Exclusive interview with Bitget's new COO Vugar Usi Zade: Bitget's 2024 and globalization, without boundaries
Written by Frank, Foresight News
Graduated from Harvard, Master of Oxford, held senior positions in Facebook, Danone, Carlsberg, Sony, BeInCrypto and other well-known companies in 15 years, and collided with Web3 7 years ago, and finally took up his new position at the beginning of 2024exchangeBitget, the "elephant in the room" of the track, is responsible for global business growth and strategic expansion.
This is undoubtedly a pretty perfect resume, and it is also the career development history of Bitget's new COO Vugar Usi Zade so far - on January 11, 2024, Bitget appointed Vugar Usi Zade as Chief Operating Officer (COO).
In today's crypto industry, it is not uncommon for veterans in traditional industries to enter Web3, but there are not many people like Vugar Usi Zade who have rich experience in finance, Internet giants, and even Fortune 500 companies in traditional industries. In his opinion, this is also the secret to his and Bitget's two-way journey:
"My experience in multinational markets enables me to help Bitget deepen its international strategy, such as adjusting strategies for different cultures and regulatory environments, formulating and implementing effective global and regional strategies that comply with local market regulations, and ensuring Bitget's internationalization journey is smoother."
Wang Xing, who advocates the boundaryless theory, once said, "Too many people focus on the boundary, not the core." After frequently leading the hot spots last year with the slogan "All martial arts are invincible, only speed is invincible", Bitget has becomeexchangeThe track is the "elephant in the room", the core of trading services is moving to the front row, soNow that 2024 has begun, the advancement of the globalization strategy naturally requires experienced people to take the helm.
Perhaps as Vugar Usi Zade said, "(Web3) users are looking for their own "edge" in different ways." After he takes office, how will Bitget clarify its own boundaries in 2024?
Foresight News also had the honor of conducting an exclusive interview with Vugar Usi Zade in January 2024, and has compiled the transcript of the interview here for our readers.
1. Joining the Web3 market from Fortune 500 companies
Foresight News: I see that your resume covers a wide range, including Fortune 500 companies, leading Internet companies, and traditional financial giants. Could you give us a detailed timeline of your career before you got involved in the crypto industry?
Vugar Usi Zade:I firmly believe in the importance of academic and educational backgrounds, as they have helped me a lot, including motivating me to constantly pursue self-discipline and progress.
I was lucky enough to get a full-time job before I even graduated - working as the head of marketing for Carlsberg Group, one of the world's largest breweries, before I was 20.
Later, I worked at the global Internet giant Facebook to build and expand new market businesses, driving Facebook's expansion to 45 countries and effectively developing the market through the Facebook ASP program. It was during this stage that I realized the importance of an effective expansion strategy for a business and honed my work skills.
As I also served as CMO at Sony’s unicorn startup, the company closed a massive $2.7 billion funding round led by CVC Capital, which was one of the highlights of my career and paved the way for diverse startup and venture capital ecosystem opportunities.
I then joined Bain, a venture capital firm, and came into contact with the Web3 industry in 2017. I realized that Web3 has the potential to reshape the future of mankind. This was the beginning of my entry into the Web3 world.
Foresight News: Do you think your experiences in these companies have helped you gain anything in terms of personal development? And have they had any impact on your operating philosophy?
Vugar Usi Zade:I feel that my experience in the financial industry has greatly influenced my personal growth and my operating philosophy in three key areas:
First, after learning from my experience as a senior consultant at Bain & Company, I strengthened my focus on key results and operational efficiency and improved related skills: including participating in a variety of cases ranging from venture capital to private equity, traditional financial institutions and Web3 funds, which also allowed me to learn a lot and apply it to various challenging situations.
Secondly, I participated in the success of the VC fieldBlockchainProjects and Beincrypto(operating in 65 markets, 16 languages, the world's largestcryptocurrencyThe CMO of one of the media platforms) not only deepened my confidence in the crypto industry, but also gave me a globalcryptocurrencyThe development pattern has been fully understood.
In addition, during my postgraduate studies at Oxford University, I conducted research on expansion strategies and building business operational efficiency, which allowed me to learn and understand the management of global expansion strategies. I hope to apply this knowledge to promote and accelerate Bitget's global development.
Foresight News: How did you get involved in the crypto industry? How did you get involved with Bitget? What prompted you to decide to join Bitget?
Vugar Usi Zade:I first position myself as a loyal user of Bitget, because the product charm and functions of Bitget have a special place in my heart, which also makes the Bitget brand particularly meaningful to me.
此前我在哈佛大学期间加深了对 Bitget 的了解，并与 Bitget 董事总经理 Gracy 多次会面，而后通过定期参加加密货币相关活动，我们共同探索潜在合作机会的兴趣越来越浓厚，所以我真的很高兴有机会加入 Bitget，并感谢 Bitget 领导层对我的信任。
Overall, the main factor that prompted me to join Bitget is itsSafetyIn addition, Bitget’s ambitious growth trajectory is a perfect fit with my personal development goals.
Foresight News: What do you think is the biggest difference between the crypto industry and the traditional industry? What role does joining Bitget play in your career?
Vugar Usi Zade:In traditional finance, the main focus is on creating profits and accumulating wealth for stakeholders.BlockchainThe technology and cryptocurrency industries hope to disrupt the existing order by advocating equal opportunity.
According to the World Bank, 74% of men in developing countries have access to the financial sector through traditional banking channels, while only 68% of women have the same privilege. Even more shocking is that 1.4 billion people in the world still do not have bank accounts.
The cryptocurrency industry has the potential to address this gap and empower billions of people to become active participants in the financial ecosystem. Cryptocurrencies can provide individuals with a way to send and receive payments through a seamless trading platform, ultimately leading to greater financial freedom.
So in Xiaobai NavigationAt Bitget, we see ourselves as a contributor to this transformation process, with a mission to enable millions of people to access financial tools without unnecessary barriers or burdens, facilitating their path towards a more free and sustainable financial future.
Foresight News: In your work at Bitget, what do you think is the biggest commonality between the tone of the Bitget team and your colleagues?
Vugar Usi Zade:Since joining Bitget, I’ve felt like I’ve been immersed in a culture that’s relentlessly pursuing success, as Bitget itself has been learning from the resilience and efficiency of elite athletes—like partnering with Messi, widely recognized as the “Greatest Player of All Time (GOAT)”.
While many companies claim to cultivate a close-knit family atmosphere to boost team morale, Bitget stands out. As soon as you step into Bitget, you will find that the collision of everyone's diverse values forms a unique picture.
Overall, Bitget’s cultural ethos revolves around a relentless winning mentality, which aligns with the synergy seen in top sports teams – our shared goal is not just to participate, but to achieve victory itself.
Of course, the road to success is not easy. It requires discipline, strong dedication and keen focus. As the new COO, I am committed to ensuring that our team is closely aligned with Bitget's overall vision and to consolidating Bitget's organizational structure to ensure that it is a strong operating structure ready to conquer our ambitious goals.
At Bitget, each of us understands that success is not just a destination, but a journey filled with resilience and purpose.
Foresight News: Are there any events or colleagues that left a deep impression on you during your work at Bitget?
Vugar Usi Zade:As I mentioned, Gracy’s career path has been very inspiring to me, and after listening to her speak many times, I understand that she has a wealth of knowledge and experience in the crypto industry.
She consistently highlights unexpected yet important developments in the crypto space, and her business understanding and ability to analyze the situation and foresee future trends make her stand out as an outstanding leader.
For example, when I communicated with her, I learned that at the end of 2022, when the entire crypto market was in a state of panic over the FTX incident, she and her team urgently discussed and took the lead in launching theexchangeProof of reserves, and increasing the Bitget User Protection Fund from $200 million to $300 million, this alone shows Bitget and her leadership and decisiveness.
2. 2023 and globalization in the eyes of Vugar Usi Zade
Foresight News: Bitget has grown rapidly in size and has become one of the top players in 2023. As the new COO, how do you view Bitget's positioning in the new competitive environment? For example, how to make efforts in compliance, products (copy trading, etc.), or avoid homogeneous competition?
Vugar Usi Zade:Bitget will focus on three key areas: compliance, emerging markets and Web3.
The first is compliance. Especially after the FTX incident, compliance has become increasingly important. Bitget has participated in a series of compliance-related initiatives, such as obtaining VASP licenses in Poland and Lithuania, which will be the key to our future development.
Secondly, Bitget will focus more on emerging markets such as Latin America and Southeast Asia, which is an important part of the globalization strategy.
Finally, Bitget will continue to vigorously develop Web3 business, especially investing in Bitget Wallet, while actively supporting innovative DEX and L2 Public chain and other projects, steadily advancing our development plans.
Foresight News: Currently, mainstream exchanges are launching their ownwalletService, Bitget also has its own Web3 wallet, what kind of efforts and construction do you think exchanges need to make in promoting the large-scale adoption of Web3? What are Bitget’s thoughts and actions on this?
Vugar Usi Zade:Bitget in decentralized applications (DApps) has taken a big step forward in the integration of various DApps is integrated into its Web3 wallet, providing users with seamless interaction with decentralized finance (DeFi), games, transactions and other services.
This move not only improves the user experience, but also attracts a wider user group by meeting different interests and needs.
In additionSafetyEnhanced Dimension, Bitget is also likeBinanceThe same multi-partySafetyAdvanced computing (MPC) technologySafety功能，以增强 Web3 钱包的安全性，尤其是该技术分散了私钥管理的责任，降低了传统助记词的风险。
而在服务扩展方面，Bitget 钱包已扩展其服务范围，包括 Swap、NFT 市场和 DApps，同时还将继续与行业优秀项目合作，以及和去中心化交易聚合器结合，以为用户提供更全面和高效的交易体验。
Foresight News: Regarding the current status of Bitget’s business development, is there any information you can share in terms of data dimensions (number of active users, transaction volume, product matrix layout, etc.)?
Vugar Usi Zade:Of course. First of all, in terms of transaction and user data, Bitget's overall transaction volume last year was 3.14 trillion US dollars, of which spot transaction volume increased to 81.6 billion US dollars, an increase of 94% over last year; the overall number of users also increased from 8 million last year to 20 million, and the team size grew from 1,100 last year to 1,500.
In terms of product and business development, Bitget has also been actively exploring high-quality assets in the past year and has adopted a flexible and aggressive coin listing strategy. For example, in 2023, Bitget has launched a total of 355 projects, an increase of 46%, including 5 Launchpad projects and 45 Launchpool projects.
Our key product, copy trading, added 52,000 traders in 2023, with a total of 26.9 million profitable copy trades. So far, the cumulative profits generated by users through copy trading have exceeded US$450 million, of which traders’ profit share has reached US$23 million. AI Technology creates innovative trading strategies, empowers trading and users, including AI Grid trading, CTA and other trading strategies.
In terms of strategic layout, Bitget has completed a number of important strategic investments in the past year, including a $30 million investment in BitKeep, the establishment of the EmpowerX Fund and the Web3 Fund and an investment of $100 million each.
At the same time, Bitget also launched the Blockchain4Youth charity project and plans to invest 10 million US dollars in the next five years to support the development of Web3 by the younger generation.
Foresight News: In terms of globalization, what achievements has Bitget made in 2023? Which countries/regions will it focus on? Why?
Vugar Usi Zade: Bitget's business footprint has now spread to 100 countries and regions. In 2023, it will continue to deepen its globalization strategy. In addition to the above-mentioned business development, it is also focusing on many aspects, such as comprehensive brand upgrades and holding a series of activities for Bitget's fifth anniversary. In addition, Bitget has also completed VASP registration (virtual asset service provider) in Poland and Lithuania, actively expanding into the Western market.
3. Bitget's 2024 and globalization, without boundaries
Foresight News: Can you give us an outlook or prediction on the development and landscape of exchanges in 2024? (For example, in terms of exchange share, or what impact the spot Bitcoin ETF may have on existing CEXs, etc.)
Vugar Usi Zade:My predictions mainly include 3 points.
First, the passage of a spot Bitcoin ETF may attract more traditional investors into the cryptocurrency market, which may lead to an increase in trading volume on centralized exchanges (CEXs) as more institutional and individual investors purchase and trade ETFs through these platforms. This increase may drive the expansion of the exchange's user base and increase the number of active users on the platform.
Secondly, the adoption of spot Bitcoin ETFs provides a more traditional way of investing, making it easier for traditional investors to participate in the Bitcoin market in a way they are familiar with. This diversified investment product may attract more different types of investors to enter the market. For exchanges,The buyers of spot Bitcoin ETFs are not completely consistent with the profile of exchange users, so it is unlikely that exchanges will lose users due to the launch of ETFs..
Finally, the passage of spot Bitcoin ETFs may change the competitive landscape of cryptocurrency exchanges, including attracting more traditional financial institutions to enter the cryptocurrency field and promoting competition between traditional finance and cryptocurrency exchanges. In particular, more financial institutions can deepen their understanding of cryptocurrencies by investing in Bitcoin ETFs, and in future businesses, cryptocurrency exchanges led by traditional financial institutions are likely to be launched, bringing greater competitors to existing platforms.
Foresight News: What do you think of the current Web3 development atmosphere in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and emerging market countries? Which regions does Bitget think more about in the future?
Vugar Usi Zade:With the development and popularity of cryptocurrency, we see huge potential and growth opportunities in emerging market countries such as Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa. Therefore, Bitget is strengthening its layout in these emerging markets and investing more resources to promote development.
The development of Web3 in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and emerging market regions shows different focuses and characteristics, so it is difficult to say which one has a better atmosphere and development.
In North America, the development of DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network) has attracted much attention.Blockchaintechnology andTokenRewards are used to motivate individuals and businesses to build infrastructure in the physical world (such as WiFi, hard disk storage, batteries, etc.) in a decentralized manner to provide services to anyone. The combination of DePIN and AI technology is also considered a "powerful combination" in 2024, which can achieve more efficient resource sharing and utilization, while promoting the further development of Web3 technology.
The popularity of Helium Mobile and the launch of Hivemapper (HONEY) by Coinbase have also stimulated traders' enthusiasm for gold digging in this field, indirectly boosting the efforts of developers and innovators in this field.
In Europe, countries generally have relatively strict regulation on cryptocurrencies. Although they continue to strengthen the supervision of AML/CFT, they also provide a relatively stable and transparent regulatory environment. In addition, Europe is also working hard to encourage the development and innovation of the digital asset market and promote the development of the digital economy, while also working hard to ensure the interests and safety of investors and consumers.
The Asia-Pacific region has made great contributions to the development of the Bitcoin ecosystem. Bitcoin asset issuance protocols such as Ordinals and Atomicals have made "asset issuance on the Bitcoin chain" possible, injecting new vitality into the ancient Bitcoin chain.CommunityThe enthusiasm for Inscription Summer can be seen from the performance of ORDI's price and trading volume.
In emerging markets, using cryptocurrencies such as BTC and USDT to hedge against the risk of severe local inflation and falling fiat currencies, 3A games will open up a new narrative of GameFi Summer, and various newTokenThe evolution of economic models and the fierce competition among major Layer2 public chains... Users in different regions are finding their own “edge” in different ways.
Foresight News: Compared with 2023, what new changes or key directions will Bitget's operations have in 2024? Are there any plans for the next stage that you can disclose?
Vugar Usi Zade:Of course, my experience in multinational markets enables me to help Bitget deepen its international strategy, such as adjusting strategies for different cultures and regulatory environments, formulating and implementing effective global and regional strategies that comply with local market regulations, and ensuring that Bitget's internationalization journey is smoother.
I will also further optimize Bitget's marketing and promotion work, and when the market environment improves, launch more comprehensive and diversified marketing strategies to expand its influence and visibility.
My strategic focus is to lead Bitget's expansion in Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, and other regions, while strengthening our position in Southeast Asia and Europe. I believe my diverse skills and rich experience make me the ideal person to lead Bitget into its next phase of growth.
The article comes from the Internet:Exclusive interview with Bitget's new COO Vugar Usi Zade: Bitget's 2024 and globalization, without boundaries
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