专访Bitget新任COO Vugar Usi Zade：Bitget的2024与全球化，不设边界
Original author: Frank, Foresight News
Graduated from Harvard and masters degree from Oxford. For 15 years, he has held senior positions in well-known companies such as Facebook, Danone, Carlsberg, Sony, and BeInCrypto. He collided with Web3 7 years ago and finally took up the new exchange track room at the beginning of 2024. The elephant in the world is Bitget, responsible for global business growth and strategic expansion.
This is undoubtedly a pretty perfect resume, and it is also the career development history of Bitgets new COO Vugar Usi Zade so far - On January 11, 2024, Bitget appointed Vugar Usi Zade as chief operating officer (COO).
In todays encryption industry, it is not uncommon for traditional industry veterans with deep accumulation to join Web3, but Vugar Usi Zade has rich experience in the financial industry, Internet giants and even Fortune 500 companies in traditional industries. , but there are really not many, and in his opinion, this is also the password for him and Bitget to go both ways:
My experience in cross-border markets enables me to help Bitget deepen its international strategy, such as adjusting strategies for different cultural and regulatory environments, formulating and implementing effective global and regional strategies that are in line with local market regulations, and ensuring that Bitgets internationalization journey is smoother. .
Wang Xing, who advocates the boundaryless theory, once said, Too many people focus on the boundaries but not on the core. After frequently leading the hot spots last year with its world of martial arts, no one can break, only fast, Bitget has become the elephant in the room on the exchange circuit, and the core of trading services has moved to the front row. Therefore,Now that 2024 has begun, the promotion of globalization strategy naturally requires experienced people to take the helm.
Perhaps as Vugar Usi Zade said, (Web3) users are looking for their own edge in different ways. And after he takes over, how will Bitget clarify its own boundaries in 2024?
Foresight News also had the honor to conduct an exclusive interview with Vugar Usi Zade in January 2024, and here we compile the transcript of the interview for the benefit of readers.
1. Enter Web3 from a Fortune 500 company
Foresight News: Seeing that your resume spans a wide range, including Fortune 500 companies, leading Internet companies, and traditional financial giants, can you give us a detailed timeline of your career before you came into contact with the encryption industry?
Vugar Usi Zade：I firmly believe in the importance of academic and educational background as it has helped me a lot, including in my continuous pursuit of self-discipline and improvement.
I was lucky enough to get a full-time job before I graduated - as head of marketing for the Carlsberg Group, one of the worlds largest breweries, before I turned 20.
Later, I worked at the global Internet giant Facebook to establish and expand new market business, pushing Facebook to expand to 45 countries, and effectively developing the market through the Facebook ASP plan. It was at this stage that I realized the importance of effective expansion strategies to the enterprise. sex and honed their work skills.
One of the highlights of my career came as I also served as CMO of a unicorn startup owned by Sony, which closed a massive $2.7 billion round led by CVC Capital, and helped build a diverse portfolio of startups and Venture capital ecosystem opportunities pave the way.
Then I joined Bain, a venture capital firm, and came into contact with the Web3 industry in 2017, and realized that Web3 has the potential to reshape the future of mankind. This was also the beginning of my entry into the Web3 world.
Foresight News: Do you think your experience in these companies has given you anything in terms of personal development? And does it have any impact on your operating philosophy?
Vugar Usi Zade：I feel that my experience in the financial industry has greatly influenced my personal growth process, and also influenced my operating philosophy in three key aspects:
First, I sharpened my focus on key outcomes and operational efficiencies, and developed skills learned from my experience as a senior consultant at Bain Company: including involvement in projects spanning venture capital to private equity, traditional financial institutions and Web3 funds I learned a lot from various cases and can be applied to various challenging situations.
Secondly, I not only deepened my confidence in working in the crypto industry by participating in successful blockchain projects in the VC field and serving as CMO of Beincrypto (one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency media platforms operating in 65 markets and 16 languages), It also gave me a comprehensive understanding of the global cryptocurrency development landscape.
In addition, when I was a graduate student at Oxford University, I conducted research on expansion strategies and building corporate operational efficiency, which allowed me to learn and understand the management of global expansion strategies, and hope to apply this knowledge to promote and accelerate Bitget’s global development. go.
Foresight News: How did you get involved in the crypto industry? How did you get involved with Bitget? What made you decide to join Bitget?
Vugar Usi Zade：I first position myself as a loyal user of Bitget, because the charm and functions of Bitgets products have a special place in my heart, which also makes the Bitget brand particularly meaningful to me.
I deepened my understanding of Bitget during my time at Harvard University and met with Bitget’s managing director Gracy many times. Then, by regularly attending cryptocurrency-related events, we became more and more interested in exploring potential cooperation opportunities together, so I really I am delighted to have the opportunity to join Bitget and would like to thank the leadership of Bitget for their trust in me.
Overall, the main factors that drove my decision to join Bitget were its strong commitment to safety and security, and the fact that Bitgets ambitious growth trajectory aligned perfectly with my personal development goals.
Foresight News: What do you think is the biggest difference between the encryption industry and the traditional industry? What role does joining Bitget play in your career?
Vugar Usi Zade：In traditional finance, where the main focus is on creating profits and accumulating wealth for stakeholders, the blockchain technology and cryptocurrency industries hope to disrupt the existing order by advocating for equal opportunities.
According to the World Bank, 74% of men in developing countries have access to the financial industry through traditional banking channels, while only 68% of women enjoy the same privilege. What’s even more shocking is that 1.4 billion people around the world still don’t have a bank account.
The cryptocurrency industry has the potential to address this gap and empower billions of people to become active participants in the financial ecosystem. Cryptocurrencies can provide individuals with a way to send and receive payments through seamless trading platforms, ultimately leading to greater financial freedom.
So at Bitget, we see ourselves as contributors to this transformation process, with a mission to empower millions of people to access financial tools without unnecessary barriers or burdens, moving them towards freer and more sustainable finance. Provide convenience in the future.
Foresight News: When working at Bitget, what do you think is the biggest commonality between the tone of the Bitget team and the colleagues around you?
Vugar Usi Zade：Since joining Bitget, I feel like I have been immersed in a culture that relentlessly pursues success. Because Bitget itself is learning from the resilience and efficiency of elite athletes - such as cooperating with Messi, who is widely recognized as the Greatest Player of All Time (GOAT).
Although many companies claim to cultivate a close family atmosphere to promote team morale, Bitget stands out. As soon as you step into Bitget, you will find that the collision of everyones diverse values creates a unique picture.
Overall, Bitget’s cultural ethos revolves around a determined winning mentality, which aligns with the synergy seen in top sports teams – our shared goal is not just to participate, but to achieve victory itself.
Of course, the road to success is not easy. It requires discipline, unwavering dedication, and sharp focus. As the new COO, I am committed to ensuring that our team is closely aligned with Bitget’s overall vision and committed to strengthening Bitget. organizational structure, ensuring it is a strong operating structure ready to conquer our ambitious goals.
At Bitget, each of us understands that success is not just a destination, but a journey filled with resilience and purpose.
Foresight News: Are there any things or colleagues that impressed you deeply while working at Bitget?
Vugar Usi Zade：As I mentioned, Im very inspired by Gracys career path, and after hearing her speak numerous times, I know she has a wealth of knowledge and experience in the crypto industry.
She has always highlighted unexpected but important trends in the crypto space, so her business understanding and ability to foresee situations and future trends make her stand out as an outstanding leader.
For example, when I communicated with her, I learned that at the end of 2022, when the entire crypto market was in turmoil about the FTX incident, she and her team urgently discussed how to take the lead in launching exchange reserve certificates at the critical moment when the market was turbulent and on the verge of collapse. The Bitget User Protection Fund has been increased from US$200 million to US$300 million. From this alone, we can see Bitget and her leadership and decisiveness.
2. 2023 and globalization in the eyes of Vugar Usi Zade
Foresight News: Bitget will grow rapidly in 2023 and become the leader. As the new COO, how do you view Bitget’s positioning in the new competitive situation? For example, how to make efforts in terms of compliance and products (documentary trading, etc.), or avoid homogeneous competition?
Vugar Usi Zade：Bitget will focus on three key areas: compliance, emerging markets and Web3.
The first is compliance. Especially after the FTX incident, compliance has become more and more important. Bitget has participated in a series of compliance-related initiatives, such as obtaining VASP licenses in Poland and Lithuania. This will be our future development. key.
Secondly, Bitget will focus more on emerging markets such as Latin America and Southeast Asia, which is an important part of its globalization strategy.
Finally, Bitget will continue to vigorously develop the Web3 business, especially investing in Bitget Wallet, while actively supporting innovative DEX and L2 public chain projects to steadily advance our development plan.
Foresight News: Currently, mainstream exchanges are launching their own wallet services, and Bitget also has its own Web3 wallet. What kind of efforts do you think exchanges need to make in promoting the large-scale adoption of Web3? What are Bitget’s thoughts and actions on this? ?
Vugar Usi Zade：Bitget has taken a big step in the integration of decentralized applications (DApps). For example, the exchange has integrated various DApps into its Web3 wallet to provide users with decentralized finance (DeFi), games, and transactions. Seamless interaction with other services.
This move not only improves the user experience, but also attracts a wider user base by catering to different interests and needs.
In addition, in terms of security enhancement, Bitget, like Binance, also uses advanced security features such as multi-party secure computation (MPC) technology to enhance the security of Web3 wallets. In particular, this technology decentralizes the responsibility of private key management and reduces the cost of traditional mnemonics. word risk.
In terms of service expansion, Bitget Wallet has expanded its service scope to include Swap, NFT market and DApps. It will also continue to cooperate with outstanding projects in the industry and combine with decentralized transaction aggregators to provide users with more comprehensive and efficient services. Trading experience.
Foresight News: Is there any information you can share about Bitget’s business development status and data dimensions (number of active users, transaction volume, product matrix layout, etc.)?
Vugar Usi Zade：sure. First of all, in terms of transaction and user data, Bitget’s overall transaction volume last year was US$3.14 trillion, of which spot transaction volume increased to US$81.6 billion, an increase of 94% from last year; the overall number of users also increased from 8 million last year to 20 million, and the team size It has grown from 1,100 people last year to 1,500 people.
In terms of product and business development, Bitget has also been actively exploring high-quality assets in the past year and adopting a flexible and aggressive currency listing strategy. For example, in 2023, Bitget will launch a total of 355 projects, an increase of 46%, including 5 Launchpad projects and 45 Launchpool projects.
Our important product copy trading will have 52,000 new traders in 2023, with a total of 26.9 million profitable copy orders. So far, the cumulative profits generated by users through copy trading have exceeded US$450 million, of which traders’ profit sharing has reached US$23 million. We combine AI technology to create innovative trading strategies to empower traders and users, including AI grid trading, CTA and other trading strategies.
In terms of strategic layout, Bitget has completed a number of important strategic investments in the past year, including investing US$30 million in BitKeep, establishing EmpowerX Fund and Web3 Fund and investing US$100 million each.
At the same time, Bitget also launched the Blockchain 4 Youth charity project and plans to invest US$10 million in the next five years to support the development of the younger generation in Web3.
Foresight News: In terms of global layout, what achievements has Bitget achieved in 2023, and which countries/regions will it focus on? Why?
Vugar Usi Zade：At present, Bitgets business footprint has spread across 100 countries and regions. In 2023, it will continue to deepen its globalization strategy. In addition to the above-mentioned business development, it is also focusing on many aspects, such as comprehensive brand upgrades and holding a series of activities for the fifth anniversary of Bitgets establishment. In addition Bitget has also completed VASP registration (virtual asset service provider) in Poland and Lithuania, actively expanding into the Western market.
3. Bitget’s 2024 and globalization, no boundaries
Foresight News: Can you provide an outlook or prediction on the development and pattern of the exchange in 2024? (For example, exchange shares, or what impact spot Bitcoin ETFs may have on existing CEX, etc.)
Vugar Usi Zade：My prediction mainly includes 3 points.
First, the passage of a spot Bitcoin ETF may attract more traditional investors to the cryptocurrency market, which may lead to an increase in trading volume on centralized exchanges (CEX) as more institutional and individual investors purchase through these platforms and trading ETFs, this increase is likely to drive an expansion of the exchange’s user base and increase the number of active users on the platform.
Secondly, the adoption of spot Bitcoin ETF provides a more traditional investment method, making it easier for traditional investors to participate in the Bitcoin market through a method they are familiar with. Such diversified investment products may attract more different types of investors to enter the market. For exchanges,Since the portraits of buyers of spot Bitcoin ETFs are not completely consistent with those of exchange users, it is unlikely that exchanges will lose users due to the launch of ETFs.
Finally, the passage of the spot Bitcoin ETF may change the competitive landscape of cryptocurrency exchanges, including the possibility of attracting more traditional financial institutions into the cryptocurrency field and promoting competition between traditional finance and cryptocurrency exchanges. In particular, more financial institutions can deepen their understanding of cryptocurrency by investing in Bitcoin ETFs. In future business, they are likely to launch cryptocurrency exchanges led by traditional financial institutions, which will bring greater influence to the existing platform. competitors.
Foresight News: What do you think is the current development atmosphere of Web3 in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and emerging market countries? Which regions is Bitget more optimistic about next?
Vugar Usi Zade：With the development and popularity of cryptocurrency, we see huge potential and growth opportunities in emerging market countries such as Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa. Therefore, Bitget is strengthening its presence in these emerging markets and investing more resources to promote development.
The development of Web3 in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and emerging market regions presents different focuses and characteristics, so it is difficult to say who has a better atmosphere and development.
In North America, the development of DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network) has attracted much attention. DePIN uses blockchain technology and token rewards to motivate individuals and enterprises to build physical world infrastructure (such as WiFi, hard drive storage, batteries, etc.) in a decentralized manner to provide services to anyone. The combination of DePIN and AI technology is also considered a powerful combination in 2024, which can achieve more efficient resource sharing and utilization, while promoting the further development of Web3 technology.
The popularity of Helium Mobile and Coinbases launch of Hivemapper (HONEY) have also inspired traders enthusiasm to make money in this track, which has indirectly boosted the efforts of developers and innovators in this track.
In Europe, countries generally have relatively strict regulations on cryptocurrency. Although they continue to strengthen supervision of AML/CFT, they also provide a relatively stable and transparent regulatory environment. In addition, Europe is also working hard to encourage the development and innovation of the digital asset market and promote the development of the digital economy, while also working hard to ensure the interests and safety of investors and consumers.
The Asia-Pacific region has made a huge contribution to the development of the Bitcoin ecosystem. Bitcoin asset issuance protocols such as Ordinals and Atomics have made asset issuance on the Bitcoin chain possible, injecting new vitality into the ancient Bitcoin chain. The enthusiasm of the crypto community for Inscription Summer can be seen from the price and trading volume of ORDI.
In emerging markets, cryptocurrencies such as BTC and USDT are used to hedge against the risk of serious local inflation and the decline of legal currencies; 3A games will open a new GameFi Summer narrative; the evolution of various new token economic models; and the fierce competition among major Layer 2 public chains. compete……Users in different regions are looking for their “edge” in different ways.
Foresight News: Compared with 2023, what are the new changes or key directions for Bitget’s operations in 2024? Is there any next-stage plan that can be disclosed?
Vugar Usi Zade：Of course, my experience in multinational markets enables me to help Bitget deepen its international strategy, such as adjusting strategies for different cultural and regulatory environments, formulating and implementing effective global and regional strategies that are in line with local market norms, and ensuring that Bitget’s internationalization journey is smoother. .
I will also further optimize Bitgets marketing and promotion work, and when the market environment improves, launch a more comprehensive and diversified marketing strategy to expand influence and visibility.
My strategic focus is to lead Bitgets expansion in Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and other regions, while strengthening our position in Southeast Asia and Europe. I believe my diverse skills and experience make me the ideal person to lead Bitget into its next phase of growth.
