Interview with BitMEX CEO Stephan Lutz: Ten years without a hack, we have never taken shortcuts in security

Interview: Mensh, ChainCatcher

Guest: Stephan Lutz, BitMEX CEO

Organizer: Mensh, ChainCatcher

As one of the oldest cryptocurrency derivatives exchanges in the industry, BitMEX was co-founded in 2014 by Arthur Hayes, Ben Delo, and Sam Reed. Throughout its development, BitMEX has consistently prioritized security and high performance. On one hand, BitMEX has never experienced a security incident in its ten years of operation, maintaining an industry record. On the other hand, BitMEX is known as a "peer-to-peer trading platform that offers Bitcoin leveraged contracts." It allows users to effectively bet on the future price of Bitcoin with leverage of up to 100 times, making it a handy tool for professional investors.

On the occasion of BitMEX's tenth anniversary, ChainCatcher invited BitMEX CEO Stephan Lutz to discuss the changes, crises, and achievements in BitMEX's development history, as well as the future vision for BitMEX.

A Derivatives Trading Platform Built for Professional Investors

ChainCatcher: Can you briefly introduce BitMEX's main business and its role in the cryptocurrency space?

Stephan: BitMEX is one of the earliest cryptocurrency exchanges. We have been in this space for 10 years, much like European old banks such as Rothschild, which are among the earliest and largest banks. BitMEX is similar. We focus on core derivatives products. If you are looking to increase trading volume and improve capital efficiency in the cryptocurrency space, and trade regularly, then you need to come to BitMEX. We offer perpetual swaps, futures options, pre-launch futures, and market prediction products. This is our core market.

We provide an institutional-grade platform. We have a high-performance trading platform that offers the highest level of customer support and technical support to our traders. Our front end is something you would only see at high-frequency trading firms (HFT) or larger global trading companies. We provide these services to individual users; it can sometimes be overwhelming if you are a beginner. But if you have been in this space for years, this is what you need. For example, we offer leverage of up to 250 times, customizable trading user interface tools, and collateral support programs (also known as margin plus programs). We have the largest insurance fund in the entire centralized exchange space. This is true in absolute terms, compared to open contracts, and compared to actual cryptocurrency holdings. We can talk about proof of reserves and proof of liabilities later. They are basically all in Bitcoin, which is not just for accounting but is also usable. We have low latency, high liquidity, especially in Bitcoin margin products.

We provide this service for real Bitcoin players. We also offer trading bots to automate trading behavior. We want to provide the best support for professional derivatives traders, or at least semi-professional derivatives traders. This means they trade regularly and use this platform daily. For example, if my mom and dad want to enter the cryptocurrency space, they might not choose BitMEX. But if I have friends who are already traders, they might join BitMEX.

Another aspect is that we provide strong security and transparency. Security is a concern that the entire industry values, especially in recent years. But transparency is still relatively unique for centralized exchanges, which is usually only found in decentralized exchanges. As a centralized exchange that embraces decentralization, we strive to provide as much transparency as possible. We are also the inventors of several well-known industry products and initiatives—perpetual swaps, funding mechanisms—we invented cold wallet solutions that have been very secure and reliable over the past decade.

We also invented mechanisms around the insurance fund. We are pleasantly surprised that everyone has basically copied the open-source technology we provided to the market. This means we are doing something right. We are glad that the entire industry is working towards this, even with competitors much larger than us.

For example, our proof of reserves and proof of liabilities mechanisms are industry-leading, which is how we achieve neutrality, transparency, accessibility, and security. We do not act as market makers, nor do we gamble against our clients. Some of our clients or traders do not like this because their trading certainty is lower. But professionals like it because they know the price discovery mechanism is fair. For us, transparency means proof of reserves, proof of liabilities, and being very transparent about what happens on the platform. All our mechanisms, all our market microstructures are open to the public. You can see all of this on our website. All our technical documentation is open to anyone. What you see here is what you get. We provide accessibility, which means we are here, not hiding somewhere.

You can contact our customer support directly. Just like this interview, our executives are always reachable, and we regularly participate in panel discussions and events. We have always placed a strong emphasis on security, which can be a double-edged sword—it can be done so well that it leads to losses. So we do not like to overemphasize security. But so far, we have remained safe and reliable, and we will continue to work hard to maintain this advantage. We are a true peer-to-peer exchange, not a "house" where everyone is gambling against each other. That is why we only charge trading fees as our source of income.

ChainCatcher: What are BitMEX's most popular products?

Stephan: Our Bitcoin margin contracts. We provide an exchange for those who have Bitcoin and want to trade—these people prefer to use their Bitcoin as collateral compared to stablecoins. The liquidity of our Bitcoin margin contracts far exceeds that of most other exchanges.

There are also perpetual swaps or futures contracts. For example, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and Doge derivatives are the most liquid products on our platform. This is our main advantage. Anyone who wants to trade these types of derivatives will eventually come to BitMEX.

ChainCatcher: How is this achieved?

Stephan: First, we are the first company to launch this product, which is a sticky product. Second, as I mentioned earlier, we are a very neutral platform. If you want to trade on a neutral exchange with an undisturbed pricing mechanism, come to BitMEX. This is not a criticism of other platforms; they are just running different businesses here. Therefore, professional traders come to us. Finally, because we have the first two, they provide the basic liquidity for Bitcoin margin contracts. The liquidity of these products is the highest in the market.

Other platforms are playing a different game here. They have their own expertise in other areas, but this is our expertise. Because we are the first, we are original. We focus on professional traders, which is a subset of the entire market, or traders who want to trade regularly. Therefore, they are not just making one trade but are regularly involved. They like neutrality, transparency, reliability, and security. The derivatives space is a repetitive game. If you only play once, you won’t care. If you participate multiple times over a longer period, you will care a lot.

ChainCatcher: I also noticed that the slogan on BitMEX's official website is "get in the pit." What is the core idea conveyed by this phrase, and what values do you think BitMEX advocates in this market?

Stephan: This slogan, which we launched last year, came during a bear or sideways market. BitMEX is a place where people come together; it is a highly competitive space. If you look at past news, if you are still searching for the history of cryptocurrencies (for example, on Twitter), you will find that it is a fierce competition. This is at the core of the work we do now.

At the same time, security, assurance, transparency, abundant liquidity, and professional traders are also our core values. This is not something that happens overnight; it is the core value we have always upheld—risk-taking and profit generation. So, if you start doing derivatives trading, you need to do it professionally. It’s like learning martial arts—like boxing, Muay Thai, etc. It is always about risk-taking and cultivating actual ability. The same goes for trading; you need to take risks and generate profits. Therefore, from a mindset perspective, this is a perfect fit. You need to get into the pit. If you don’t "get in the pit," meaning you don’t trade, you cannot grow.

So, you need to work hard to improve and then generate profits. If you engage in legitimate martial arts activities, it is always transparent and competitive. It is not just about winning; it is not just about getting into a pit, fighting, and then wanting to win. You must win in a legitimate way; otherwise, your competitors will not accept you. We view trading the same way. Over time, this also highlights the importance of transparency—there need to be clear rules that allow everyone to compete under the same conditions, without hidden issues where certain people enjoy better trading conditions.

Basically, everyone is equal, which is also an aspect of transparency. Then there is celebrating the match; you win, you lose, you draw, but it is clear that it is not something in between. It’s not that you lost; it’s that you actually won. If you lose, you lose; if you win, you win; and then you keep trying. This is the fundamental reason we say "get in the pit," because for us, the feeling of "getting in the pit" is the same.

ChainCatcher: From an internal control perspective, how does BitMEX recruit new talent, and how does this process reflect BitMEX's values?

Stephan: It depends on where you are. If you are in sales, marketing, business development, etc., you will face a lot of competition. Often, you have to take risks. You are not creating profits internally; you are building your own brand internally. Therefore, competition is very fierce. You need to ensure you understand market dynamics. Therefore, we look for people with the right attitude who can continuously improve their abilities over time. Thus, we typically hire and recruit people with great potential, and then we hope to see them truly realize this, not just in terms of potential but also in terms of ability.

Potential is about what you can do; you can choose to do it, but you need to want to do it. Therefore, they need to be motivated. If both are present, they will grow within the organization. If you choose a technical position, if you choose a compliance position, if you choose a corporate center position, it is more about transparency. We strive to ensure that internally and our traders need to do this. If successful, we celebrate. If not, we speak up. We will face people internally and say, "Hey, this is not how we want to work." Frankly, this does not mean they will be eliminated the next day. We need to openly and transparently understand what practices work and what do not.

Even for me, they will come to me and say, "Stephan, what did you do there, or what did you say there, that was not right?" I would say, "Okay, I’m sorry, we will do better next time." This is true in sports, in competitive sports, in martial arts. In martial arts, you will see or feel that once something goes wrong, you will immediately feel pain because you will get hit. You can improve when you get hit. We just believe that we need these hits to become better people in the organization.

ChainCatcher: Currently, BitMEX's user base is primarily professional traders. How has the user demographic changed over the past ten years?

Stephan: It is evolving. We have always wanted to attract those who have a competitive mindset in trading and desire a professional trading experience. This does not mean you start doing this right away. It’s a bit like learning martial arts; when you first enter a gym, training hall, or dojo, you are not a real warrior; you are just starting out. But if you have a coach, the right atmosphere, and the necessary infrastructure, just like in martial arts, although it does not require much infrastructure, if you have everything you need, you will gradually develop into a warrior.

BitMEX is similar. We basically welcome everyone, but we will transparently inform them what this means. This means that if you "enter the trading pit," you are likely to get hurt a bit. But if you still want to stay, we are willing to help you.

We do provide educational resources; we publish a macro research report at least once a month, such as Arthur Hayes' "Crypto Traders Digest." And the BitMEX Alpha Weekly, through which we inform everyone about what should be the trade of the week. If you think there will be such performance next week, you should set your trading strategy accordingly. We teach people chart trading analysis and chart pattern knowledge. This is a way to help people become professional traders.

So we welcome anyone to come to BitMEX, as long as you have the mindset and motivation to become a more professional trader, we and the community will provide you with help and support.

Going back to BitMEX's original positioning, it was an exchange born for individual traders ten years ago when there were no institutional-level cryptocurrency participants. But as we developed and transmitted the professional trading concept while introducing tools and transparency from traditional finance, we also attracted more and more institutional investors.

Today we see that at peak times, individual traders account for 20%, and institutional traders account for 80%. Now, the proportion of individual traders has slightly increased because they are entering the market and want to trade.

In summary, we have been working hard to maintain BitMEX's professional trading characteristics. As a centralized exchange, we are also committed to decentralization, spreading the concept of cryptocurrency as much as possible, allowing traders to take responsibility and control their financial performance. We do not give orders to traders but help them understand why to do so, thus becoming better traders. At the same time, we have always adhered to the core values of security and transparency.

Additionally, our MPC system is unparalleled. We have a strict internal security framework, proof of reserves, proof of liabilities. We have our own legal and compliance framework. This often raises a question—why do we do this? Frankly, we would do this regardless of regulatory requirements. Why? Because I want to ensure that on this platform, traders can act with integrity. This is a prerequisite for having a healthy market.

Finally, the customized interface, trading bots, margin plus collateral support programs, and insurance fund we provide for professional traders enable even small individual traders to trade with large institutions. In traditional finance, you cannot do this because you would be overwhelmed.

I come from traditional finance. If you want to trade derivatives at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange or even the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, you cannot do it because I cannot compete with institutions; I cannot speed up. In the cryptocurrency space, especially at BitMEX, we ensure that there is at least a fair competitive environment so that you are not constantly harmed. Let’s say this is a level playing field. Of course, large companies have more capital, and they can absorb more losses, but in terms of trading methods, information access, execution speed, etc., this is a fair competitive environment.

How to Achieve Ten Years Without a Hack?

ChainCatcher: BitMEX has never experienced a hack or theft incident, which is indeed an impressive achievement. How do you prevent hacking risks and ensure user access security, especially in the early days?

Stephan: We actually faced quite a bit of risk; it’s not that no one has ever tried to do this—there have been attempts. But what we excel at is managing these risks and ensuring we anticipate them, which is also built on the founding spirit. In the early days, our founders did not actually want to become one of the largest cryptocurrency derivatives exchanges.

When they founded BitMEX, after experiencing the Mt. Gox incident, where customer assets were misappropriated and then security issues arose, everything was magnified. Our founders wanted to avoid this situation from happening again. They wanted to create a platform where they could say, "If I were a customer, I should believe that, at least to a greater extent, this potential situation will not happen." That is how they built the platform. Although we have improved technology and completely reformed everything, this concept still deeply influences how we operate.

But what does this mean? First, it means creating a secure wallet system. From the beginning, we used multi-signature wallets, a proprietary multi-signature wallet, not just MPC (multi-party computation) but multi-signature. We always have two or more signatures. This can be operationally cumbersome because you need to ensure that every party is coordinated. However, when you use multiple signatures (especially more than two), your security increases exponentially, but this is difficult because you need to complete not just one technical hack to penetrate us but need to penetrate globally. This is what we take pride in, and it still is. This means that most of the funds associated with BitMEX are in cold storage. We only keep a very small portion of assets in hot wallets for real-time or near-real-time withdrawals and deposits. As for the rest, they are now in cold storage and cannot be accessed. We have no single-point risk. We eliminate reliance on specific groups, protecting operators while reducing the risk of hacking.

The second point to note is platform security. We do not reuse customer funds. All funds on the platform are 100% secured. They are not used to lend to other customers. Unless users themselves incur trading losses, these Bitcoins will remain 100% stored in BitMEX's cold storage, completely out of use. Our platform also has an auditing mechanism to ensure that the cryptocurrencies on BitMEX remain constant. Otherwise, the platform will stop operating. This is hard-coded. This is what the founders wanted to ensure. This is completely different from how all other exchanges operate globally.

Of course, this comes at a cost. This means that if you deposit your tokens, they must be publicly stored here; if you deposit your tokens, you also cannot earn additional interest because we store them, which we call "100% reserves" in the traditional banking world. We can pay all customer funds at any time. Operationally, this is not possible because you need to go through some blocks, and you need signatures. But technically, we can do this every minute.

ChainCatcher: Does adopting such a complex approach to ensure security affect BitMEX's early development, such as user growth?

Stephan: The operation of wallets and the auditing mechanism are things users do not feel or see. We pay attention to this and treat it as a security method to provide security assurance to users. But this does not affect the trading experience. We can make near-real-time withdrawals and deposits. Everything is there. The user experience in the early days was different from now, just like any other platform. That is what we aim to do. Of course, you pointed out a point. The issue is that we want to ensure the integrity of the platform because we host legitimate traders and want to ensure that this is a true peer-to-peer platform. Therefore, we do not like to take shortcuts, and this risk has been highlighted by the downturns in markets like Terra Luna or FTX. This is when you can see if you are doing well; you can compensate in two ways. Either you are doing well, and you are still safe, or you need to compensate with your own funds. This is impossible for us because of how we are designed. Some of our competitors have enough of their own funds, so they compensated from their own troubles, which is fine. We just need to maintain transparency on who does what.

This does come at a cost, especially in the speed of launching new ideas. We tend to think, experiment, and test multiple times before implementing a plan; sometimes we find ourselves deviating from certain directions, and then we need to redo it because we want to maintain a robust structure. We call this risk management. Security, reliability, transparency, and neutrality. If we provide a product or service, it needs to pass through this system, and we will only implement it when it can be done this way. That is the first rule.

Therefore, the time it takes us to launch products is usually longer than some competitors. Not all competitors, but some. But from our perspective, you will definitely get something—just not showing up in a bull market. No one recognizes this. But so far, we have gone through three and a half cryptocurrency winters, and we hope to be here for the next winter as well.

Secondly, there are certain elements of user experience, and in terms of user experience, we perform relatively better than some competitors. Because we are very transparent, we want to ensure everyone knows what is happening. In some aspects, we are still ahead, such as charts, trading, notification data, etc., most importantly, how to calculate margin, which we call account health. For some traders, this may seem a bit more complex than those exchanges that are truly retail-focused because they would say, "We just don’t share data; we take the risk. No one needs to know." We say no, you need to know because we are just serving you.

For us, BitMEX is not a functional exchange like a daily necessity. Instead, we are more like a racing car. A racing car is not suitable for driving in the city; using it requires a certain level of expertise. Similarly, BitMEX is not an ordinary cryptocurrency exchange. Sometimes people confuse BitMEX with other exchanges, wondering why BitMEX's functions and experiences are not like other exchanges. This is because we are not entirely the same. Yes, you can do similar things with a car, like commuting. But a racing car is better suited for special scenarios, like racing.

BitMEX is the same; we focus on providing a special trading environment and tools for professional traders. We are not an ordinary, mass-market cryptocurrency trading platform.

This is BitMEX's positioning. We are a "racing car" product designed for users with professional trading knowledge and needs, not a "commuter car." This is where we differ from other exchanges.

ChainCatcher: Over the past decade, the cryptocurrency industry has faced several crises, including the Mt. Gox incident and the collapses of FTX and Terra Luna. So, how did BitMEX remain profitable during the cryptocurrency winter, especially in 2022?

Stephan: First, we have enough buffer funds, so we do not enter unprofitable areas. We make money from trading fees, not from market-making trades. Most participants, especially smaller exchanges, have been hit because they have side businesses like payments, market-making, or proprietary trading in addition to their exchange business. These additional businesses have been severely impacted. Businesses that provide real trading only need to make some adjustments, hedge, and take the right positions—this has also been greatly affected, but it is relatively stable.

The second point (which we have also discussed) is that for me, it is always about doing what we are good at and not taking shortcuts. This is our belief. The previous cryptocurrency winters were tough for our company and others. But I am proud of our team because we made it through, especially the cryptocurrency winter of 2023, during which we made major adjustments to our internal infrastructure.

Our system is completely different from what it was in 2021 or 2022; it went live at the end of last year and the beginning of this year, just in time. Although few people noticed this, it is precisely the greatest praise because we completed this work quietly, like changing an engine while driving, without anyone noticing. I am very proud of the team's performance.

ChainCatcher: Why not engage in those side businesses, especially market-making? Is it due to legal considerations?

Stephan: Not at all. Some people criticize this, but it is a side effect of our clear focus and values as a company. We know what we are doing. We want to provide this kind of service. We want to be the only place you want to conduct professional trading. We know that those who do not value this will not come to us in a bull market. We know this, but we believe this is our positioning.

Just like I love Latin and standard dance, I might try some popular dance styles, like so-called "American lyrical." But I would never practice street dance.

If I only focus on "what is coolest in the market" or "where can I make quick money," I might lean towards doing those. The result is becoming a mediocre street dancer, constantly adding new skills but never truly mastering one. Therefore, we would rather sacrifice sometimes not being the most profitable in the market to do our job well, but we want to develop here for the long term. That’s basically it. This is a clear decision from the board and management.

Ultimately, the market will vote for us. We provide strong services and rely on that. There are enough people saying, "We understand; we value this." Therefore, we use your platform instead of others. It is not dogmatic; we just believe our positioning is the best positioning, while other platforms are better at doing big things, occasionally changing, and quickly adapting to new trends.

ChainCatcher: The founders of BitMEX faced legal lawsuits in 2021. How did these events impact BitMEX in the following years?

Stephan: First, it again emphasizes our clear focus—only in this way can they face these legal challenges with their heads held high and integrity. Due to this pressure, many of our businesses accelerated. Before the legal lawsuit in 2021, we had already started customer verification work. In 2020, we implemented a best-in-class user verification program, which was verified twice by independent auditors regarding our definitions of Americans or entities. We continue to strengthen our existing KYC systems and controls. Now, we have a complex anti-money laundering and compliance program that has been independently audited according to the anti-money laundering systems of other major financial centers and complex jurisdictions. Not to mention we also have top-notch security and compliance systems. Since 2014, not a single coin has been lost, marking us as the exchange with the longest time without customer fund losses. Overall, the pace of our company’s development has accelerated.

On the other hand, we have also been slightly slowed down. We need to be honest here. Of course, we have been slightly slowed down on the road to serving customers. However, we are now back to full speed.

ChainCatcher: What was the biggest crisis you encountered during your four-year career at BitMEX?

Stephan: When I joined BitMEX, it was at the peak of a bull market. But it quickly turned into a bear market, and I needed to adapt to this change and push forward. I wouldn’t call it a crisis, but rather a challenge because the entire market faced the same challenges. Ensuring the company stays united is not as easy as some might imagine. Because in hindsight, some things seem obvious, but from a forward-looking perspective, you do not know what will happen in the future. This uncertainty is very challenging but also very rewarding.

I came from the traditional finance industry, where there are usually 5-7 year cycles. But in the cryptocurrency space, the cycles are about 6 months. Although overall, bull and bear markets can last 3-4 years, there are actually smaller cycles within that need to respond to new regulatory dynamics, product innovations, etc. So in the cryptocurrency space, a 6-month cycle is very different from a 5-year cycle. This fast-paced environment is exciting, but if you do not adapt to this environment, the cryptocurrency industry may not be suitable for you.

Making a More Decentralized CEX

ChainCatcher: As centralized exchanges face increasing regulatory challenges, do you think the market share of decentralized exchanges will continue to grow in the future and be more competitive compared to centralized exchanges? How do you view the changing competitive landscape among crypto exchanges?

Stephan: For us personally and BitMEX, we hope to adopt a more decentralized exchange model because that is our origin. This is also what we hope to see on a personal level. At the same time, there is a reason BitMEX became a centralized exchange. Decentralized exchanges are always more competitive. For example, if you want to trade perpetual contracts, understand their mechanisms, and are a good trader who can handle everything yourself, then a decentralized exchange might be more suitable for you because you can get slightly better spreads, prices, and fees.

But if you need more services and want the service provider to adapt quickly, have customer support, etc. If you have a technical issue, you want a quick answer, then you might ultimately choose a centralized exchange with good governance that allows users to participate in decision-making. This is not a purely old-fashioned centralized monopoly model, nor is it a decentralized exchange.

The reform of truly decentralized exchanges is hard to implement because they need a majority vote. So, you either act like a political party or like a cooperative. This means that everyone needs to know what they are doing. If they do not know, that is the reason most DAOs fail.

What we see in decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) is actually a clear application case of cryptocurrencies, and I am passionate about them; however, they fail because they set themselves up incorrectly from the start, and then they also fail in automation because automation is rigid and cannot break out of this framework; it is a technical realization that either works or fails, with no middle ground. While DEXs have become more modular, doing just one thing, so they do not mess things up, they also cannot adapt flexibly. In contrast, centralized exchanges have the adaptability to provide customer support. Therefore, whether to choose a DEX or a centralized exchange mainly depends on what you need. But we still hope DEXs can thrive because that is the original idea of cryptocurrency.

We choose centralization because we solve problems in a decentralized world, not to concentrate power at a single point. Another viewpoint is that some people say DEXs can resist regulation; I do not believe that. It’s just that their regulation will come a little later because it is a new species. If you look at the situation of traditional centralized cryptocurrency exchanges, they also took years to truly experience regulatory pressure, which then had a significant impact on the industry. Now the situation is gradually improving, and decentralized exchanges will face similar challenges. I do not believe the assumption that DEXs do not need to do customer identity verification; this is wrong. Although it will come later, it will eventually arrive.

I like the idea of DEXs, which is also why I am involved in crypto, because I believe we should distribute power and economic benefits more broadly. We are now standing at the boundary between centralized exchanges and decentralized exchanges, which is precisely where we feel comfortable. Therefore, I believe we have enough room for growth, which is often the ultimate answer to the problem. We have enough space to continue growing. Of course, I also see that over time, the growth rate of decentralized exchanges may surpass that of centralized exchanges.

ChainCatcher: What is BitMEX's current focus?

Stephan: First, it is to consolidate our core competencies—continuously focusing on security, resilience, and reliability. These make us a trusted partner and exchange. We have survived three cryptocurrency winters and hope to endure more.

We will focus on rigorously tested infrastructure. Yes, this may make us slightly slower in launching new features, but we believe this will pay off in the future. As we approach the next bull market, we also know the next bear market will inevitably come, possibly faster. We will work to expand our user base and provide better value for traders. For example, multi-asset margin trading, which will launch next week, will make trading simpler and easier.

The top priority is to improve capital efficiency and ease of use. We will continue to expand trading bot features, allowing individual traders to automate trading strategies, extend trading hours, and thus gain more profits. We will also take measures to improve the liquidity of altcoin contracts. While we excel in Bitcoin trading contracts, the newly launched altcoin contracts still need to strengthen liquidity. This is an issue we are working to resolve, and we expect to see results by the end of January.

In summary, our short-term goal is to refine existing services so that individual traders can maintain competitiveness with institutional investors. These are our current focuses.

ChainCatcher: BitMEX currently focuses on Asian investors. Are there plans to enter the US market in the future?

Stephan: Our main user base is in Southeast Asia, which is also our focus. We also have a strong user base in the European time zone. But our core market is here. Given the US elections and possible sentiment changes, we are watching this situation with a positive attitude but also remain cautious. Because there are currently no substantial changes. Everything is just news; no policies have been implemented or changes have occurred yet, and we still need to observe. If the timing is right, we will reassess our positioning.

For now, we do not accept US customers registering on the platform for obvious reasons, as the regulatory systems in different countries are too varied. We want to do what we should do and follow the right way. We do not want to take shortcuts or cut corners. Therefore, I must say diplomatically that we are watching the situation and maintaining a positive attitude, but no decisions have been made yet.