Dialogue with Huang Licheng: How the Asian Cryptocurrency Tycoon Has Come This Far

Source: HEAVENRAVEN Magazine

Original Title: 《Machi Big Brother's Rare Interview, How Do Real Big Players in the Crypto World Make Money from NFTs?》

Whether you are a fan of hip-hop music or a blockchain player, Huang Licheng aka Machi Big Brother is a name that resonates loudly.

In 2003, the hip-hop group Machi burst onto the scene, and the phrase "My Machi is the best" became a popular saying that spread across the streets; after that, the highly perceptive Big Brother began to expand his business empire into other fields, from clothing brands and nightclubs to live streaming platforms, each venture making a significant impact.

In recent years, he has gradually shifted his focus from the entertainment industry to the blockchain industry. Today, let's hear how he started his journey into cryptocurrency and NFTs.

HR: How did you first get involved in the crypto space?

"In 2017, while I was still doing 17 Live, cryptocurrency started to become popular, and a lot of people were doing ICOs. I told my shareholders that this was a trend we should pursue! But they all said it was a scam. Okay, fuck it, I'll do it myself."

"In 2018, I launched Secret Silver and introduced social mining, encouraging users to upload photos or videos to mine. I was quite ahead of the curve, but because I was too early, many details weren't thought through, and the coin price collapsed. Although it was a pity, I learned a lot from the experience, and later I launched CREAM."

HR: But wasn't CREAM attacked before?

"Yes, that time was really tough. I consider it an expensive lesson, realizing how deep the waters of DeFi are. At that time, we were hacked for nearly 140 million dollars, but later we found ways to compensate our clients, and now CREAM continues to be profitable.

In November 2020, I chose to hand over the control of CREAM to Yearn's founder Andre Cronje. It was a great decision because Andre is truly talented, and I felt very comfortable handing CREAM over to him. After that, when the pandemic hit and I had nothing to do at home, I started focusing all my attention on NFTs."

HR: Yes! We want to hear the NFT story.

"I first got involved with NFTs around 2018. At that time, I thought about breaking down music into NFTs and selling them online, but I was too early, so I went into DeFi instead. The real reason I fully invested in the NFT market was because of a Taiwanese girl named Emily Yang, who is a well-known NFT artist.

She had a project selling art and donating to the #StopAsianHate organization. Of course, I had to support such a meaningful cause! I rallied a few friends, and under Emily's nickname pplpleasr, we formed an organization called 'PleasrDAO.'"

"At first, it was just for fun, but as more influential figures and financially capable entrepreneurs joined PleasrDAO, we decided to turn this DAO into a decentralized art investment organization. Recently, the hacker Edward released an NFT called 'Stay Free.'

We found it very valuable, and no matter how much our competitors bid, we had to win it. The process was extremely thrilling; we thought we had no hope, but in the last five minutes, a friend asked how much we still needed, and he could help. So in the end, we successfully acquired it for 5.4 million dollars, and the Doge meme NFT is now in our hands."

Stay Free by Edward Snowden, 2021

HR: What about the Bored Ape (BAYC)?

"I had actually been observing BAYC for a long time. There were many days to mint, and on the last day, I minted 40 apes by myself at midnight, then called friends to buy. The founder of 17, Sam, was fierce! He casually minted 120 apes, WTF! I couldn't lose! I pushed myself to keep minting and even went to the secondary market to collect.

Others were buying at one ETH, two ETH, and in the end, I ended up with nearly a hundred apes. When the sun came up, PleasrDAO members were all saying they didn't manage to buy any, and I thought it would be more fun if everyone played together, so without thinking, I gave away over 30 apes."

HR: You must have set the trend for apes in the artist community!

"I remember the first artist I gave an ape to was Kai Kai (Ko Chen-tung), and I also gave one to Bolin. Bolin has a great eye; he picked one of the most limited ones from my collection, probably ranked in the top 50! At that time, it wasn't as expensive as it is now, but it wasn't cheap either, probably over ten thousand dollars."

"Then you see Stephen Curry bought one, Snoop Dogg bought one, even Eminem bought one. This is the power of community and what makes crypto interesting. BAYC may not be my project, but everyone who likes it can contribute in their own way, using their influence to spread the word and let more people know about it."

HR: But besides changing profile pictures, what else can NFTs do?

"NFTs (Non-fungible tokens) mean non-homogeneous tokens, and their application range can be very broad, including real estate proof, art copyrights, and even identity verification can be NFTs; these technologies have long matured. The question is whether national governments recognize this or plan to move in this direction, which remains to be seen."

"Additionally, the public often holds a spectator's mindset, thinking this is a scam or a bubble, and many only care about how much their coins or NFTs can appreciate. Who cares about what decentralization is doing? This is all very normal; when the internet Web 1.0 first came out, no one could imagine what the future would look like. Everything is a process."

HR: Can you share your NFT assets?

"Talking numbers is tacky; the interesting thing about blockchain is that the accounts are public. You can just check my wallet." (Since that's the case, we won't hesitate to check his wallet: 3200 NFT collectibles, with a total value of over 40 million dollars.)

HR: Finally, please give some advice to newcomers who want to participate in NFTs.

"People often say: 'NFA (Not Financial Advice).' When you're making money, no one thanks you; when you lose money, everyone hates you. My advice is to hang out on Twitter, Medium, and Discord to see what everyone is talking about. If you don't understand something, Google it. Once you understand, you'll naturally know where the news is and what direction the trends are going. Even if you lose money and get hurt, it's all experience."

"This principle is like learning to skateboard or breakdance. If you keep asking about how dangerous it is without trying it yourself, how will you know where the tricks are? Set a risk tolerance level, and then just focus on learning!"

Postscript:

When we finally asked Machi Big Brother if we could take a few photos, he said he doesn't like taking pictures at his age, but he could use his virtual avatar (the Bored Ape) instead. "Everyone knows the Bored Ape and knows I will always support the Bored Ape. I even made a joke before, calling myself the 'ChairApe of the Bored.' Letting the virtual return to the virtual, isn't that the truly interesting part of blockchain?"

"So, no need to take photos; just use the monkeys from my IG and wallet."