Chapter 53: Damn Con Artists
Chapter 53: Damn Con Artists
Cloud computing.
It was a field that Amazon, Microsoft, and Google were ambitiously pushing.
A promising industry worth tens of billions of dollars in the US alone, growing by more than 30% each year.
These days, companies didn't need their own server rooms to run websites or online stores.
They contracted with major cloud computing providers to handle everything from website operations to acquiring necessary system resources.
Even Netflix had gotten rid of its own servers and was using Amazon's cloud services.
A field with limitless potential for future growth.
‘I was just trying to help Biolife with computing power based on blockchain technology.’
How did a business I started on a whim get this big?
I'd been marveling every day at how quickly Earth Resource was growing.
“Cloud computing.”
Oh Myeong-woo also looked like he was seriously considering it.
It seemed Eddie's words had been a considerable shock not just to me, but to Myeong-woo as well.
“Myeong-woo. Do you think we can do it?”
“Hmm. Don't you think it's worth a shot?”
“Really?”
His response was far more positive than I'd expected.
“It's not unreasonable if we build it up step by step. Having our own data servers would maximize the efficiency of Source Coin.”
To utilize Source Coin's computing power, we were already running a small server within the company.
Eventually, as the number of contracted companies grew and the scale of the programs we operated expanded, a data center would become necessary.
‘Venturing into a new business. This could be interesting.’
I wanted to give it a proper shot.
They say a rich family's wealth lasts three generations, so I wouldn't have to worry about retirement anyway.
* * *
We only spent a single day on market research for cloud computing.
There were too many companies coming to us for contracts due to Source Coin's fame for us to investigate much.
- Earth Resource, Silicon Valley's Rising Star
Platform
It was all thanks to an article about our company in an American digital magazine.
The article covered the issuance of Source Coin, an explanation of the mining system, the surge in our company's value, and a story about me.
[ Founder Kim Shin revealed his reason for establishing the company. "It was to support a company called Biolife, which researches ways to combat influenza and coronavirus with artificial intelligence."
The company, founded by Kim Shin, who had amassed great wealth through Bitcoin, stocks, and startup investments, showed remarkable results from its very first day of service.
It is currently connected to over 500,000 miners... ]
My picture was also in the magazine, and I quite liked it.
The employees at Earth Resource were working hectically, and the number of new hires kept growing.
As new employees from various fields started working, there were more and more people whose faces and names I didn't know.
New employees.
Exchanging light greetings with them when we crossed paths reminded me of my office life at Arcor.
“Myeong-woo. The data center. Let's build it.”
“Yeah. I knew you'd say that.”
It felt like we were taking on a new challenge before Earth Resource's corporate value had even been firmly established.
Nevertheless, it was a related field and could expand our synergy, so we had to try.
“To build a data center, we need to construct a building with a good cooling system and have the necessary solutions for server operations.”
“Time is the problem.”
The construction period alone would be one or two years.
Competitors like Amazon and Google reportedly build data centers in cold places like Iceland or Sweden to save electricity and lower the temperature in their server rooms.
In Korea, Naver and NHN built their data centers in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province.
Gangwon Province is a region where you can save significantly on cooling costs.
“I don't think we can wait for a building to be constructed. Let's acquire a company.”
“You're going to spend money?”
“You have to spend it when you need to.”
I looked into cloud solution companies in Silicon Valley, and then I checked out data centers that were available for acquisition.
The country had to have low electricity rates, the building couldn't be too old, and the communication network had to be fast.
Fortunately, there were quite a few companies that met those conditions.
Within a few days, we confirmed that 29 data centers in the US alone were on the market.
- Kim Shin: I'm looking to buy a data center. Are there any experts?
- Ellie: I'll check with the relevant department.
With JPMorgan as the lead manager, I looked at data centers near San Francisco, and four of them caught my eye.
The total price was over 300 million dollars.
“If you need a loan, we can arrange it for you.”
The loan department at JPMorgan made an offer, but I declined.
“I don't need a loan.”
I was no longer the naive salaried worker of the past; I knew how important it was to use leverage in investment techniques.
Despite that, the burden of taking on debt was significant.
‘It's best not to borrow money if you can help it. It's not like I don't have the funds.’
I solved it by having Earth Resource conduct a paid-in capital increase of 300 million dollars and acquiring all the shares myself.
I thought that since the articles in the American newspapers were brief, not many people would notice.
But the coin forums were buzzing.
- Source Coin is about to moon!!!!
- Earth Resource's capital increased by $300 million;; Kim Shin invested an additional $300 million;;
- Why invest so much money in a coin?
- They say he's entering the cloud computing market.
- He's got a lot of money, so it looks like he's trying to grow it for real.
- Is Source Coin going to $10?
- Never sell. I think it might even go to $100.
* * *
It was a time when I was incredibly busy, steadily preparing to enter the new market and recruiting employees for the cloud division.
“You have visitors.”
“Show them in.”
Two men in neat suits entered the office.
“Welcome.”
“I'm Jim Bowman. My profession is an investment accelerator. I'm here regarding coin investments.”
I'd invested in startups and, as the CEO of Earth Resource, I had met with company CEOs and system administration team leaders.
I had dealt with people in various professions, but "investment accelerator" was a first.
“An investment accelerator? What do you do?”
“In a nutshell, it's a job where we significantly increase our clients' assets.”
“In what way?”
“The means and methods vary. That's because our clients come from many different backgrounds.”
His words made me tilt my head in confusion.
At first glance, it sounded like an investment bank that trades stocks or derivatives, but if that were the case, he would have proudly stated his company's name from the beginning.
‘I'll find out what they're up to once we talk.’
When it came to spotting a bait-and-switch, were there any people more trained than Koreans?
Multi-level marketing, speculative real estate, voice phishing, insurance, and so on.
Living in Korea, you were bound to receive all sorts of strange proposals.
“We are paying close attention to Source Coin.”
“Source Coin?”
“The coin ecosystem holds tremendous value. Are you aware that Chris Larsen, the chairman of Ripple, was once worth 60 billion dollars?”
He brought up the name of the famous tycoon, the chairman of Ripple.
He went on at length about the 2018 coin boom.
“I'm short on time. Could you get to the point?”
“Of course. I wouldn't want to take up your valuable time. Although public interest in coins has waned, we believe Source Coin can lead the charge.”
“Is that so?”
“You've built your business very well in a short amount of time. Source Coin has become a coin with real power—from mining to marketability and private transactions. It's an excellent product in the capital market. Since coins aren't regulated by capital markets, it's very easy to raise the price if you have a buying group. We can use the power of the media and capital to raise the price for you.”
“Raise the price for what?”
“If Earth Resource cooperates with us, I believe we can achieve a massive business.”
Earth Resource would issue one billion Source Coins.
The proposal was to list them on a coin exchange, pump up the price, and then sell them off.
“I promised to only issue an amount below our capital.”
“You made an unnecessary promise. But it won't be a problem. If we hold the one billion coins together, there will be no redemption requests, and if we sell them on the exchange for a profit, it's a business with no issues at all.”
“...”
If you issue coins and sell them at a high price on the exchange, redeeming them at one dollar isn't a burden.
In fact, since Source Coin was currently trading at five dollars, if the company issued more, it would have the same effect as printing money.
‘Is this a scam?’
As long as transactions are happening, no one gets hurt immediately. But if Source Coin crashes, the investors will suffer losses.
There's the saying that the responsibility for an investment lies with the investor, but there were always forces that took advantage of that.
Jim smiled faintly.
“We'll start with one billion, but that's just to secure the base volume.”
“Is there a next step?”
“Once it's listed on the exchange and the general public starts buying in large quantities... that's when we need to increase the issuance volume. Have you considered the profit you could make from selling over ten billion Source Coins?”
“...”
Ten billion... wasn't that an unrealistic number?
“Are you familiar with Dogecoin?”
“Yes. I've heard of it.”
I'd seen Dogecoin when trading Bitcoin, Ripple, and others.
It was a worthless coin created by IBM developers as a joke.
“Dogecoin has no supply cap, so 100 billion coins had already been created by 2015. Ten billion can be sold off quickly if the market can absorb it. We can aim for even more than that.”
Coins that now trade for 300 or 400 won were worth less than 5 won when they were first created.
If Source Coin's price were to rise to 100 dollars...
‘A billionaire hundreds of times over.’
It stoked the desire for a windfall.
Which was why it sounded all the more dangerous.
Jim explained with a confident expression.
“Our business is affiliated with celebrities and coin exchanges. Famous investors who appear on television and have millions of followers. Through them, the Source Coin business can rise to the center of the coin chain, and you, Mr. CEO, will gain an opportunity for immense wealth.”
“...”
“I know you're already wealthy. You must be well aware of what it feels like to make a lot of money. This is an opportunity. And you're not abandoning Earth Resource either. You can continue the business even after issuing an enormous amount of coins. The only thing to be wary of is that the business itself might become so trivial that you lose interest.”
The investment accelerator. I looked Jim straight in the eye.
His gaze was trustworthy and full of conviction.
They say the face is a reflection of the person, and I felt no hesitation or sense of unease from him.
‘Even the caliber of con artists is different in Silicon Valley.’
My purpose for founding Earth Resource wasn't to make a quick buck with coins.
Moreover...
‘So these are the culprits.’
The bastards who pump up worthless coins for a quick profit and are still prowling around like hyenas.
If I had continued investing in coins after Ripple, there's a good chance I would have fallen for guys like this and suffered losses.
“I've heard you out. It's a very big proposal, so I'll consider it.”
“Oh, dear. We must save time. And good opportunities don't come around often.”
“I'll make a decision before it's too late.”
I shook hands with the two men who had come as investment accelerators.
Jim and another Asian man.
“And who might you be?”
“My apologies for the late introduction. My name is Kwon Do-jin. I work in investment, but I'm also the CEO of Taepom Labs.”
“Taepom Labs?”
“We issue the stablecoin Tay, and the algorithmically linked Roona.”
Compared to Jim, this guy's face wasn't nearly as trustworthy. I shouldn't judge by appearances, but he looked like a cattle rustler.
Kwon Do-jin grinned and said,
“As long as you're in the coin business, we'll be seeing a lot of each other. You'll profit greatly if you build a good relationship with us going forward.”