That brother who insisted on investing in Kite for three years is now a legend in the community.
In the kaleidoscope of cryptocurrency, which changes colors every second, most people are like surfers chasing droplets in a strong wind, while that Lao Chen, who is jokingly called 'Kite Brother' by everyone, chose to weave an extremely resilient line in that deep winter when everyone was in fear.
If the bear market at the end of 2022 is compared to a devastating cold wave, then Lao Chen's behavior of investing in Kite at that time seemed like sowing seeds on frozen ground. At that time, Kite was still a protocol marginalized by mainstream narratives, and the market was full of doubts about its positioning as a 'modular liquidity relay.' But Lao Chen said that if the Web3 world is destined to be an archipelago composed of countless islands (Layer2), then a mechanism like 'atmospheric circulation' is needed to allow value to flow freely without any friction. Kite is that wind.
From December 2022 to December 2025, Old Chen traversed a cycle lasting three years. During this period, KITE experienced dramatic fluctuations from the previously neglected 0.5 area, to the mainnet upgrade in 2024, and now stands firmly at the core of the ecosystem. His account curve is not a vertical line shooting straight up but rather a breathtakingly beautiful logarithmic growth curve generated by compound accumulation.
Why could Old Chen become a legend? The core lies in his insight into the technical logic of Kite: it is not merely building a simple cross-chain bridge but constructing a settlement engine based on 'intent'. In the multi-chain fragmentation era following the Ethereum ETH Cancun upgrade in 2024, users no longer care which chain is behind, only the results matter. Kite compresses, packages, and instantly distributes liquidity of different levels through its innovative 'fluid proof' mechanism. This innovation in underlying logic allowed it to stand out among numerous competitors in the market game of 2025.
From an economic model perspective, KITE's value capture peaked this year. With the explosion of total chain transaction volume, 40% of the fees generated by the protocol are used for buybacks and destruction. This 'deflationary engine', combined with the growing staking demand within its ecosystem, forms an extremely powerful positive feedback loop. Old Chen's fixed investment back then was essentially acquiring original shares of this 'full-chain logistics company' at a very low cost.
As of the end of 2025, data shows that the number of active addresses on Kite's chain has surpassed 5 million, and its locked value (TVL) ranks among the top three in non-native protocols. Old Chen's success is not coincidental but is the result of extreme exploration of 'certain opportunities'. He has previously shared in the community that when assessing a long-term target, he only looks at three dimensions: first, does it solve the inevitable pain after ecological prosperity (fragmentation); second, does its token truly participate in the value cycle (deflationary mechanism); third, does its developer community maintain high-frequency submissions even during the toughest times.
Now, everyone in the community is reviewing Old Chen's path. But as Old Chen himself said: the legend is not me, but the person who dares to believe in logic even in the darkest moments.
For today's investors, blindly chasing the already soaring KITE is clearly not a wise move. What we need to look for is the 'next Kite'. Observe those protocols that are subtracting on the underlying architecture and adding to user experience. Pay attention to early projects attempting to solve the problems of 'deep coupling between AI and smart contracts' or 'large-scale access to decentralized physical infrastructure (DePIN)' within the BNB chain or mainstream ecosystems.
A practical suggestion is to focus on those protocols with a healthy ratio of FDV (fully diluted valuation) to circulating market cap, and which had a high genuine interaction volume even during the testnet phase. At the same time, make good use of tools like 'automatic investment plans' to hand over decision-making to discipline and time to trends.
In this industry, speed is often a trap, while depth is the moat. Old Chen's story tells us that in Web3, true wealth never belongs to those who run the fastest, but to those who see the direction clearly and are willing to anchor themselves on the right foundation during a long journey.
When you can hear the sound of that 'kite string' tightening amid the noise, you are not far from legend.
This article is a personal independent analysis and does not constitute investment advice.
