According to Tencent Technology, Giant Network and Weiyi Capital has become the latest shareholder of Beijing Oukai Lianchuang Network Technology Co., Ltd, which is the only shareholder of OKCoin. Search result from business administration authority indicates that Giant Network has 10% of OKCoin’s share and Weiyi Capital owns 1.5996%. The business license of Beijing Oukai Lianchuang was updated on 31 October, 2017. Previously, Shi Yuzhu, President of Giant Network, has defended Bitcoin’s significance upon “ICO ban” in September 2017.

Giant Network is a online gaming company listed in Shenzhen Stock Exchange(SZ:002558) with market cap at 76.1 billion yuan(~11.5 billion USD). However, Shi Yuzhu is even better known in China for his personal ups and downs. On 9 September 2017, he first talked about Bitcoin to his 7.89 million followers:

“We should not demonize bitcoin. Something that we do not understand is not necessarily all bad things. If there is illegal conduct in the trading of Bitcoin then these illegal deal should be cracked down instead of total ban of bitcoin trading. Even if Chinese are not allowed to own bitcoin, foreigners will continue to hold it. Maybe in the future even a portion of some foreign exchange reserves will be distributed to bitcoin. The blockchain technology will bring profound changes in areas such as finance and everyone’s life. ”

He also denied possession of bitcoin:

“Disclaimer: I personally do not own any bitcoin.”

The weibo was reposted 1,878 times and received 3,135 comments, among which the top 4 are:

“Which country’s currency is bitcoin? Who will be responsible for its credit?

“What’s use of bitcoin? Money-laundering, tax-evasion and transfer of funds. These are illegal and should be banned. If you have such needs, you will support bitcoin.”

“Those who criticize Bitcoin is either poor or under-educated!”

“Fiats are backed by national sovereignty, what backs bitcoin other than utility bill? ”

These mostly-upvoted comments reflects the general public perception on bitcoin: Bitcoin is evil.

Shi Yuzhu is a legendary figure in China. He started from scratch became a billionaire by software development. He once ranked #8 on the richest list by Forbes. However, his company went broke overnight and his debt was up to 250 million. After painful reflection, he returned the market and gained significant market share in health products, online games, investment etc. Shi Yuzhu is considered a successful model for Chinese entrepreneurs. His defense has already hinted his interest in bitcoin and blockchain technology, which is converted into becoming a shareholder of OKCoin. According to the public information of Oukai Chuanglian Company, the Giant Network has 10% of its share and Shanghai Weiyi Capital has 1.5996% share.

OKCoin’s Shareholding Structure (credit:qichacha)

Aside from Shi Yuzhu, Wang Yawei, Godfather of private equity investment, is also found connected to OKCoin through his child company: Shanghai Weiyi.

Wang Yawei achieved 10 times yield in 7 years when he was working as manager in public equity fund. In May 2012, he resigned and set up a private equity fund in Shenzhen in September 2012. Due to outstanding performance of the equity funds, he is known as the godfather in the private funding industry.

The two latest participants are from traditional investment business. The entrepreneurship and visions allow them to see beyond the public’s conception.

Update on 18 December:

According to Sina Finance, Giant Network has invested 184,142,388.57 yuan(27.2 million USD) on OKCoin to acquire 14.00% of its share.

Below is the official statement from OKEx: