Original｜Odaily Planet Daily
Author: jk
With the rapid development of the DeFi field, Bouncebit has attracted widespread attention since its launch on Binance. From the initial creative concept to becoming an important participant in asset management today, Bouncebit's journey is full of challenges and opportunities.
Odaily Planet Daily had the honor to interview the founding team of Bouncebit and discussed in depth how they integrated resources and optimized user experience through the innovative CeDeFi model to promote changes in asset management. At the same time, the team also shared the main features of Bouncebit's recently released V2 version and how to respond to market changes and user needs.
In the interview, the founders of Bouncebit also discussed the milestones that users should expect in the coming months. Their vision is not only to drive their own growth, but also to lead the innovation and transformation of the industry in the wave of decentralized finance. Let's learn how Bouncebit stands out in this competitive market.
The following is the full interview:
Odaily：
Today we can be a little more casual and talk about both projects and industries. We can start with the original intention of starting a business, talk about the starting point of the business, the source of inspiration, and whether there are any interesting stories to share in the middle.
Bouncebit：
Our original idea was to create a CeDeFi. Ethena was the first project to propose a similar concept, but all their transactions were completed by the team. This self-operated model has certain risks, and once a problem occurs, it is difficult to find an effective solution. So we decided to avoid this direct trading method and hand over the transactions to a professional asset management team. We are fortunate to have met many teams that are good at arbitrage, so we chose to integrate resources from all parties and let everyone focus on their own areas of strength, so that cooperation can be achieved quickly.
For example, Binance's custody service is very powerful, but it is mainly for big players and is almost inaccessible to ordinary users. You need to have a lot of Bitcoin on platforms like Bitmain to enjoy these high-end strategies, which is very difficult for most people. However, despite the excellent performance of these teams, it is very difficult for them to raise funds. I think DeFi is a good financing tool, so we choose to focus on providing financing tools, while allowing other teams to continue to focus on trading and arbitrage, which they are good at. Through this resource integration, retail investors can also enjoy strategies similar to those of big players.
We chose Bitcoin as our core asset partly because Bitcoin Layer 2 was very popular at the time. Although everyone is talking about the decentralization of Bitcoin, I always believe that Bitcoin cannot do without a certain degree of centralized support. Therefore, we accept the hybrid model of CeFi + DeFi because it is more feasible in practice. Many projects in the Bitcoin ecosystem, such as Babylon, ultimately still rely on centralized hosting services. So it is unrealistic to ignore the existence of centralization. We believe that accepting and integrating the two is the direction of the future.
I have been focusing on DeFi and have experienced the ups and downs of the market, so I hope to find a more long-term and sustainable solution instead of just focusing on short-term gains. This is also the original intention of our choice to conduct transactions from the perspective of capital arbitrage.
Odaily：
As we all know, Bouncebit first came into the public eye because of Binance's Megadrop, which launched Bouncebit, and the number of users skyrocketed in just two days. Now that a few months have passed, how do you view the role of this event? What role did it play in the overall development of the project?
Bouncebit：
As an asset management project, Bouncebit is different from those DeFi projects that simply roll TVL. Other projects usually just let users keep their funds in their wallets, while we need users to deposit funds into custodial accounts and participate in arbitrage, which is much more complicated than general DeFi products, especially for those users who have lost money before, they will be more hesitant. Therefore, although our user growth is relatively stable, the growth rate is relatively slow. Before Binance issued the announcement, TVL just exceeded 1 billion. However, even so, we earned about 10 million US dollars for users in March and April, which was not achieved through lending, but pure asset management Bitcoin arbitrage.
As the first Binance Megadrop project, this event did bring us a lot of traffic and allowed many users to get in touch with and use BTCB for the first time. We also found an effective entry point by designing this event, that is, users do not need complicated conversion operations, they just need to directly transfer Bitcoin to the BSC chain, and the experience is very seamless. This makes us the first project to make full use of BTCB and successfully attract the attention and participation of a large number of users.
Odaily：
Let’s talk about new products. Bouncebit is going to release V2 soon. What are the main new products and features?
Bouncebit：
The V2 released this time mainly includes two parts: one is the V2 of CeDeFi Portal, and the other is the V2 of BounceClub.
CeDeFi’s V2 now supports full-chain and multi-asset. Source: BounceBit Official X
CeDeFi Portal has always been our core asset management platform, and BounceClub is a multi-functional interactive platform on the BounceBit chain. In the V2 version, CeDeFi Portal has been fully expanded on the basis of V1 Bitcoin asset management to create a full-chain, multi-asset, multi-strategy CeDeFi asset management platform, and combined with BounceClub, it is equipped with an on-chain reward and rebate system. Users can not only manage assets on multiple chains, but also trade and entertain while participating in asset management, and even participate in the launch of new projects, realizing the true "play and earn in one".
The upgrade of CeDeFi Portal V2 is relatively intuitive. We have added more strategy products and optimized the contracts, which greatly improved the user's operating experience. Specifically: users no longer need to consider cross-chain issues and can place orders directly on their respective chains; optimizing the subscription and redemption experience improves the user's trading and operation fluency; supported assets are expanded from the original BTC to BNB, ETH and SOL and other assets; in addition to fixed income and self-selected asset management institutions, new automatic and structured products are added. Automatic strategies will help users optimize asset allocation and provide users with more diverse investment options.
As for BounceClub, we initially built an operating system similar to the App Store, which attracted many investors in the early stage. However, after development and operation, we found that the actual effect was not as expected. Therefore, in V2, we adjusted the direction, simplified the operation process, and integrated the content that users are most interested in. Now, users can easily experience the popular DApps in the market through our platform, whether playing games or participating in DeFi, it has become more convenient.
BounceClub will also play a greater role in BounceBit V2 as an incentive center for CeDeFi users. We will design more gamification methods for asset management users, allowing them to earn money while managing their assets. In the future, BounceClub will launch invitation rebates, game rewards, and new listing activities to further encourage user participation and enhance the user stickiness of the platform.
We are well aware that asset management is a long-term and far-reaching matter. We hope to achieve the ultimate in CeDeFi asset management while making full use of the advantages of Web3. Web3 is actually a mechanism for quickly distributing rewards, so activities and rebates are very effective incentives in this system. Therefore, our positioning is very clear. CeDeFi Portal is the core asset management platform, and BounceClub is the interaction and incentive center. The two complement each other. BounceClub not only provides CeDeFi users with more benefits and entertainment, but also brings more attractive added value to their investment in CeDeFi.
Looking back at the development of BounceBit, the mainnet has been online for 6 months. "Simplifying the complex" is our design concept when developing V2. We found that many product designs in the Web3 field often fall into the misunderstanding of "making the complex even more complex" - in order to tell a story and increase valuation, the complexity of the product continues to increase, and ultimately dilutes its core value.
BounceBit’s first generation product was relatively complex, and it was our early attempt to explore CeDeFi. Over the past few months, through reflection and market feedback, we realized that users need more intuitive and easy-to-use products. Therefore, in the V2 version, we focused on simplification, removing unnecessary complex functions, and focusing on solving users’ core needs in asset management.
Of course, in the process of simplifying things, some trade-offs are inevitable. For example, we cannot add up the benefits of multiple projects. Although this may reduce attractiveness in the short term, in the long run, products that focus on actual needs and simplify functions can truly win the recognition of users and gain a long-term foothold in the fiercely competitive market, haha.
Odaily：
I see you keep mentioning DeFi Summer. Can you share your reflections on this historical market trend and your understanding of the current market and future trends? What is Bouncebit’s strategy in this market?
Bouncebit：
You look at the last cycle, why do I think there is no similar DeFi Summer in this cycle? Mainly because the market did not experience a drastic collapse like COVID this time. Usually, the market needs a "savior" to drive recovery after a big crash, and then a big market will appear. The rise of DeFi Summer is precisely because after the market crashed, everyone flocked to participate and drive the market. This cycle is led by the good news of ETFs. Although the market has been hot for a while, it has now entered a cooling-off period. Therefore, the recent trend has been relatively weak. I think the big cycle will not change in essence. The current state of 2024 is similar to that of 2020, and 2025 is likely to be a new round of big years.
The last round of new highs for Bitcoin was in November 2020, when it rose directly from $20,000 to $68,000 in four or five months. Therefore, in theory, Bitcoin may return to $70,000 or $80,000 by the end of this year, and may rise to a higher level next year if there is a real expectation of $100,000. I am optimistic about Q4 and the entire 2025.
In this market context, Bouncebit’s strategy has always been to remain flexible. When doing asset management, we cannot blindly follow market hotspots, but must adjust strategies in a timely manner according to market changes. Our CeDeFi platform has designed a circular mechanism to encourage user behavior and adjust the income structure according to market dynamics, so that it is sufficient to effectively respond to market fluctuations.
As for arbitrage gains, my understanding is that when the market returns are high, funds may be transferred from other platforms to us; when the returns are low, funds may flow back to other platforms. What we are currently doing is the CeDeFi platform. I think the core advantage of CeDeFi is that the funds are not on the chain, but on centralized platforms with proof of reserve like Binance, where there are more than $100 billion in reserves. In the last cycle, Binance's asset size was only 20 billion. This base has increased fivefold, and these funds cannot easily flow out of CEX to become on-chain liquidity. The only way is through CeDeFi.
By the way, the popularity of Pendle actually reflects some market anxieties. In the DeFi Summer, everyone was a warrior. For example, opening liquidity pools, incentivizing users to pledge, and even issuing coins in seconds. The rise of Pendle shows that the market lacks confidence in short-term liquidity, and everyone begins to rely on points and delayed liquidity release strategies. This is a manifestation of insufficient market confidence. The current airdrop installment distribution can no longer be compared with the pure DeFi craze of the year. Therefore, we choose to focus on asset management instead of participating in these short-term "speculation of points" behaviors.
Odaily：
There are two more general questions: From the perspective of the current "bear market in a bull market", how do you think the differences between Asia and Europe and the United States will be reflected in the cryptocurrency world?
Bouncebit：
Let's talk about this from a regulatory perspective. I personally think that the original ideal of decentralization is difficult to fully realize. Most projects now actually have varying degrees of centralization, rather than true DeFi, which shows that the ideology of decentralization is not as strong as originally envisioned. Over time, regulation will surely become more and more stringent, especially the regulation of coin listings. In the future, a clear framework may be introduced that requires all new coin listing projects to undergo registration review. For example, the United States may introduce a new regulatory framework that requires all projects to undergo a rigorous review process.
In terms of evaluation criteria, traditional industries pay more attention to financial indicators such as revenue data, while the evaluation criteria of the crypto industry tend to be factors such as popularity and TVL. This cognitive difference may become more and more obvious in the future review mechanism. Perhaps the future review will be responsible for different entities, one part of which will be reviewed by traditional regulatory agencies such as the SEC, and the other part will be evaluated by experts within the cryptocurrency circle.
In such an environment, I think the cryptocurrency market has gone through multiple cycles and is unlikely to welcome a large number of new users. Many new users entering the crypto market today are trying to gain profits through cryptocurrencies due to the poor global economic environment, rather than people who are truly interested in the technology itself. As the market and regulation mature, the sources and motivations of new users in the future may be increasingly concentrated in these areas.
Odaily：
Is there any underlying knowledge you can share? Or anything you want to say to new cryptocurrency users, entrepreneurs, or developers?
Bouncebit：
A metaphor I often use is, do you think Las Vegas can become New York? The underlying logic, functional division and pillar industries of these two cities are completely different.
In the world of Web3, similar situations often occur. For example, many people compare Telegram and WeChat. Although both provide mini-program functions, WeChat is a necessity of life, while Telegram's user base is completely different. Telegram's users may be more inclined to marginal activities rather than using daily tools. Therefore, although the two have similar functions on the surface, the underlying logic and user groups determine that they are completely different ecosystems. Will degen care if you build an e-commerce type mini-app in it? Obviously unlikely, they are more concerned about fast-paced profit opportunities.
Just like New York can't become Las Vegas, Las Vegas can't become New York. But no matter which city you are in, you can always build a new road or a new bridge, which is something that every city needs, and this is the opportunity we need to look for in the industry.
Also, many people in the cryptocurrency circle are unwilling to admit that they made money by luck. There are many people who made money in the cryptocurrency circle, but lost a lot after entering the traditional industry. I think it is very important to admit that luck is a factor, and at the same time, we must admit that luck accounts for a large proportion in this industry. Success or failure often depends on luck.
