BC Wong - The Trust Gap in Crypto: Building Platforms That Deserve to Win - TOKEN2049 Dubai 2025

So good afternoon everyone. So honored to be here at uh token 21i. So I have my colleagues with me together. Oliver uh he used to be a lawyer in Austria, right? Yes.

You want to introduce about yourself first? Yes. Hi everybody. Really great to have you here on our stage today. Um my name is Oliver.

I'mcoin CEO for Europe and yeah building the compliant operations out from Austria. Yes. So about myself for the ease of reference. So just call me BC ABC BC. Let's see.

I'm the neighbor of Bitcoin, right? Just one T from Bitcoin. So per perhaps I just buy some like mining machine from Bitman to cover this gap. Uh probably uh this is my first time uh to de deliver delivering a public event speech uh as Kcoin CEO. Uh I intend this conversation to be uh uh to be like uh genuine and impactful.

So at least on certain level to make you to understand like cool coin's understanding and cool coin's view of this industry. So uh over the past few years uh I have had the privilege of working alongside an incredible team. Uh although we were facing many challenges uh you may or may not be familiar with uh like the hacking incident in 2020 and uh some regulators brought by some jurisdictions against us. But still this team growing cool coin into one of the leading global crypto platforms trusted by over 40 million users from more than 200 jurisdictions worldwide. Uh so I always asking myself many times what made all this actually happen throughout this journey.

I do believe that trust and reliable is a core value uh is a core value installed by our founders and upholded by every employee of this organization and uh we also believe that this value should affect every platform every builder and every user. So there is no doubt. Crypto was born from the dream of you know empowerment and transparency. Today uh adoption is growing but trust remains foundation. We must continue to strength and challenges are quite obvious.

Typical example is that governance and safeguards have struggled to keep pace with rapid innovation. You know, the pace of the technological breakthroughs from new asset classes to new financial models often outstripped the ability of platforms, users and even the regulators to build the corresponding protections in a timely manner. It is also quite obvious that uh complex platforms have become like complex systems have become like harder for users to navigate like layer 2 solutions uh crosschain bridges and D5 protocols often require I'm not going to say everyone must be a professional at least you need to have certain level of technology knowledge to assess every investment you're going to make to assess the investment risks and additionally we can also see that a few bad actors have case stopped across the entire industry security breaches further marketing activities unreasonably restrictions of accounts and extra extra I'm pretty sure that everyone sitting here at least everyone can give some bad example bad stories about this. So yes, we see the challenges here. But despite the challenges, the momentum of the mainstream adoption has never been stronger.

Let's read some basic uh figures here. So by the first quarter of this year, Bitcoin ETFs have already attracted over 60 million in cumulative inflows with Black Road and volatility leading the way. Beyond trading and investment, we are saying like blockchain move closer to real world applications particularly payment settlement expanded by Visa and PayPal and perhaps just telling crypto is no longer just a financial assets. It's becoming part of the culture conversation. That's the reason why now the industry has a booming mimi communities and fans.

Trump token is certainly an example. It doesn't matter is good or bad. So today the global crypto user base have surpassed 500 million people halfway to 1 billion milestone and crypto is no longer operating on the margins at becoming part of the global financial and culture landscape. So as the adoption accelerates expectations grow and so does the responsibilities to build deeper trust. So we can see that certain measures we can take first security remains an ongoing priority for all all of us every industry player particularly digital asset exchanges.

So the industry recorded 1.7 billion in hack related losses in 2023, one 2.2 billion in 2024 and already 1.6 million in just the first quarter of 2025. Well, platforms have made significant progress.

I think every platform. Yeah. So, uh these numbers still remind us protecting users is not a onetime achievement. It's an ongoing journey that demands constant vigilance. Kcoin have experienced a hacking incident and suffered significant loss on 2020.

That was a very painful lesson which in fact makes coupon became strong ever before. It has since that particular time we cut all our causes for operation and marketing and shifted most of the platform resources to our backend system construction. So we rebuilt our wallet system. We restructured our security structure. We established a real time data system.

We launched the risk control and incturnal control system, compliance system, finance system and even reconciliation system. Extra extra tell you a simple more specific number is that now we have 80% to 90% of our employees they are engineers. the soft code engineers, full stack engineers, data engineers, security engineers. So please, so dear friend, treat our BD colleagues nicely. They are the real treasure of this platform.

So not an obligation, but yeah, a simple joke. So what I'm trying to emphasize here is that this platform has been constantly making investment on back-end system construction. for more than five years. Although we did lost certain market share but safer user experience always be our top priority. Again let me reiterate cool coin's firm position is that whether the user can make profits is an investment decision made by each respective user.

But to make sure every penny our user put in cool coin exchange is in a safe and secure manner as a platform's undeniable obligation. So as second I would like to talk about the global regulation. So different regions are taking kind of different approaches uh creating both opportunities and challenges. You know, we welcome this progress and uh we recognize that uh working with regulators and uh proactively strengthening governance is essential to building a more mature and trusted ecosystem. So uh I do believe that many of our friends sitting here uh already know certain basic facts that uh Kcoin just reached the settlement with the department of justice of the United States uh at the very beginning of this year and uh from the first day from Kcoin actually establishment coolin do not provide service to any single million Chinese users and KCo coin is on its way to apply maker licenses in the EU and KC coin is the first global platform to get a license basically what I'm trying to say here is that we do not have major disputes we do not have substantial dispute with those major jurisdictions around the world and we are willing to communicate and share our experience with the regulators.

Given the fact that we do believe now the global exchange is at the crossroad either transformed into a fully compliant site or just turning gambling site which will not be trusted by anyone. Alongside with our infrastructure which has built up for many years, we are willing to share regulators our industry insights. Kcoin will never avoid its liabilities as a builder and participant of the crypto industry. So I would like to talk about the third measures to increase the trust which is the third party auditing. give the confidence to the public.

Actually starting from 20 to 4, Kcoin have undergone rigorous third-party independent audits as those listed companies. We treat ourself as a traditional financial institution. Not much comp reasons to provide it here. So we simply believe that good practice must be followed. So as simple as that.

So in short, what I'm trying to say here is that sustaining growth requires more than so-called innovation and illusionary promises. It requires resilence, transparency and a deep commitment to trust. Stay true to the original aspiration always. So even as the challenges remains there are reasons for optimism across the industry we are saying encouraging progress. So exchanges are embracing strong compliance standards platforms are investing more heavily in security and transparency and more importantly companies are increasingly working together.

These efforts remind us trust isn't built overnight but it grows when we act with transparency with speed and with a shared sense of responsibility. If there is one thing we have learned from our journey it is that trust is not given. It must be earned demonstrated and sustained day after day. So as builders we have a shared responsibility to move the industry forward. Not just through innovation but through actions and principles.

This means we need greater transparencies wherever possible not to accept or tolerant fraudulent or malicious activities. We need stronger compliance and responsible risk management. It's inevitably require us to put more investment in back-end constructions. We also need better user protection by design to emphasize and weight the quality of the product rather than simply just doing marketing and long-term thinking. We need to think about building for decades, not just for the next market circle.

So I do believe, I'm probably sure that in fact everyone believes that the platforms that succeed will be the ones that put this values at the heart of everything they're going to do. So at cool coin we know that trust isn't that something you can declare it's something you have to build invest in and earn like more time even like for one year five year or even decades. So just like what we have been contributed in the past years. Exactly. So today we're proud of to announce the launch of our ambitious trust project which is a long-term commitment to making trust the foundation of everything we're going to do.

As a part of this effort, KCoin is investing two billion to strength trust across the platform and our ecosystem. I know that across the industry many people saying cool coin is a backend driven platform and front desk work is you know very challenging in cool coin that is half truth not exactly you can see that every 10 professionals here to support one beady girl what a nice wonderful experience here right so uh but however what I'm trying to say is that just know the statement accurately reflects K coin's view on inf infrastructure development. It requires tremendous perseverance and sustainable kind of long-term investment. It is not a sudden decision. When we overemphasize commercial objectives while neglating infrastructure, our business becoming like a tree without roots or a river without a source.

You know, zero is zero. Multiply it by two and it's still zero. Even multiple it by 10, it remains to be zero. Building a business on a foundation of zero is simply unreliable. Our focus is clear.

Building a safer, more transparent and more resolent platform for our users, our partners and our global communities to make KC coin become your most reliable partner. So trust is not just a foundation, it's the future of crypto. Guys, at Kcoin, we are committed to building a platform where security, transparency, compliance, and user employment are not tradeoff. They go hand in hand. And we know this future isn't something like anyone company can build alone.

Together with our users, our partners, our colleagues, and our broader communities, we are shaping a future that truly deserves to win. The future definitely belongs to a platform that earn trust day by day through actions, not words. Let's build the future together. [Applause] So after my introduction so I'm probably will invite uh Mr. Oliver uh who is our KCU to basically introduce some uh significant dabs we have accomplishment with with regards to our makeup application and establishment of the uh EU website.

Yeah. you want to share some experience with us? Sure. Thank you for that. So maybe for those of you that are not already familiar with the new rules and regulations in Europe, there's this new law called Mika, markets and crypto asset regulation which is um valid for all over Europe and it's for sure very complianceheavy and regulatory heavy um rules.

However, we at Kcoin, we believe that with complying these rules, this is also kind of winning aspect, you know. Sorry to disturb. Actually, I have a question. Do you think there will be any global platform simply to let's say not apply that particular license? Yes, I and what will happen to them?

I don't know. Are they going to take a risk in the market? Maybe. So I literally know there are some players that will not even try to to get the the Mika license and they just stay offshore. However, maybe they did not fought through it to the end because Europe is one of the most important markets in the world still also forcoin for sure and you will not be able to succeed on this market anymore um if you're not licensed in in Europe.

This is going much further than crypto. this is going to fiat on-ramp off-ramp the security of the assets which is very important on qin as well. So um I believe that maybe within a transition period of two or three years everyone that wants to deal with crypto in Europe will be on a compliant platform. Yes. And uh in fact we also see that uh the EU regulators actually adopted a very strict approach particularly some of our like uh you know friend exchanges our learner friend right like uh you know the web three wallet is also under their strict scrutiny.

Yes. So what will be happen on the next level if a global exchanges basically saying that I just purposely refuse to comply with the rules. So my best guess is first of all also miker is not the final line you know the the regulatory bodies in in Europe the asma level they are still already working on so-called maker too so they want also um regulate more the defy space at the end of the day which is also then coming to all that web free wallets and and and and dexes and stuff like that however I believe at the end of the day um the offshore exchanges that not have any license in Europe will have a very hard uh play with the producers giving even back their assets. You know, they will not be able to off their assets to a regulated exchange to Europe and they will not be able to cash out anymore their assets into fiat in Europe. So, um I believe after transition period of two or three years maybe everyone will be in a compliant uh site.

So which means we're going to have the legitimate expectation on certain ground that the regulators will definitely take some strict kinds of measures to counter those exchanges who not actually strict comply with the rules. Yes, definitely. And they already also ramp up their own teams you know to to execute on their scrutiny at the end of the day. So um it's better to be on the compliant side and this is what I wanted to say with the winning aspiration you know people especially in Europe also love to trade on uh compliant sites at the end of the day you know they just want to also have the security and the convenience of a compliant uh crypto platform. Yes.

And we do see there are many kind of global exchanges now they are trying to apply the EU EU license and um what is their kind of a strategy in terms of like a local environment? Are they willing to just contribute to the economy or they just like a kind kind of arms lens of the global sites? Yeah. So that there are for sure different approaches, but I have seen a lot of our dear competitors that try more the global approach at the end of the day. And I'm very happy to to be with Koin here on that side because we really try to localize everything.

We're going to build up a great team in in Vienna in Europe. We have the local people there. We have the local experts also because it's quite hard for somebody who is not trained in all these rules and regulations to deal with them. And uh also when it comes to marketing to branding and all that stuff, I believe that especially Europe is a very difficult market with all these different cultures and languages and stuff like that and you really need to focus and respect these cultures and languages also when it comes to having a compliant platform. Yeah, in fact the EU regulators approach is quite conservative compared with Asian countries.

Definitely. So particularly their attitudes with regards to the web three all the innovations and even AI tradings. So do you have any kind of expectations that they're going to be more open in the next level when they adopt the new law? I I guess first of all what they always do is they put something into the market and then they assess they see how it's working if there are any um hurdles restrictions or even any loopholes that that uh someone found out at the end of the day to overcome some rules and regulations. So they will close the door again.

Um at the end still I believe that they don't want to hinder the market. They don't want to hinder the innovation at all. However, they want to protect the users. They want to protect the customers. This is all coming from investment law you know like uh this uh MITID license which we already had for investment farm licensed entities or for banks you know always is this the focus of the regulator to safeguard the the users.

However we at Kcoin have the customer always in our mind and the safeguarding of our customers and the compliance with all these rules I guess we are very good off. Very interesting. You used to serve in Bit Panda. I used to work for Austrian fintech unicorn. Exactly.

So I want to know how how do you see the competition between the EU domestic exchanges and all the global players once they go into the market? I mean for sure having been their general council and doing all these licenses um they have a competitive advantage in knowing all these rules and regulations in all knowing all that uh regulatory bodies. However, we will be able to speed up our own uh uh team and and uh adapt to this uh rules and regulations as well. However, having said that, they are still very much focused on on spot trading for sure, you know, and as we for example have a lot broader products and services aspect with futures and and and options and all that stuff. Um it's a it's not a real competition I would say.

Um we are serving the the same market. However, also when it comes to products and services, it's it's a different view. Everybody is invited to find out themselves. You know, please sign up with Kcoin and try it out. But it's a different experience also from a user perspective when it comes to to trading.

Interesting. For your personal kind of uh experience like they're actually prefer the local one or the global one. It doesn't matter too much. Your neighbors please. Your neighbors.

Yes, your friends. Yes. No. Um, it's a trust topic at the end of the day. This must be a wrong answer.

You should tell me that they are definitely a big fans of cool coin. My neighbors they are. But this is what I wanted to say. It's a trust topic because they trust me. They believe also into the into the platform.

For sure. Trust is important. Yes, it's all about trust. It's like also with banks. Imagine you guys giving your cash, your money with a bank.

You will also try to put it on a bank that you trust at the end of the day. And it's the same for crypto as of now and especially also for the future. Yeah, I can see that. In fact, uh if you compare EU kind of clients and Asian clients is that EU clients in turns to be more loyal. Yes, certain platform.

Definitely it's quite it's not only about the platform. It's even for example for the banking that the first bank account you get as a as a junior you will maybe if not something happens never change your whole life. And this is the same when it comes to crypto platforms. So if you are happy with your products and services, with your security, with everything easy, you know, user experience is very important in in Europe as well. But if you're happy, you will not change too much maybe.

Although I have to admit it's quite common in Europe also to have more than one exchange running uh with your assets. Great. So you know we are just now said we are actually a backend driven platform. Do you have any plan to do some positive marketing or operations in EU? For sure.

As soon as we have the license, we will go big in marketing and branding. However, um I guess we have a very strong very strong arguments and USBs when it comes to products and services, but also with our Q card and other with our KCS for sure, which is a very very good USB uh compared to other uh competitors. So we have very good grounds to get a lot of um European users as soon as we are allowed to do so after getting the license. Okay, great. So are you confident we're going to do number one in your market?

Yes, absolutely. Well, okay. Yes, like the next door. I know, but um we and later say is going to come in this afternoon. You're going to speak tomorrow there.

All right, guys. No. Um it's it's it's a very changing times with all these rules and regulatory coming you know all of you know also US is changing their mind now Canada maybe if you have seen already with the new prime minister will change their mind around crypto so there's going on a lot also in the world it's always positive in my point of view and I'm in this market since 10 years already having been the first lawyer in Austria for example dealing with the topic and I always said this is coming to stay crypto is coming to stay And the technology part of it, what you're talking about, the backhand stuff and and the technology part of it will make it survive and being the future of of of finance for sure all over the world. Perfect. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you guys. Thank you very