"Interview with Executives of Encryption Concept Stocks" New Fire Technology's New CEO Wang Xiaoqi: New Fire Will Lead the Direction of the Tide

Author of the article: 0x9999in1 Source: ME The Web3 strategies and layouts of publicly listed companies have become a hot topic of increasing public interest. Against this backdrop, ME officially launches a series of "Executive Interviews on Crypto Concept Stocks." We will converse with those business leaders who dare to take the lead in the wave of digital transformation, delving into their strategic layouts, business innovations, and financial innovations from the decision-makers' first perspective, providing forward-looking insights for industry participants.

This issue's guest is the newly appointed CEO of Fire Technology Holdings (01611.HK), Weng Xiaoqi, also known as "Qiye." This seasoned professional in the crypto space shares his career transition from Huobi to HashKey, and then to Fire Technology, along with his strategic vision for the future development of Fire Technology, drawing on his extensive industry experience and keen market insights. From Huobi to HashKey: The Starting Point of Compliance Exploration In 2018, Weng Xiaoqi's collaboration with Huobi founder Li Lin made him a key figure at Huobi Global. He recalled, "Since 2018, I have closely worked with Li Lin, serving as the CEO of Huobi Global until 2021." He also proudly stated, "Huobi is a learning organization that has nurtured many talents. Many exchanges have recruited talent from us, which is why we are regarded as the Whampoa Military Academy of the industry." In 2022, after Li Lin sold Huobi, he recommended Weng Xiaoqi to HashKey Group founder Xiao Feng. Weng Xiaoqi admitted that he was still skeptical about the compliance prospects in Hong Kong at that time: "I took a wait-and-see attitude towards Hong Kong's compliance environment, with many uncertainties, and the space and feasibility still needed to be verified." But after in-depth communication, he became resolute: "Later, I realized that compliance is the major trend of the future, so I made up my mind to join HashKey, officially starting in 2023 and spending nearly two years until the end of 2024." At HashKey, Weng Xiaoqi serves as the Group Chief Operating Officer and the first CEO of HashKey Exchange, "bringing in a large number of talents and establishing a complete operational system for the exchange." When talking about the reason for leaving HashKey, Weng Xiaoqi clarified that it was not due to internal strife or other gossip, but rather family reasons. He clarified: "Some external rumors are quite absurd. The real reason is that a family member suddenly had health issues, and I needed to take care of my family, which is the main reason." After dealing with family matters, Li Lin invited him to join New Fire Technology: "This year, family matters have been properly handled. Li Lin found me when New Fire was in a state of being unmanaged. He hoped I would join to increase the investment in New Fire's business, so I joined through a private placement plan." Return: The New Fire Rekindles the Past New Fire Technology, as one of the world's earliest blockchain concept stocks, has been relatively low-key in recent years due to sales and other reasons. The joining of Weng Xiaoqi marks the launch of a brand new strategy. He shared: "I joined New Fire at the suggestion of Xiao Feng, who predicted that the linkage between traditional finance and digital assets would promote industry activity before the new market cycle. There are relatively few blockchain stocks in Hong Kong, and New Fire is one of the pure representative companies." Before deciding to join, he sought Xiao Feng's opinion: "When discussing whether to join New Fire, I consulted Xiao Feng's opinion, and he supported my joining." Weng Xiaoqi emphasized that he still maintains a close cooperative relationship with Hashkey: "We have maintained a very good relationship, and there is no so-called poaching; I am also a shareholder of HashKey." Weng Xiaoqi is also very confident in collaborating with the current non-executive director Du Jun: "Du Jun is a longtime friend of mine, and his investment areas are extensive, covering funds, on-chain media, SaaS services, etc. With so many businesses, it's difficult for him to focus on the management of New Fire. Now, as the full-time CEO, I have taken over the management, and he feels reassured about this." He added: "We have been closely discussing the strategic direction of New Fire recently, and Du Jun is one of the main participants in the strategy formulation." Weng Xiaoqi views the return to New Fire as a continuation of past ties, expressing: "I am honored to work at two of the most influential platforms in the Chinese crypto circle, having joined HashKey on Li Lin's recommendation and returned to New Fire on Xiao Feng's suggestion. One pioneered the exchange model, and the other has led the compliance trend. I believe that this return to New Fire, hand in hand with Li Lin, Du Jun, and others, will allow us to once again lead the direction of the tide." Newborn: Innovative Private Industry Business and Beachhead Layout DAT The strategic return of New Fire Technology to "first principles" focuses on market pain points rather than replicating HashKey's License No. 7 model. Weng Xiaoqi pointed out: "There are speculations from the outside that we will replicate HashKey's License No. 7 business, but we choose to start from actual market demand. The License No. 7 market in Hong Kong has become saturated, with more than a dozen existing licenses, and leading platforms have not seen significant breakthroughs. It is not wise to enter a red ocean in the short term." Regarding the market driven by stablecoins and RWA, Weng Xiaoqi observed the pain points of high-net-worth individuals and institutions: "This round of market has attracted many clients' attention to stablecoins and RWA, but they face numerous issues: how to purchase digital assets, how to open accounts, whether asset storage is safe, whether it can appreciate, and how to pass it on to the next generation." The existing No. 7 platform is relatively "low-touch": "Currently, the No. 7 business is mainly focused on retail investors, making it difficult to provide dedicated customer service for each client, and we can only offer self-service through the app." He gave an example: "We have observed that many users encounter issues with deposit and withdrawal, transfer, trading, and even have difficulty understanding market orders and limit orders when using the No. 7 exchange, especially high-net-worth clients. This group of traditional stock market high-net-worth individuals, family offices, and institutions want to enter the market but are blocked by technical barriers." The new solution from Xinhua is to create a "private banking-level digital asset steward": "We rely on Trust License No. 149 to provide end-to-end private banking services for high-net-worth individuals. When clients open accounts, dedicated private stewards assist in organizing materials, and the account can be completed in seven days if everything is in order." In trading, "clients do not have to face a cold app to place orders by themselves; we provide dedicated service groups for each high-net-worth client. When clients express a need, such as purchasing 1 million USD worth of Bitcoin, we provide feedback on market conditions and quickly complete transactions through smart routing." In terms of custody, "we offer multiple options: it can be held in our trust fund or in selected trusted exchanges like Coinbase or HashKey; if clients prefer to manage it themselves, we provide MPC wallets." Additionally, investment and inheritance solutions are offered: "We provide a fund supermarket and investment opportunities linking traditional finance with digital assets, pioneering the establishment of family trusts using Bitcoin, for example, a trust of 100 Bitcoins can be allocated through a will, 50 to the son and 50 to the daughter." Institutional clients are also a focus: "Many banks have been forced to enter the market due to the popularity of stablecoins, otherwise deposits will flow to on-chain. Institutions also face challenges with trading and management capabilities. We will systematically serve financial institutions to help build trading, custody, security, and asset management capabilities." He summarized: "We focus on high-net-worth individuals and institutions, skipping retail investors, as the cost of serving retail clients with license number 7 is too high." In addition, New Fire Technology is also looking globally, finely targeting the global market trend of DAT (Digital Asset Vault). Weng Xiaoqi revealed: "Currently, the global market pricing is mainly dominated by the United States, with the largest net inflow of institutional funds. This model has persisted for a long time in the Bitcoin and Ethereum fields, and the Ethereum market has not yet saturated." He announced: "We will announce a special plan with a scale of about 500 million dollars, strategically laying out the US stock DAT, and have already negotiated cooperation with several leading DAT institutions." This move not only meets the primary market allocation needs of private banking clients but also meets investors' expectations, aligning with the trend of market development. Summary From the founding of Huobi to HashKey's exploration of compliance, and then to the strategic rebirth of New Hope Technology, Weng Xiaoqi's professional journey can be described as a connection to the golden age of the crypto circle. With the support of Li Lin, Xiao Feng, and Du Jun, he led New Hope Technology with an open mindset to fill the market gap for high-net-worth and institutional private banking services in Hong Kong, while also positioning for the DAT boom in the United States. The debut of New Hope Technology on the financial hotbed of Hong Kong is truly remarkable.