Interview with Michael Wu, CEO of Amber Group: Crypto finance will surpass history in 2020. What are the new opportunities in the future?

In early 2021, the Financial Times announced to its 450,000 readers that its view on bitcoin has changed, saying that "cryptocurrencies are becoming more integrated into the financial system".

Now, to review the crypto industry in 2020, Bitcoin, grayscale, DEFI and other keywords must be on the list.

According to the data disclosed by Michael Sonnenshein, the new CEO of Grayscale Investment, since December 31, 2014, the total assets under management of Grayscale has increased by more than 480 times.

2020 is not only the year of Bitcoin, but also the year of crypto financial services companies.

Amber Group, a crypto financial intelligence service provider founded in 2017 by founders from Wall Street's top investment banks including Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Bloomberg, and others, is also benefiting from the crypto industry's explosion. According to official data, AMBER Group's assets under management exceeded $530 million in 2020, up 275% year on year, with the total value of transactions across asset classes exceeding $250 billion.

Rhythm Blockbeats asked Michael Wu, co-founder and CEO of the 2020 blockbuster company, to share his experience of success and insights on new opportunities in the crypto industry in 2021.

The post-90s have become the mainstream investors in the crypto industry

Rhythm BlockBeats: According to the Amber Group's 2020 Annual Report, Amber Group's assets under management exceeded $530 million, up 275% year on year. In 2017, Amber Group started with $14.71 million in assets under management. What factors have driven the rapid growth of the scale of assets under management? Can this factor have a sustainable impact?

Michael Wu:The rapid growth of Amber Group's businesses over the past three years has been driven by the fact that we offer institutional level crypto financial services. The founding team of AMBER Group comes from top institutions such as Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Bloomberg, with professional competence and rich experience in serving high net worth clients. Amber Group's initial clients are high net worth clients such as top institutions and family funds from around the world. We demand the same standards and quality from every client that we serve, and clients recognise Amber Group for our high quality of service.

In the last few years, we have invested heavily in security, compliance, risk control, etc. Since 2020, we have promoted product matrices and launched product matrices including AMBRA App and AMBRA Pro, so that global users can enjoy institutional services, including C-end users. The Amber Group's high standards of service, the long-term trust we have built with our customers and the core barriers we have built in safety, compliance and risk control will be sustainable competitiveness and will help us expand and grow our business in the future.

Rhythm Blockbeats: Amber App users are 73% male, broken down by gender. By age, 45% belong to the post-90s generation between 20 and 30 years old. Is there a strong correlation between the growth of asset management scale and this part of the population? What do they have in common when it comes to investing? What are the similarities and differences between the user distribution and other products of the same type?

Michael Wu:Amber's user profile is representative of the growing number of crypto investors around the world. This group of people generally have a high ability to learn new things and accept new knowledge. At the same time, they have their own understanding of investment and pay more attention to comprehensive asset allocation. They are interested and able to learn about emerging assets such as crypto assets and the innovative investment methods offered by Amber Group.

Compared to similar products, Amber App has a younger user base and is more focused on long-term and steady revenue. They are adept at using various investment instruments to ensure that their wealth grows over the long term. This is in line with the Amber Group's advocacy of the long-term value of crypto finance. Our user profile represents what we believe to be the best and most core investor Group in the crypto finance industry, and the one that is most aligned with the Amber Group's vision.

RulyBlockBeats: According to the annual report, we can see that the highest amount of money managed reached $24.93 million. How does AMBER communicate with high net worth users so that they can trust the AMBER Group to manage their large assets?

Michael Wu:First of all, the background of our team can easily win the trust and recognition of some organizations and high net worth users. Second, we know how to provide users with the services they need. We will help high net worth users to explore their own investment needs and risk preferences, and then apply professional financial knowledge, technology and products to design different customized schemes for this group of people and give professional investment suggestions.

HNWs care a lot about our core competencies, such as product compliance, team professionalism and risk control. For Amber Group, the core competence is embodied in every detail of service, including service process, technology iteration and risk control and compliance behind products. Users trust Amber Group with their money because they believe in our expertise.

Brand upgrade, power 2C market

BlockBeats: Amber Group has a wide range of products including Trading, wealth management and derivatives, including the Amber App, Amber Pro, Amber Trading Desk and AmberGroup. IO product matrix. Can you tell us about the current core products of Amber Group, the positioning of each product and its target audience?

Michael Wu:Amber App is a comprehensive crypto financial service platform that we will launch in 2020 for individual users around the world, mainly to help users with crypto asset allocation. The Amber App is designed to help all users, from beginners to those with experience in crypto asset allocation, implement the basic and important core functions of crypto finance, enabling users around the world to find services that meet their needs on the Amber App.

Aimed at institutions or individuals with a higher level of expertise, Amber Pro can help investors navigate complex scenarios and provide more cutting-edge investment targets. Amber Pro aggregates the best liquidity and the narrowest spreads in the market. At the same time, Amber Pro supports thousands of crypto assets and offers the latest DEFI products and structured portfolio assets, as well as basic services such as mortgage lending. Future cutting-edge investment products and a wide range of trading investment needs will be the first to appear on Amber Pro.

The Amber Trading Desk is a 24/7 customised service for VIP clients of the Amber Group. Clients can discuss market views with our global trading team and get the latest research reports. We will also customize investment plans and financial products according to customers' needs.

The new website ambergroup.io integrates the portals to various products and corporate information. Our latest market readings and industry news collected by our team will be posted on the new website. This will be one of the entry points for new users to learn about crypto finance.

At the same time, all products of Amber Group will continue to improve and connect with each other, sharing the same account system, so that you can experience all kinds of products from the basic to the complex with just one account.

BlockBeats: In June 2020, Amber Group carried out a brand upgrade, followed by the launch of the crypto financial intelligence service "Amber  App" for individual users. Amber Group is set to shift its focus. 2C  The market? So in 2021, Amber  What other upgrades are planned for the Group?

Michael Wu:By 2020, the Amber Group is moving forward with product matrixization, and we hope to bring institutional services to more users through the Amber App. The Amber App is a great way to make services that have high standards and standards accessible to ordinary users. It doesn't mean we're shifting our focus to the C-end.

In 2021, we will continue to upgrade the depth of services and continue to iterate, bring better and more intelligent services and products to users, and create greater long-term value for users. At the same time, we will expand our service scope and bring crypto financial services to individual users around the world.

Blockbeats: In 2020, Amber Group's assets under management and trading volume have achieved rapid growth. So, will the new development strategy of AMBER Group be adjusted in 2021?

Michael Wu:In addition to the various goals and medium - and long-term strategies that the company has already set, 2021 will continue the direction that has been set since the second half of 2019 at the product and business level: platform, product and scale.

From the development of the past year and a half, our platform, product and scale have achieved a preliminary success, but there is still a long way to go before what we want. In 2021, our product matrix will be upgraded from 1.0 to 2.0, which will introduce better products and more diversified functions. This year we will focus on the maturity of the product and the integrity of the product matrix, and to push the scale of the business to a new level.

Organizational admission, what is the future prospect?

BlockBeats: There is a clear trend in 2020, with traditional institutions turning negative on crypto assets and choosing to buy crypto as an allocation target. JPMorgan even raised its long-term price target for bitcoin to $146,000. The founders of Amber Group are all from Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Bloomberg and other top investment banks on Wall Street. Can you tell investors from the perspective of traditional institutions about the logic of traditional institutions buying crypto assets and the subsequent impact?

Michael Wu:First, the entry of traditional institutions into crypto assets means that they themselves are bullish on the industry. Secondly, the institutions participating in crypto assets, whether they are buyers or sellers, have certain expectations for crypto assets. Of course, when crypto asset prices are high, institutions will choose to hedge or sell and buy when prices are low. For the crypto finance industry, the general trend of long-term institutional allocation of crypto assets is the most important, but the importance of institutional views on the market is not high.

In my experience as a buyer, trader and hedge fund manager for more than a decade, the long-term trend is the most certain. The long-term allocation of capital is the real incremental capital in the industry, which will stay in the industry for a long time and drive the higher value of these assets.

Of course, Amber Group doesn't make directional trades. However, we will have our own short-term view of the trading market judgment, these views are mainly used for communication and sharing with customers. Long-term investments have much more certainty than short-term investments, because any short-term investment is, by its very nature, a zero-sum game. From the perspective of investors, we advocate to ignore short-term price fluctuations, give up short-term zero-sum game, and participate in crypto financial asset allocation from the perspective of long-term investment.

Routine Blockbeats: Will the entry of traditional top investment banks have any impact on Amber Group's current business?

Michael Wu:We expect more traditional institutions to enter the market, as there is still a huge incremental market in crypto finance. As an early entrepreneur and leader in the industry, Amber Group believes that only when the industry thrives can we grow better. More institutions and funds are pouring into the crypto finance industry, which will help promote and popularize crypto assets. This will help the growth of the Amber Group and is a huge boost to the industry.

Blockbeats: The move comes after the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) said it would regulate crypto asset wallets. We have seen AMBER Group obtain an MSB licence in Canada after obtaining an MSB licence in the US. What is Amber Group's view on the regulatory attitude towards crypto assets in 2021 and whether holding a license has helped the company?

Michael Wu:The importance of security compliance for a financial services business is self-evident. From the very beginning, the AMBER Group has been making continuous arrangements in terms of compliance, and communicating financial regulations related to cryptofinance in various countries. Regulation and business are not antagonistic, and we can help regulators better understand the crypto finance industry. The implementation of crypto financial regulation will also be an irresistible trend for all countries. Of course, regulation is meant to protect investors while maintaining corporate innovation, not constrain industry growth.

At present, regulators around the world are constantly learning about crypto finance. Faced with the ever-changing technology and hot spots of crypto finance, they need to communicate with leading enterprises in the industry, such as Amber Group, to provide them with advice.

Upbeat Blockbeats: Finally, can you talk about new investment opportunities in crypto finance in 2021 from the perspectives of individuals, Amber Group and traditional financial institutions?

Michael Wu:In 2021, I'm personally optimistic about the crypto financial ecosystem infrastructure sector. The AMBER Group is also involved in the establishment of the DEFI infrastructure. In 2021, we will also incubate more infrastructure projects.

From Amber Group's perspective, the core investment in 2021 will continue to be the technology and team. On the technology side, we spend 25% of our budget on security construction and security technology every year. The AMBER Group currently has more than 200 members and will continue to expand in 2021. We hope the new members will bring us new investment ideas, new blood, and expand the reach of the product. Of course, we may consider bringing in some good teams through acquisitions or equity.

For traditional financial institutions, 2021 will be a good time to deploy crypto assets. In the long run, 2021 is in the early stages of crypto asset allocation, with the year's ups and downs having little impact. Of course, institutions may use long-term uniform configuration of admission. They can also use the Amber Group product matrix for asset allocation.

Finally, I hope that the global users of crypto finance can reap the long-term value of crypto finance with our company.

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