standards, directly consulting the Foresight team would be the best option.

How do you view the settlement between Binance and the DOJ? Will it affect the company’s compliance strategy?

Gracy: Regarding the settlement between Binance and the US Department of Justice, we somewhat anticipated this development. We had already decided not to target the US market, so the direct impact on us is relatively minor. However, compliance is a global issue and direction, especially after the FTX incident. There’s been a significant increase in the demand for compliance and adherence to regulations worldwide, with many countries and regions beginning to propose more explicit regulatory frameworks, such as Hong Kong’s license number 7. These changes prompted us to form a compliance and legal team of nearly dozens of people focused on handling these related matters.

Our strategy is to obtain as many licenses as possible in appropriate regions worldwide, even acquiring some regional exchanges that already hold licenses and incorporating them into our compliance operations. For regions where the regulatory environment is unclear or compliance is complex, like the United States, we choose not to participate. In other areas where regulations are still being formulated or are relatively lagging, such as Latin America, we maintain a wait-and-see attitude and keep close communication with regulatory authorities to ensure our business complies with any future regulations that may be introduced.

Currently, our work on applying for licenses in multiple regions is underway, and we have successfully obtained licenses in some areas. Our commitment to compliance is not just a response to the impact of a single event but a comprehensive, ongoing global strategy aimed at ensuring our business can robustly develop in the ever-changing international regulatory environment.

What strategies will be implemented in 2024 to continue challenging the top-tier exchanges?

Gracy: Facing 2024, our strategies might sound like “right clichés,” but they are, in fact, key strategic actions. Firstly, we plan to list more high-quality coins. Choosing the right projects is crucial for attracting and retaining users. Then, we will focus on optimizing product experience, making it smoother and more user-friendly. These continuous small improvements are vital for us.

We believe running a centralized exchange is not a sprint but a marathon. It’s a contest of endurance and strategy, with the key being who can continue moving forward, not who runs the fastest. Our goal isn’t to rush to surpass a particular competitor but to steadily enhance every aspect of our business, including product technology and funds protection plans, ensuring users feel safe and reliable using our exchange.

Of course, we are also highly attentive to the developments in the WEB3 field. For the new bull market in 2024 and beyond, we believe native WEB3 businesses like decentralized wallets and Layer2 technologies are extremely important parts of the whole ecosystem. We are committed to making significant layouts in these areas to ensure we maintain a leading position in the future market competition. In summary, our goal is to move forward steadily, gradually becoming industry leaders through continuous innovation and improvement.

Will the existing KOL and channel growth strategies change in the future?

Gracy: For future KOL and channel growth strategies, we prefer to introduce some new practices under the existing KOL system rather than completely changing it. For example, in addition to traditional KOLs, we’ve also started focusing on KOCs (Key Opinion Consumers), those with smaller but influential followings in specific communities. We established a business line focusing on KOCs at the end of last year or the first half of this year, which is an addition to our strategy.

Moreover, as our branding activities like the sponsorship with Messi have helped us attract a lot of traffic, our strategies are gradually leaning towards more branding methods, not just limited to traditional KOLs or agency collaborations. For instance, the success of our coin listing strategy, like the ARB case, naturally attracted a lot of users. Our recent coin listing selections will also consider attracting traffic from this angle, looking for those unique and valuable assets, which are key to traffic growth.

As for KOL collaborations, it remains an important part of our strategy. We maintain close contact with top-tier KOLs, responding promptly to their feedback and concerns, such as product improvement suggestions or risk control issues. We invest a lot of time and effort into maintaining these relationships, while also exploring other multi-dimensional growth methods.

We believe that achieving a top-tier position for an exchange requires blooming on multiple dimensions. While relying on large influencers is a laborious and gradually growing process, we hope to achieve exponential growth through diversified strategies. Our aim is for the Bitget brand itself to have strong appeal, attracting and retaining users. Of course, every aspect of the product experience needs continuous optimization because building user trust is crucial, and once lost, it’s even more challenging to rebuild. We remain highly vigilant and attentive to these matters.

Where specifically is Bitget’s “wolf culture” manifested?

Gracy: Bitget’s wolf culture is one of our team’s core characteristics, reflected at multiple levels. Firstly, our team has extremely high cohesion and execution. We lack a noticeable faction culture, with team members closely cooperating and moving together towards a clear goal. This direct and efficient style is part of our wolf culture.

We also emphasize four core values that collectively shape Bitget’s corporate culture and way of working. The first is “customer first.” We encourage our team to deeply research and understand user needs, putting the needs of both internal and external users first at all times. The second is “integrity and honesty.” We have zero tolerance for any form of dishonest behavior, especially in core business areas like coin listings and investments, where we uphold transparency and integrity.

The third value is “open and honest communication.” We encourage team members to communicate directly and provide feedback on issues, rather than avoiding or escalating them. We advocate an open, honest communication culture and encourage team members to actively solve problems. The fourth is “delivering results,” a very important part of our wolf culture. We are a results-driven team, with each person having their OKRs. We emphasize data-oriented and results-oriented work methods. We believe that only by continuously achieving actual results can the company continue to develop upwards.

Additionally, our wolf culture is also reflected in our relentless pursuit of innovation and excellence. As an industry chaser, we have our own set of competition systems and management strategies, all designed to stimulate the team’s potential and push us to move faster and better. Of course, this high-pressure, high-efficiency environment might not suit everyone, but for those who enjoy challenges and crave achievements, Bitget provides a platform full of opportunities and challenges.