Chapter 554 Cryptocurrencies
In the height of summer, Beijing is often unpredictable, with sunshine and rain.
In the afternoon, the sun was blazing, but suddenly dark clouds rolled in and a torrential downpour began.
Song Ci leaned against the French windows, her eyes unfocused, gazing into the distance.
Through the glass, which was rippled by the rain and meandered like a stream, a high-rise building under construction in the distance could be seen faintly in the torrential rain.
That was another important piece of his business empire: the Dewen Science and Technology Building.
"Knock knock knock".
"Please come in."
The door was pushed open, and Zhang Yong walked to Song Ci's side, his gaze also falling on the enormous structure shrouded in rain and mist, and he understood.
"Chairman Song, is Madam doing well? When will the baby be born?"
When his wife and children were mentioned, Song Ci's face lit up with happiness, and his tone was light: "Yes, everything is fine. Judging by the dates, it will probably be around March next year. It's a baby born in the Year of the Horse."
He and Liu Shishi discussed it and concluded that she conceived on the day of the Time magazine interview.
Zhang Yong laughed heartily: "Great! Spring is here, flowers are blooming, and everything is coming back to life. It's a good omen."
As his uncle, I'll have to prepare a gift for Xiaobao then.
"Brother Yong, you're too kind."
After chatting for a while, Song Ci's smile faded, and he solemnly stated, "Brother Yong, I've given it careful consideration. The chip deal is settled."
The group has established a new functional department: the Chip and Hardware R&D Center.
Prioritize the development of cloud computing CPUs, which are the cornerstone of Tenda's computing power; next is the DPU (Data Processing Unit); and dedicated chips for AI training and inference will be tackled last.
"The path to chip development is not something that can be achieved overnight," Zhang Yong sighed softly, his tone complex.
Although he strongly advised Tenda to take the path of developing its own chips in order to break free from being controlled by others.
But at this moment, when Song Ci truly made the decision to embark on the path of chip manufacturing, he, as the CEO, instantly felt an immense pressure on his shoulders.
This is not just a matter of funding, but a comprehensive test of talent, technology, and ecosystem.
"Without three to five years of continuous investment in chip manufacturing, we probably won't even see a ripple." He seemed to be saying this to Song Ci, or perhaps reminding himself.
Zhang Yong suppressed his turbulent thoughts and changed the subject: "Chairman Song, take a look at the OA system. There are two projects we need to discuss."
"Okay." Song Ci returned to her desk, woke up her computer, opened the internal OA system, and saw the two emails forwarded by Zhang Yong. She quickly opened them.
Zhang Yong sat down in the chair opposite him, waiting for the chairman to review the materials.
"Establish a cryptocurrency trading platform?!" The content jumped out at her, and Song Ci's pupils contracted slightly, her heart filled with astonishment. "How could the research institute have such an idea?"
Zhang Yong calmly replied: "Xu Mingxing, an expert in the blockchain lab, submitted the initial concept. He believes that cryptocurrencies have broad prospects for future development."
With its leading blockchain underlying technology, Tenda is fully capable of building a high-performance, highly secure digital asset trading platform globally.
Preliminary research by the research institute also agrees with his viewpoint. Trading platforms are the traffic hubs and core infrastructure of the cryptocurrency world.
Early planning means that Tenda can gain a certain degree of asset pricing power and industry influence in the early stages of the industry's explosive growth, enabling it to seize a commanding position in the future digital finance ecosystem.
"Xu Mingxing?!" Upon hearing this name, Song Ci's heart skipped a beat. Wasn't this the guy who founded the well-known Bitcoin exchange platform OKCoin?
How did I end up working for Tengda Technology in this life? The inertia of history, or rather the flow of talent, is truly fascinating.
When the chairman mentioned the name of the project initiator, Zhang Yong added the following information:
"Xu Mingxing has a technical background and has founded Wantuan.com and Douban.com, and has a certain reputation in the Internet industry. Last year, he was attracted by the company's talent program and joined the blockchain laboratory."
Song Ci leaned back in his chair, lost in thought, his mind rapidly weighing the pros and cons.
Currently, there is almost no regulation of cryptocurrencies globally, and this gray area does indeed contain huge early adopter benefits.
However, behind the benefits lie even greater and more uncertain policy risks.
WeChat's global expansion and the inevitable launch of TikTok in the future have made him feel like he's walking on thin ice, dancing on the edge of a knife in international power struggles.
Although the top leader had previously stated that the country would be a solid backing for Tenda Technology to go global and participate in international competition, this gave him the conviction to forge ahead steadfastly.
But cryptocurrency trading platforms... these are completely different things.
It operates on the fringes of financial regulation and is non-compliant in both domestic and major European and American economies.
For a company of Tenda's size to proactively make such a move is tantamount to handing over a handle to others and asking for trouble. Do they really think that the US government and the SEC on the other side of the ocean are not sharp enough?
With this thought in mind, Song Ci shook her head and said decisively, "Reject this project! The company should stay away from trading platforms, avoid risks, and focus on its core business."
Tenda aims to develop blockchain technology by abandoning its entanglement with private cryptocurrencies and focusing on 'trust technology'.
For example, supply chain finance, product traceability, and digital identity authentication are areas that serve the real economy.
I won't go into the specific technical details today; we'll discuss that in a separate meeting another day.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Yong showed no surprise and nodded in agreement: "I understand."
Trading platforms without strong regulation can easily become breeding grounds for activities such as money laundering and fraud.
From the perspective of the company's long-term stable operation, I also do not wish to get involved in this field.
As Song Ci closed the email with the mouse, she chuckled and said, "Leaving aside company strategy."
From a personal investment perspective, mainstream cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are bound to flourish in the next few years.
Although the company doesn't operate a trading platform, that doesn't prevent us individuals from holding some shares.
Zhang Yong's eyes lit up, knowing full well that the chairman was pointing out ways to make money again: "Chairman Song also invests in Bitcoin?"
"I've accumulated some; Bitcoin is still at a low price right now." Song Ci nodded with a smile, without revealing the specific amount.
In fact, he had previously sent Lin Hao to the United States to acquire 60,000 coins, and with subsequent acquisitions, he currently holds 72,000 coins, making him a super Bitcoin player on a global scale.
"Thank you for your guidance, Chairman Song." Zhang Yong was overjoyed.
Although they are already billionaires, at their level, they value information and trend analysis even more. No one would complain about a reasonable return on investment.
After the little incident, the atmosphere in the office relaxed a bit.
Song Ci turned her attention to the second email, and upon reading it, she was deeply shocked.
The email detailed the idea of building an enterprise information query platform and an enterprise-level application that integrates communication, office, management and business networking functions.
This is clearly the super combination of "Qichacha" and "WeChat Work + Lark + LinkedIn" that he knew from his previous life!
"That's interesting!" Song Ci couldn't help but exclaim in admiration as she carefully read through the details of the proposal.
"The company is truly full of talented people, a veritable treasure trove of hidden gems. It's no small feat to come up with such a forward-thinking and practical idea."
Upon hearing the praise, Zhang Yong echoed, "I knew you were interested in WeChat for Business. I was also greatly shocked when I saw this proposal."
If this project succeeds, it could become the fourth pillar industry, alongside social media, gaming, and finance!
“Ling Tianyu!” Song Ci recognized the project planner and her memory came back to her. “Lin Haifeng recommended him to me.”
This person is said to have unique insights into B2B business and extremely strong execution capabilities. This proposal alone demonstrates their talent.
He then picked up the landline on the table, dialed the secretary's office short number, and gave the instructions:
"Is Ling Tianyu from Yipay in the company? If so, have him come to my office."
While waiting, Song Ci reviewed the proposal in detail again, and the more she read it, the more she felt that the concept was ingenious and the logic was rigorous.
About ten minutes later, there was another knock on the office door.
"Please come in."
The door was pushed open, and a young man walked in. His gaze swept across the room, and he greeted respectfully, "Hello, Chairman Song, hello, General Manager Zhang, I am Ling Tianyu from Yifutong."
Song Ci nodded in greeting: "Please sit down. Mr. Zhang and I have both reviewed the proposal you submitted, and we have a few questions we'd like to discuss with you in person."
Facing the two highest-ranking figures in the group, Ling Tianyu appeared somewhat reserved and sat upright.
Song Ci turned his attention to this subordinate who had left a deep impression on him and got straight to the point:
"Don't be nervous. How did you come up with the idea for the 'Tengda Enterprise Credit' project? What was its starting point?"
Ling Tianyu tried to calm his nerves and organized his thoughts:
"Chairman Song, this idea actually originated from my daily promotion of YiPayTong to B2B enterprise clients."
When a company makes investments, mergers and acquisitions, or engages in business cooperation, each business department needs to spend a lot of human and material resources to collect and verify information about the target company.
For example, issues such as equity structure, legal risks, business operations, and intellectual property are often inefficient and information is often delayed, making it easy to make mistakes.
So I wondered if I could use technology to create a comprehensive, real-time updated enterprise information database.
We'll develop it into an internal tool called 'Tengda Enterprise Credit,' primarily serving internal risk control and business opportunity analysis.
Song Ci seemed to be deep in thought. The prototype of "Tengda Qixin" mentioned by Ling Tianyu was the "Tianyan Check" and "Qichacha" of his previous life.
Seeing that the chairman was listening attentively, Ling Tianyu became even more confident and his speaking pace became steady:
"After further research, I discovered that its potential is far more than just an internal tool."
If these publicly available business data from industry and commerce, judiciary, and public opinion can be cross-analyzed with the transaction data of EasyPay, Weibo public opinion data, and cloud computing usage data within the Tenda ecosystem, then 'Tengda Enterprise Credit' can evolve into an information infrastructure for China's business society.
Once 'Tengda Enterprise Credit' becomes the preferred platform for enterprises, financial institutions, lawyers, and investors to access business information.
The company essentially possesses a dynamic and detailed 'map of Chinese business data,' the strategic value and derivative possibilities of which are terrifying.
Upon hearing this, Song Ci began to ponder seriously.
Compared to its near-monopoly in the consumer market, Tenda's relative weakness has always been its business-to-business (B2B) users.
The direction that Ling Tianyu pointed out is essentially about "data" and "insights," rather than simply the output of computing power or solutions.
If operated properly, the platform can empower all business units within the group's ecosystem, in addition to serving external customers.
From investment and finance to advertising and cloud services, it has become a super hub connecting B-end and C-end, and linking internal and external data.
Ling Tianyu was fully engaged and spoke eloquently: "I have also made some preliminary ideas about the business model."
'Tengda Enterprise Credit' will exist as an enterprise credit investigation company and business inquiry platform, developing various enterprise health models and business risk rating models based on massive amounts of data.
In addition, based on enterprise credit data, we develop vertical SaaS applications, such as intelligent due diligence tools, supply chain risk control platforms, and market insight analysis platforms.
"Brilliant!" Zhang Yong clapped his hands in praise. "From specific points to broader concepts, from tools to ecology, it progresses layer by layer. What a brilliant idea!"
With the CEO's approval, Ling Tianyu was invigorated, and his tone rose a few decibels:
"Thank you, Mr. Zhang! After conceiving the underlying data structure of 'Tengda Enterprise Credit,' I followed this line of thought and came up with an even bolder idea!"
"In the C-end individual customer sector, the company has achieved a closed-loop ecosystem."
I've been wondering if it's possible to build a similar, robust, closed-loop ecosystem within the enterprise services sector.
I have found that there is currently no professional software on the market that can truly connect internal enterprise communication, collaborative work, process management, and external business networks.
Existing IM tools have limited functionality, and OA systems are outdated, rigid, and disconnected from each other.
After in-depth research, I believe the company should create a super enterprise application called 'WeWork'!
It will be a comprehensive platform integrating efficient enterprise instant messaging, collaborative office work, daily management, and talent and business networking functions!
Looking at the radiant Ling Tianyu, Song Ci had to admit that his ideas were extremely subversive.
This "WeWork" is essentially a super combination of the previous "WeChat Work", "Lark" and "LinkedIn"!
If it is further integrated with the "Tengda Enterprise Information" database, once completed, Tenda will build a nearly unassailable, self-reinforcing enterprise-level ecosystem loop that extends from information retrieval to internal collaboration, and then to external business connections and talent recruitment.
As Zhang Yong said, the strategic value of this is indeed enough to make it the fourth pillar of Tenda's future.
Of course, there will be great resistance to successfully promoting such a system, requiring huge investment and long-term patience.
However, this enhanced version of WeChat for Business was too tempting for him and for Tengda Technology; he couldn't refuse it, and neither could Tengda.
Song Ci and Zhang Yong exchanged a knowing glance, their minds already made up.
Zhang Yong smiled, his eyes full of admiration: "Tianyu, this project has great potential. Chairman Song and I have decided to support you."
Please hand over your work as soon as possible. The group will establish a 'Corporate Services Project Team,' and you will serve as the team leader.
I am fully responsible for the development and promotion of both 'Tengda Enterprise Messenger' and 'WeWork Enterprise WeChat' products. Just let me know what resources you need.
Upon hearing this, Ling Tianyu was overjoyed: "Thank you, Chairman Song! Thank you, General Manager Zhang! I will certainly live up to your expectations and do my best!"
Zhang Yong patted him on the shoulder encouragingly, his tone earnest: "Work hard! This is a strategic project at the group level, and you have a great stage to perform on."
Ling Tianyu was filled with excitement. Within Tengda, independently leading a new business from scratch was the fastest way to get promoted, but also the most challenging way to test one's abilities.
Given the size and strategic importance of "WeWork" and "Tengda Enterprise Trust", if successful, they will at least be large subsidiaries.
As the founder, he will then become a core executive at the T16 level or even higher, with a bright future ahead!
After exchanging a few preliminary details and a few more words, Ling Tianyu, filled with anticipation and enthusiasm, took his leave.
(Second watch, slightly later)
(End of this chapter)
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