The exchange sector has never lacked players, but only a few truly survive and make an impact. Looking back at industry history, successful players often hit the right timing and dare to make unconventional choices at critical moments.

The story of a seasoned industry veteran is quite typical. This guy was born in Jiangsu in 1977, immigrated to Canada at age 12, did various odd jobs early on, and later spent over twenty years in the fintech field. After getting involved with Bitcoin in 2013, he didn’t think twice—sold his house in Shanghai and went all-in on the crypto track. After bouncing around several platforms, he founded his own exchange in July 2017.

By then, the exchange market was already crowded, with fierce competition. But he came up with a differentiated approach—launching a platform token. This token initially priced at only $0.15, raised $15 million through an ICO as startup capital. Sounds modest? But he designed a core mechanism for the token: users get discounts on trading fees when paying with it, and the exchange regularly buys back and burns tokens, creating a deflationary model that gives it long-term value. This logic was somewhat ahead of its time.

Just two months after launch, the "94" related policy turmoil struck, severely impacting the entire crypto industry. Others might have collapsed, but this guy made a quick decision—moved servers and team overseas overnight and switched to a distributed operation. That single decision allowed his platform to survive.

Even more interesting, that platform token became a lifeline. Users used it to offset fees and participate in platform activities, helping the exchange maintain cash flow. In just half a year, the platform became the largest in global trading volume, and the token’s price soared. The launchpad mechanism introduced in 2019 took things to another level—users could participate in new project subscriptions with the platform token. The record of selling 500 million tokens in 53 seconds even trended on social media, boosting the token’s popularity and practical value once again.

What does this case tell us? In an era of homogeneous competition among exchanges, platform tokens are not just chips—they are tools that truly create value for users and sustain the ecosystem. Whoever masters this logic will be able to survive longer in the brutal market competition.