Five Stories Behind Bitget's Growth

Author: Bitget

Bitget was founded in 2018, and this year it has turned five. We have steadily navigated through the various storms of the crypto world. Reflecting on the past five years, there have been joys and sorrows, but we remain confident in the industry's development prospects. On this fifth anniversary, we hope to share five stories behind our growth, to look back, summarize experiences, and wish to provide some confidence to those still striving in this bear market, believing that our past diligent efforts will not be in vain, and together we await a new ray of dawn.

Entrepreneurship in a Bear Market: Perseverance and Choices

The founding team of Bitget mostly comes from the financial industry. In 2015, they began to engage in fund investments, focusing on the TMT sector, occasionally touching on blockchain startup projects. At that time, blockchain was seen as a "tulip bubble" in the eyes of the financial world. Fast forward to the summer of 2018, when Ethereum sparked a crypto craze, early members of Bitget began studying the Bitcoin white paper and the Ethereum ecosystem. These novel ideas left them in awe, and they started to believe that crypto assets would play an important role in the future world, allowing even the unbanked to benefit equally. Seeing the development prospects and huge opportunities in the cryptocurrency industry, our founding team used their own funds of several million dollars to embark on the entrepreneurial journey.

The beginning is always difficult, and our start can be described as hellish, as we encountered a bear market right from the start. We tried both spot and futures trading, exploring many niche directions, but none showed significant progress. At that time, the company team was small, with only a few dozen people. By the end of 2018, we were continuously exploring the development direction of futures trading. We realized that due to the small team size, we couldn't balance both spot and futures trading. After discussions among the founders, we decided to selectively abandon some businesses and focus our energy and resources on key operations. Therefore, in 2019, we first paused our spot trading business. The company continued to incur losses for a year, and our entrepreneurial funds were dwindling.

A turning point came in July 2019 when we researched market demand and discovered that users had a strong interest in perpetual contracts, leading us to officially launch such products. This innovative product, combined with the market conditions at the time, saw trading volume immediately surpass $100 million. That evening, despite team members being spread across various locations, everyone celebrated this breakthrough remotely. After more than a year of entrepreneurship, Bitget finally began to turn a profit. To thank employees for their perseverance, the company distributed bonuses and continuously improved products, business, market strategies, backend operations, and human resources.

Every time I hear veteran employees recount this experience, it makes me feel as if I too have gone through the challenges and struggles of the early entrepreneurial days. Perseverance is a pillar of belief, but knowing how to make choices is also one of the key factors for Bitget's survival. By concentrating our efforts on the futures business and focusing on user needs, we were able to ride the wave when the market began to rise in 2019. By 2021, we believed that our futures business had gradually stabilized, so we restarted our spot trading operations. The team worked quietly like a monk, steadfast in their beliefs.

Retreat and Refinement: Optimizing Copy Trading Products

If we compare Bitget's growth journey to a climb, then the success of perpetual contracts in 2019 can be seen as our first milestone, serving as a solid stepping stone that stabilized our footing. The subsequent launch of the copy trading feature acted like a climbing pole. Through continuous optimization and refinement, this feature gradually became our flagship product.

As one of the industry practitioners, Bitget has always been committed to the popularization of crypto knowledge. However, we also found that some newcomers needed more time to understand and learn about the crypto industry and how to trade. They could only learn through trial and error in repeated trades; some exchanged "losses" for "experience," while others left, branding the crypto industry as a scam.

Bitget hopes to change this situation. We believe that if experienced traders can share their market-tested trading strategies, and beginners can easily and quickly follow and imitate these strategies, utilizing tools originally designed for professional investors, it would create a win-win situation. Therefore, since the end of 2019, we began developing the copy trading feature and decided to promote this product vigorously to build a bridge between seasoned traders and beginners. In May 2020, this feature was officially launched. After going live, it immediately attracted hundreds of traders and received a warm welcome from users.

Although the initial attempts yielded good results, the first version of the copy trading feature still had many shortcomings that needed improvement. At that time, our startup team began to encounter a bottleneck after promoting the copy trading feature for a while, as the functionality was not as smooth as it is now; only users very interested in this feature would spend time researching it, while others found it too complicated and gave up. Some well-meaning users who helped us promote it also complained, "Your copy trading product is useful for investment, but not very user-friendly." The saying "simplicity is the ultimate sophistication" resonates with us; we believe that for a product to truly gain popularity, it needs to be grounded, simple, and user-friendly.

Thus, during a weekend at the end of 2020, our management team and product leaders held a "retreat" at a remote hotel to systematically study and summarize the copy trading feature. Over several days, we repeatedly discussed which functions to retain and ultimately decided to remove some less frequently used features from the copy trading product, making it more user-friendly and intuitive. Since then, we have continuously optimized and iterated on the copy trading feature, expanding it to include spot copy trading and launching supporting tools like the strategy square to provide users with a richer trading experience.

Empathizing with Messi's Growth Journey: Witnessing Peak Moments Together

In 2022, the World Cup became a global spectacle, with major crypto companies actively collaborating with football teams or stars to further promote the crypto industry and enhance brand awareness. At that time, Bitget's business had developed to a certain scale, and we were striving to build our brand, hoping to let more people understand the crypto industry and our mission and goals. Therefore, we decided to collaborate with a top football superstar.

We chose Messi for two key reasons: his reputation and his growth story. Messi's achievements and abilities have been best proven through his spectacular matches and numerous trophies. However, we valued his reputation even more; for many years, he has maintained the image of a good father, husband, and captain. More importantly, we saw reflections of Bitget's own growth in Messi's journey.

At that time, besides Messi, we also considered other national football teams. Other teams were also strong contenders, likely to lift the World Cup trophy again. After further understanding different teams, we ultimately chose Messi among many options. During discussions within our team, we decided to conduct a small survey, which revealed that many of our employees were fans of Messi, allowing us to empathize with him.

Although Messi possesses football talent, his physical condition is not outstanding. During his childhood, he faced numerous setbacks: a poor family background and insufficient physical condition. However, he not only overcame these adverse conditions but also became a football superstar through hard training and strong willpower, inspiring and warming countless people. This story has many similarities with our entrepreneurial experience at the exchange. We were founded during the bear market of 2018, experiencing tough times without ever enjoying a significant boom period or smooth sailing; every step was filled with challenges and tests. However, we persevered through the baptism of market fluctuations and gradually grew stronger, just like Messi, a "small-town youth," who honed his exceptional skills through rigorous training.

His resilience, hard work, and continuous self-improvement are the values that Bitget cherishes and pursues. Collaborating with Messi not only helps enhance Bitget's visibility but also allows us to convey the potential and future of the crypto industry to a broader audience. This collaboration represents Bitget's firm belief that in the future crypto world, we should not only pursue commercial success but also uphold noble values, growing and impacting the world like Messi.

The World Cup final between Argentina and France remains an exhilarating memory. When the match reached the 77th minute, Argentina led 2-0 against France, and I thought the game was secure. But in the 78th minute, Mbappé scored from a penalty, and in the 81st minute, France threatened again, with Mbappé executing a brilliant combination with his teammates, scoring a volley to equalize at 2-2. Ultimately, Argentina won the trophy in a penalty shootout.

Messi's experience leading Argentina to victory in the Qatar World Cup mirrors our entrepreneurial journey at Bitget, filled with passion, emotion, and tears—moments that are unforgettable for a lifetime. This story inspires us, reminding us that no matter the challenges we face, as long as we persevere, we will eventually realize our dreams. Like Messi, we too are pursuing our own glory.

Gaining Customer Trust Through Sincerity After the FTX Turmoil

In 2022, the crypto industry witnessed a series of dazzling dramas, with the fall of FTX being the most eye-catching. The rumors of Binance acquiring FTX sparked a fierce war of words, and FTX's eventual declaration of bankruptcy marked the climax of the turmoil.

On November 8, I was on the East Coast of the United States, preparing to fly to London for the Token2049 conference. As I was getting ready, my phone pushed a news alert stating "Binance announces acquisition of FTX." I quickly browsed the information from SBF and CZ on Twitter, noting their differing statements. SBF's words seemed to announce that the acquisition had been finalized, but CZ did not confirm it. At that moment, I realized a critical issue: FTX's problems might be more severe than everyone imagined; otherwise, SBF wouldn't seek cooperation from CZ, who initially sparked this turmoil. I immediately tweeted to share our perspective.

https://twitter.com/GracyBitget/status/1590042346632409088?s=20

Before boarding, I instructed the team to follow up on this event, especially asking the product and research team to track the proof of reserves and other matters. During the more than six-hour flight, I repeatedly pondered one question: If FTX really collapses, where will the crypto industry go? And as a centralized exchange, how should we regain our footing and win back user trust?

Upon arriving in London, I attended the Token2049 conference, alongside representatives from Binance, including Helen Hai, and other exchanges. At that time, the situation between Binance and FTX was still unclear, and even Helen Hai couldn't provide a definitive response. We received numerous questions from the audience, which was one of the biggest challenges I faced since joining the crypto industry.

Given that FTX had been facing severe liquidity issues and attempting to hide problems, we decided to take a series of measures to enhance the transparency of the exchange's assets, helping to rebuild market and user trust and confidence. On November 9, 2022, we announced that we would publish Bitget's proof of reserves within a month, and we subsequently fulfilled this promise. In December, we launched a proof of reserves page, detailing our reserve situation. At the same time, we increased our original $200 million protection fund to $300 million, providing users with a higher level of protection. Additionally, we established a $5 million "Builders Fund" to support users such as KOLs, KOCs, and traders affected by the collapse of FTX.

Through this series of initiatives, we hope to convey to users and the market that there are still builders like Bitget actively working in the market. In the darkest moments, we need to unite and help each other, firmly believing that dawn is approaching. Our efforts paid off, as Bitget's user base continued to grow, and user trust in us was steadily reinforced, even in such a volatile market environment.

Marathon Mindset: Going the Distance

As a long-distance running enthusiast, I enjoy the solitude and time for reflection that comes with running alone. The crypto industry is the fastest-growing and most fast-paced field I have ever been involved in. In this industry, a company's rise and fall can often happen overnight, or even in an instant.

In such an environment, maintaining our original intentions is particularly crucial, as only by sticking to the right path can we avoid losing our direction. Many people have asked me how Bitget became a top trading platform globally. I believe there are two directions worth pondering: what we do and how we do it.

Today, the competition among crypto trading platforms is no longer limited to the platforms themselves but has expanded to the entire crypto ecosystem. Therefore, in addition to centralized exchanges, we also plan to broadly layout diversified businesses, including decentralized wallets, investment incubation, and media development.

Accurately grasping the direction of the industry is crucial; it is the key premise for a company's survival and development. However, in my view, in a crypto world filled with top talents and smart individuals, attitude and mindset may be even more important.

During my time at Bitget, I have deeply felt that we have always been advancing with the mindset of marathon runners. Once, while discussing the FTX turmoil with an industry veteran, he remarked, "FTX is like a sprinter, fast and impressive, but the path of business development is not just a hundred meters long. Similarly, starting with derivatives, Bitget is more like a marathon runner; initially, it may not be dazzling, but stability, patience, and persistence will forge true value through the test of time." I am pleased that people have this view of Bitget, as we have always adhered to the philosophy of "long-termism," firmly believing that this is an essential quality for successful platforms and projects in the industry.

There is a happiness paradox in psychology, which states that directly pursuing happiness is often difficult to achieve; happiness is more like a byproduct of effort. When you give your all, persist in doing the right thing, and gain satisfaction from your efforts, the same applies to company development. True growth and success do not come simply from pursuit. Like a marathon runner, you need to have patience, endure solitude, continue to think, stay true to your original intentions, and focus on the work at hand, paying attention to every step you take. Regardless of success or failure, we fully unleash our potential, and true happiness and growth will come unexpectedly.

Gracy Chen

Managing Director of Bitget