Mai Gang: From Early Bitcoin Believer to Pop Mart Powerhouse

The Crypto Pioneer Who Dared to Be Different

Hear this, folks: Mai Gang, the visionary who first backed the global Chinese toy giant Pop Mart, isn't just about toys. He's spilling the beans on his deep-rooted love for Bitcoin, even with the crypto ban back home!

During a fiery chat on Xiao Yuzhu FM, this angel investor behind Pop Mart's wild "blind box" craze revealed his knack for diving into ventures that others might sideline as quirky or downright oddball.

And guess what? Bitcoin (BTC) fits right into that mold. Fresh out of college, Mai was already tossing some of his pocket change into BTC when it was just a fledgling. Back then, it was far from the mainstream beast it's become today.

"Bitcoin? It's been a game-changer in my career," Mai declared in a translated sit-down. "At a Renmin University alumni bash, I got grilled on why I'm so hooked on Bitcoin, while big shots like chief economists were still fumbling in the dark."

While soaking up finance and econ at uni, Mai stumbled upon blockchain and Bitcoin. To him, it was a no-brainer—simple as pie, yet the investment world was missing the boat on its potential.

"You don't need a PhD to get Bitcoin," Mai fired back. "It's all about chasing, questioning, and sticking to the core issues—that's what's rare and gold."

Despite the chorus of doubters, Mai stood firm on Pop Mart before it exploded into a monster with a $42.80 billion market cap, ranking 517th on the global scene.

"You do you, regardless of the cheers or jeers," Mai said, reflecting on his Pop Mart triumph. "You think I'm offbeat? Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. What counts is what I believe in."

Back in 2014, this man was already calling Bitcoin a heavyweight in the global power play. When challenged to sum up Bitcoin in a heartbeat, he labeled it the "perfect currency"—a dream cooked up by math wizards, geeks, and network gurus with their fancy distributed algorithms.

Plus, he sees it as a treasure you keep alive with raw computing muscle, all thanks to some seriously beefy hardware.