“The Bullish Case For BitMart: With Special Keynote by Founder & CEO Sheldon Xia” BitMart Off-the-Chain AMA #6 Recap
Host: BitMart @BitMartExchange
Speakers:
Sheldon Xia, Founder & CEO at BitMart
Lee Fan, Chief Strategy Officer at BitMart
Eric Bai, Managing Director at Cipholio Ventures
Special Keynote by Founder & CEO Sheldon Xia
Tomorrow, March 15th, marks the 5th anniversary of BitMart’s official launch. It is a major mile-marker in our long journey together since our humble beginnings in 2017 when we started with just two spot trading pairs. Today, BitMart has over one-thousand spot trading pairs and has become a comprehensive exchange with multiple business lines, including spot, margin, futures, earn, NFT, and more, and we maintain our rankings as a top, global exchange. The performance, security, and user-friendliness of our products have undergone fundamental changes in the past five years, and our team has expanded from 20 people to over 400 people worldwide, growing more than tenfold.
While BitMart has adapted and grown over the past five years, what has not changed is our unwavering dedication and commitment to our users. I have been in the industry for ten years now, and I have experienced three bull-bear cycles with our team. We’ve seen our share of industry highs and lows, FUD, bull runs, and everything in between, and our core mission to bring further economic innovation, efficiency, and equality to you and the world continues unphased.
We are only three months into 2023, and yet the year has already ushered in plenty of challenges and opportunities for us all. Whether it’s sending aid and goodwill to the people of Turkey who were affected by the earthquake, or helping artists make a living from their NFTs, more people are using crypto and are interested in web3 technologies than ever before.
As BitMart continues to expand its operations from 2023 to 2025, our goals are clear:
· We will focus on providing enhanced localized experiences and infrastructure to our users worldwide
· We will continue to enhance our world-class security and risk control systems to help further protect our users and our exchange
· And, we will grow the ecosystem by continuing to ride on cutting-edge product innovation.
Over the coming years, BitMart will fully transform into an exchange with industry-leading spot and regional derivative trading, with accompanying business lines such as NFT, earn, and also trusted institutional-grade custody and trading solutions.
As part of our growth strategy, we will provide enhanced features and experiences to accommodate our users in a variety of expanding markets and cultures, and strive to achieve compliance in more and more countries. One example of the commitment we have to our growing global user base is our current upgrade of Buy-&-Sell options jointly with our partners including MoonPay, Simplex, and Banxa. These partners will greatly enhance Fiat-to-Crypto and Crypto-to-Fiat related user experiences and will provide our users with an easier way to enjoy crypto. All of these serve our ultimate goal to provide our users with a powerful gateway into the world of Web 3.0.
At the same time, we also put great importance on the increased safety of users’ funds. In addition to constantly enhancing our risk control and security systems, we are also working with partners like Copper, Cobo, and Fireblock to achieve the separation of transaction settlement and funds custody, so as to better approach the direction of business compliance.
One more important update I’d like to share is that in July 2021, BitMart established its own crypto fund named Cipholio, which is a brand upgrade from its former name, BitMart Labs. We have been involved in the incubation of multiple seed and early-stage projects, carried out efficient educational courses and campaigns to increase crypto awareness and adoption, and have invested in more than 50 companies, covering payment solutions, NFT data, and “non-custodial wallet” infrastructures. Cipholio will continue to explore and invest in projects that are moving the industry forward, and we can’t wait to meet more new friends.
For the future, we have both confidence and capability. We hope that within the next 5 years that BitMart will become a top 5 global exchange and a pioneering leader and contributor to the growth and infrastructure of the industry. We are grateful for, and humbled by, all of the trust and support that you have given us in the past 5 years, and we hope that you can join us for all of the crypto and Web3 revolutions to come. Together, let’s walk into the metaverse, and build the future of web3. We hope that you will celebrate with us on this day and that you continue to enjoy BitMart for many more decades to come. Thank you.
Panel discussion with Lee and Eric
Kelechi Ibe: What is your take on the significance of exchanges in the business world and their role in shaping the global economy, especially in light of recent financial challenges?
Lee Fan:
The recent banking crisis was similar to previous crises, such as banking failures in the 1920s and the ’30s, and slightly similar to the ’08 financial crisis. It caught people off guard with how quickly banks like Silvergate, SVB, and Signature shut down, creating a classic prisoner’s dilemma where people wanted to withdraw their money. This particularly impacted Silicon Valley Bank, which startups and VCs widely used for payroll and had the potential for contagion.
We have no exposure to the three banks, and their collapse happened quickly due to modern technology. Traditional bank deposits are meant for loans, and there doesn’t seem to be any wrongdoing. However, this highlights the need for crypto and blockchain. Crypto exchanges like BitMart are necessary for mass adoption as a starting point and safe asset storage, as asking newcomers to use hard wallets is impractical.
Crypto exchanges are crucial for mass adoption as they serve as the starting point and are not limited by geography or politics. BitMart, a global platform headquartered in the US with customers from over 100 countries, focuses on this global touchpoint.
Kelechi Ibe: How does BitMart approach product development to ensure that its products meet the needs of its customers, including our global customers?
Lee Fan:
Currently, we’re recognized as a retail-heavy spot exchange, and that’s accurate. However, it’s important to note that our customer base is global. Additionally, we’ve been actively working on expanding our institutional customer base for the past year. This includes hedge funds, crypto funds, and VCs. Following the FTX collapse, many institutional clients realized the importance of diversifying their exchanges and seeking trustworthy partners. Therefore, we are committed to growing our institutional customer base.
The second thing we’ve launched is our NFT platform. While it shares some customers with our trading platform, it’s a completely new project. We recognized the importance of providing a platform for creators and artists, as well as for our customers who want to keep their NFTs in the same place as their trading activities. Despite being a new product for us, we’ve made significant progress in developing and improving it over the past year.
We’ve also really dived into our derivatives platform. Our derivatives and futures platform is a strategic focus for us, particularly given the current volatility in the crypto market. We’ve developed our own product and are always exploring ways to expand our product offerings and customer base globally, rather than focusing on just one region or country. This sets us apart from others in the industry.
We will always focus on our customers, our commitment to our users, both retail and institutional ones. We’re committed to risk management, constant innovation, and improving our product and technology features. Our focus on KYC and compliance is unwavering. We’re launching exciting new projects for our users while also strengthening our existing platform and infrastructure. Additionally, we’re expanding globally, and these are the three key areas where we’re improving our product.
Ultimately, we are a tech company, and our focus is always on product and technology. While we are a major player in the crypto industry, our DNA is that of a tech company. As such, the majority of our 300 employees are dedicated to tech and product development.
Kelechi Ibe: How does Cipholio, as a venture of BitMart, help the ecosystem in general, and what do we like?
Eric Bai:
As an early-stage fund, our focus is on young founders and bringing Web2 users into the Web3 space while also improving the existing Web3 infrastructure. To achieve these goals, we have invested in C14, a US-based fiat-to-crypto conversion company. This investment is led by General Catalyst, a reputable fintech firm in the space. C14 also integrates with public chains like Nio and Aurela, making it easier for DeFi users to enter the space.
In addition to that, we invest in NFTs and gaming. Our focus is on creating value in Web3 by encouraging user participation, such as with casual games that offer crypto rewards. Our portfolio includes Tiny World, a top DAU platform on the BNB chain, and NFTScan, a fast-growing NFT data provider. We are proud of their initiatives, such as providing NFT data on CoinMarketCap and offering a mask widget on Twitter. NFTScan’s data is critical for understanding membership benefits and selecting preferred NFTs.
In short, we are an early-stage, founder-driven exchange venture with teams in Europe, Paris, Italy, Singapore, Hong Kong, and the US. If you have good ideas and want to meet in person, we are happy to connect during conferences and explore ways to help our users, customers, and partners build closer relationships within the BitMart ecosystem.
Kelechi Ibe: Can you provide specific examples of how Cipholio is contributing to the broader ecosystem?
Eric Bai:
We are proud to contribute to the ecosystem in multiple ways, starting with our Advanced Learning Module launched two months ago. It aims to educate people about Web3 and digital assets, their pros and cons, and challenges. We are fortunate to have over 400 global talents signed up, and we have selected 120 fellows to join the program. Our modules cover topics such as centralized exchange, Web3 landscape, and DeFi, and we encourage people to meet in person by providing travel grants for students and participants to hang out together. We organize wine events in different cities such as Singapore, Sydney, New York, Hong Kong, and London to create an ecosystem among BitMart users. The six-month program includes lectures, opportunities to mingle with founders and teams, and internships in our portfolio and BitMart.
We also provide scholarships for outstanding performers as a way to give back to our supporters. To enroll or get updates, search for “Cipholio Advanced Learning Module” on Google and join our Telegram group. We are always looking for contributors, supporters, and lecturers to help us build a stronger ecosystem. Our program is non-profit, and our goal is to educate talents and give back to the community.
The second thing that I would like to mention is that we have an accelerator program in collaboration with Cointelegraph that lasts for three months. Each cohort gets around 4 million impressions in the market, thanks to Cointelegraph’s media exposure opportunities. We have 300 VC partners in our network, and usually, around 10 global VCs engage with our portfolios in the cohort. This program helps founders from the idea stage to fundraising and product development. We provide intensive feedback and discussions on products, presentation skills, and strategy. Our learning module also provides a talent pool for our portfolios and cohort, creating a closed-loop ecosystem.
Kelechi Ibe: How can individuals who are interested in getting into crypto connect with Cipholio to participate in your educational programs?
Eric Bai:
We’re excited to engage with our BitMart Eco partners and friends. My DMs on Twitter and LinkedIn are open for scheduling calls or presenting ideas. We have some exciting global events coming up, including a Web3 and Metaverse Event co-hosted with MetaEra in Hong Kong in April, a Consensus event in May in Austin, and an EJCC event in July in Paris. For those interested in our learning module, please search for ‘Cipholio Advanced Learning Module’ on Google to find our media page and Telegram group for updates. Although space is limited, we welcome the public to audit the course. Let’s catch up in person at our upcoming events!
Q&A section
Kelechi Ibe: What are the advantages and disadvantages of the BitMart exchange compared to other exchanges?
Lee Fan:
At BitMart, our customers always come first. We take pride in offering a wide range of tokens and crypto projects, catering to retail users, especially day traders and swing traders, with very low trading fees and discounts through our BMX token. Our focus on security and 24/7 customer support is crucial to us, as is our commitment to ongoing product development.
We are constantly working on expanding our product offerings by adding new projects and tokens to the platform. We are also dedicated to improving our DeRiv product, which is newer compared to our spot trading. Although there is always room to build and grow, we are committed to making it better.
Kelechi Ibe: How have the recent events surrounding SVB and Silvergates affected the crypto market as a whole?
Lee Fan:
The depeg was an overreaction that could have been avoided. Concerns arose from Circle’s assets being stuck on SVB, but the Fed’s guarantee for depositors at SVB and other crypto-friendly banks eased worries. The fiasco highlighted the need for crypto to do better in the face of traditional bank failures. Crypto’s solution for transfers and wires is beneficial in the long-term, but there may be short-term volatility. Despite the depeg and irrational fears, the situation is now back to normal, and it’s a positive direction for crypto.
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Disclaimer: The content shared in this article reflects the views of the respective speakers and not the view of BitMart. Nothing shared in this article should be considered as financial or legal advice. The use of BitMart services is entirely at your own risk. The value of digital currencies can go up or down and there can be substantial risk in buying, selling, holding, or trading digital currencies. You should carefully consider whether trading or holding digital currencies is suitable for you based on your personal investment objectives, financial circumstances, and risk tolerance.
