[Blooming Lunch] Ju Ki-young: "Dreaming of Becoming a 'Great Inventor' Leading the Web3 Industry"

Ju Ki-young, CEO of CryptoQuant

'Global Influencer' in the Crypto Scene

Encountered Bitcoin at Vitalik's Alma Mater

Emphasizes the Importance of 'On-chain Data'

'Meeting good people and having good conversations.' This is the basic purpose of Blooming Lunch. We meet good people in the Crypto Scene (blockchain and virtual asset ecosystem) and share their work and lives.

Ju Ki-young, CEO of CryptoQuant. No special modifiers are needed to describe CEO Ju in the crypto scene. This is because he is well-known both domestically and internationally.

CEO Ju has about 422,000 followers on X. This is the largest number among figures in the domestic virtual asset industry. This is why his posts on X become a hot topic not only in Korea but also in the overseas crypto scene. A representative example is when CEO Ju posted on X in March this year and again last month that the 'Bitcoin (BTC) bull market is over,' causing a stir in the crypto scene.

CEO Ju spends half of the year in Korea and the other half in the United States. This is because CryptoQuant's offices are located in Seoul, Korea, and New York, USA. We met him according to his schedule in Seoul.

The place where we met CEO Ju was 'Hansung Samgyetang' near the CryptoQuant Seoul office in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. It is an old restaurant that opened in 1978 and has been in business for 47 years this year. The menu consists of only two items: samgyetang and ginseng wine. The confidence of a samgyetang specialty restaurant was felt from the menu. CEO Ju, whom we met in front of the restaurant, laughed, saying, "It's a comfortable place, so I often have meetings here."

After taking a seat inside the restaurant and ordering two bowls of samgyetang, I asked him about his hobbies before the food arrived. CEO Ju replied, "I try not to have hobbies as much as possible." When asked why, he said, "I have a personality that digs deep into something once I get into it, so I'm worried that having a hobby might reduce my concentration on work," and "Recently, I learned to compose music and stayed up all night on weekends, so I'm refraining (from hobbies)."

'Builder-type Entrepreneur'

CEO Ju introduced himself as a "typical builder-type entrepreneur." A builder-type entrepreneur is a type of entrepreneur who directly develops technology or products and grows the company. In fact, he is a developer who majored in industrial management engineering at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH).

CEO Ju said, "I remember writing 'I want to be a CEO who contributes to the commercialization of science and technology' in the first line of my self-introduction during the college entrance exam," and "I think I enjoyed making what I imagined with my hands into reality since childhood."

While talking about builder-type entrepreneurs, the samgyetang was served. The clear and rich broth was well-seasoned even without adding salt. The domestic young chicken in the earthenware pot was filled with glutinous rice. The chicken drumstick meat, as well as the chicken breast, was tender without any unpleasant texture. CEO Ju started his meal by adding a glass of ginseng wine, which was served as an aperitif, to the samgyetang.

When asked what made him interested in the crypto scene, CEO Ju replied, "When I was an exchange student in Canada." About eight years ago, in 2017, he stayed at the University of Waterloo in Canada as an exchange student for a year and first encountered the 'Bitcoin Whitepaper.'

CEO Ju recalled, "I happened to attend an Ethereum (ETH) meetup event held at the school at the time, and after the event, I went home and read the whitepapers of Bitcoin and Ethereum and felt a thrill." The University of Waterloo is also the alma mater of Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin. Buterin encountered Bitcoin while attending this school, dropped out, and developed Ethereum.

"Bitcoin is a Kind of Anarchism"

CEO Ju emphasized, "I imagined 2050 after reading the Bitcoin whitepaper." He continued, "The ideological foundation of Bitcoin, 'Cypherpunk,' is a kind of anarchism," and "I felt attracted as I understood the future (Satoshi Nakamoto dreamed of) after reading the whitepaper." Cypherpunk is a movement that started in the early 1990s centered around American developers, pursuing decentralization based on cryptographic technology. CEO Ju said, "After the Ethereum meetup and reading the whitepaper, I returned to Korea and worked at a blockchain startup," and "As I worked in the industry, my affection for the virtual asset industry gradually grew."

What he focused on afterward was 'on-chain data.' On-chain data is the record of all activities and transactions that occur on the blockchain network. The trading volume of a specific virtual asset, hash rate, and movements of whales (large investors) are representative on-chain data. CEO Ju said, "When I first entered (the virtual asset industry), I also got interested in investing and was engrossed in trading," and "A few years ago, investing in virtual assets based on data was not common, but I was convinced that the importance of on-chain data would gradually increase."

The background of CEO Ju founding the on-chain analysis company CryptoQuant in 2018 lies in this context. He said, "In the early days of the company's establishment in 2019, I went to the virtual asset conference 'Consensus' held in New York to find out the demand for the service," and "At that time, I would run up to institutional officials who were speakers in sessions such as Nasdaq and Fidelity when they came off the stage and ask for their opinions on the (CryptoQuant) service." He added, "If the introduction of stablecoins becomes full-fledged, the value of on-chain data could become much greater than it is now," and "When the stablecoin era opens, it might be possible to predict the demand and supply of virtually all goods in the world (with on-chain data)."

After talking about CryptoQuant, we finished our meal and moved to a nearby cafe. The place CEO Ju suggested was 'Roda Coffee' near the CryptoQuant office. It is a cafe using a small two-story building, and the space is so narrow that there are only three tables on the second floor. CEO Ju and I sat in the inner seat on the second floor and ordered two iced Americanos and a tiramisu cake.

"I Want to Be a Great Inventor"

CEO Ju took a few sips of coffee and continued speaking. He said his dream is to "become a great inventor." CEO Ju said, "There are fewer and fewer people making proper inventions in the Web3 industry," and "I want to be remembered as an inventor who advanced (Web3) technology one step further rather than someone who made a lot of money in the crypto scene in the long run."

I also asked about his daily life in the United States. CEO Ju said, "When I rest, I usually take a walk in the park with my wife or go to the beach to read a book," and "My wife is also a 'workaholic' like me, so we don't have any special hobbies." He added, "It seems that there are quite a few things to give up to become a great inventor," and "In 2-3 years, it will be 10 years since I started working in the (virtual asset industry), so I have a growing desire to make a bigger invention beyond CryptoQuant."

After the interview, we had a brief chat while drinking the remaining coffee. He said he plans to leave for the United States in mid-next month and stay in New York for about three months. We promised to have a beer before his departure in front of the cafe and parted ways with CEO Ju. Checking the time as I watched him head back to the office, it was already 2 p.m.

This interview was not supported or financially compensated by any specific restaurant or brand and was conducted without commercial intent. The purpose of the 'Blooming Lunch' corner is to capture a free interview in a casual atmosphere at the interviewee's favorite regular restaurant.