From manufacturing mining hardware to ecological construction—how Wu Jihan is shaping the crypto industry chain

In the history of cryptocurrency development, Wu Jihan is a name that cannot be overlooked. This professional who had a stable career in finance made a life-changing decision—dedicating himself to Bitcoin and digital assets, ultimately becoming a key force driving the entire ecosystem’s growth.

From Financial Elite to Bitcoin Believer: Wu Jihan’s Transformation

Born in Chongqing in 1986, Wu Jihan holds dual degrees from Peking University—psychology and economics. Before entering the crypto space, he built a solid professional foundation in finance, particularly in private equity management.

The turning point came in 2011. While researching literature, Wu Jihan came across Satoshi Nakamoto’s paper on Bitcoin. Unlike most who chose to invest and trade Bitcoin, Wu Jihan saw a completely different path—he recognized the enormous business opportunities within the industry, beyond just investment returns.

This difference in perspective determined Wu Jihan’s future direction. Instead of following the crowd into trading, he began to think: what is missing in the Bitcoin ecosystem? What does the market need? This mindset ultimately led him to entrepreneurship.

The Glory and Crisis of Bitmain: The Rise and Fall of the Mining Machine Empire

In 2012, Wu Jihan co-founded Blockbit, one of China’s earliest crypto communities. However, his ambitions extended beyond community building. He keenly sensed the business potential of mining hardware—foundational to the entire ecosystem.

He first invested in Asicminer, hoping to quickly penetrate the mining hardware industry through this channel. But the investment did not develop as expected; the company eventually ceased operations due to technical issues. Nonetheless, Wu Jihan gained valuable experience from this failure.

Building on these lessons, around 2013, he founded Bitmain, a professional design and manufacturing company for mining hardware. This decision dramatically changed the landscape of the mining industry. Under Wu Jihan’s leadership, Bitmain rapidly became a global leader in mining equipment.

By 2018, Bitmain reached its peak. The company secured over $1 billion in investments from Tencent and SoftBank, with pre-tax profits surpassing $2 billion—outperforming American chip giant NVIDIA during the same period. These achievements made Wu Jihan and co-founder Jihan Wu worth $5.3 billion, both becoming billionaires.

However, success often comes with crises. Just a year later, Bitmain faced severe challenges. Internal power struggles surfaced, and the company lost the US IPO race to Canaan Creative. In 2019, Wu Jihan officially announced his departure from Bitmain, and the once-dominant mining hardware empire began to decline.

The Birth of Bitcoin Cash: Hard Fork Innovation to Solve Problems

While managing Bitmain and Blockbit, Wu Jihan identified a key issue in the Bitcoin ecosystem—difficult transactions and high costs.

Bitcoin’s block size limit caused network congestion, which not only affected ordinary users’ transaction experience but also directly constrained miners’ profit potential. Wu Jihan believed this problem needed solving.

On August 1, 2017, at block height 478558, the first Bitcoin hard fork occurred. Driven by Wu Jihan and Bitcoin Cash advocate Roger Ver, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) was created.

At the time of the fork, the total circulating Bitcoin was about 16.5 million. After the split, an equivalent amount of Bitcoin Cash entered the market. Unlike Bitcoin’s limited block capacity, Bitcoin Cash expanded block size to handle more transactions. This technical improvement directly lowered transaction costs and improved user and miner experience.

In a sense, the birth of Bitcoin Cash reflected Wu Jihan’s mindset as an industry participant—when faced with problems, he chose innovation over complaint.

Matrixport Custody Platform: From Market Gap to Billion-Dollar Valuation

After leaving Bitmain, Wu Jihan did not stray far from the crypto industry. He quickly identified new market demands.

2018 saw a sharp decline in Bitcoin prices—from a high of $17,000. This market shift left many investors in trouble. Many speculators were trapped at high positions and forced to change their investment strategies. In this environment, a new need emerged: investors required a secure, reliable platform to safeguard assets and seek stable returns.

Wu Jihan keenly seized this market gap. He founded Matrixport, a platform for crypto asset custody and wealth management.

The platform’s initial scale was impressive—managing up to $10 billion in assets at launch, with monthly trading volume reaching $5 billion. The company employed over 400 people and operated across multiple countries.

What’s more remarkable is the platform’s rapid growth. In just two years, by August 2021, Matrixport’s valuation soared past $1 billion. This achievement once again demonstrated Wu Jihan’s sharp market insight.

Wu Jihan’s Business DNA: Continuous Innovation and Market Insight

Looking back at Wu Jihan’s entrepreneurial journey, a clear logical thread emerges:

Since reading the Bitcoin whitepaper in early 2011, his thinking has diverged from most. He didn’t stop at investing and trading but kept asking himself: “What is missing in this industry? What does the market need?”

This mindset guided him to establish communities (Blockbit), then to manufacture mining hardware (Bitmain), followed by infrastructure optimization (Bitcoin Cash), and finally to pioneer new asset management avenues (Matrixport).

Each step filled a market gap; each step was about solving problems. Wu Jihan’s business practice shows that successful entrepreneurs are often not those chasing trends but those who identify and solve problems.

Throughout the development of the crypto industry, Wu Jihan has proven himself as a pioneer and builder through concrete actions. From infrastructure to network protocol optimization, and then to wealth management innovation, every contribution has profoundly shaped the industry’s ecosystem. That’s why the industry regards him as a key driving force in the crypto supply chain.