Chapter 63
Chapter 63
Awakened Investor with Black Hair 063
==========
I offered my reputation to Digital Currency Group by having them buy their Bitcoin products.
In return, they stepped up as dealmakers to finalize a deal with Tether.
Just as I had, they showed confidence because they also had something to offer Tether.
It was the same with Elon earlier.
That's the standard way things work in our industry.
Now, it was up to DCG to win over Tether.
There was no need to bring up the story that had concluded yesterday. Instead, I threw a new topic onto the table.
"Regarding DeFi, the more I look into it, the more significant its potential seems."
I faced Barry Silbert, the head of DCG, once again.
"I understand your interest, but..."
He looked at me with a complicated expression.
"You're succeeding so well on Wall Street, is it really necessary?"
He said, smiling awkwardly.
"Don't misunderstand. I'm saying this because I don't want you to get into trouble."
It wasn't just a warning; it was a painful truth.
AlphaMind is Wall Street's capital.
Since GBTC is disguised as a stock, it can be covered up somehow.
In fact, quite a few Wall Street Hedge Funds are even participating.
However, if AlphaMind fully engages in the Cryptocurrency industry, existing investors won't stand still.
No matter how much Cryptocurrency is a land of opportunity, can it compare to the powerful network of traditional capital?
Barclays will pull out immediately.
There's a 99.99% chance they'll cut off the loan line and demand a credit rating reassessment, citing concerns.
The problem is what comes next.
Once trust is broken, it takes years to restore. For them, it's not just about the rate of return.
The media will be even worse.
They'll run headlines saying AlphaMind has been tainted by scams.
Provocateurs like Jim Cramer will hold extraordinary debates about me.
All sorts of conspiracy theories will abound on Twitter. The WallStreetBets trolls on Reddit will mock me and create memes.
'And competing Hedge Funds will try to take my position, taking advantage of the gap...'
Ugh. It's terrible to think about again.
That's why I prepared this.
I nodded and handed over a business card.
"This is my other business card."
「 AlphaNova CEO, Hyun-woo Na
Suite 7B-13, 20 Exchange Place, New York, NY 10005, USA
(917) 555-4628, @AlphaNova 」
AlphaNova was created as a venture capital firm operating in the Cryptocurrency industry.
[ Alpha Group
• Parent Company:
Alpha. Inc
• Subsidiaries:
1. AlphaMind (Hedge Fund)
2. AlphaHelp (Welfare Foundation)
3. AlphaVentures (Emerging Venture Capital)
4. AlphaNova (Cryptocurrency Venture Capital) ]
Like the other subsidiaries, AlphaNova is completely independent.
Only the CEO is the same.
Barry Silbert stared at the business card for a long time. Gradually, a subtle change flickered in his eyes.
"AlphaNova, is it one of Alpha's subsidiaries?"
"That's right. It's funded entirely with personal funds. So, I think Wall Street will see it as just a small personal hobby of mine."
"If it stays small... Wall Street won't say much."
"It's starting with five million dollars for now."
Five million dollars.
He smiled lightly, as if he finally understood.
It's a trivial amount for someone like him.
But not for me.
I had to pretend it was a small amount in front of him, but in reality, it's precious, even painfully so.
'AlphaMind is AlphaMind, and Hyun-woo Na is Hyun-woo Na.'
Almost all of the Jackpot profits from the COVID-19 pandemic are tied up in a paper company called AK.
Even the product profits within AlphaMind can only be turned into personal funds after the liquidation process, dividend process, and tax payment.
So, this five million dollars is almost all I can move.
Now, all the cash I have left is one million dollars held in reserve.
Since I'm pushing in precious funds, I need to extract the maximum results.
That's why Decentralized Finance.
DeFi is the next hunting ground.
* * *
When you deposit money in a bank, you receive interest.
When you take out a loan, you have to pay interest.
That obvious system has led our capital world to this point.
And now, the same system has emerged within the blockchain. You can deposit coins and receive loans.
But the process is different from traditional banks.
In that it is not subject to any intervention.
That's the core of DeFi.
That there is no intervention from anything—
In this world, there are no employees, and the organization itself called a bank does not exist. Even the hands of the government or financial authorities do not reach it.
If you just have coins in your Cryptocurrency wallet.
Everything just runs on a pre-arranged contract code (Smart Contract).
Isn't it beyond the point of being amazing?
If it develops properly, it could fundamentally change the paradigm from the root.
How many steps do you have to go through to move capital on Wall Street?
To deposit customer funds, you must obtain approval from the bank. To design a loan, you must overcome the regulations of credit rating agencies and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Even sitting at a trading desk and placing orders is followed by the sharp eyes of the clearing team, brokers, and regulators.
'How much fees and time are wasted in that process...'
But DeFi has blown all that away.
Unlike Wall Street, which is full of control, here it's completely—
A New World!
Even with the caveat that it's still a long way off.
* * *
"So, is there anywhere you're keeping an eye on?"
Barry Silbert asked in a much more relaxed voice. I could also see his boldness.
The atmosphere was quite different from yesterday.
Yesterday, he was in a position to attract investment in Grayscale's Bitcoin Trust (GBTC).
And I was in a position to review his proposal as an emerging force on Wall Street called AlphaMind.
But today is different.
Today, I'm like a foreign lord who wants to enter his empire.
The goodwill gift I gave yesterday was effective.
He said again.
"How about Compound?"
One of the names I was aiming for popped out of his mouth.
"It's the first DeFi protocol to create an algorithm-based interest rate adjustment model. It's a place that has a business model that we live and die for, that can be called cash flow."
But the seed round and series investments are all over.
To get a stake there, the only way is to buy back the stakes of other investors who have already secured them, like Reddit did.
That's right.
Five million dollars is not enough.
Even if it were possible, there are other prey scattered everywhere to put all five million dollars into it.
That's why I was thinking.
'If I had Awakened two years earlier. No, if I had Awakened just one year earlier...'
'No. No. Opportunities are still scattered everywhere.'
I smiled lightly and replied.
"Are you talking about a token private sale?"
"Can you raise more funds? Wouldn't it be difficult?"
He misinterpreted my words and asked back in a tone that suggested it would be difficult.
"That's right. It's still just a 'hobby' for now."
The way to extract extreme efficiency with five million dollars was not in equity but in the coins they would issue.
The stock market bubble is bound to move to the Cryptocurrency market.
In the coin market, which will be overflowing with all sorts of madness—
The rate of return that would only be possible by hitting a historic Jackpot in the futures and options market of the major market will not be difficult.
'These people will blow the trumpet themselves and step on the accelerator hard.'
All I have to do is watch the show and eat the rice cake.
As soon as I finished speaking, Barry Silbert showed me the terms on his pad.
[ Compound Private Allocation Offer
• Token Name: $COMP
• Allocation Amount: Up to $3,000,000
• Token Price: $0.78
• Lock-up Conditions: 3-month soft lock-up, 6-month hard lock-up ]
This is it.
All I have to do is hold onto this initial token volume and ride the wave when the madness comes.
The actual stake in DeFi platforms?
I can gradually secure that with the profits I get at that time. It's true that DeFi is the innovative finance of the future, but it takes a lot of time.
"I'll invest one million dollars. Next, I'd like to talk about Uniswap and Pancake Swap. Do you know anything about that?"
"Of course. But Pancake Swap is in a different camp from us. You'll naturally find out in the future, but to explain it simply now..."
The story continued about Binance, the world's largest Cryptocurrency exchange, and its founder, CZ, Changpeng Zhao.
It was all familiar, but this is his empire.
He told the story comfortably, and I chose to listen quietly.
Then, the words came out of his mouth.
"By the way, have you heard of Terraform Labs?"
"It's a Korean project, right?"
When the Korean story came up, Barry Silbert subtly looked at me.
He's a perceptive person.
He seemed to have noticed from the conversations we had yesterday and today that I had a sense of inferiority about that.
"The private sale is all over, but that's even better."
He continued.
"The token price, which was $0.18 in the first round and $0.8 in the private sale, is now undervalued at $0.2. If you go in now, it's the timing for investors who participated in the private sale to be envious."
"Even so, I've been keeping an eye on Terra."
"You have a good eye."
"The plan to issue its own Stable Coin is eye-catching."
"Ah. Stable Coin. Right? I forgot. I should have recommended Terra first."
We looked at each other and smiled.
"You can buy Terra directly without any arrangement."
Terraform Labs, led by a young Korean CEO of my age.
The token they issue is called Luna.
The ticker was $LUNA.