Interview with Cobo Founder Shen Yu: 2022 Bear Market Cycle, FTX Incident, and Encryption Innovation

Recently, Cobo co-founder and CEO Shen Yu accepted an exclusive interview with a blockchain new media platform. As an "old leek" who has experienced multiple rounds of cryptocurrency cycles, Shen Yu shared his views and thoughts on various topics such as the current market, the impact of the FTX incident, DeFi innovation, and the future of DEX, and also explained the reasons behind his enduring curiosity about the encryption industry.

View on the Current Bear Market Cycle

The divine fish believes that the despair level of the Bear Market in 2022 is not as severe as in previous rounds. The industry has accumulated and experimented for over 10 years, gaining a clearer understanding of the possibilities of blockchain technology. Solutions for the scalability of modular blockchains and second-layer networks have also begun to emerge. Although it will take another 2-3 years for them to be fully realized, the dawn can already be seen.

The confidence and direction for the future of the industry are much clearer than in previous cycles. Although there have been several black swan events that have caused significant asset losses for some people, overall, the confidence in the industry's prospects has not wavered.

Views on the FTX Incident

The divine fish stated that FTX founder Sam is someone who is extremely focused on capital efficiency. As his confidence in his own abilities grew, Sam's risk appetite also increased, ultimately leading to the collapse of FTX.

The encryption industry is still in its early stages, with inadequate infrastructure and regulation, leading centralized exchanges to bear too much responsibility. It is difficult for entrepreneurs to resist the temptations of human nature. Such issues have been common throughout the history of the industry, and they are essentially problems of human nature.

In the future, similar incidents may be avoided through technological means. With the development of technology and the improvement of infrastructure, this issue will gradually be resolved.

The Mission of Cobo

Cobo has focused on the secure management of private keys and related security and risk control since its inception. In the future, it will productize the experience and internal tools accumulated in DeFi asset management for users to utilize.

Cobo does not want to be a centralized black box, but hopes to provide users with a more convenient, secure, and user-friendly blockchain interaction solution, including managing on-chain assets, DeFi contract status, and more.

The Innovation Space of DeFi

Shen Yu believes that the underlying financial framework of DeFi has matured, but there is still a lot of room for composable financial innovation at the upper layer. Currently, DeFi mainly includes four modules: stablecoins, DEX, lending, and derivatives, each with varying degrees of development.

The core module of future DeFi may become a typical protocol on the chain, directly called by other applications such as NFTs and GameFi. There is still some room for innovation in cutting-edge applications and risk balance.

The Future of Centralized Exchanges

The FTX incident marks the arrival of the twilight of centralized exchanges. Institutional users have a deeper understanding of industry issues, and a large amount of assets have been transferred from exchanges to on-chain wallets. Decentralized exchanges are now capable of performing most of the functions of centralized exchanges, and may even do so better.

In the future, a combination of decentralized and centralized approaches may emerge to mitigate risks. Some long-tail demands may be addressed directly in a decentralized environment, resulting in higher efficiency.

The Development Prospects of the Mining Industry

The divine fish believes that the ideal state of the mining industry is to have a large number of small and medium-sized mines connected to the global power grid, helping to regulate grid load. In the future, there may be a return to decentralization, and the profits from home mining may be higher, even allowing for additional income through connection to the power grid.

Maintain curiosity about the industry

The divine fish indicates that it will continuously try new things in the industry, such as NFTs and GameFi. It will pay attention to the future development direction and key turning points of the industry, and will conduct in-depth research and experimentation at the right time.

The encryption industry develops in a spiral manner, and many things will recur. It is important to maintain curiosity, continue observing, and think critically.

Retirement Plan

The divine fish believes that the encryption industry is developing rapidly, full of innovation, and can continuously learn and grow, making it hard to leave. In this industry, one experiences history firsthand every day, which is very interesting and allows for growth. If one truly understands this industry, it is difficult to retire after getting involved.