Crypto exchange Bitget has experienced significant growth despite the challenges brought by the bear market. In 2023, the exchange announced two $100-million funds — one dedicated to crypto projects in Asia and another for maximizing the company’s long-term impact in the crypto space.
During the Bitget EmpowerX Summit in Singapore, Cointelegraph’s Zhiyuan Sun spoke with Gracy Chen, managing director of Bitget. The two discussed Bitget’s growth amid the bear market, expansion plans in Hong Kong and the United States, and the importance of implementing Know Your Customer (KYC) protocols for exchanges.
According to Chen, the company has grown 10 times its original size in just two years. “For our company’s employees, we had about 150 two years ago, and right now, 1,500,” Chen said. The executive highlighted that this growth is a result of their efforts and their focus on delivering results. Chen explained:
“We think it’s like running a marathon. So, what we’ve been doing, and if you look at our team, it’s a very operating result-driven team.”
Chen also attributed their growth to branding and product launches, as well as their partnership with soccer superstar Lionel Messi. “In terms of the secret sauce, I guess it’s because of these things that we are doing — we are growing,” she added. The growth has also allowed them to be financially healthy and engage in more activities, according to Chen.
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Regarding the absence of Bitget in the United States and Hong Kong markets, Chen noted that regulatory uncertainty in the U.S. has prevented them from entering the market. She said:
“We want to wait and see how it develops and then make a decision on whether we want to serve the U.S. customers or not. This is something that has always been developing, but I don’t see us serving the U.S. market in the short term.”
As for Hong Kong, Chen mentioned that they are currently in talks with the government and undergoing the process of applying for a license in the region.
Chen also discussed the implementation of mandatory KYC requirements for all Bitget users starting from September 1. While some users had complaints about the new requirement, Chen believes that KYC is necessary to filter out “illegitimate” users. She said:
“I’m pretty sure if the user is a financially healthy user, such as, like, if they’re not doing something illegitimate, such as money laundering, they should be pretty comfortable with the KYC process.”
The executive believes that mandatory KYC will become a trend among larger crypto exchanges in the future.
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