Transcript of Dr. Han, founder of Gate, speaking at the University of Hong Kong: Breaking the Matthew Effect and Winning in Asymmetric Competition
On April 21, at the Web3 exchange event "Web3 Dialogues @ HKU - Academia x Industry" held at the University of Hong Kong, Gate founder and CEO Dr. Han delivered a keynote speech on "Breaking the Matthew Effect." Drawing on his 13 years of frontline experience in the cryptocurrency industry, Dr. Han systematically elaborated on a core judgment: in the crypto world, competition is never fair; what truly determines victory or defeat is who establishes and maintains the "Matthew Effect" first.
Unfairness as the Starting Point: Understanding the True Structure of Competition
Dr. Han candidly stated in his speech that the essence of business competition is an asymmetric game of resources and time, rather than an idealized fair competition. "Do not expect fairness in the real world," he emphasized, noting that starting points, resources, and information gaps collectively shape the competitive landscape, and the Matthew Effect is continuously amplified within this structure— the strong become stronger, while newcomers face higher barriers.
Using his own experience as an example, Dr. Han mentioned that in the early days of his startup, he had no funding or team support and built the initial platform in a family environment, starting from a completely different point than competitors who received capital backing at the same time. However, it was under these unfavorable conditions that he was forced to adopt more aggressive and efficient strategies.
First-Mover Advantage: Establishing an "Irreversible" Moat with Speed
Regarding how to break through in an unfair environment, Dr. Han proposed a second key principle: establish the Matthew Effect as early as possible. He recalled that the platform quickly gathered users and trading volume by launching a large number of long-tail assets early on, forming an overwhelming advantage in niche markets. "While others are still assessing risks, you have already completed your layout," this strategy allowed Gate to accumulate its first round of users despite limited resources and at one point held a high market share.
In his view, once the Matthew Effect is established, it will create a self-reinforcing mechanism through liquidity, brand, and user networks, becoming the most effective "defense system."
Seizing Windows and Dynamic Games: Establishing and Reshaping Competitive Advantage Amid Uncertainty
Dr. Han pointed out that the Matthew Effect is not sustainable once established; its essence is always in dynamic change. Although the platform experiences periodic shocks during its development, the key is whether it can quickly correct its path and return to a growth trajectory, rather than trying to avoid all fluctuations. On this basis, Dr. Han summarized industry competition as "the competition for opportunity windows," believing that every leap in the crypto industry, from the 2017 ICO, the 2020 DeFi Summer, to derivatives and meme assets, is essentially a brief and highly uncertain structural opportunity. He stated that true leaders often complete their layouts when the divergences are greatest, rather than following after consensus is formed.
At the same time, Dr. Han emphasized that with the rapid evolution of AI, technology is reshaping production methods and competition rhythms, further compressing decision-making windows, requiring platforms to be more agile in resource allocation and directional choices to maintain competitiveness in a continuously changing industry cycle.
Beyond the Rules: Maintaining Independent Judgment Amid Rapid Changes
At the end of his speech, Dr. Han extended the topic to the level of individual cognition, suggesting that one should not blindly follow existing rules and authorities. In discussions with students, he stated, "Do not blindly trust your parents, and do not blindly trust your teachers," emphasizing that this does not negate experience and education, but rather, in the context of the rapid evolution of Web3 and AI, and the continuous reshaping of industry boundaries, single experiences are increasingly inadequate to adapt to changes. Dr. Han believes that compared to relying on existing standard answers, establishing the ability for independent thinking and quick decision-making is more crucial: knowledge can be taught, but understanding this era requires personal effort.
Conclusion
From early entrepreneurship to navigating multiple market cycles, Dr. Han's sharing presents a highly non-linear growth path. In his view, the core of the cryptocurrency industry is not about "participating in competition," but about whether one can establish advantages first in an asymmetric structure, survive mistakes, and make counter-consensus decisions at critical moments. The accumulation of these abilities constitutes the true barrier to traversing cycles.
About Gate
Founded in 2013, Gate is one of the world's leading cryptocurrency trading platforms, with Dr. Han as its founder and CEO. The platform serves over 52 million users and supports trading of over 4,500 types of crypto assets. As an industry benchmark, Gate was the first to achieve 100% proof of reserves, with an ecosystem that includes Gate Wallet, Gate Ventures, Gate for AI Agent, and other diverse services. For more information, please visit: Website | X | Telegram | LinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube
Disclaimer:
This content does not constitute any invitation, solicitation, or advice. You should always seek independent professional advice before making any investment decisions. Please note that Gate may restrict or prohibit all or part of its services from restricted areas. Please read the user agreement for more information, link: https://www.gate.com/zh/user-agreement.
You may also like
SpaceX vs Tesla vs xAI: Which Elon Musk Trade Has the Biggest Upside in 2026?
OpenAI Reveals It Has Confidentially Submitted an S-1 to the SEC, Keeping the Door Open for a Future IPO
On June 9, according to an OpenAI announcement, the company recently confidentially submitted a draft S-1 registration statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), beginning the preliminary compliance process for a potential initial public offering. OpenAI said it chose to disclose this proactively because it expected the news might leak; however, the company has not yet set a specific listing timeline, and related arrangements may still take some time.
Latest research from 13 top universities including Cornell University: The current state, challenges, and misconceptions of the fusion of Crypto and AI
Deconstructing Anthropic: The Best AI Company, Possibly Also a Type of Organizational Invention
Apollo and Blackstone Reportedly Back $35 Billion Anthropic Chip Financing as Deal Details Remain Unclear
On June 9, according to currently available news alerts, Apollo and Blackstone Group participated in a $35 billion financing for an Anthropic “chip project.” Based on the original wording of the report, the funding has already been raised, but public information remains limited. The financing structure, use of proceeds, project entity, and whether Apollo and Blackstone participated through equity, debt, or project financing have not yet been disclosed.
Humanity Protocol Security Incident Escalates: More Than $31 Million Stolen From Related Addresses as Attacker Continues Selling H for ETH
On June 9, according to monitoring by Onchain Lens, more than $31 million has been stolen from addresses linked to Humanity Protocol, and the attack is still ongoing, with the hacker continuously swapping H tokens for ETH. Project founder Terence Kwok later confirmed the security incident on X, saying the issue involved a private key leak.
Bloomberg: As Bitcoin Weakens, Stablecoins and RWA Continue to Drive Expansion in Crypto Businesses
In June, Bloomberg reported that despite Bitcoin falling below $60,000 last week, wiping out about $235 billion in market value within seven days, and dropping close to 50% from last year’s peak, some core businesses in the crypto industry are still expanding, mainly in stablecoins, real-world asset tokenization (RWA), payments, and infrastructure. The report also noted that overall altcoin activity has contracted significantly: altcoin market capitalization has fallen from a peak of about $431 billion in November 2021 to around $170 billion, and among the tens of millions of tokens issued in recent years, fewer than 1,700 still maintain meaningful trading activity.
Galaxy Deep Research Report: How Hyperliquid's HIP-4 Upgrade Changes the Landscape of Prediction Markets?
Binance Research: RWA Market Expected to Expand Nearly 6x from Early 2025, with Public Equities and Onchain Payments Heating Up Together
In June, Binance Research said in its monthly market report that the real-world asset (RWA) market is expected to grow by about 589% from the beginning of 2025. Bond- and money market fund-related RWA expanded by about $6.5 billion, up 83% year over year, while publicly traded equity RWAs grew by about 422%. The report also noted that monthly crypto debit card transaction volume exceeded $747 million in May, up 48.6% year to date.
Japan to Assess a Framework for Yen Stablecoins and Crypto ETFs as Asia’s Compliant Payments Narrative Heats Up
Recently, according to the original report, Japan is considering the launch of yen stablecoins and cryptocurrency ETFs. Public information remains limited at this stage, and there is still no complete policy text, regulatory draft, or clear implementation timeline, so this is better characterized as a “policy discussion” rather than formal implementation. The original wording also noted that advancing stablecoin regulation in Asia is driving XRP usage and supporting growth in the XRPL ecosystem. However, based on currently available public information, there is not enough evidence to directly establish a clear causal relationship between this round of discussion in Japan and XRP or XRPL.
ZachXBT: Humanity private key leak and abnormal surge in H token should be viewed separately
On June 9, according to related disclosures, on-chain investigator ZachXBT posted an update on Humanity’s roughly $31 million security incident, saying that after further analyzing fund flows, he currently tends to believe the project team was not involved in an “inside job” or a self-staged attack. According to him, the official explanation about the private key leak was broadly accurate, but before the token unlock, the price of H had been artificially pushed higher, and the hacker later took advantage of that market environment; therefore, the private key leak and the earlier abnormal price pumping should be regarded as two separate and independent events. This reframing has shifted the market’s understanding of the nature of the incident. Earlier discussion around Humanity had focused on whether the team directly participated in the attack or used the security incident to cover up internal operations. ZachXBT’s latest remarks shift the focus from “whether it was self-theft” to “whether there were pre-unlock market structure issues.” He also questioned whether the team may have.
Morning Report | OpenAI has submitted an S-1 registration statement draft to the U.S. SEC; Morpho completes $175 million financing
Morning Report | BitMine increased its holdings by 126,971 ETH last week; trader Eugene announced his exit from the crypto market
Wang Chuan: How can one not feel anxious after the neighbor Old Wang made thirty times profit by investing in storage stocks? (Seven) - A quarter-century cycle
Cryptocurrency CEXs are flocking to sell US stocks, and traditional brokerages are facing an "uninvited guest."
$75 billion in foreign capital has fled, and South Korean retail investors have absorbed it all using leverage
Japan’s Three Megabanks Plan Joint Stablecoin Issuance in Fiscal 2026
MUFG, SMBC, and Mizuho reportedly plan to jointly issue fiat-pegged stablecoins in fiscal 2026, signaling Japan’s growing push into bank-led digital payment infrastructure.
Humanity Discloses H Token Dual-Chain Attack Details, With Losses on Ethereum and BSC Exceeding $36 Million
Humanity said the H token attack across Ethereum and BSC caused more than $36 million in losses after leaked ProxyAdmin keys enabled malicious contract upgrades and token minting.
SpaceX vs Tesla vs xAI: Which Elon Musk Trade Has the Biggest Upside in 2026?
OpenAI Reveals It Has Confidentially Submitted an S-1 to the SEC, Keeping the Door Open for a Future IPO
On June 9, according to an OpenAI announcement, the company recently confidentially submitted a draft S-1 registration statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), beginning the preliminary compliance process for a potential initial public offering. OpenAI said it chose to disclose this proactively because it expected the news might leak; however, the company has not yet set a specific listing timeline, and related arrangements may still take some time.
Latest research from 13 top universities including Cornell University: The current state, challenges, and misconceptions of the fusion of Crypto and AI
Deconstructing Anthropic: The Best AI Company, Possibly Also a Type of Organizational Invention
Apollo and Blackstone Reportedly Back $35 Billion Anthropic Chip Financing as Deal Details Remain Unclear
On June 9, according to currently available news alerts, Apollo and Blackstone Group participated in a $35 billion financing for an Anthropic “chip project.” Based on the original wording of the report, the funding has already been raised, but public information remains limited. The financing structure, use of proceeds, project entity, and whether Apollo and Blackstone participated through equity, debt, or project financing have not yet been disclosed.
Humanity Protocol Security Incident Escalates: More Than $31 Million Stolen From Related Addresses as Attacker Continues Selling H for ETH
On June 9, according to monitoring by Onchain Lens, more than $31 million has been stolen from addresses linked to Humanity Protocol, and the attack is still ongoing, with the hacker continuously swapping H tokens for ETH. Project founder Terence Kwok later confirmed the security incident on X, saying the issue involved a private key leak.
Popular coins
Latest Crypto News
