Short-term predictions are unpredictable, and long-term predictions are unnecessary. In 2018, amidst the frenzy of retail speculation, he founded Huoda Education, attempting to inject a touch of long-term rationality into the cryptocurrency world. In 2023, he moved to Hong Kong and founded Uweb (University of Web3) in an era where institutional funding and compliance regulation became the dominant themes. The market only records price fluctuations, but educators face daily the entry, disorientation, and shifts of people within the cycle—who stays, who exits, and how capabilities are reshaped round after round. As the founder and principal of Huoda Education and Uweb, Yu Jianing (Twitter account: @UwebDrYu) doesn't face abstract market curves, but rather waves of real people entering the industry: from early miners, traders, and project entrepreneurs to later influxes of financial institution practitioners, compliance officers, and traditional asset management teams. He can almost always be the first to perceive changes in the industry, market evolution, which capabilities are becoming ineffective, and which are becoming scarce through changes in the classroom and student structure. Image | Selected Books by Yu Jianing From "retail investor" to "institution," from "narrative-driven" to "structure and system-driven," Yu Jianing's two entrepreneurial ventures were not about catching a trend, but rather about witnessing the profound shift in Web3 talent demand, cognitive methods, and competency structures from the unique position of education. Guest Introduction: Yu Jianing, Principal of Uweb (University of Web3) Business School, Hong Kong; Rotating Chairman of the Academic Committee of HKCDAA (Hong Kong Registered Digital Asset Analysts Association); Master of Finance Tutor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Turning Point: From "Director" within the System to "Principal" in the Industry. At the beginning of the interview, Yu Jianing clearly divided his career path into three stages—not a leapfrog career change, but a continuous forward movement following the evolution of industry understanding. Before 2017, when the concept of blockchain was just beginning to gain traction in China, he was the Director of the Industrial Economics Research Institute of the Information Center of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. At that time, he was researching the reshaping of industries by the internet while continuously monitoring the evolution of Bitcoin and blockchain technology, including consortium blockchains, cross-border settlement, and international open-source communities. "My judgment at the time was that if finance were to become deeply internet-based, blockchain would inevitably become an indispensable infrastructure." However, a chasm always exists between theoretical concepts and industrial reality. In 2018, market enthusiasm surged, with a massive influx of projects and capital. The more common situation was that this was an extremely early-stage industry, yet it was rapidly amplified. Many participants rushed in with a strong desire to make money, but lacked a basic and systematic understanding of what problems blockchain actually solves and what financial logic Bitcoin represents.The market was advancing rapidly, but understanding was fragmented; confidence stemmed from price increases rather than a grasp of the underlying logic. An industry severely lacking systematic understanding, yet carrying immense wealth aspirations, was taking shape. "Many people didn't clearly know what they could do or how to do it," Yu Jianing later recalled of that period. It was against this backdrop that Yu Jianing made a crucial choice: shifting from research and policy observation to the forefront of industry education. In 2018, he co-founded Huoda Education with Huobi founder Li Lin. "What this industry truly lacks isn't opportunity, but long-termism," he recalled his initial motivation. In an early-stage industry where understanding was still developing, education provided a framework for understanding, a value compass, and boundaries for patience. This was also the first time Yu Jianing used "education" as a core method to intervene in and influence the industry's direction. Industry Transformation: From "Dancing with the Bubble" to "Pricing Risk" Yu Jianing summarizes the difference in the times of her two educational ventures in one sentence: "In 2018, it was still a bull market driven by retail investor speculation; by 2023, it was a market dominated by institutional allocation." [Image: Yu Jianing teaching] 1. The "Fiery Education" Era: Sowing Rationality Amidst Frenzy During the "Fiery Education" phase, students mostly came from the industry's "grassroots" level: miners, traders, project entrepreneurs, and high-net-worth individuals. Their most pressing concerns were practical and direct—which sectors were likely to explode? How to seize trading and investment opportunities? How to achieve returns amidst volatility? "Everyone participated in the market with a 'dancing with the bubble' mentality, all feeling they wouldn't be the last ones holding the bag," Yu Jianing recalls. Therefore, the teaching focus at that time was not to deny opportunities, but to add a layer of rational constraint: explaining the logic of sectors, project structure, and risk awareness, helping students to at least possess basic judgment in high volatility, rather than being completely led by emotions. 2. The Uweb Era: Rebuilding Industry Capabilities Through Compliance. The real watershed moment came in 2022. Events like FTX and LUNA subjected the industry to a brutal "stress test." "Without regulation, excessive innovation is bound to be a disaster," Yu Jianing doesn't shy away from this assessment. Subsequently, two forces accelerated the institutionalization of the industry: first, the advancement of the US Bitcoin ETF, which formally brought digital assets into the mainstream financial allocation field; second, Hong Kong's declaration on virtual asset development policy, guiding financial institutions to systematically enter the market through a licensing system. Uweb's client structure also changed accordingly: from individual investors and entrepreneurs to licensed financial institutions, investment banks, public and private funds, and family offices.The demand has fundamentally shifted—from pursuing high returns to identifying risks, building compliance frameworks, and completing asset allocation under regulatory constraints. Course content has been upgraded accordingly: technological risk, market risk, operational risk, cross-jurisdictional regulatory logic, comparison of compliance frameworks, and how to integrate digital assets into macro trading and asset allocation systems. "In the past, understanding candlestick charts might have been enough; now, a complete set of indicators is needed," Yu Jianing summarizes. Behind this is the industry's transition from a rudimentary stage of "price discovery" to a mature stage where "risk pricing" and "institutional constraints" coexist. Cyclical Transformation: Narratives Haven't Faded, Structure and Institutions Are Providing a Support. When asked whether the industry has shifted from narrative-driven to institution and structure-driven, Yu Jianing doesn't accept a simple dichotomy. In his view, narrative itself is a process of expanding consensus. Gold's safe-haven attributes and monetary imagination are also built on long-term narratives; the same is true for Bitcoin's "digital gold." The improvement of institutions and structures—ETFs, licensing systems, compliance frameworks—has not replaced narratives, but rather provided a more stable lower limit for them. "Institutions set a lower limit, but cannot determine the upper limit." Institutions cannot guarantee asset appreciation, but they can reduce the probability of "falling below the floor." What truly drives the upward shift in valuation centers is still a broader consensus. However, in the institutional era, consensus no longer relies entirely on retail investor sentiment, but is gradually formed through structured funds and compliant channels. He further pointed out that the core change in the market lies in the migration of pricing power and microstructure: from early miner and community-led to an institutional system with research capabilities and capital discipline. This also means that the trading logic that relies solely on the "four-year halving cycle" is weakening. Digital assets are being incorporated into a more macro-level financial analysis framework, generating stronger linkages with global liquidity, macro policies, and geopolitics. A Guide for Ordinary People: Reshaping "Survival Mindset" in the Institutional Era. With the industry becoming increasingly professional, where are the opportunities for ordinary people? Yu Jianing's advice is not romantic, but highly realistic. I. Shift from Retail Speculation to Institutional Thinking. He repeatedly emphasized that first, we must acknowledge that times have changed. The so-called "institutional mindset" is not about becoming an institution, but about understanding how institutions survive: compliance and record-keeping awareness: clearly recording the source of funds and transaction paths is the basic threshold for continuing to participate in the market; rethinking leverage: institutions use leverage to hedge risks, while retail investors use high leverage to gamble, often resulting in early exit; long-term allocation rather than frequent trading: short-term fluctuations are difficult to predict, but the demand for limited digital assets due to long-term consensus expansion is still relatively certain."Short-term predictions are unpredictable, long-term predictions are unnecessary." In his view, this isn't just empty rhetoric, but a respect for structural change. II. The Real New Dividend: AI × Web3 Yu Jianing also points out that ordinary people aren't without new tools. "The dividend of Web3 is never just about digital assets themselves; it's also a dividend jointly built by AI and blockchain." AI is lowering the barrier to entry for algorithmic trading and strategy implementation. In the past, quantitative trading was out of reach for ordinary people, but now, through AI Agents and Skills, ordinary people can potentially turn their logic into programs, reducing the interference of human weaknesses. He frankly admits that he is also learning: "If people like me, without a strong IT background, can turn their needs into tools, then this window of opportunity still exists." However, he also cautions that this dividend is not permanent. When everyone masters the same tools, the advantage will eventually be leveled. The key is whether one can accumulate skills during this window of opportunity. Epilogue: The Scarcity Value of Educators In a highly noisy and emotional industry like Web3, there are not many people who can truly understand "where the industry is headed" in a long-term and systematic way. Compared to investors who focus on price curves and entrepreneurs who focus on product implementation, Yu Jianing's position is more unique—he focuses on people: who is entering the industry, who is leaving, which skills are becoming ineffective, and which skills are repeatedly questioned. Because of his long-term experience in education, he realized earlier than most that industry changes are not primarily reflected in prices, but rather in the shift in talent structure, cognitive methods, and skill requirements. This makes his judgments less speculative and more restrained, demonstrating a responsible attitude towards the industry: he doesn't rush to conclusions but repeatedly emphasizes risks, structure, and long-term capabilities. In an industry that favors quick profits and narratives, education is not glamorous, but it is extremely important. It doesn't create legends, but it reduces collapses; it doesn't promise overnight riches, but it increases survival rates. Standing between the "grassroots" and the "high ground," what Yu Jianing does is translate a rapidly changing industry into a learnable, executable, and replicable structure—this may not be the most dazzling role, but it is an indispensable infrastructure for any rational ecosystem. And this is precisely the rarest and most respectable value in the process of Web3 becoming a long-term reality. [Klickl]