Chapter 135: It's Because of Me
Chapter 135: It's Because of Me
Busy January and February had flown by as we tackled task after task.
We bought the headquarters building in San Francisco and finally moved the company.
"It's spacious."
"Yeah... Now we finally have some breathing room."
We used floors 2 through 6 for Earth Resource's offices.
Floor 7 would serve as the cafeteria for now, while floors 1 and 8 through 20 were under interior construction.
Once everything was beautifully completed in a month, we planned to move up to the higher floors.
"We've partnered with a top-tier hotel franchise for cafeteria operations for a year. They'll send over 15 chefs."
"Good work."
"Meals for each employee cost $130. The monthly expense will be..."
"Jong-yeop, let's not skimp on food. If they eat tasty, nutritious meals, they'll work that much harder."
I wanted to give our employees the utmost satisfaction in the cafeteria.
I even allowed them to bring friends or family and eat as much as they wanted.
At night, we provided unlimited beer and liquor.
Given the American habit of leaving right on time after work hours, not many would use it.
'But it's a way to boost employee satisfaction without spending a fortune.'
The publicity effect was huge too.
[Earth Resource's Company Cafeteria More Luxurious Than a Hotel]
[Company Cafeteria That Serves Anything If Ordered a Day in Advance]
[Earth Resource: Eat Whatever You Want, Using Only the Finest Ingredients]
The press covered it, and videos shot by broadcast teams on Earth Channel racked up 60 million views.
Since the new year, revenue from the computing, cloud, shopping mall, and coin divisions had been surging competitively.
[Earth Resource's Q1 Net Profit Estimated to Exceed $8.2 Billion]
[Earth Resource Projected to Grow Over 30% from Q4]
[#1 Fastest-Growing Company in America]
Articles about Earth Resource frequently appeared in outlets like the Wall Street Journal and The Economist.
But the forecasts weren't entirely accurate.
'Since we don't disclose revenue figures, the financial press doesn't know the details.'
Last quarter's net profit had surpassed $9 billion.
The computing sector, based on Source Coin, steadily generated cash.
Cloud services expanded with contracts from internet companies.
The shopping mall division faced a happy dilemma after acquiring a California department store chain.
"Sales during the Christmas season were three times higher than two years ago."
"Really?"
"Yes. It's an unbelievable growth rate."
We'd bought a department store on the brink of failure, but sales exploded, eliminating any need for layoffs or store closures.
We gave Source Coin bonuses for every department store purchase, and sold slow-moving items online, so inventory never piled up.
"We need to hire more staff for the offline business. Lots of brands want to re-enter our stores."
"Then do that."
The department store acquisition was meant to ease the shopping mall division's burden.
We renamed MK Department Store to Earth Department Store and kept it running—who knew it'd be another massive hit.
The shopping mall division was achieving dazzling revenue growth both online and offline.
Earth Channel, open for just a short time, was still in the red due to investment cash flow, but its market share grew steadily without any marketing.
―Diane: LA living seems great too.
―Diane: The building is so awesome that morale is sky-high for the relocated staff.
Earth Resource's move had shifted the content team to Los Angeles.
To ease their living challenges, we covered relocation costs and provided housing for two years.
―Kim Shin: Glad the staff like it. Diane, feel free to decorate the office however you want.
―Diane: Really?
―Kim Shin: Of course. You're the head of Earth Channel, after all.
Earth Resource had grown so fast that promotions came quickly.
It was a startup trait—skills grew alongside the company.
The coin division went berserk as Bitcoin surpassed $30,000.
―Kyung! Source Coin breaks $30. Cheers!
―Source Coin to $100, let's gooooo!
―$100? It needs to hit $100,000!
―I've been all-in since last summer. Haha;;;;
―So jealous of that courage.
―Wish Source Coin would flood the market like Ripple with 100 billion coins.
―It's a shame it's releasing gradually. Higher volume would draw crowds and push prices up.
―It's risen a lot, but feels like a solid KOSDAQ blue-chip: asset-rich, profitable, stable, yet stock price lags expectations.
―Blue-chips on KOSDAQ? 10-year stock vet here, first I've heard.
―No such thing as blue-chips in K-stocks. Lol.
Source Coin had broken through thirty dollars.
With money flooding the world, it poured into every corner.
Earth Resource's coin division trading volume had tripled since year-end.
Countless trades executed, bringing in fees.
I'd grown numb to big numbers from our massive earnings, but coin division talks still left me dazed.
"The coin division handles $42 billion in daily trades."
"Daily?"
"Yes. Frequent buy-sell cycles have boosted volume."
"..."
I'd felt proud with $120 billion in assets, but daily volume at $42 billion?
"Global crypto daily volume exceeds $200 billion."
"That much?"
"Yes. Earth Resource accounts for just over 20%, or $42 billion."
Fees averaged 0.1%.
Cheaper options existed, but we charged a bit more on purpose.
The trading system alone netted $42 million daily.
That worked out to 1.2 billion dollars a month, or 14.4 billion dollars a year.
No intense effort or competition—just built the exchange and supported it.
'Made it for free trading of Source Coin, and look at this.'
The coin division had only about 100 staff.
Programmers built the system; work was just registering and managing new coins—low labor costs.
"What's the secret to our exchange's popularity?"
It begged the question.
There had been no major promotions, and our fees were not the lowest in the market.
Leonard, the operations team lead, answered.
"Source Coin's popularity is the root cause."
Source Coin indeed!
You couldn't omit Source Coin from Earth Resource's founding and success story.
"As Source Coin emerges as the core digital currency, our exchange gains traction."
"Makes sense."
"And the other factor is you, sir."
"Me?"
"Yes. How many in America, Europe, or Asia don't know you? People think using the exchange of someone who made a fortune like you could lead to their own jackpot."
It seemed far-fetched, but human psychology was fragile.
Why do crowds flock to lottery outlets with big winners?
'They want reassurance and good vibes while buying.'
Curiosity got the better of me.
"What's my public image like?"
The coin division was too sensitive to entrust easily.
Leonard was a Harvard Law grad with New York attorney experience.
Exceptional skills were baseline; he spoke his mind freely, earning the operations lead promotion.
"Businessman and successful investor. As a young rich guy, you're hugely popular. Distributing the vaccine earned you praise for foresight."
Fairly neutral, as expected.
"More details?"
"No repercussions, and I'll tell."
"I'm just curious. No issues, obviously."
"Successful coin addict."
"..."
That stung a little.
I was the biggest success story among traders, after all.
"More?"
"Sucker."
"Sucker?"
"Everyone knows you lost the house you saved for all your life in the divorce. Parents in families with kids about to marry tell your story as a warning."
"..."
I'd heard Han Chae-won published a book, wrote columns, and was active on SNS.
I'd expected the public image, but still.
"Anything else?"
"Tightwad, coffee addict, successful otaku, gay rumors too."
I did not want to hear any more.
'Successful otaku—that's Oh Myeong-woo, right?'
I felt a little unfairly maligned.
As we chatted, Leonard suggested:
"How about opening leverage trading per customer requests?"
"Leverage?"
"Other exchanges support up to 125x leverage."
My past coin investments were all-in bets: price up, profits up.
With 24/7 wild swings, the pressure was intense.
Leverage amplified investments up to 125x with borrowed funds.
With 125-to-one leverage, a ten-thousand-dollar investment controlled a position worth 1.25 million dollars.
It could become an instant jackpot.
But a 0.8% drop wipes out the investment.
125x wasn't common, but...
Crypto talk made 2017 seem innocent; the market was profit-mad.
"Fine. Let's support leverage trading."
It was standard elsewhere.
Refusing would just hurt our revenue.
'I learned from Dad: gamblers just go to another casino if one closes.'
We'd allow coin-based options too.
Long positions profited when prices rose, while short positions profited when they fell.
In this mad world, we had to join the madness.
The frenzy's end would likely be a 2018 redux.
[Elon Musk Posts Doge Poster Parodying Fashion Mag on Twitter]
[Elon Musk Shows Love for Dogecoin]
[Dogecoin Surges 800% in a Day After Elon Musk's Post]
[Elon Musk: "Bitcoin Supporter. Bitcoin Will Be Widely Accepted on Wall Street."]
[Bitcoin Up 16% on Elon Musk Effect]
[Elon Musk: "If Dogecoin Becomes Future Currency, It'll Be Fun and Ironic."]
Coin market rocked by Elon Musk's tweets.
"What's with this guy?"
I knew he was eccentric, but he was setting the market ablaze.
Not investing directly, just running the exchange—could watch carefree.
Fee income from rising volume was a bonus.
[Ripple Halves in 6 Hours]
[Ripple's Brutal Tale: From $0.7 to $0.36]
[When Will Ripple Recover to $1?]
Amid it all, Ripple kept rising and falling.
―What happened? Stepped away for a few game rounds, and my whole portfolio's halved?
―Rittos speedrun again...