Article reprinted from: Deep Tide TechFlow

I have a bold theory: all Chinese exchanges are essentially a 'digital version of the Forbidden City.' The exchange owners can treat it as 'emperors,' and all the drama in exchanges can be understood as 'court politics.'

Some emperors, like Jiajing, devoted themselves to Daoism, mastering imperial political tactics, allowing two factions among his subordinates to mutually check each other, turning a blind eye to internal corruption, and willing to share some power, leading to a situation where one person's success benefits all.

Some emperors emphasize absolute loyalty, are decisive in their actions, and do not tolerate anyone bargaining. Once someone tries to seek more benefits and challenge authority, they are all swept out.

Let's briefly discuss the topic of court politics within cryptocurrency exchanges; it is purely fictional and for entertainment.

Power Struggle

To understand court politics, one must first discard the childish notion that there are absolute good and evil or loyalty and treachery.

(Ming Dynasty 1566) In this context, although Yan Song was later condemned as a traitor, he managed to securely hold the position of Prime Minister for many years through extraordinary political skills, significantly enriching the national treasury. However, after the rising of the reformists, the fierce anti-corruption efforts left the Ming treasury even emptier.

Is there really such a thing as pure loyalists and traitors in this world? There are only those who are useful to the emperor at this moment and those who are not, as well as those who struggle to rise and those who struggle and fail.

Wherever there are people, there are struggles.

Power needs to be manifested through personnel. The core of the struggle between Yan Song and Xu Jie lies in the competition for personnel authority in the Ming Dynasty court. Whoever can place their people within the six ministries and nine ministers can grasp actual power and influence the court's operations.

The power struggle in exchanges is similar; it essentially revolves around the competition for key positions.

For example, the most core departments such as listing, finance, and investment. With more monks than porridge, all factions are bound to clash.

As a boss, many times they are pleased to see their subordinates fighting.

When subordinates compete with each other, they find it difficult to form a strong enough alliance, thus eliminating the possibility of challenging authority.

The struggle between the two sides motivates each to provide the boss with negative information about the other, allowing the boss to gain more comprehensive and multi-faceted internal intelligence and grasp the weaknesses of subordinates.

Of course, this competition among subordinates must remain within controllable limits; excessive infighting can lead to resource wastage, inefficiency, and even jeopardize the overall stability of the organization.

When one side becomes too powerful, threatening the owner's authority, the owner will employ certain 'imperial tactics,' such as promoting from within or bringing in a professional manager from outside and granting them significant power to eliminate the opposing faction.

For Emperor Jiajing, the core issue he faced was: how to select absolutely reliable ministers in a court where 'loyalty and treachery are hard to distinguish'?

Exchange owners still have this dilemma.

The suppression by competitors and the sudden attacks from regulators are visible dangers, but in the eyes of exchange owners, the greatest danger often lurks in their surroundings, hard to detect, such as betrayal by those around them. Hence, nepotism has become the optimal solution—key positions are often held by the founder's friends, classmates, or even family, even if they have shortcomings in professional capability.

It has been proven that nepotism or family-run businesses are actually the safest in the cryptocurrency market.

Corruption and anti-corruption

Power struggles are inevitably intertwined with corruption and anti-corruption; the two are two sides of the same coin and are means to acquire power.

Court politics hinges on how to assess the situation and correctly align loyalties.

To form an alliance, often a 'bond' is needed, such as being from the same hometown, alumni, or having similar career experiences... These can all serve as points of connection, but more importantly, it is about interests. Relationships such as regional and alumni connections also need to be maintained by money.

How to gain the trust of the 'big brother'?

In addition to providing emotional value, it is even more important to offer some leverage and actively expose weaknesses. 'Big brother, my issues are all here; you can take advantage of them, and I will follow you from now on.'

Thus, bribery or participating in collective corruption is actually the most effective way to show loyalty, and it is also a test of a person's loyalty. By using money, several individuals are tied together; can they not work together and help each other?

Specifically for cryptocurrency exchanges, internal corruption and insider trading issues are difficult to eliminate for two reasons.

First, whether trading coins or working, the vast majority of people come to the cryptocurrency world for one purpose: to make money.

Especially when working in a 'high-risk company' like an exchange, many employees, particularly those transitioning from traditional industries, do not develop any sense of identity or belonging to the company; they are only thinking about how to make the most money in the shortest time.

Two, cryptocurrency exchanges are always a gray area. Compared to corruption in traditional enterprises, it is easier to evade legal sanctions in exchanges, and it is also easier to downplay major issues, reducing them to minor ones, at worst just leaving, but the goal has already been achieved.

This is also a long-standing staffing issue for exchanges.

The emperor's Achilles' heel

The tragedy shared by both cryptocurrency exchange owners and emperors is that the higher their position and power, the more difficult it is to establish genuine trust.

Every person who approaches them may have different motives: some covet certain core powers, some desire wealth, and some have ulterior motives. In such an environment, suspicion becomes instinctual, and vigilance becomes a habit.

This trust deficit ultimately leads to a shrinking decision-making circle.

Having watched various TV dramas since childhood, I always have one question: why does the emperor always have a 'traitor' by his side, and why are they favored?

Emperors are all lonely; they do not lack money or power, but they lack love and loyalty, which is also their Achilles' heel.

Once someone offers love and loyalty to those in power, making them feel like they are basking in spring breezes, even if that person has relatively average talent, they have their value of existence.

In the digital Forbidden City of exchanges, technical talent is not scarce, marketing experts are not scarce, and even funds are not scarce. The only truly scarce resource is genuine loyalty.

Love and loyalty can be simply demonstrated by supporting the emperor in whatever he does; the more absurd your support, the more it reflects your loyalty.

Running a cryptocurrency exchange is not an easy task; it is mentally and physically exhausting. Not only do you have to compete with peers, but you also have to guard against hackers and outsmart regulators. At this time, exchange owners often feel extremely tired and may even doubt themselves. Some do not know whether the growth of the exchange is attributed to their wisdom and strength or merely luck. They desperately need external emotional support, spiritual healing, and constant reassurance that 'you are right; it all depends on you, and we are grateful for you.'

Humans are not grass or wood; who can be without feelings? Being recognized, loved, and needed is a natural human desire.

Ordinary people also have an extreme need for love and loyalty; however, ordinary people remain on the lower tiers of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, still struggling for survival and lacking the time and ability to pursue higher-level needs for value fulfillment.

The women around the emperor

Discussing the women around the emperor does not refer to the gossip of the harem, but rather to the female executives.

Exchanges often have a large number of female executives, which is very reasonable.

A certain influential traditional finance boss loves to employ female executives. Because, in his view, women are more loyal than men. No matter how much salary is given to men, they will never be satisfied in the end. Many men, after being promoted and gaining substantial wealth and power, feel little gratitude and loyalty; instead, they become overconfident and think, 'I can do it too.'

The essence of power is a craving for loyalty and a fear of betrayal.

In the highly competitive environment of exchanges, what the bosses fear most is 'cultivating their own grave diggers.'

After male executives gain power and wealth, they often view their current positions as a springboard to higher power. They are more likely to attribute their success to personal ability rather than the favor of their leaders. They are more likely to choose to leave at the right moment, either to start a competing company or to seek a higher position.

Female executives often demonstrate stronger organizational loyalty, focusing more on long-term stable career development rather than risky entrepreneurship. They are more likely to attribute success to teamwork and leadership cultivation, hence cherishing their current positions and organizational relationships more.

Additionally, another significant challenge facing cryptocurrency exchanges is frequent crisis events and communication with users. In this field, female executives often demonstrate unique advantages.

For example, women generally perform better in recognizing, understanding, and responding to others' emotions, which is particularly important in calming angry users, handling complaints, and managing public relations crises. In contrast, men are more likely to become emotional and confrontational in dealing with public crises.

Therefore, in my view, the strength of women in the cryptocurrency world is vastly underestimated.

It's quite interesting; looking back at history and the present, no matter how technology develops, the essence of power remains unchanged in both the traditional business world and the cryptocurrency digital world.

Wherever there are people, there are struggles.

As the moon waxes, it wanes; when the water is full, it overflows. This is the ultimate fate of all power games.

*Deep Tide TechFlow is dedicated to providing valuable information and thoughtful insights.

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