I increasingly feel that those truly impressive individuals possess a powerful ability to derive mental models, or fundamentally, the ability to think from first principles. They can abstract a transferable thinking model from a scenario at a high level and then apply this thinking model across time and integrate Eastern and Western ideas.

This is not just about the accumulation of experience; it is also about the disassembly and interpretation of structures. They can break down something to its core, starting from the most fundamental logic, and then reverse-engineer the applicable boundaries. Therefore, talking to them always gives a sense of thoughts being connected.

For instance, recently due to analyzing many PIPE deals, I learned a lot about past crypto deals on Wall Street from a liquid partner, who told me that the transition from GBTC to ETF and now to treasury management actually reflects a deeper macro-financial structural change. As crypto assets gradually become a legitimate and institution-grade asset class, this evolution roughly experiences three key stages:

- GBTC Stage: As an important channel for institutional investors to early access Bitcoin, GBTC provided regulated market exposure. However, it lacked a redemption mechanism, leading to a long-term price disconnection from net asset value. Although this stage laid the foundation, the traditional financial packaging methods were clearly subject to significant structural limitations.

- BTC ETF Stage: BTC ETF products introduced a daily subscription/redemption mechanism, bringing prices closer to net asset value, greatly enhancing liquidity and institutional accessibility. However, due to its passive management nature, it cannot capture staking yields, on-chain value creation, and other native mechanisms, still leaving a gap with the local potential of crypto.

- Corporate Financial Strategy Stage: From MicroStrategy, Metaplanet, to our recent participation in SBET, an increasing number of companies are integrating crypto assets into their corporate finance operations. This stage has surpassed passive holdings, starting to enhance capital efficiency through debt financing, reinvestment of earnings, on-chain yields, etc., further driving shareholder returns.

Each step represents a leap in the complexity and institutionalization of crypto financial instruments. Only by recognizing this historical evolution process can one seize the next opportunity for structural change.