My journey began in the corridors of HSBC as an Associate Analyst. I’ve always loved good strategies, finding a company’s core strategy in its financial statements was like a pursuit of happiness for me, joyfully leading a team of researchers to victory in the CFA Institute Research Challenge.

Upping my game, I joined BNP Paribas Asset Management, quickly ascending to become the youngest portfolio manager in the industry at the time. I specialized in the tech sector, starting with a small $15 million discretionary equity fund. Within 15 months, my MP fund’s total AUM increased to $400 million. The necessity to diversify into at least 80 stocks, however, presented a challenge. My relentless pursuit of quality corporate strategy often clashed with the need to invest a mass of less-than-ideal companies.

It was during this period of reflection and search for meaningful investment strategies that I encountered Bitcoin in 2016. The technology captivated me and I soon started mining ETH and ZEC in a rented basement. This was more than an hobby; it was my doorway to a new paradigm.

I had learned so much about how crypto works through my mini project that my conviction in the industry had only grown. I left my job as a fund manager and moved into a crypto exchange as the Lead BD.

2018: Building an Exchange from Zero

2018 was the year we started building an exchange from zero base. Our business had never gone beyond overseas, so the team struggled at first.

This period was a whirlwind of relentless research, surprises, and learning from trial and error. After eleven intensive months, we celebrated the launch of our first overseas exchange. The team had learned every step of building an exchange from zero-based beginnings, and I’ve had the privilege of meeting my current core members Taylor and Ocean in this journey.

After the venture I applied to go to MBA in the US but ended up turning down Berkeley, Yale, and Northwestern to start my first company.

2020: Just Another Algorithmic Trader from TradFi

Despite the boundless potential of blockchain, I observed a stark reality: much of the industry revolved around exchanges, traders, and questionable token projects. Even Ethereum hadn’t any notable use cases. I wanted to venture into my specialty — trading.

Drawing on my TradFi experience, I founded a team centered on a basis trading strategy on OKX using maturity futures. The first year was dedicated to building robust infrastructures. Our efforts yielded double-digit profits and set us on an exciting trajectory. However, the landscape shifted unexpectedly with the onset of DeFi Summer.

The initial phase was perplexing, with billion-percent APRs enticed me. My team and I quickly developed an arbitrage logic that operated across five DEXs. The game-changer came with 1inch revealing the potential of ‘interoperability.’ This was a lightbulb moment – a vision where all assets globally could be traded on a single platform, in stark contrast to TradFi.

This revelation steered our focus. We were driven to introduce something unprecedented. We pivoted to become a DeFi-focused, onchain algorithmic trader. We wanted to leave an indelible mark on the world, so that it would never be the same again because we came this way.

2021-2022: Onchain Algorithmic Traders