Interview: A female leader helps us build a broad perspective, says Bitget CEO Gracy Chen

With the gradual mainstreaming of crytocurrency, the workings of crypto exchanges across the world have received a fillip and the industry is now attracting a more nuanced glare with increasing curiosity about its diversity.

Bitget, the leading global cryptocurrency exchange has garnered attention not only for its strong user growth and increased inflow of funds, but also for being an outlier in the male-dominated crypto industry, helmed as it is, by a female CEO, and having over 50% women managers on its payroll.

Invezz spoke to Gracy Chen, CEO at Bitget, to learn more about the company’s prospects going forward, her outlook on what will shape the crypto market in the second half, as well as her views on gender inclusivity in the industry, or the lack of it. Edited excerpts:

Behind Bitget’s market share growth

Invezz: What has the first half of the year been like for Bitget in terms of trading volumes and what is your outlook for the rest of the year?

Bitget has seen strong user growth across all our products during the first half of 2024. In Q2 2024, Bitget experienced a substantial increase in website traffic, seeing a nearly 50% rise, which brought in a surge of 10M monthly visitors.

The exchange’s inflow of funds increased.

Data from the Bitget Proof-of-Reserve (PoR) page indicates that in the first 6 months, the amount of users’ BTC, USDT, and ETH surged by 73%, 80%, and 153% respectively, equaling approximately $700 million in capital inflow. 

The growth was complemented by the addition of 2.9 million new users to the platform, aligning with its expanding reach and world-class crypto trading solutions.

The spot trading volume on Bitget increased by over 10%, from $28B in Q1 to $32B in Q2.

Additionally, CCData’s latest H2 Outlook Report showed that Bitget had the largest market share growth amongst CEXs amounting to 38.4% from H2 2023 to H1 2024, while most other counterparts experienced a slight drop. 

US Elections, Fed Reserve decision to influence crypto

The second half of the current year is likely to be influenced by factors such as the US elections and Federal Reserve interest rate decisions.

A stable economic environment often leads to increased investor confidence in crypto. As always, product innovation and user education will remain Bitget’s strategy in the current market scenario.   

Invezz: What do you think is the broader direction the world is moving in regarding organising and regulating the crypto trade? As a crypto leader, what changes would you like to see?  

Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF approvals in the US are game changers for the crypto industry. These path-breaking initiatives will foster mainstream crypto adoption and lead to a global trend towards clear regulations. It will protect the investors and promote responsible innovation.

As a crypto leader, safeguarding consumers and fostering innovation are both important. Regulations should strike a balance so that responsible businesses can thrive. For this, regulations need to be clear and consistent. Regulators and the crypto industry must work closely and collaborate to achieve this balance. 

How does having a female leader help Bitget?

Invezz: There is a lot of discussion globally about the emergence of the ‘crypto bro,’ based on the phrase ‘tech bro’. Only 6% of crypto CEOs are women, and you are one of them. What is your take on the low presence of females in the industry, and do you see it changing? 

The broader tech industry is widely male-dominated.

However, I could see a growing number of qualified and talented women entering the cryptocurrency industry such as Cecilia Hsueh, the CEO of the Layer 2 ecosystem project Morph, Tess Hau, the founder of Tess Ventures, Yevheniia Broshevan, the Co-founder of Hacken, among many more women entrepreneurs who I have come across.

Being the only female CEO among the top crypto exchanges, I truly feel privileged and honoured as it helps the company foster a broader perspective. Bitget has always been breaking industry norms. It has been a women-dominated company with over 50% of managers being women.

We run the crypto industry’s largest women-focused initiative called Blockchain4Her. I hope we can inspire others to do what they can in their capacity to make crypto more inclusive for everyone.

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