[Blooming Lunch] Kang Yoo-bin "I was fascinated by the infinite possibilities of cryptocurrency"

Kang Yoo-bin, CEO of Nonce Classic

From Deloitte to Nonce Classic

Passion for Entrepreneurship and Blockchain

"No Substitute for Blockchain"

'Meeting good people and having good conversations.' This is the basic purpose of Blooming Lunch. We meet good people in the Crypto Scene (Blockchain·Cryptocurrency ecosystem) and share their work and life.

Source Code. It is the first memoir of Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft (MS). It was published last month and attracted the attention of the global tech industry.

The book 'Source Code' is also the most interesting book recently read by Kang Yoo-bin, CEO of the web3 accelerator Nonce Classic. Bill Gates has been an admired figure for Kang since childhood. The fundamental reason he jumped into the Crypto Scene was also influenced by Bill Gates.

I met CEO Kang at Gogetmaru, a Korean restaurant near Yeoksam Station in Seoul. This place is a restaurant that has been remodeled from an old family house, creating an atmosphere that seems to be in the suburbs, and is known among nearby office workers as a good place for chicken stew. It is said to be the busiest during weekday lunches due to the high demand from office workers.

CEO Kang, wearing a purple knit and a black coat, entered the restaurant a little earlier than the appointment time. As pre-reserved, he ordered a small chicken stew. He said, "The office is nearby, so I often come here with colleagues on working days."

Thanks to the reservation, the food came out quickly. While waiting for the chicken stew to boil, I talked with CEO Kang. He said, "I have been interested in entrepreneurship since I was a student," and "I always wrote 'entrepreneur' in the future career column." This is why he chose business administration as his major without hesitation when entering university.

Blockchain Encountered at Deloitte

His interest in entrepreneurship continued in college. He also completed the first batch of the newly established Venture Management as a joint major at the school.

His first job was at Deloitte, a global consulting firm. CEO Kang worked as a strategy consultant at Deloitte from 2017 to 2018. He explained, "The reason I chose a consulting firm as my job was ultimately because I had entrepreneurship in mind," and "I first encountered blockchain technology while working at Deloitte."

At that time, Deloitte was expanding its consulting area into the rapidly growing blockchain industry. Accordingly, CEO Kang also conducted blockchain-related research at Deloitte. It was during this time that he became fascinated by the cryptocurrency industry. CEO Kang said, "Cryptocurrency is a disruptive innovation happening in the financial industry," and "Such a scale of financial innovation is rare historically." He added, "The more I studied (cryptocurrency), the more I was convinced that new opportunities were coming."

While talking with CEO Kang, we ate chicken stew. The chicken was chewy, and the broth was spicy yet refreshing. It was a taste that kept you coming back for more without getting tired. The potatoes, deeply soaked in the broth, were soft yet fluffy. Before I knew it, the surrounding empty tables were filled with customers.

CEO Kang continued, "A good opportunity came when interest in cryptocurrency was growing." That opportunity was with Alpha Nonce. Alpha Nonce is a cryptocurrency investment firm that started as an algorithmic trading company. CEO Kang joined as a co-founder of Alpha Nonce and worked as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) for two years. He said, "(The Alpha Nonce side) gave me just one day to consider changing jobs," and "It was a good opportunity as my interest in cryptocurrency was growing."

By moving companies, he naturally connected with Nonce, where Alpha Nonce's office was located. Nonce is a community that advocates as a 'base camp' for new blockchain entrepreneurs, operating a shared office and co-living space together. DSRV, a leading domestic blockchain startup aiming to go public next year, also started from Nonce.

While working at Alpha Nonce, CEO Kang lived in Nonce's co-living space. The colleagues he works with at Nonce Classic were also met there. CEO Kang said, "Nonce is like a 'startup safety net' that allows you to keep challenging without fear," and "I also met my spouse in the Nonce community."

"No Substitute for Blockchain"

While talking about Nonce, we finished our meal and moved to a specialty cafe, Coffee Sniffer Yeoksam Centerfield branch. It is a cafe about 600m from Yeoksam Station, where you can see a small park created in the building through a large window.

Upon arriving at the cafe, CEO Kang and I ordered filter coffee. The chosen beans were 'Peru San Juan Geisha Washed', and Coffee Sniffer describes these beans as "having the acidity of stone fruit in the first sip, followed by a subtle spread of herbal aroma." CEO Kang took a sip of coffee and smiled, saying, "It really has a herbal aroma."

I asked CEO Kang about the charm of the Crypto Scene while drinking coffee. The answer was simple. CEO Kang said, "(Blockchain) is a technology with no substitute," and "Although it is a huge change, I saw that there are many attractive opportunities as the market is still in its early stages."

CEO Kang emphasized, "The entry barrier of the Crypto Scene is also one of the characteristics that create various opportunities." He said, "The cryptocurrency industry is still optimized for small startups due to many 'gray areas' where regulations are unclear," and "Misconceptions about cryptocurrency also seem to act as a kind of entry barrier."

Another attraction he pointed out was 'speed'. CEO Kang said, "Even just looking at the price of Bitcoin, the representative asset of cryptocurrency, there are cycles, but the overall time series shows a steep upward trend," and "The number of people who believe in the value of cryptocurrency is moving from tens of millions to 'hundreds of millions'." He added, "The speed of cryptocurrency development is even faster than the past internet dissemination period."

I turned the conversation to Nonce Classic, led by CEO Kang. He said, "This year is a really important year for the company," and "This is because the investment report card first executed in 2022 will come out this year." He revealed, "I expect opportunities to cash in on the performance of investment and acceleration will arise from this year," and "If the (cryptocurrency) market trend goes as expected internally, there is a high possibility of receiving a good report card."

CEO Kang said, "The mid- to long-term goal is to grow Nonce Classic into an asset management company." He explained, "There is a strong trend of large venture capital (VC) or asset management companies entering the cryptocurrency industry," and "This means that opportunities for VCs or accelerators with smaller capital than large investment firms are decreasing." He continued, "For small and medium-sized investment firms, there will be more opportunities in the 'public market' than in the private market in the long run," and "I believe there is competitiveness if we have the value investment capability to find undervalued projects and invest in tokens that will steadily rise."

I also asked about his daily life outside of work. CEO Kang said, "Due to the nature of the cryptocurrency industry, it is difficult to clearly separate work and rest." This is because the cryptocurrency market operates 24 hours unlike the stock market, and issues occurring overseas with large time differences, such as in the United States, have a significant impact. He added, "Still, I try to take a break on weekends as much as possible," and "Recently, I have been having time for meditation and reading while drinking tea with my wife every morning."

After finishing the conversation, I parted ways with CEO Kang in front of the cafe. After saying goodbye, I checked the time and realized that more than two hours had passed since I met CEO Kang. CEO Kang was leaving the building through a small park in front of the cafe.

This interview was conducted without support or financial compensation from any specific restaurant or brand, and was conducted without commercial intent. The 'Blooming Lunch' corner aims to capture free interviews in an informal atmosphere at the interviewee's favorite regular restaurant.