Talking Crypto and DeFi with Johnny Lyu - CEO at KuCoin

Behind The Startup: Talking Crypto with Johnny Lyu

Ishan Pandey: Hi Johnny, welcome to our series “Behind the Startup.” Please tell us about yourself and the story behind KuCoin Exchange?

Johnny Lyu: Hi, this is ​​Johnny, Co-Founder, and CEO of the company. I am leading the company’s day-to-day operations, spot trading, Earn, as well as the expansion and prosperity of the KCS ecosystem.

About our story, I can tell that behind our company are two tech geeks (two founders of the company who were early blockchain adopters). Having started coding at the age of 8 and founded his first startup at 16, one of the geeks heard about Bitcoin in 2012 from his boss (another geek) and immediately began to mine. While he tried to sell some BTC on Mt.Gox, he discovered that, what was the world’s largest platform at the time, was difficult for beginners to use. As the adoption of blockchain continued, they realized that it was reshaping the financial system, building a new system that serves the few richest and everyone in the world — even the uneducated, unemployed, and unbanked.

By the end of 2013, they wrote down the first code in a cafe. After that, they spent over two months completing the code for a trading system. The initial API documentation of this is still present on GitHub. However, because the whole cryptocurrency market was still in its infancy at the time, and they each had their jobs, two geeks were not yet prepared to start a business, so this matter took a back seat.

After they returned their focus to the crypto industry in 2017, they found it incredible that even though 4 years had passed, the systems and services of the entire cryptocurrency trading market were too far removed from the internet industry. Exchanges often suffered delays and downtimes. The instability in the trading system caused the user experience to suffer. So, to bring a better trading experience to the crypto industry and bring blockchain and cryptocurrency to the general public, they created the company, the ‘People’s Exchange’ which allows everyone to embrace digital assets.

Ishan Pandey: Can you please explain the concept of Social Trading to our viewers and what are the added benefits of getting involved with a social trading platform?

Johnny Lyu: The company has added social interaction to classic trading, opening up new opportunities for cryptocurrency traders of all levels. For example, novice users can focus on the portfolio of professional and successful traders and copy their trades.

Social trading is becoming an important element for the formation and cohesion of the community. Thanks to such an approach, investors can unite around a particular token and make decisions jointly, thereby influencing its value.

Ishan Pandey: Meta plans to invest the next decade in creating a realistic virtual world that encompasses scent, touch, and sound, allowing users to immerse themselves in virtual reality completely. Do you think, in the future, humanity will slowly completely migrate into the metaverse?

Johnny Lyu: I’m optimistic about the transfer of humanity to the metaverse. The metaverse is one of today's most exciting topics and a brand-new way of life in the near future. When both giants such as Meta, Amazon, and Tencent and wealthy investors such as Elon Musk are heavily investing money, talent, and technology into the metaverse, one has to believe that this is going to be a historical trend that delivers a truly unique experience. Beyond the integration of games and virtual reality in the public imagination, the metaverse can become far greater through efforts and innovations at the neuron level.

Due to the pandemic, some blockchain projects have held their meetups in the Metaverse space, such as in Decentraland, where they can communicate, work and play in virtual communities. The company is also exploring more application scenarios in the Metaverse space. For instance, the company built a virtual office based in Bloktopia. A Skyscraper made up of 21 levels that allows earning through real estate ownership, advertising revenue, playing games, and building networks.

As a new chapter of the Internet that tech giants are seeking after, Metaverse is poised to change the way we work, connect, shop, entertain and have social interactions. To accelerate and lead this evolution in the crypto space, the company has launched the Metaverse Fund to further strengthen the application of blockchain technologies to the Metaverse projects.

Before humanity can learn to digitize everything that you mentioned, we must learn to digitize ourselves, thereby gaining the ability to continue our lives inside the metaverses after physical death. I am not talking about custom avatars, but the complete transfer of the human mind and consciousness into the digital space. I believe that humanity is capable of such grandiose accomplishments without sacrificing the essence of the soul in favor of artificial intelligence within the metaverses of the future.

Ishan Pandey: In your opinion, how close are humanity to digital life within the metaverses, and will blockchain and cryptocurrency help bring this closer?

Johnny Lyu: KuCoin supports several initiatives and is taking an active role in developing and implementing the metaverse environment, and I am personally involved in these processes. I must say, I am surprised at the progress already made, but I understand that we are not talking about the near future when it comes to full-fledged digital life inside the metaverses without the need for a living, breathing body. It will take a long time, maybe several decades before we reach that point. Humanity will become an interplanetary species. A colony will be established on Mars, which will certainly bring about the start of a new era that will result in a quantum leap in technological progress.

Blockchain and cryptocurrencies are the basis for building the economy of the future and the metaverses in particular. Thanks to cryptocurrencies and blockchain, the metaverse is becoming a reality. Human life is similar to the blockchain in many ways, as actions committed in life cannot be recalled, just as the past cannot be altered. Once made, a decision cannot be reversed, just as it is impossible to cancel a completed transaction. Think about it, it is a very profound line of reasoning, one as deep as the proverbial rabbit hole.

Ishan Pandey: How can elements of social trading be applied in the metaverse?

Johnny Lyu: Social trading is based on open interaction and free communication between users. One of his main principles may sound like “follow the strong”. At the same time, the opposite is true, when a professional shares their experience, opinion, and knowledge with less qualified users. This universal mechanic can be applied both on cryptocurrency exchanges and in metaverses. It is very important to use these mechanics in relation to cryptocurrencies, blockchain and financial transactions, thereby perfecting them and making them more convenient for users.

When we talk about trading financial assets, the exchange rates always come first. However, in social trading, users always come first. They learn from other users, communicate with them, discuss news, and make decisions together. No doubt, the same will be done in the metaverses once they are launched.

Ishan Pandey: In light of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, do you think Russia can utilize Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to get around sanctions imposed by other nations? Further, what would be the impact of the war on the cryptocurrency market?

Johnny Lyu: The possibility of circumventing economic sanctions with the help of cryptocurrencies is rather similar to the possibility of laundering money received from illegal activities. First, there are well-established and operational KYC and AML procedures. Secondly, you first need to buy cryptocurrencies in significant amounts that would cater to a state's economy as large as Russia, then carry out transactions and sell them, exchanging them for fiat money. However, given the existing restrictions, this can only be done within Russia. In case of withdrawals from Russia, the reverse scheme will come into effect. But in both cases, there is a Russian financial institution at one end and its foreign partner. How many partners does Russia have, and whose banks can it refer to? I believe that the fears about circumventing sanctions with the help of cryptocurrencies are somewhat exaggerated.

Ishan Pandey: One major issue pertaining to the Solana blockchain has been its high gas fees. How can this problem be effectively tackled and resolved?

Johnny Lyu: The high price of gas is a testament to the popularity of the blockchain. These prices do not prevent such blockchains as Solana and Ethereum from continuing to develop, being popular and demanded. And that means that the problem associated with the high cost of transactions is not a priority. At the same time, there are many solutions to the issues of transaction costs.

Ishan Pandey: According to you, which jurisdictions are the friendliest for crypto businesses?

Johnny Lyu: The regulation of cryptocurrencies in different jurisdictions started from different positions, often opposite ones. With differences in economic development strategies and maturity of the financial systems, each country has its own regulatory strategies for crypto. That said, the majority of countries are working closely and actively to find suitable solutions to better integrate digital assets and blockchain technology into existing financial systems so that they may show their value through regulation.

Some countries are more willing to work with cryptocurrencies, while others are more prone to banning them. There is still no definitive positive position involving the full legalization of cryptocurrencies, although the list of crypto-friendly jurisdictions is constantly expanding.

In the current situation, the positions of some states can alter diametrically rather quickly. Therefore, crypto businesses looking for convenient jurisdictions should be patient and monitor the situation and heed the experience of other companies.

Ishan Pandey: Please tell us a little bit about the company and some major features of KuCoin exchange in terms of simplifying the trading process?

Johnny Lyu:  After our company was launched in 2017, due to the global nature of cryptocurrency, the company adopted a global strategy at its inception, which helped the company quickly gain its first users. Over 200,000 users registered worldwide in just three months of the company’s launch.  With the company’s rapid growth, we received $20 million in funding from IDG Capital and Matrix Partners in 2018. This funding has been crucial in helping us further expand our global market. In 2019, we launched innovative products such as KuCoin 2.0, Spotlight, KuCoin Futures, Earn, and Margin Trading. These have propelled the company from a crypto exchange that only has spot trading services to a platform that offers a diverse range of crypto financial services. We are constantly innovating our products and continue to tap into the hidden gems of the crypto industry.

As a result, we now offer over 600+ tradable assets, have become a veritable Top 1 Altcoin Exchange, rank in the top five on CMC, and Forbes Advisor has named the company the best cryptocurrency trading platform in the world in 2021. In 2022, The Ascent, a Motley Fool service, awarded the company as the Best  Crypto Exchanges and Apps. In addition, we are actively exploring and expanding the boundaries of the crypto industry. From simplifying the trading process by providing users with social trading features and giving them more comprehensive crypto information while allowing more people to experience the fun of crypto, we strive to bring crypto to the mainstream.

Besides, the most attractive features can be accessed using the KuCoin Token (KCS). The exchange distributes 50% of the profits it earns from commission fees among the holders of the token daily; it may vary in the future due to the business plan. KCS holders also receive discounts on commissions, participate in regular promotions, and have access to some attractive offers.

The fact is, we test any innovation within our team and draw conclusions about what is interesting to use and what is not. In this way, we avoid change for the sake of change and strive to offer our users only convenient solutions and attractive promotions.

Ishan Pandey: What does the roadmap ahead look like for KuCoin and the crypto ecosystem as a whole?

Johnny Lyu:  This year, as a Top Altcoin exchange, we will discover more crypto gems, explore and experiment more with social trading, and launch social trading features. As the company’s exchange token, KCS is about to usher in a new chapter. There will be a more comprehensive plan for the future development of KCS, so please stay tuned.

The company’s decentralized ecosystem has developed over time, and we have achieved results in a number of areas, including public chains, wallets, NFT, and GameFi. Next, we will further expand the company’s decentralized ecosystem. On the one hand, we will provide users with more decentralized products, such as our decentralized trading solutions. As a member of the public chain KCC, we will also promote the further development of KCC. On the other hand, we will also expand the company’s reach in the decentralized field, especially in the metaverse, Web 3.0, and other essential areas in the future. In addition, we will work to further build a broader and more diverse ecosystem through incubation, investment, and acquisitions.

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