Gate Founder Dr. Han's Speech at the University of Hong Kong: Breaking the Matthew Effect and Winning in Asymmetric Competition

On April 21, at the Web3 event “Web3 Dialogues @ HKU - Academia x Industry” held at the University of Hong Kong, Gate founder and CEO Dr. Han delivered a keynote speech on “Breaking the Matthew Effect.” Based on his 13 years of frontline experience in the crypto industry, Dr. Han systematically elaborated on a core judgment: in the crypto world, competition has never been fair; what truly determines victory or defeat is who establishes and maintains the “Matthew Effect” earlier.

Unfairness is the starting point: understanding the true structure of competition

Dr. Han openly stated during his speech that the essence of business competition is a game of resource and time asymmetry, not an idealized fair contest. “Don’t expect fairness in the real world,” he emphasized, pointing out that the starting point, resources, and information gaps together shape the competitive landscape, and the Matthew Effect is constantly amplified within this structure — the strong get stronger, while latecomers face higher barriers.

Taking his own experience as an example, Dr. Han mentioned that in the early stages of his startup, he lacked funding and team support, completing the initial platform setup in a family environment, starting from a completely different point than competitors who received capital backing at the same time. But it was precisely under these unfavorable conditions that he was forced to adopt more aggressive and efficient strategies.

First-mover advantage: using speed to build an “irreversible” moat

Regarding how to break through in an unfair environment, Dr. Han proposed a second key principle: establishing the Matthew Effect itself as early as possible. He recounted that in the early days, the platform quickly gained an overwhelming advantage in niche markets by launching a large number of long-tail assets first, rapidly attracting users and trading volume. “While others are still assessing risks, you’ve already completed your layout,” this strategy enabled Gate to complete its first round of user accumulation with limited resources and once held a high market share.

In his view, once the Matthew Effect takes shape, it will form a self-reinforcing mechanism through liquidity, branding, and user networks, becoming the most effective “defense system.”

Seizing windows and dynamic game: establishing and reshaping competitive advantages amid uncertainty

Dr. Han pointed out that the Matthew Effect is not something that can be sustained once established; its nature is always in a state of dynamic change. Although platforms may experience phase shocks during development, the key is whether they can quickly correct their course and return to growth, rather than trying to avoid all fluctuations. Based on this, Dr. Han summarized industry competition as a “battle for opportunity windows,” believing that each cycle of crypto industry jumps—from the 2017 ICO, 2020 DeFi Summer, to derivatives and meme assets—is fundamentally a short-term and highly uncertain structural opportunity. He stated that true leaders often complete their layouts during the greatest divergences, rather than following after consensus has formed.

At the same time, Dr. Han emphasized that with the rapid evolution of AI, technology is reshaping production methods and competitive rhythms, further compressing decision-making windows. This requires platforms to be more agile in resource allocation and strategic choices to maintain competitiveness amid ongoing industry cycles.

Beyond rules: maintaining independent judgment amid rapid change

At the end of his speech, Dr. Han extended the topic to individual cognition, suggesting that one should not blindly follow existing rules and authorities. In conversations with students, he said, “Don’t blindly trust parents, and don’t blindly trust teachers,” emphasizing that this is not a denial of experience and education, but in the context of the rapid evolution of Web3 and AI, and the constantly reshaping industry boundaries, relying solely on experience is no longer sufficient to adapt to change. Dr. Han believes that compared to depending on standard answers, developing independent thinking and quick decision-making abilities is more critical: knowledge can be taught, but understanding this era must be done by oneself.

Conclusion

From early entrepreneurship to navigating multiple market cycles, Dr. Han’s sharing reveals a highly nonlinear growth path. In his view, the core of the crypto industry is not about “participating in competition,” but about whether one can establish advantages first in an asymmetric structure, survive mistakes, and make contrarian decisions at critical moments. The accumulation of these abilities constitutes the true barrier to crossing cycles.

About Gate

Gate was founded in 2013, with Dr. Han as its founder and CEO. It is one of the world’s leading cryptocurrency trading platforms. The platform serves over 52 million users and supports trading of more than 4,500 crypto assets. As an industry benchmark, Gate was the first to achieve 100% reserve proof, with an ecosystem covering Gate Wallet, Gate Ventures, Gate for AI Agent, and other diverse services. For more information, please visit: Website |X |Telegram |LinkedIn |Instagram |YouTube

Disclaimer:

This content does not constitute any invitation, solicitation, or advice. You should always seek independent professional advice before making any investment decisions. Please note that Gate may restrict or prohibit all or part of its services from restricted regions. For more information, please read the User Agreement at: https://www.gate.com/zh/user-agreement.