Bitget Mulls U.S. Entry While Awaiting Trump’s Pro-Crypto Administration

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What to know:

  • Crypto exchange Bitget is revisiting a U.S. strategy, which may involve partnerships with American firms, said the exchange’s CEO Gracy Chen
  • Bitget made a $30 million investment in TON, the token of the blockchain network linked to the popular messaging app Telegram, which in turn led to a surge in Nigerian users.
  • Chen, an MIT graduate who was promoted to CEO of Bitget this year, has been driving customer growth at the exchange.

As a researcher with a keen interest in the dynamic world of cryptocurrency exchanges, I find myself intrigued by the strategic moves of Bitget, particularly under the leadership of its CEO Gracy Chen. Her MIT background and rapid rise to the top position at Bitget, combined with her focus on customer growth, make for an exciting case study.

Bitget, a fast-growing cryptocurrency exchange, is exploring potential collaborations with American companies to expand its presence in the United States. This move is driven by optimism about the incoming Trump administration’s supportive stance towards cryptocurrencies.

Some significant cryptocurrency platforms like Binance, ByBit, OKX, and Bitget do not offer services to American residents. The American branch of the largest exchange, Binance.US, has faced restrictions as part of a severe $4.3 billion agreement between its global parent company and U.S. officials.

In early 2022, Bitget, a crypto exchange handling approximately $8 billion in daily trades, initially planned to pursue U.S. state licensing, according to its CEO, Gracy Chen. However, following the fall of FTX and taking into account the prohibitively expensive legal fees, as well as the challenge of going head-to-head with Coinbase, Chen stated that the current market conditions didn’t seem promising.

Despite potential regulatory clarity for cryptocurrency under a Trump presidency in the U.S., newcomers will still encounter a complex web of state-issued licenses and multiple federal oversight bodies. Nevertheless, Bitget has demonstrated its ability to establish advantageous partnerships, such as its recent collaboration with U.K. trading firm Archax, which allowed Bitget to comply with British financial promotion regulations.

In an interview, Chen stated that they’re considering revisiting an existing U.S. strategy, but have not made any firm decisions as of now. If a local partner with relevant licenses is found, they might explore the option of forming a joint venture to skip the application process. However, this approach is still under consideration and hasn’t been finalized yet.

TON and Nigeria

As a crypto investor, I’ve noticed that with the fall of FTX and the increased scrutiny on Binance, there seems to be a vacuum in the market that other cryptocurrency exchanges are eagerly filling. Data from business intelligence firm Sensor Tower and web traffic researcher SimilarWeb reveals promising growth opportunities for top exchanges in regions such as Russia, India, and Nigeria, among others.

Chen stated that it appears her company might have acquired some clients who were previously with Binance. Yet, Bitget didn’t simply gain customers haphazardly; instead, they earned them through being more astute and inventive compared to other competitors.

For example, Bitget made a $30 million investment in TON, the token of the blockchain network linked to the popular messaging app Telegram, which in turn led to a surge in Nigerian users. Many customers in the African country play games using TON and get tokens airdropped to their wallets, Chen said, and they needed easy access to deposit and trade these on an exchange. This was something Bitget was able to provide for Nigerians, Chen said.

Chen stated that the goal was to attract some of the TON user base, and it proved to be highly effective from the Nigerian perspective. During a specific phase, our app saw more downloads in Nigeria than either Google or TikTok.

Country-wise, Nigeria remains unvisited by Chen. However, due to the imprisonment of Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan, she currently has no plans to travel there in the near future.

She stated that in certain nations, we have concerns about the government’s stability, which makes it a risky destination for travel by our team due to security issues.

Russia, India, China

Chen stated that she noticed some competing cryptocurrency platforms actively pursuing Russian users and social media influencers following the start of the Ukraine conflict, particularly during events in Dubai. For instance, Sensor Tower data indicates that Bybit had over a million active users in Russia as of August.

Bybit declined to respond promptly regarding the count of Russian users on their platform when asked for a comment.

Chen said Bitget had held back when it came to Russia. “Strategically, we thought we should stay away from the Russia/U.S. argument because sanctions were being imposed,” she said.

In India, which is where Binance recently re-emerged following a fine this year, has not seen significant growth for Bitget, primarily due to the absence of a definitive regulatory structure. Chen stated, “We are collaborating with the government and currently have some team members focusing on India.

Major cryptocurrency exchanges take steps to prevent individuals from countries like China or sometimes the U.S., who are restricted from trading, from doing so illegally on their platforms. However, it’s not uncommon for users in these prohibited regions to find loopholes, such as bypassing identity verification (KYC) procedures, and employing virtual private networks (VPNs) to skirt IP-blocking mechanisms.

In China, this particular action occurs quite frequently, according to Chen. Users there might find themselves associated with identification documents from other nations, such as passports or driver’s licenses.

She stated, “It seems that most trading platforms conduct transactions with large economies like China due to its immense size and numerous retail consumers. It’s almost impossible to completely avoid them.

Rising star

Among a growing number of Asian or Asian-American women leading major cryptocurrency firms are individuals such as Chen, who was recently elevated from managing director and head of marketing to CEO of Bitget this year. Other notable figures in this group include Yi He, co-founder of Binance; the partner of its former CEO, CZ; Hong Fang, president of OKX; and Helen Liu, COO of Bybit.

In fact, Binance’s He is an old friend who introduced Chen to crypto back in 2015.

Chen stated that she’s quite familiar with her, as she was a bridesmaid at his wedding. However, he feels their relationship has become somewhat complex, resembling a mix of friendship and animosity today.

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2024-12-09 17:50