Metaverse Submit CEO Danil Myakin just lately met with Jeff Ren, Companion at OKX Ventures, throughout the Hong Kong Web3 Pageant. Reno’s skilled expertise is numerous – he graduated from legislation faculty, labored in funding banking and asset administration. He presently heads OKX Ventures, which is an funding arm OKXand is chargeable for the execution of the corporate’s strategic initiatives associated to web3.
OKX is present process a consolidation course of the place all alternate manufacturers are mixed beneath one umbrella: OKX. Ren explains that OKX represents your entire alternate market and plans to create a digital market for digital items, property and artwork. On this interview, Myakin and Ren focus on a wide range of matters associated to the web3 area, together with cryptocurrency market regulation, Ren’s perspective on the metaverse, and his hopes for a way AI will help humanity evolve.
Danil Myakin: Are you able to inform me a bit extra about your self and the OKX group?
Jeff Ren: OKX Group is extensively often called one of many cryptocurrency exchanges with the longest historical past and probably the most dependable cryptocurrency alternate. Most just lately, we launched the extremely acclaimed MPC pockets. As soon as customers be a part of our pockets, they may be capable to use totally different cross-chains. We’ve got this quite simple to make use of one-click cross-chain, a gateway to totally different dApps and NFTs. And for the OKG group, we’ve got OKlink.com, a series knowledge product. It is vitally simple to make use of.
Now we’re making an attempt to attach the whole lot with OKX as a result of X is, you understand, X.com, Musk’s first startup, which implies the whole lot is an alternate.
One factor we can’t ignore on this dialog is market adjustments. Typically, monetary markets are experiencing a reasonably excessive stage of turbulence, even within the banking sector. Nevertheless, on the similar time, the costs of Bitcoin and Ethereum are shifting up and displaying fairly robust motion. What do you anticipate from the market? How do you anticipate it to unfold?
After all, the worth is the principle indicator. It’s a 24/7 international market. It is vitally troublesome to seek out widespread indicators apart from pricing itself. However the secret is cryptocurrencies; We must also take note of whether or not we see new entrants, new builders, new improvements and lively wallets. We should always take a look at totally different statistics to type an opinion. In any other case, it is fairly easy, however too dangerous primarily based on worth actions alone.
The monetary wrapping of digital property is inevitable. We’ve got GBTC; we’ve got different ETFs constructed on prime of that. The advantage of monetary merchandise and the affect of monetary markets is at all times to replicate as actually as attainable how the underlying asset is performing and attempt to extract its true worth and get hypothesis, however sadly I feel that in the intervening time the regulators and monetary product issuers do not belief it.
After we focus on matters like this, I need to be sure that “buyers” or different merchants perceive the distinction between the dangers and rewards of cryptocurrency tokens, cash and different monetary merchandise which can be created secondarily. We additionally welcome regulation, however we would like the regulators to grasp what we’re actually speaking about.
I answered one query within the group saying that sure regulators stated they needed to manage DeFi. However do you regulate the DeFi protocol itself, the creators, the customers, or the tokens that handle the transaction or present worth? I need individuals to be extra particular in order that actual builders and actual buyers can reply to this.
That is how lengthy I have been working in cryptocurrencies. I at all times heard that the institutionalists have been coming. It is the identical yearly. However I’d say that this 12 months, as a result of totally different monetary and political processes on the earth, we’re seeing an actual change, and increasingly more individuals are coming to cryptocurrency; even some institutionalists are extra risk-averse. So what do you consider the adoption of cryptocurrencies? And what do you suppose are a very powerful milestones proper now to verify we get there?
With each new cycle or new, disruptive innovation, you at all times have visionaries, builders, speculators, and those that preserve individuals guessing. I feel it is rather vital to have sufficient incentives as a result of tokens are incentives for blockchains. I feel a number of the concepts for mass adoption have been thrown out by individuals. In order that’s in all probability why you have been listening to it for thus a few years.
We at all times discuss concerning the use case, however what’s lacking from these conversations is whether or not we’ve got actually helpful instruments. There’s additionally one other factor concerning the transition from web2 to web3. We have seen increasingly more platforms the place as an alternative of letting individuals select A over B, they’re really doing one thing that is frictionless. Individuals cannot see the distinction, however they may be capable to select. I feel you need to let blockchain win for individuals who haven’t got to decide on. They should see the consequence. They should really feel that that is one thing that addresses their ache factors.
Just a few issues like security and custody. There’s an angle that those that need to regulate should shield you when issues go flawed. Regulation provides most people the misunderstanding that since you regulate, it should be secure. When one thing goes flawed, it is not your downside; it is an issue with unhealthy actors. However generally you suppose it is your individual incompetence that permits hackers and these unhealthy actors to actually succeed. I at all times ask the query, who has to take duty for the implications? FTX? Who will take duty for unhealthy actors like SBF and his small group? Why blame the cryptocurrency trade in any respect? I feel that is very unfair.
I’ve mates who ask me if they will ship their teenage children and even school college students for summer time positions or internships. They need to perceive it. Earlier than, they’re going to attempt to say, oh, play, however they’re going to deal with it like a pc recreation. Good to know, however do not contact. Now they even need to perceive extra. It goes an extended strategy to answering the query of mass adoption. However the hottest golf equipment in schools lately are blockchain golf equipment. That is mass adoption – how individuals see it and the way they react to it.
Being at OKX corporations, I feel you’ve entry to a number of startups and a number of tendencies. So what do you suppose are the most well liked matters, tendencies and niches for web3 startups?
Web3’s themes have at all times been about find out how to make this on-chain exercise less expensive and supply extra client safety, and that hasn’t modified. However what I like about innovation and builders right here is that individuals reply in a short time to scorching circuits. We talked concerning the SDK on the Dragonfly convention in Beijing in 2019. The primary guys went to nice lengths to elucidate it, however now all these builders are popping out and speaking about it. I feel it is wholesome.
There are such “scorching tasks” and there are such a lot of members in them. Sadly, you are not luckier in life for those who’re early, however you are luckier for those who’re fortunate. So we choose the winners and discuss to everybody like mates. We do not want our portfolio to lean by some means. We proceed to do what we do effectively, which is construct web3 merchandise and applied sciences and make them extra accessible to builders.
Within the outdated days, all tasks needed to get listed, so that they solely cared concerning the liquidity, the warmth they generated. The alternate desires customers within the very early days. However now the narrative has actually modified.
It is best to suppose in another way about the way you reply to exchanges and the way you play with new tasks. We see OKX corporations as a mixture of those components. As an alternate enterprise, it is rather clear. It is very aggressive, proper? There aren’t any clear winners. As an alternative of telling those who you need to generate so many lively customers and transactions to qualify, why not inform them that you’ve this instrument that they will attempt to use and show to not us however to your group that you’re worthy of them persevering with . works with you. I feel it is a extra optimistic method of constructing, and we’re nonetheless studying.
Sure certainly, barter enterprise is hard. As you stated, it is laborious to select a transparent winner, however the losers are very clear. Since we’re a Metaverse Submit, I am unable to simply skip this query: What do you imply by metaverse?
Within the early days once we have been speaking concerning the metaverse, we have been really speaking about totally different terminals, like find out how to get into it. So we do not discuss what it’s as a result of anybody can describe it or describe the trail to it. So VR was one factor and blockchain was one other. We talked about video games and stuff.
The very first thing we thought of within the metaverse is communication instruments: entry to new areas. And just lately, massive corporations have began to crowd into the area and attempt to set the tone. Meta and different big gamers try to monopolize the time period and make it one thing extra suited to their enterprise growth, new product launches and rebranding. But it surely did not actually work. Later, they offer up, admit failure and need to do one thing else.
I’ll say that if the metaverse succeeds, it is going to change into a digital world terminology used interchangeably. So something that is digital, something that is artistic, and something that has autonomy over the precise bodily world. The metaverse virtually turns into a parallel existence to human exercise.
Until we really reinvent ourselves and begin constructing chips and motionlessly reacting with our gadget or seeing and pondering and speaking along with your human physique into the metaverse, the subsequent factor to fret about is how we will change our gadget. We aren’t a chip maker, however we attempt to convey our views by means of these startups or tasks. We look ahead to asserting our funding on this area within the coming months. I feel cryptocurrencies can be an integral a part of the metaverse.
Crypto and web3 are actually just like the core layer of it as a result of you may’t have a real metauniverse with out an alternate of true worth. And if you do not have a blockchain, there isn’t any method you are going to get there. AI is one other scorching subject. We additionally write about it loads and use it loads. So I am very inquisitive about the way you suppose AI will have an effect on web3 and your enterprise.
A few prospects. AI shouldn’t be new. I’ve personally invested in some AI corporations; one among them is listed in china and its efficiency was not superb. I feel synthetic intelligence is simply one of many coolest issues that’s attracting a number of consideration and expertise and a number of growth exercise. And I am glad they work. I feel ChatGPT actually got here on the proper time, and perhaps it has one thing to do with Microsoft, however I feel they introduced it effectively. It is a very cool product, a really cool advertising and marketing initiative, and it definitely will get individuals’s consideration.
However I’ve by no means appreciated questions like, “How will this have an effect on me?” I do not suppose AI and the metaverse essentially must work together with one another. I need to see AI coaching in some product choices. We aren’t conscious of anybody utilizing blockchain on-chain knowledge to coach their protocols, so we’re working with a number of the names within the AI ββarea. We offer them with chain knowledge that we’ve got collected and arranged. First, you will see notifications about sure growth merchandise.
One other factor is that we help a number of NFT tasks and AIGC tasks are actually common. We’re conscious of a number of DAO tasks that help different AIGC tasks, and a few of them have change into well known tasks. So we’re studying and observing how human organizations like The DAO would reply to AI-generated content material.
I consider that AI helps extra than simply creating content material and property. It additionally helps you change into conscious of your feelings and human components. Let’s hope that AI will change into our higher selves for us people and never exchange us.
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