A Letter From Bitget CEO: My 2-Year Bitget Experience and Our Plans Ahead

I'm beyond excited to kick off this journey as the new CEO here at Bitget. I want to share some information about Bitget’s focus and plans for the future (as expected by any new CEOs), but before that, I’d like to tell you more about myself (probably not as expected, but yeah, bear with me for the tedious personal storytelling).

Raised by a single mom, I was expected simply to grow up happily. Like many Asian parents, she hoped that I would not be overly aggressive and that my greatest future task would be to find a life partner. However, from an early age, I was drawn to the idea of leading. Starting from primary school, I actively sought out every chance to be a leader. My desire to lead wasn't about managing or commanding others, it was about creating more values, embracing greater responsibilities, and driving more significant changes (not sure the 8-year leader-wannabe Gracy agreed).

I got a scholarship at the age of 18 to study Applied Mathematics in Singapore, before becoming a TV Host for a Finance and Technology show. In 2015, some of my TV friends and interviewees told me, “Gracy, you should check out crypto…” This is when Bitcoin was only worth around $300 USD! (yeah, today it again surpassed $71,000 USD)

Gracy interviewing Michelle Yeoh (2016)

I began by reading the Bitcoin white paper and was instantly hooked. As a mathematician, I loved the mathematical beauty of it. I was excited by how democratic the system was. Mostly, I was drawn to the way it established a new decentralized ledger that complements the traditional centralized financial industry.

While I wouldn’t necessarily call myself “a rebel”, I’ve always been less interested in following ingrained rules and more interested in making my own! Here was an opportunity to be part of something that was on the edge of innovation. I bought some major cryptocurrencies — BTC, ETH, and XRP — and later invested in some crypto startups including BitKeep, which is now Bitget Wallet. (Why didn't I buy more!?)

Soon after, I left my TV work and co-founded and ran two startups in fintech and virtual reality. (What do you call an entrepreneur who fails? Serial entrepreneur. And that’s me!) Because I’m a lover of learning and someone who believes in lifelong improvement, I decided to take an MBA degree at MIT.

In the spring of 2022, a friend informed me that Bitget was recruiting for a Managing Director (MD). While I was already familiar with the Bitget team through my investment in Bitkeep, joining an exchange was a significant decision. After conversing with each member of the Bitget management team, their demonstrated capability, motivation, and high ethical standards convinced me of Bitget's potential. Despite the competition from well-established exchanges, their sincerity and reliability inspired me to take on the challenge together.

Gracy on MIT campus (2022)

Fortunately, through the combined efforts of myself (very minimum), Bitget's management, and our 1,500 talents, we achieved over fourfold growth in the last two years, with our user base surpassing 25 million. Bitget has now ascended to become a top 5 futures trading platform and a top 10 spot trading platform. I feel fortunate to work with some of the best in the industry! And everyone has simple working relationships, and is united to work hard and deliver results.

From Managing Director to CEO, I have witnessed Bitget's tremendous growth (with luck too). While everyone may have their view of Bitget, I would describe the company with two keywords. (OK, no joke anymore, let’s be serious)

Users First. I feel passionately that the work we do in this industry is rooted in community. That's why I'm a firm believer in being user-centric. Take the Slerf incident that happened this March, for example. When they lost their users' funds, we didn't hesitate. We stepped up and donated the fee generated from users’ SLERF trading on our platform, supporting the crypto community when they needed it most.

Diversity. Bitget is a collective of 1,500 individuals of different genders, nationalities, and beliefs. Here, we work grounded in reality to create change, and we communicate with integrity and honesty. When we encounter inequalities, we make efforts to bridge them. As a single mother (I had my divorce in 2022), I understand the importance of ensuring equal access to our industries and integrating gender diversity, and that’s why I started the #Blockchain4Her initiative, aiming to elevate, empower, educate, and embrace a female-friendly blockchain space.

Gracy with her son (2020)

At the beginning of 2024, I established three focal points for Bitget in 2024 in my open letter : 1) compliance, 2) emerging markets, and 3) Web 3.

Half a year later, we’ve achieved great improvements in all three. Take Web 3 development for example, Bitget Wallet, our non-custody Web 3 wallet, just concluded BWB points airdrop, and according to its newly-launched product blueprint , Bitget Wallet will position as Bitget’s on-chain layer, integrating a host of native Modular Feature-DApps (MFDs) through collaboration with builders and contributors. More exciting updates about BWB will be unveiled in the following week.

Other than the three strategic focuses, moving forward, we have bigger dreams and expectations of the role Bitget can play as crypto goes mainstream.

1. Strengthening the Bitget Ecosystem: Beyond being a centralized exchange, Bitget is enriching its ecosystem through investments, following the launch of the Bitget Web3 Fund and EmpowerX Fund last year. This approach will remain a key long-term focus.

2. Linking Traditional Finance and Crypto: With spot crypto ETFs receiving approvals in major markets such as the US and Hong Kong, more institutions and retail users are expected to add crypto into their portfolios. We are committed to supporting this trend long-term.

3. Integrating Crypto into Daily Life: We launched the Bitget Card in late 2023, a crypto-backed credit card usable wherever Visa is accepted. This innovation helps make crypto a part of everyday life, beyond just an investment. And we are developing more services to support this integration.

Gracy at Bitget EmpowerX Summit Singapore (2023)

In the long run, it’s clear that the crypto industry is poised to keep on thriving. Whether it’s Bitcoin’s price, more talent moving into the space, more innovative projects being built, or increasing levels of mass adoption and traditional finance industry integration, the industry is only getting bigger!

While we are fortunate to have a team built from some of the best people in the industry, I believe that Bitget’s rapid and sustained success comes from our philosophy. We view ourselves as a marathon, not a sprint. From Bitget’s early days, when we launched as a startup right in the middle of the crypto winter six years ago, our attitude has never been about quick wins. Instead, we work to establish foundational changes that lead to long-term growth and lasting triumphs, just like how Messi, our global brand ambassador, grew from a not-favored young footballer to the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) today.

Gracy and Messi (2023)

I'm beyond grateful to be on this journey with every one of you. Let's roll up our sleeves, dream big, and make some magic happen!

Here's to an incredible adventure ahead. Let's keep on BUIDLing!!!

Cheers,

Gracy Chen, CEO of Bitget