Gracy Chen: Navigating the business world, unafraid of ups and downs

01 Cross-Industry Female Leader

First Encounter

Looking back, Gracy Chen has showcased multifaceted talents on the professional stage.

She previously held important positions at Phoenix TV, one of Asia's media giants, before stepping into the unicorn company XRSPACE in the virtual reality field. Now, she leads the globally renowned crypto digital asset trading platform Bitget, transitioning from a television host and producer to Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and now Managing Director (MD). Fairly speaking, Gracy Chen navigates seamlessly across different fields. She continues to expand her professional landscape, moving forward with determination and never pausing.

Recalling the opportunity that led her to the crypto industry, Gracy said, "A long time ago, friends like He Yi, co-founder of Binance, and legendary Silicon Valley investor Tim Draper introduced me to the crypto industry." In 2015, Gracy Chen began investing in digital currencies like BTC, ETH, and XRP, drawn by the decentralized philosophy of cryptocurrencies, viewing it as a challenge to traditional finance, thus embarking on this crypto journey.

In 2017, Gracy Chen gradually focused on the primary and secondary markets of cryptocurrencies, further delving into crypto projects. She made early investments in Asia's leading decentralized wallet Bitkeep (which was renamed Bitget Wallet after Bitget became its majority shareholder). Reflecting on this experience, Gracy remarked, "It was witnessing the continuous brand development and user growth of Bitkeep and Bitget during this journey that led me to decide to join Bitget, a passionate and innovative exchange."

For Gracy Chen, the core focus in deciding whether to switch industries revolves around two aspects: first, considering whether her core competencies align with the position and whether this opportunity can empower her. Second, examining the prospects of the industry to determine if it is worth investing time and energy, making it a strategic investment in her career.

"I believe that rather than just investing some money in this industry, it is better to invest my time as well; this is the greatest and most important investment for me." After reflecting on herself and the industry, Gracy Chen resolutely transitioned to the Web3 field, gradually embarking on the journey of leading a top crypto exchange.

Challenges

Gracy Chen's cross-industry journey began with challenges.

In April 2022, Gracy Chen officially joined Bitget, at a time when the global cryptocurrency market was in a prolonged slump following severe turbulence, marking the first major bear market since 2018, with news of financial difficulties and mass layoffs from many well-known institutions and projects.

Facing an "industry upheaval" right after taking office posed a significant challenge for Gracy Chen. However, she saw not only difficulties but also opportunities. "This is a severe test for the entire industry and companies," Gracy admitted, "but it is also an excellent opportunity for us to attract talent in the market. During a market downturn, continuously solidifying the foundation and prioritizing growth is essential to better seize opportunities when the market recovers."

But the new challenges did not stop there. Transitioning from traditional industries to the Web3 field, Gracy Chen faced challenges not only from market changes but also from new requirements for professional competence. She pointed out, "This is an industry that requires continuous learning and adaptation; one must remain sensitive to industry dynamics." Whether it is knowledge of blockchain technology, cryptocurrency trading and finance, or awareness of security and privacy protection, to navigate the industry, one must learn quickly and continuously, maximizing knowledge reserves in a short time.

Diligence leads to success.

This cross-industry female leader continually motivates herself to maintain a strong thirst for knowledge and an open mindset to meet future challenges, achieving rapid personal growth and a successful transformation.

"Her" Power

Gracy Chen not only possesses strong learning abilities and exceptional leadership but is also recognized as an advocate for female empowerment in the Web3 industry. She provides more opportunities for women at Bitget to encourage their deep participation and offers STEM education for women through Bitget's non-profit organization DIY Girls.

On social media, Gracy Chen has strongly advocated for "Let’s hire more women." She believes that the Web3 industry needs more female participation because women have unique advantages and contributions—female thinking patterns better understand the needs of female users, bringing a new perspective of innovation to the industry and creating a more diverse and inclusive workplace.

Gracy Chen noted that women are often skilled in communication and coordination and possess greater empathy. "When I embarked on my journey at Bitget, I found many capable female leaders here," Gracy Chen said. "Women are not afraid to share their opinions and insights; we always provide each other with honest and useful advice and support." Gracy also emphasized that the wisdom and strength of women can enhance a company's spiritual capacity and improve its financial capabilities. Women's participation promotes optimization in business planning and product design, sparking innovation and transformation.

Regarding the "male-dominated" situation in the industry, Gracy Chen believes this is largely due to the crypto industry being a combination of finance and technology, where traditional finance and technology sectors have imbalanced gender ratios. She pointed out that a study by Fidelity shows that only 33% of women feel confident in their investment decisions.

"Cryptocurrency has become a high-risk asset due to its increased volatility, and female investors are generally more risk-averse and cautious than male investors, making them less likely to invest in it," Gracy Chen reflected on this phenomenon.

To improve this situation, Gracy Chen proposed that crypto companies have the responsibility to provide more internships and job opportunities for women and create a female-friendly and equitable work environment. She believes that the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry should create more job opportunities to eliminate barriers to financial independence, benefiting individuals from diverse backgrounds and experiences. Finally, she emphasized the importance of education, advocating for cultivating women's understanding and knowledge of cryptocurrencies and providing them with more opportunities to utilize this technology.

"My advice to female entrepreneurs in the crypto field is to remember that you are not the 'elephant in the room'—gender inequality is." Gracy Chen's words resonate strongly, "Although cryptocurrency is currently a male-dominated market, women should not be afraid to enter. Instead, it should serve as an incentive for us to achieve better representation in the industry, bringing tremendous benefits to the entire sector."

⌈Relying on talent⌋ is not as good as ⌈valuing skills⌋.

Gracy Chen is reshaping the perception of women in the Web3 workplace through her experiences and actions, inspiring more ⌈her⌋ power.

02 Growing Against the Wind

Turning the Tide

From an unknown player in 2018 to one of the top five digital asset exchanges globally, Bitget has successfully risen against the odds in just five years.

"The startup phase was undoubtedly challenging; our beginning was a hellish challenge. We encountered a bear market at the start, tried both spot and futures trading, explored multiple fields, but saw little success," Gracy Chen reflected on Bitget's development journey. "At that time, due to the limited team size, we couldn't manage both spot and futures simultaneously, so we decided to strategically abandon some businesses and focus our energy and resources on key operations." Consequently, Bitget paused its spot trading, leading to nearly a year of continuous losses, with startup funds nearly exhausted.

In July 2019, Bitget welcomed its first turning point. By deeply researching market demands, the Bitget team keenly discovered that users showed strong interest in positive contracts, promptly launching the world's first USDT positive contract, with trading volume instantly surpassing $100 million. In 2020, Bitget achieved another milestone with its innovative one-click copy trading feature, significantly simplifying the trading process and providing users with more efficient profit results.

To further promote global expansion, Bitget began increasing its investment in brand marketing.

In 2021, Bitget became the first sleeve sponsor in the history of Juventus. Additionally, Bitget established a partnership with Turkish football club Galatasaray, and globally renowned football player Keisuke Honda signed on as its brand ambassador for East Asia.

In 2022, Bitget announced exclusive sponsorship of the 2022 PGL CS:GO Championship and the 2022 PGL Dota2 Season 3 Championship. Furthermore, as the World Cup became a global highlight that year, Bitget decided to collaborate with a top football superstar to further enhance its visibility.

And this top football superstar is none other than Lionel Messi, who led the Argentina team to victory over France in a penalty shootout, winning Argentina's first World Cup title in nearly 36 years.

"We chose Messi for two key reasons: his reputation and his growth journey," Gracy Chen highly praised Messi, "His achievements and abilities have been best proven through spectacular matches and numerous trophies. However, we value his reputation even more; for years, he has maintained the image of a good father, husband, and captain. More importantly, we see the shadow of Bitget's own growth in Messi's journey."

Despite fierce competition, fortunately, Messi was also moved by Bitget's sincerity and values, choosing to forgo another lucrative contract to establish a partnership with Bitget. With Messi's global influence, Bitget's expansion in the global market progressed more smoothly and rapidly.

Messi once said, "I care more about how to be a good person than being the best player in the world." This aligns perfectly with the principles that Gracy Chen and the entire Bitget team have always upheld—being practitioners of positive energy, adhering to their original intentions, firmly maintaining a fair and orderly environment, and truly creating value for the industry and users.

Bitget transformed from an inconspicuous "small exchange" to a strong contender, much like Messi's journey from a "diminutive boy" to a "legendary player," defying the odds through hard work and achieving great success.

The Steadfast

"Find opportunities in crises and let them become our growth momentum."

Gracy Chen pointed out that for a company to successfully break the ice and stand out, it needs to make many key strategic decisions, especially in the face of market volatility. Thinking about how to build momentum during a bear market and hold the fort is essential to welcome a new dawn.

In Bitget's fifth-anniversary open letter, Gracy Chen shared this thought: "The birth of Bitget stems from a unique belief—⌈to be among the 10% who remain steadfast after the tide recedes⌋." Indeed, in this industry, speculators are never lacking, but those who remain here, undeterred and unyielding during the market's ebb and flow, are the true warriors of this space.

Bitget was born during a recession and has rapidly grown through countless ups and downs. No one can stop the tide's flow; facing the uncertain market direction, Gracy Chen firmly stated, "The changes brought by crypto technology will reshape the financial order and investment methods, creating a more equitable and inclusive future for people."

⌈No matter what, become part of the 10% philosophy⌋

⌈Be among the 10% who remain steadfast after the tide recedes⌋

03 All Things Renewed

Innovation

Speaking of the recent global AI trend and its application in conjunction with crypto, Gracy Chen has much to say.

"AI is essentially a productive force, while blockchain is fundamentally a production relationship; it is an immutable trust system. The combination of the two is essentially the integration of productive forces and production relationships, so the prospects for AI and the crypto industry are vast. We should consider how to better leverage AI to enhance productivity and create more value, allowing blockchain to facilitate fairer and more efficient value distribution."

After a brief pause for thought, Gracy Chen continued, "The combination of AI and crypto has many application scenarios, such as improving the development efficiency of smart contracts and enhancing data analysis efficiency. In the future, if AI becomes a core component of productivity, I believe it will likely be compensated through virtual currencies."

As Gracy mentioned, AI, as a future trendsetter, will lead crypto into a new development phase, bringing a dual revolution of productivity and value distribution to the world. The rise of AI empowerment injects new vitality into the management and trading of digital assets, signifying a more intelligent and agile operational approach for investors, trading platforms, and the entire market.

As an outstanding leader of Bitget, Gracy Chen, with her exceptional wisdom and foresight, guides the company to continuously innovate in this rapidly evolving technological era. In June of this year, Bitget launched a series of AI trading bots and introduced a new Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA) AI bot on July 27, utilizing AI technology to help users intuitively select and create strategies.

Not only generating new ideas but also turning them into reality.

Perhaps more new technological forces will emerge in the future, and we look forward to seeing Gracy Chen lead Bitget to create more possibilities in this new era and new field, bringing greater transformation to the entire industry.

Marathon Runner

In Gracy Chen's view, the path in the Web3 industry resembles an endless marathon; only by becoming a long-term, steadfast "marathon runner" can one inject inexhaustible vitality into this industry.

"Unlike those exchanges that rise quickly and then vanish just as fast," Gracy emphasized, "we build user-friendly, robust tools, empowering individuals to safely, conveniently, and efficiently integrate into the future financial system. We prioritize users, focus on product innovation, adhere to long-termism, remain true to our original intentions, and continuously improve day by day."

This is not a momentary sprint, nor a competition for match points, but a long and solid run, a marathon of continuous improvement and evolution. Gracy Chen is working alongside her team to become the frontrunner in this race.

Since the second half of 2021, the Bitget team has achieved rapid expansion in global operations, successfully establishing a global presence and serving over 20 million users from more than 100 countries and regions. Additionally, to maximize user satisfaction, Gracy has led the Bitget team to adopt a progressive strategy, continuously expanding business boundaries to establish a complete trading ecosystem covering trading, investment, research, DeFi, media, and more. This is not just a simple number but an achievement reached under the marathon-like long-term strategy.

For Gracy Chen, the coexistence of wealth effects and long-termism is the core; by leveraging speed to counteract slowness, keeping a close eye on popular narratives, and launching quickly, more early-bird choices can be offered to users. This long-term business philosophy has allowed Bitget to stand out in a fiercely competitive industry, ranking first in the ATH Average ROI of the top ten platforms' LaunchPad announced by CryptoRank in 2023.

This is indeed good news.

In a sense, even though the road ahead is long and may face setbacks, after the long night comes the dawn.

Settling, waiting, persisting, moving forward.

This marathon has yet to see its spring.

The ups and downs are all part of the journey; the tides rise and fall, so what?

Gracy Chen, this cross-industry female leader growing against the wind, stands tall amidst the waves of the business world, navigating through twists and turns.

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