Chapter 68: My Own Empire
Chapter 68: My Own Empire
< My Own Empire >
A surge in the Korean, European, and American stock markets.
The Dow Jones and Nasdaq jumped over 7% in a single day.
- Kim Shin is insane.
- A beacon of light. He's simply a beacon of light.
- Did anyone else follow Kim Shin's investment advice?
ㄴ I did. Figured I'd give it a shot and threw in 3 million won.
ㄴ Congrats... you made money.
ㄴ I regret not investing more. I've lost over 30 million in the last two months.
- The so-called stock experts are never right, but Kim Shin, a non-expert, is a psychic.
- In the stock market, the person who makes money is the expert. Kim Shin is the best expert in Korea.
- All of you, give me your addresses. How dare you speak our teacher's name so casually???
- At least call him 'hyung.' I'm in my forties, and in this world, the guy who makes you money is your 'hyung.'
- I agree, I agree.
The stock forums were flooded with incredible praise for me.
Hyung, CEO, Teacher, Light, God.
Perhaps I was receiving such praise because the stocks recommended by experts had all, without exception, been complete duds.
The comments on my YouTube video were so full of blatant praise that I had to stop reading, my face flushing.
“It seems your investment was a great success, sir.”
“A success? Not yet.”
I shook my head lightly at Producer Seong Ho-jin's words.
I was back to filming for YouTube in my spare time.
While the public's attention could feel burdensome at times, it was crucial for Dream Art Rainbow's business.
Fame and recognition translated directly into influence.
According to Vice President Jeong Beom-tae, the acquisition and investment in content companies were proceeding smoothly.
Honestly, I hadn't been able to pay much attention to the Korean business, so it was a relief that it was finding its footing on its own.
“Are you aiming for even higher returns now?”
“Rather than short-term returns, I'm looking at a three to six-month timeframe.”
I doubted anyone could predict tomorrow's stock prices.
I had a gut feeling that in three or six months, the market would definitely be higher than it was now.
It was an intuition that stocks would rise, provided that COVID subsided and the Fed released a massive amount of money.
'It rose a lot in a short time, but there's no need to get carried away.'
I resolved to wait patiently.
However...
- New York Stock Exchange, strong for the second day! Is COVID-19 losing momentum?
- Goldman Sachs: Market to bottom out soon
- U.S. President: "Will provide additional support to the people"
For the second day, the New York market opened with a significant rise, only to close down 0.12% by the end of the day.
- U.S. confirmed cases reach 380,000. Deaths surge.
- New York State COVID deaths: 4,759
- New York Governor: 731 deaths in one day
- New York morgues full, bodies stored in freezers
This was thanks to a string of bad news.
I felt like we were passing through a dark tunnel.
'I was right not to get excited just because the stock price went up.'
Until COVID was somewhat under control, there would be a limit to how much stocks could rise.
Many people were losing their lives in New York.
And in countries less developed than the United States, the number of uncounted victims was likely far greater.
And then...
- Hope for COVID slowdown, Dow surges over 700 points
- NYSE up over 3%
- Bernie Sanders drops out, relief rally continues
The New York stock market continued to fluctuate wildly.
If it fell one day, it would leap even higher the next.
- Buffett invests in consumer goods companies
Warren Buffett, considered the world's greatest investor, began investing in consumer goods and financial companies.
“Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful.”
It was a famous quote from Warren Buffett.
Buffett was widely known for investing in companies with stable sales, profits, and technological prowess.
The fact that he had left such a quote was proof of his immense experience and insight into international financial markets.
'That saying perfectly sums up the crypto and stock markets of the past few years.'
The decision to invest amidst the fear was definitely the right one. I had no regrets.
As I was watching the news in the living room, Lee Jong-yeop brought me toast and coffee.
“Hyung.”
“Yeah?”
“The stock prices are really going up, just like you said.”
“They sure are.”
I hadn't expected such a quick reaction.
Honestly, while I thought it was luck, I still felt good.
* * *
The business model for Earth Resource was, frankly, a scam.
It took cash from corporations and research labs for its computing services, but its actual expenditures were paid out in Source Coin.
In essence, it was taking cash and giving users Source Coin with no guaranteed payout date.
“The grid network is now fully operational.”
“Okay. How’s it looking?”
“Over 95% of miners have enabled the grid.”
I was at the office, talking with Eddie.
The full-scale implementation of the grid system, which would become the core of our computing and cloud systems.
It improved business viability while paying out in Source Coin.
The issued Source Coin was recorded as a liability, but it was akin to circulating a promissory note with no fixed due date.
Naturally pulling off what unscrupulous corporations do, its profitability was bound to be high.
“Shopping mall sales are exploding. While shipments to Korea are increasing, mainly for electronics, domestic sales in the U.S. have grown twelvefold compared to last week.”
This was the report from Ellie, who was in charge of the shopping mall division.
“As you suggested, sir, increasing the sales of items like masks and other household necessities for people staying at home has been highly effective.”
Being stuck at home in New York, I had spent a lot of time online.
I had instructed them to structure the shopping mall's product lineup by referencing the early days of the COVID outbreak in Korea.
President Yoo Seok-tae of Osong Leons played a huge role in this.
- Kim Shin: Do you have any stock of masks or anti-inflammatory painkillers in Korea?
- President Yoo Seok-tae: Huh? Do you need some?
- Kim Shin: Yes. A lot. I'm planning to formally export them to the United States.
- President Yoo Seok-tae: Haha. That's great. Our company is producing masks, you know.
- Kim Shin: Wow. You're even producing masks?
There was a reason why Leons, once a blue-chip company, had gotten caught up in financial difficulties.
It was because of its president, who was devoted to expansion—a sprawling, octopus-like expansion.
- President Yoo Seok-tae: Of course! I pushed for mask production as soon as COVID started spreading in China.
- President Yoo Seok-tae: You can buy one of these production machines for 50 million won. The manufacturing process isn't complicated either. I knew it was the perfect opportunity.
- Kim Shin: How many machines are you running?
- President Yoo Seok-tae: We started with 30.
The man just dropped 1.5 billion won like it was nothing.
Doing business in America could make one numb to large sums of money, but considering Leons's size, it was a significant amount.
- Kim Shin: ...And now?
- President Yoo Seok-tae: Once we started making them, they sold like crazy. Each machine churns out 30,000 masks a day, so I figured this was it and ramped it up to 100 machines.
- Kim Shin: That's amazing. Truly.
- Kim Shin: What's the margin on those?
- President Yoo Seok-tae: Right now, the Public Procurement Service buys over 80% of them. We started early, so our production cost is 450 won per mask. The government buys them for 1,000 won.
- Kim Shin: That's practically printing money.
- President Yoo Seok-tae: Exactly. Haha. That's what it feels like. We're making a killing. It's great because I can finally give my employees bonuses again after a long time.
I once again thought I had made the right decision in entrusting the management of Leons to President Yoo Seok-tae.
- Kim Shin: So, will we be able to export the masks and painkillers without any issues?
- President Yoo Seok-tae: Until last month, there was a major mask shortage in Korea, so exports were completely banned.
- Kim Shin: Ah, I see.
- President Yoo Seok-tae: But production has ramped up quickly. It feels like we're starting to have a surplus on the ground. I think they'll lift the ban soon.
- President Yoo Seok-tae: If you need them right away, are masks from a Chinese company okay?
- Kim Shin: Of course. We're not in a position to be picky.
With President Yoo Seok-tae's help, I imported a massive shipment of masks from a Chinese company by cargo plane.
They sold out as soon as they were listed on the shopping mall, and as a bonus, consoles and various games were also selling well.
“It was all thanks to your judgment, sir.”
“Not at all.”
Receiving business reports from Earth Resource, I could see that cash was piling up fast.
Nearly all revenue from computing and cloud services was profit, and the shopping mall had a profit margin of about 20%.
We decided to use the company's retained earnings to acquire game companies, other shopping malls, and local supermarkets.
Bank interest rates were incredibly low, and with the speed of Earth Resource's expansion, acquisitions were the only answer.
* * *
The Crypto Exchange.
On the Earth Resource website, we had enabled trading with other cryptocurrencies to promote the use of Source Coin.
Initially, the response was weak.
Everyone expected the price of Source Coin to rise, so no one wanted to sell.
But as 18 million Source Coins were issued daily, the situation changed.
- I need cash now... Guess I have to sell some Source Coin.
- The market price for Source Coin is around $6-7.
- Trade it on the website. It's the fastest way.
They would trade their Source Coin for other coins, then sell those to get a profit corresponding to the market price.
Whether they were Korean miners or users who earned them as mileage points from the shopping mall, they were making a tidy profit this way.
It even earned me the nickname 'Savior of Korean PC Bangs.'
As someone who once worked part-time at a PC bang, I felt a sense of pride.
Eddie made a suggestion.
“Why don't we just let people buy and sell Source Coin directly with money?”
“With money?”
“Yes. Trading between different coins is inconvenient, isn't it?”
Was there really a need to force people to swap Source Coin for other cryptos?
Unless they planned to hold onto that other coin, they had to make a second trade.
From the perspective of Source Coin holders, it had been an inconvenience they had to endure.
“You have a point. Let's support it.”
We added a feature to the website that allowed users to buy Source Coin with US dollars.
The result was explosive.
The price of Source Coin instantly shot up to $10, and the overall trading volume jumped by more than four or five times daily.
With various coins being traded, the number of visitors to the website was increasing absurdly.
Naturally, I was concerned about the resulting traffic.
“Eddie, are there any issues with supporting the website's functions? Is it putting a strain on the system?”
“We're in the cloud business. Even if the traffic increases a hundredfold, there won't be any issues with speed or functionality.”
18 million Source Coins.
Compared to other major coins, some of which had released 100 billion units, the supply was always scarce.
Nevertheless, it served as an anchor within the exchange, acting like a base currency.
Two days later.
“Kim Shin, do you know how much profit the coin exchange made today?”
“How much?”
“One million dollars.”
“...”
A simple feature we added to the website was now bringing in a significant amount of cash.
I heard that Korean crypto exchanges make 10 million dollars a day.
Doing business and investing, my sense of numbers had sometimes grown dull. There were just that many companies making that much money.
Eddie said with a bright smile.
“There's a lot of trading from Koreans.”
“That's because many of the people who hold Source Coin are Korean.”
My reputation had led to the success of Source Coin.
Perhaps I was the one who had achieved the greatest success through YouTube.
“Yes. And it's mostly Americans who are buying with dollars. Koreans also buy and sell other coins, and Source Coin is acting as a stablecoin for them.”
A stablecoin with a stable price.
It was undoubtedly an environment that was helpful for crypto trading in many ways.
“Eddie, at this rate, we should create a crypto division.”
“Yes. Considering the growth rate, I think that's the right move.”
Computing, cloud, shopping, gaming.
To that list, I decided to add a crypto division that could generate immediate cash.
We would have to hire a large number of employees for the relevant fields, but it was a pleasant task.
There was a certain joy in paying my employees' salaries and building my own empire.