A blurry photo of a back view, a vague 'deep-sea fishing' code, under the undercurrents of the crypto world, a storm involving tens of billions of dollars and the fate of giants has quietly surged.
The veteran in the cryptocurrency world, 'Master Bao' Guo Hongcai, posted a thought-provoking message on social media, stating that a 'long-time friend in the crypto space' had experienced a 'deep-sea fishing' incident involving an amount as high as 'several billion dollars'. After half a year of turmoil, the person emerged safely. This news quickly ignited speculation in the community, with multiple clues pointing to this 'old friend' being none other than Jihan Wu, the co-founder of Bitmain.
It is reported that this storm may involve huge fines ranging from $1 billion to $10 billion. Accompanying the rumors is an already heated power struggle within Bitmain. Since 2025, the company's iconic 'dual CEO' system has completely collapsed, with co-founder Wu Jihan regaining control, while Jian Ketuan is suspected of being removed from practical management.
01 Eye of the Storm
The rumors are not unfounded. From the perfect match of engineers and evangelists to one side seemingly trapped in a quagmire, the story of Jian Ketuan and Wu Jihan is one of the most dramatic chapters in the history of Chinese crypto.
In 2013, engineer Jian Ketuan and early Bitcoin evangelist Wu Jihan co-founded Bitmain, quickly monopolizing over 70% of the global ASIC mining chip market, establishing an unparalleled mining empire.
The rift began with a fundamental disagreement over the development path of Bitcoin. In 2017, Wu Jihan fully supported Bitcoin Cash (BCH), dragging the company into a 'war of routes', which Jian Ketuan, who believed in engineering rationality, was long dissatisfied with.
The bear market of 2018 made contradictions public. In 2019, Wu Jihan initiated a 'coup' to oust Jian Ketuan from the company, followed by a dramatic saga of seizing the company seal and legal disputes, severely depleting the company's vitality.
02 Diverging Fates
After the internal conflict, the paths of the two founders diverged completely. Wu Jihan turned to crypto finance, founding Matrixport and pushing for the IPO of Bit Deer.
Jian Ketuan chose to stay in the old battlefield of computing power and manufacturing. This choice keeps him in a field that is more cyclically intense and sensitive to regulation, which may also have laid the groundwork for today's predicament.
Bitmain's mining power map has also undergone silent changes. Previously closely associated Xinjiang mining resources have disappeared from the company's public narrative. The power structure has reversed again, and Wu Jihan's return marks the end of the Jian Ketuan era.
03 Fragile Foundations
The rise and fall of Bitmain's internal struggles revealed a harsh reality: when the power games of founders spiral out of control, and when business practices are deeply intertwined with geopolitical and regulatory risks, no matter how large an empire is, its foundation can become fragile overnight.
This vulnerability exists not only within mining giants. Throughout the crypto world, the safety and stability of assets remain the deepest anxieties of investors. Centralized control by project teams, opaque operations, and sudden black swan events can all expose wealth to significant risks.
Historically, algorithmic stablecoins that have lost all value due to systemic flaws or a collapse of trust serve as the most profound lessons. What the market craves is a truly transparent, verifiable, and robust means of storing value.
04 The Paradigm Shift of Trust
As traditional models of trust—whether based on personal authority or centralized institutions—fail repeatedly, a new paradigm is emerging: trust based on code rules and on-chain transparency.
This is the foundation that decentralized stablecoins like @usddio are trying to build. It does not rely on the promises of a single company but records every bit of trust on an immutable blockchain through smart contracts and over-collateralization mechanisms.
Unlike fiat-backed stablecoins, USDD maintains its peg to the US dollar through over-collateralization of crypto assets, with all collateral positions and reserve proofs being publicly verifiable. This aims to address the long-standing criticisms of asset opacity and over-issuance risks in the stablecoin sector.
05 Building on Stability
True stability goes far beyond price anchoring. It is a complete system encompassing technology, mechanisms, and ecology.
@usddio relies on mainstream public chain ecosystems such as Tron and aims to become a bridge connecting traditional finance and decentralized finance (DeFi). Its total locked value (TVL) in DeFi protocols reflects the market's growing confidence in it as a fundamental financial component.
Moreover, a global regulatory framework is paving the way for compliant stablecoins. From Hong Kong's (Stablecoin Regulation) to the United States' (GENIUS Act), clear rules delineate the runway for innovation and provide protection for investors. Under such a trend, stablecoins with transparency and auditability will gain a long-term advantage.
06 Not Without Challenges
Although the outlook is promising, USDD and the entire decentralized stablecoin sector still face challenges. Market data shows that the holding structure of USDD is relatively concentrated, with the top five addresses controlling a significant proportion of the supply, raising discussions about its level of decentralization and resistance to manipulation.
Additionally, as a crypto asset-backed stablecoin, its stability fundamentally relies on the value of the collateral (such as TRX). In the event of extreme market fluctuations, it still needs to test whether its liquidation mechanisms can operate smoothly. This requires the project team to continuously optimize risk control models and maintain extremely high operational prudence and transparency.
The drama within Bitmain and rumors surrounding Jian Ketuan have sounded the alarm for the entire industry: in this emerging field of crypto, individuals, companies, and assets face uncertainties far greater than in the traditional world. When the storm comes, what is a safe harbor?
The answer may be shifting towards areas safeguarded by code rules rather than personal will. Transparent and mechanized stable assets represented by @usddio hold value not only in their anchoring to $1 but also in their attempt to build a new trust system that is more predictable and has less 'human governance' risk.
#USDD sees stability as trust#, in the unpredictable world of crypto, the transparency, compliance, and mechanization represented by the word 'stability' may be the most valuable ballast to weather cycles and resist storms.
