《Interview date: July 20, 2023》
1. You can briefly introduce yourself
Hello everyone, I’m Daryl, and everyone likes to call me Story in Chinese. I’m an OOKC Group Partner and a member of BCH Club. We are also working on crypto funds and incubation ecosystems for Bitcoin/Bitcoin Cash and Ethereum. Recently, some friends on X posted about my age, and they thought I was a “cheating” post-00s. In fact, I’m not a post-00s, but a post-95s, which is closer to Capricorn born in 2000.
OOKC Group is a Tech Finance Group that integrates investment, consulting, and mergers and acquisitions. OOKC Ventures is responsible for investment, OOKC Labs is responsible for strategic consulting and investment research, and has established a Web3 incubator in Dubai.
BCH Club is a global distributed club organization of Bitcoin Cash. It gathers some members who have reached a certain level of BCH holdings or have unique and dynamic contributions to the ecology. They all drive the global large-scale adoption of BCH in different ways.
2. Can you share your opportunity to enter the circle?
Around 2015, I was still in school when I started to get involved in Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency field. At first, I only occasionally saw some advertisements or news about Bitcoin when I was surfing the Internet. Although my understanding of Bitcoin was superficial at that time, I have always had a natural interest in high-tech industries and new technology fields. Later, when I was around the third year of high school, I began to search for information and learn about potential development directions in different industries. While browsing, I noticed Ethereum, read its white paper, and skimmed its orange paper.
This became an opportunity for me to really start exploring the world of cryptocurrencies. Although I am not a programmer and cannot chew the code carefully, I understand the paradigm and vision of Ethereum and the changes it may bring to the world in the future. Because it was still early exploration, these concepts were still relatively abstract at first, so I discussed with some classmates who had similar thinking. Together we explored the differences between cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum and currencies in human history, although these digital currencies did not have a high market value at the time.
Gradually, I started to communicate with other people in the mainstream Chinese community groups such as QQ and WeChat, and began to try to buy some Bitcoins. I also started to experience Twitter (X) and visit information sites such as Ethereum.org, and experienced price fluctuations. At that time, I just regarded them as an interesting and cool experience, and I only used some daily expenses to participate, rather than going all in.
At that time, the atmosphere of the entire cryptocurrency community was not as speculative as it is now. There were already some exchanges at that time, but the interfaces were relatively simple. Bitcoin, Litecoin and some assets with production reduction effects were discussed a lot in the community, and there were also rumors that some very powerful individuals or capital spread news through some social media to influence their short-term price fluctuations.
Between 2015 and 2016, my knowledge of the cryptocurrency market gradually deepened. I was born in a Chaoshan family. My family is engaged in business. My ancestors were engaged in the hardware industry. My father was engaged in the business of thin films and optoelectronic materials in the Pearl River Delta region in his early days. The concept of family education gave me a natural desire to explore and interest in any early new technologies and paradigm innovations, and I believed in my own sensitivity and sense of smell.
In 2016, I entered university. Those two years were the peak of the mass entrepreneurship and innovation movement. In order to support entrepreneurship, the university set up an innovation building and provided resources and subsidies. I seized the opportunity and edited a business plan with a like-minded friend in college, and successfully got an office with zero rent.
Although I just planned to start a business at the beginning, I had no clear plan. I became interested in blockchain technology because I was trading cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum. At that time, the definition of blockchain was vague. Some people regarded it as a financial innovation, while others considered it a scam. I started looking at white papers and papers on different directions for blockchain technology, rather than just focusing on its speculative aspects.
At first, I started a travel company, but later I decided to start a technology company about crypto assets and blockchain concepts. At that time, the word blockchain was not as common as it is now, and I thought it was cool to name the company with this word - Wei'ao Blockchain Intelligent Platform; and won the Innovation Award in the entrepreneurship competition that year. But our low-cost venue resources were limited to one, so we tried to persuade friends from ten different universities to apply for the innovation building space of different universities with their student status and different entrepreneurial categories BP, and got a total of 10 offices rented at 0 rent. I used the funds from my family to support me to invite some college students who were optimistic about me to dinner, talk about academic studies and future development visions, and finally successfully formed a startup team. Together with these partners, I used these offices to establish an entrepreneurial space similar to the Innovation Building in Shenzhen, Zhongshan and Zhuhai. We conducted different business attempts in different offices.
Some of them included testing Ethereum Pow nodes. During this period, I often went to Shenzhen to communicate with early investors who supported me and tried to find opportunities to expand our Bitcoin and Ethereum Pow node business. At that time, mining machines were a relatively direct way to make money and were not listed as eliminated industries by policies. Ethereum-related applications and ICOs had not received much attention at that time. Our team worked hard and earned some income in college. We mainly focused on the POW node (mining) business and expanded it with the support of early investors. In late 2016, we found investors and set up a small-scale mining project. We used graphics cards to configure mining equipment and secretly mined during college, which allowed our team to make a certain profit, reaching a profit level close to that of A8. In addition, we also used some investment methods to protect the funds provided by investors through derivative strategies, and sold some mining machines again.
With the arrival of 2017, 1CO began to rise, and projects such as altcoins also emerged. We participated in some 1CO projects and were active in Guangdong. However, since we were in the Pearl River Delta most of the time, we did not often go to Chengdu and Shanghai. During this period, our team also underwent some changes. One partner withdrew, and we met a stronger and more reliable partner. In 2017, we invested in projects such as Gongxinbao and Quantum, and the returns of the Gongxinbao project were very considerable. At this stage, we began to pay attention to the concept of data on-chain and believed that its logic was closed-loop and smooth.
Although many of the projects we invested in may not have maintained a high market value now, the returns at that time were very considerable. Especially for that batch of projects, the price increased by 70 to 80 times after they went online, and we obtained quite considerable returns. Such returns made us feel that we had a lot of money to spend, especially for our age at that time, it was a considerable fortune.
We have invested in many projects, including some small ICOs and popular projects. In terms of exchanges, we mainly use Gate.io (now Sesame Open Door), and exchanges like Huobi did not have as many users as in 2019-2020. And made some progress in the ICO boom in 2017. Although I did not reach the asset level of A9, at the age of 18, we had achieved complete financial independence, that is, we no longer rely on family funds. In the Pearl River Delta and such places as Zhongshan and Zhuhai, it is easy to configure fixed assets. At that time, I felt a little bloated, but soon I suppressed the growth of this bloating by reading many negative cases, and planned the next step more steadily.
Then, we entered 2018, a year of rapid development in the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency markets. During this period, I attended some industry conferences in some major first-tier cities and met many people. Among them, the public accounts with the largest traffic were Crazy Trend and Wang Tuanzhang. Although I did not recognize their industry level, I paid unbiased attention. Around October 2017, the EOS project appeared. It was called a competitor of Ethereum, with higher throughput and faster speed, and was hailed as the "Ethereum Killer". At that time, the price of EOS rose from a few dollars to more than ten dollars. The market atmosphere was very good and the volatility was very large. We reasonably bet about 2 million funds, and then it rose about 6 or 7 times, bringing the assets to a considerable level. However, around the New Year (Spring Festival) of 2018, the price of EOS began to plummet, from a high of about 45 US dollars to a low. Although we made some profits in the rise, there was also a certain degree of retracement in the downward process.
The market sentiment was very depressed at that time. A high-growth market suddenly stopped, which made me feel temporarily uncomfortable, but this is the normal state of the market. We should wait for opportunities like a good hunter and take action. As the company developed, we began to match more professional and enthusiastic partners and partners, because some of the original partners were no longer familiar with the changes in the industry and had not lost their enthusiasm. We made some adjustments to keep the company vibrant and competitive. We continue to learn new blockchain knowledge and study anonymous technologies in various crypto markets, such as Monero (XMR) Zcash and special sharding technology solutions. Returning to the essence, we will explore which crypto assets are used as universal currencies worldwide, not just Bitcoin. We also have overseas compliant mining businesses and have tried some new investment areas. At this time, personal assets have reached a whole new level.
In addition, in 2018, we also touched on an interesting thing about USDT. USDT is issued by Tether and is collateralized 1:1 with the US dollar. We know that the underlying assets of USDT are not completely transparent, but it is widely used in the cryptocurrency market. Related to this is Bitfinex, which is an important cryptocurrency exchange. Some well-known figures in the Chinese-speaking world, such as Li Xiaolai and Zhao Dong, have a relationship with Bitfinex and participated in the issuance of LEO. LEO is a token issued by Bitfinex to make up for the funds lost by USDT. I also invested a large amount of LEO and then made a good profit through a series of transactions while staying in the Pearl River Delta.
I also distributed part of the LEO to some juniors and seniors to let more people participate. This approach actually allows more people to earn profits, which also earns their recognition and support. Of course, such investment behavior has certain risks. But at the time, I was actually quite confident and hoped to build a community that would pay attention to the encryption market and lay the foundation for future industry influence. During this period, I took the initiative to assume some educational roles on different campuses, introducing opportunities and basic concepts such as blockchain, crypto assets, and US stocks to students.
I hope to be able to use my own practical operations and cases to help them understand these concepts, rather than just talking about some profound words. I shared the LEO investment opportunity with many people to help them practice within the scope of risk control in the encryption market, which also allowed some new friends to further deepen their recognition of me.
Overall, the risk assets in hand shrunk in 2018, but because of some cash out and other company income, we are still doing well. In Shenzhen, I contacted many industry friends, and we started a new business, mainly involving blockchain. At that time, the currency circle was a commonly used term, but now the atmosphere has changed a lot. In addition, in 2018, the discussion on topics such as blockchain technology and expansion was very heated, and many retail investors and leeks were willing to participate in the discussion and care. Although the number of participants may not be as many as it is now, the overall discussion atmosphere is more heated and positive.
In 2018, as a new generation crypto newcomer, I got to know Pang Ni, a popular Internet celebrity in Shenzhen at the time. She was one of the most popular female representatives in the Chinese-speaking circle and one of the top three most popular self-media in the currency circle. One of the names. Pang Ni attracted a lot of attention through a series of videos, including a video of a heated discussion with Kuai founder Chen Weixing and a travel video about the global application of Bitcoin. She also organized the National College Student Blockchain Debate Competition, which attracted more than 2,000 college students across the country to participate. Finally, through a series of screenings, six contestants were selected to compete for the championship in Shenzhen. I participated in the debate competition and won the championship, and was recognized by more people.
Core content: Around 2015, I began to get involved in the field of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. Although I didn't know much about it, I had a strong interest in high technology and new technologies. In high school, I discussed the potential of digital currencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum with my classmates, although the market value was not high at the time. Through communities such as QQ and WeChat, I gradually got involved in the crypto world, tried to buy Bitcoin, and experienced price fluctuations. I learned more about Ethereum and created an entrepreneurial team dedicated to exploring the application of blockchain technology. We tried to create mining nodes and expand the scale with the support of investors. During the 1CO boom in 2017, we invested in multiple projects and achieved considerable returns. Then, we actively adjusted the team and business, expanded overseas compliant mining and investment fields, and achieved financial independence. 2018 was a year of rapid development in the cryptocurrency market. I attended industry conferences and paid attention to projects such as EOS. I also participated in investments related to USDT and Bitfinex and made certain profits in market fluctuations. We try to share investment opportunities and help more people understand the crypto market. Through continuous learning and practice, I gradually accumulated rich experience and achieved some success in the blockchain field. During this process, I actively interacted with people in the industry, participated in discussions, and promoted the development of the industry.
3. Can you tell us about what you are doing?
In 2018 in Shenzhen, I came into contact with many blockchain projects and teams, and established an incubator with a strong and reliable partner to incubate some crypto market businesses and projects. We provide consulting, research and investment for some projects, and are committed to influencing and helping entrepreneurs and project developers achieve greater success. We have achieved some results in primary market investment research and established the Tech Finance Group in Dubai, namely OOKC Group.
OOKC Group is a comprehensive technology and financial group focusing on investment consulting, mergers and acquisitions and other businesses. Since 2021, we have made Dubai our headquarters. This is due to compliance considerations, and we believe that Dubai is an international market suitable for Chinese entrepreneurs, and it also radiates high-quality projects in North America, East Asia and other places.
Our investment business mainly involves primary and secondary investments, and is also committed to strategic consulting and incubation. We provide official qualifications to companies in the crypto industry in Dubai to support them in legally operating blockchain businesses in the UAE. In the field of investment, we have mature experience in projects such as NFT and have conducted in-depth research on the Bitcoin ecosystem. We believe that BCH is a project with legitimacy and huge opportunities besides BTC, and we are focused on exploring the technology and potential of BCH in the POW application layer. At the same time, we are also studying other Bitcoin-like assets and emerging asset issuance methods using the Cashtokens protocol. We have strong confidence in the Bitcoin Cash ecosystem track and will continue to deeply participate in and study the development of this field. We believe that BCH has great potential and continue to explore its technology and design to meet Satoshi Nakamoto's vision and provide a peer-to-peer cash settlement experience. We have attracted the attention of many Web3 communities in the Middle East represented by Dubai, and we also agree with Dubai's future crypto-friendly development direction.
During this period, the Fishman BlockChain brand IP we incubated also cooperated with Binance’s derivatives department on early education design.
Core content: In 2018, my partners and I founded Tech Finance Group, headquartered in Dubai, focusing on blockchain project investment and consulting. We support crypto companies to operate legally in the UAE, focusing on projects such as NFT and Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and researching emerging asset issuance methods. We believe that BCH has great potential, Dubai has attracted the attention of the Web3 community, and we are committed to crypto-friendly development in the Middle East. In addition, our incubation project Fishman BlockChain brand IP has cooperated with Binance for educational design.
4.What is your most memorable experience in Web3?
In 2017, I realized that in the crypto-asset industry, financing usually requires going to Beijing, while currency circle projects are more involved in Shenzhen. Due to my strong interest in the crypto field, I put my studies aside and devoted myself fully to the crypto market in Shenzhen.
In 2019, I had the opportunity to be invited to London. As one of the first representatives of the crypto world, I participated in the crypto industry activities of LSE (London Stock Exchange). I was deeply impressed by its huge capital layout and global vision overseas, which further expanded my macro cognition. They said that "Old Money" was coming in. Subsequently, the market experienced a sharp flash crash on March 12, 2020. I found that "Old Money" entered the market, but it did not directly push the market up as expected, but collected it with bloody leveraged liquidation.
Shenzhen was an active blockchain and cryptocurrency industry center from 2020 to 2021, attracting a lot of institutional attention and investment. We started to focus on investment, incubation and blockchain projects in Dubai and around the world in 2021. We recruited many young people in Shenzhen and did a lot of work in DeFi investment research. We have provided consulting, strategic consulting and even deep incubation services to at least 50 Web3 projects. For some projects, we provided Tokenomics and value capture adjustments, and we participated in early rounds as an investment institution, obtained discounts to participate in the investment of governance tokens of projects, etc. In the past few years, the entire industry has experienced a period of turbulence and rise, especially the development of DeFi summer and cross-chain multi-chain. We have shared some judgments and research on projects such as Polkadot on media platforms, and have also experienced some profit and retracement stages. In the fluctuations of the industry, we always pay attention to the development of the ecology and actively output research dynamics about the industry.
At the time of the Bitcoin fork, we kept all the BCH and BTC and have always been optimistic about the prospects of Bitcoin Cash. Although we have been holding Bitcoin as part of the overall fund strategy, we have also focused on building and paying attention to the BCH ecological track. Before 2021, we began to pay attention to NFTs and conducted in-depth research on NFTs at the end of 2020. At that time, the NFT market was still very small, and the market value of all NFTs added up to less than 100 million yuan, which was insignificant compared to other assets in the entire industry. Even at the peak of token valuation, many people's personal net worth had reached hundreds of millions, but the entire NFT market was still very small. This made it difficult for many people at the time to understand what NFT was and what its track was like. However, after I studied NFTs, I thought it was a new track. After studying with the team, I found that with the development of the market and the outflow of hot money from fields such as DeFi and Bitcoin, NFTs may usher in an explosion. In February and March 2021, a batch of public chain projects such as ENJ and Flow began to rise in waves, with an increase of 40, 50 or even 100 times.
In March and April, NFT projects began to rise, and some popular projects appeared, such as Block Art. Some of these NFT projects saw huge gains in the first half of the year, such as Bored Ape Yacht Club. These projects all emerged after that wave of craze. In 2021, I made more money in the NFT field, especially from participating in NFT projects such as Block Art, and the income was considerable. Although NFT was not very popular at the time, as an early evangelist of NFT, I had strong confidence in this track. I foresaw that NFT would be a new track.
I caught the NFT track in late 2020 and early 2021, and saw it as a potential scenario in the field of game finance. At that time, the term GameFi was not yet popular, but I thought NFT was most suitable for application in the field of games. I foresaw that NFT could carry games, build a game economic system, and bring better gaming experience to gamers. During my roadshow, I gave examples of how NFT could be applied to gunfight games, World of Warcraft, etc., to improve their economic circulation system.
Although the NFT track was not well known to the public at that time, my early layout of the NFT track at the end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021 accumulated a lot of resources for me personally. Therefore, many people positioned me as an investment and research person, and my unique views on the development of the industry and my early layout were recognized.
Core content: In 2017, I focused on the encryption market in Shenzhen and found that financing usually requires traveling to Beijing, while Shenzhen involves more currency circle projects. In 2019, I was invited to participate in a crypto industry event at LSE in London, which broadened my international horizons. From 2020 to 2021, Shenzhen became a blockchain and cryptocurrency center, and I began to pay attention to Dubai and global investment, incubation and blockchain projects. I have provided services for multiple Web3 projects, including consulting, strategic consulting and in-depth incubation, and participated in early-stage investment. When Bitcoin forked, we held BCH and BTC and paid attention to the ecological development of BCH. I began to pay attention to NFT at the end of 2020, thinking that it has potential in the field of game finance. The early layout has accumulated resources and recognition for me in the NFT field.
5. What areas do you think have the potential for development in Web3?
OOKC Group pays close attention to Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and its ecosystem. Over the past year, we have been committed to researching BCH's technology, especially its potential in POW applications. As the most successful forked currency in Bitcoin's history, BCH has performed well in international adoption, so we regard it as one of the most important tracks.
We established and expanded our business in Dubai. We focus on projects around the world, especially conducting in-depth research on emerging assets such as NFT. We believe that BCH has legitimacy in the POW field, so research on its ecology is also very important. At the same time, we have also been paying attention to projects similar to BTC. Although BTC is larger in market capitalization, we believe that both BCH and BTC have their own advantages. In fact, BTC realizes the vision of decentralized electronic gold.
We have deeply studied the technical characteristics of BCH and believe that it is in line with Satoshi Nakamoto’s vision and is a true peer-to-peer settlement of cash. All developers of BCH have been discussing at the technical level for many years, allowing them to expand on Satoshi Nakamoto’s original idea. This allows BCH to share the historical ledger of Bitcoin with BTC and serve as a peer-to-peer exchange. Cash payment method.
In addition to the technical aspects, we have also noticed the emergence of new asset issuance methods on BCH, namely asset carrying through the ERC20 protocol. We believe that many new and interesting things will appear on BCH, which is one of the reasons why we keep paying attention to this track. For BCH and its ecology, we have been outputting relevant research and information to promote its development and support related entrepreneurs and projects. We believe that BCH will have more opportunities and potential for explosion in the future, so we will continue to pay attention and actively invest in this field.
Core content: OOKC Group conducts in-depth research on Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and its ecology, with a particular focus on its potential in the field of POW applications. We are expanding our business in Dubai, supporting the legal development of web3 projects, while paying attention to emerging assets around the world, such as NFTs. We believe that BCH is in line with Satoshi Nakamoto's vision of peer-to-peer settlement and is a true cash payment method. In addition, we are also concerned about emerging asset issuance methods on BCH, such as asset carrying through the ERC20 protocol, so we keep an eye on this track and output relevant research and information to promote the development of BCH and its ecology. We believe that BCH has more opportunities and explosive potential in the future.
6. Can you tell us about your long-term vision?
Our vision is to become a leading enterprise in the development of the crypto industry. As individuals and investment research partners of OOKC Group, we hope to build OOKC into a brand with global influence. Our goal is to find and discover more excellent projects in the entire crypto industry, especially potential projects and a new batch of unicorn companies in the Bitcoin ecosystem in the Middle East and North America. Through continuous investment, incubation and consulting, we are committed to promoting the infrastructure construction of the crypto industry and promoting the development of the full encryption paradigm.
We hope to support the rise of more than 100 unicorn companies in the next few years and bring more innovation and value to the entire crypto world. We have already carried out relevant work in investment incubation consulting, with a special focus on projects within the Bitcoin ecosystem, such as Bitcoin Cash. However, our vision does not stop there. We will continue to participate deeply in the development of the crypto industry, provide support and help to outstanding projects, and help them become industry leaders. Through continuous efforts and focus, we believe that OOKC will become an important force in the crypto industry, driving the entire industry towards a more mature, innovative and prosperous direction. We will continue to uphold the concepts of openness, cooperation and innovation, continue to explore and break through, and bring more opportunities and possibilities to the crypto world.
Core content: OOKC Group's vision is to become a leader in the global crypto industry. They focus on discovering and supporting projects such as the Bitcoin ecosystem, and hope to support the rise of more than 100 unicorn companies in the next few years to promote the development and innovation of the crypto industry. We uphold the concepts of openness, cooperation and innovation, and are committed to bringing more opportunities and possibilities to the crypto world.
7. Do you have anything you would like to share?
Regarding the recent hot topics, I would like to share a few views. First of all, the market may experience a unilateral rush in the short term to obtain downward liquidity. For example, Bitcoin rose to US$30,000 from the beginning of the year, and Bitcoin Cash more than tripled from the bottom. There are very few people who can actually make money in the industry, and many people may lose money in the short term. Therefore, my suggestion is to focus on small, new and truly innovative tracks. To differentiate yourself from others, focus on discovering projects that are independently innovative and emerging in the encryption industry, especially those that have not yet been fully developed. These tracks may bring higher profit expectations, but they also require more risk and focus.
Since last year, I have been optimistic about the Bitcoin Cash ecosystem (BCH) and regard it as the next track similar to the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), such as BSC Polygon, etc. I believe that Bitcoin Cash will usher in a summer similar to UTXO, that is, the POW-UTXO ecosystem, where many excellent applications and assets will emerge. For example, the Cashtokens protocol has high growth potential and investment return expectations because the ecosystem is relatively new.
The market is not a good guy. It is objective and changeable. We cannot be strong and stubborn and go all in just because a certain ecosystem has a promising development prospect. Therefore, when building an investment portfolio, we must maintain flexibility to avoid the risk of losing everything. At the same time, choose an ecosystem with odds and probabilities. Instead of buying heavily and worrying about gains and losses, it is better to hold a quantitative and comfortable position for a long time and get enough odds. It is also very critical to invest in tracks that have been tested in multiple market cycles.
In this way, firstly, you will not have a severe systemic risk of personal collapse; secondly, you will be able to obtain the right cycle required for the realization of assets; thirdly, you must allocate it well from the beginning, and do not rush to move when encountering a retracement. Give yourself time to emotionally protect yourself and invest the appropriate proportion into new opportunities.
Core content: In the crypto market, short-term volatility and high risks exist. It is recommended to focus on emerging projects, especially in underdeveloped areas, but be cautious. The Bitcoin Cash (BCH) ecosystem has potential, but the market is uncertain, so you should diversify your investments and hold appropriate positions. Be calm when constructing your investment portfolio and do not invest all your positions. The time to hold assets is critical. At the same time, do not be driven by emotions and seize new opportunities.
