“We are counting down for Bitcoin halving 2020. But this time, the halving seems much more special compared to the previous two with the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermaths. Bitcoin is facing its first real challenge as well as opportunity. The confidence the halving brings is more important than its actual market performance.
The COVID-19 pandemic might accelerate the downmarket, but it will also cause a quick reverse in the economy. From that perspective, the halving together with the pandemic will possibly have a positive influence on the crypto space. My prediction is that Bitcoin price will skyrocket to $100,000 by 2021.”
That’s how Ruixi Wang views Bitcoin’s halving under the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. What insights and cognitions does the 30-year-old entrepreneur have in the crypto and blockchain sphere? Why did he predict boldly that the price of Bitcoin would reach up to $100,000?
Blocklike had a conversation with Ruixi Wang, founder of Hoo.com, who shared his opinions on the blockchain industry and the ‘evolutionary history’ of Hoo.com.
The 30-Year-Old ‘Veteran’
“Not being content with the status quo and always staying curious with new things were the two incentives that got me involved in blockchain. I have a technical background, so I’ve always been keen on technology and its progress, trends and development. I got to know cryptocurrency by chance years ago, and I was deeply attracted by its novel concept right away.
But I was in the wave of big data start-ups at the same time. I was a big fan of that too. So I got myself into a dilemma – which one should I pick? But after a few struggles, I turned to crypto in the end,” Ruixi Wang recalled how he ended up in crypto.
Although he stepped into the space in its infancy, Wang’s blockchain career was not always smooth.
Starting his blockchain trip by building a Bitcoin information navigator, Wang then worked for the mining team of a young talent Kaomao. He took over his mining machines and built his own company when Kaomao suddenly vanished. He also bought out PoW8.com, a cloud computing platform, and established an ICO investment platform before founding Hoo.com. The rapid changes forced Wang to challenge and to break himself. Now Wang has become a true ‘veteran’ with his 8 years’ experience in the industry .
Looking back on the past, he summed up his experience with ‘diving into blockchain with great ambition’. He said that inherent curiosity drove him forward, during which he had to face more challenges but also gained more opportunities than his fellow peers. At the same time, it was precisely his persistence and full confidence in the future of crypto that enabled him to adjust his positioning and quickly adapt a firm foothold in the rapidly changing industry.
Talking about his feeling towards 8 years in the sphere, Wang said: “What impressed me most were the volatile ups and downs of this industry. I withdrew from a stable job and quickly plunged into a new space. I’ve seen so many new faces pouring into the industry with so many old players leaving at the same time. Only those in my shoes would comprehend.”
The ‘get rich quick’ myth is fading away, which leaves a bunch of outstanding companies and talents in the blockchain space. For that, Wang believes that perseverance and confidence are vital. “For the better development of the industry, we need companies and people with confidence in themselves but who are always willing to correct themselves at the same time.”
“And it turns out true. Huobi, OKex and Binance merged immediately after BTCC, the first Chinese Bitcoin exchange, collapsed. These top exchanges made the industry bigger and better. On the other hand, crypto wallets like Bitpie have also made great contributions to the safe and sound development of the industry. I believe these people are persistent and confident in what they are doing and I also believe that they will have a bright long future,” explained Wang.
The Road to Hoo.com
When it comes to his latest start-up Hoo.com, Wang feels lucky he seized the opportunity to do the right thing.
In 2017, Wang ran into the ICO heat when he was seeking for a transformation from the mining industry. With a technical background, he chased the wave and invested in quite many projects and tasted blood until ICOs were completely banned on September 4.
He had to seek another way out. Wang found that there were still gaps to be bridged in the asset management and financial system. He believed asset management would be the object of long-term inflexible demand in the industry. Therefore, Hoo Wallet was born. And that’s the mission of Hoo – to solve the safety issue of asset management as a basic service.
Focusing on the mission, Hoo Wallet launched a co-management feature, Hoo Custody, Deposits and Lending services. In June 2019, Hoo.com was officially launched, along with two acquisitions, as a crypto exchange . It aims to be a one-stop blockchain assets service platform covering trading, savings, lending, asset custody and DEX, etc.
There are many more competitors in the exchange field than in wallets. How will Hoo stand out given the fact that Huobi, OKEx and Binance share almost all of the market? Wang explains that even though Hoo seemed to be a new player as an exchange, they have explored for two years in the savings and lending business as well as the node service for over 20 blockchains.
“The threshold for building an exchange is relatively low. There is too much propoganda and speculation. In fact, exchanges depend heavily on technology and marketing. It is hard to ‘graduate’ in the end. As for Hoo.com, we are well-equipped on the technical side. Apart from that, Hoo.com had a good start when it spent $10 million on the acquisition of Chaince and OAX and migrated their users directly,” added Wang.
Besides, Wang is of the opinion that the top exchanges are greatly affected by the pandemic and the March 12 Black Swan event. All the exchanges are back at the starting point to some degree. What they will compete for next would be ‘service’. It is true that the top players have taken much of the market, but from a perspective of the whole crypto financial market, there is still much space to explore, which means that there’s still a lot of room to grow for top exchanges and there are huge opportunities for tier 2 and tier 3 exchanges.
The Ambitious Hoo.com
In Wang’s opinion, there are often times when those who speak louder or make more noise seem to be more impressive. However, it’s a matter of fact that a start-up cannot live without good products and services.
Calling himself an entrepreneur, Wang always has something in store for the business he built. From savings, lending to spot trading and perpetual contracts, the ambitious Hoo never stopped being just a wallet.
He points out: “So far, users seem to be satisfied with our savings, lending and derivatives products. But we still have a long way to go. We are aware of our problems. Anyway, facing up to your shortcomings is the first step to moving forward.”
How does Hoo.com want to build its platform, and what kind of products and services will it provide?
Wang reveals to Blocklike that Hoo.com has two different goals in the medium and long term:
In the medium term, Hoo.com will focus on derivatives including futures, contracts and options. It will not be limited to the crypto space. They will build partnerships with well-known traditional financial organizations.
In the long term, the plan is to build a clearing system, which refers to the clearing between fiat and cryptocurrency. Hoo aims to bridge the gap between the traditional market and the crypto market.
The reason why Wang wants to build this clearing system is also based on his positive expectations for the blockchain industry.
He told Blocklike: “There is a lot of favorable news lately. The central bank accelerated its pace in DCEP adoption. BSN, the state level blockchain service network, is about to be commercialized. Ant Financial open chain was officially launched. Compared to the development of the Internet, blockchain technology welcomes a more competitive state involving companies, countries and the world for the next period, and it will prosper like the Internet.”
Media contact:
Daniel Zhang
danielzhang@hoo.com
https://www.hoo.com
