Cregis Founder Shawn on Long-Term Value Creation in Crypto Infrastructure

Author: Shenchao TechFlow

Starting a business is a one-way path.

Cregis founder and CEO Shawn Yan strongly resonates with this statement.

As a serial entrepreneur with over a decade of experience, Shawn has lived through the triumphs of his first venture and the challenges of business transformation. He witnessed the 2017 market frenzy where projects raised funds without even a whitepaper, and repeatedly resisted the temptation to make a quick hundred million.

Over the past decade, the industry has undergone a dramatic transformation from chaos to compliance, and Shawn’s entrepreneurial journey has evolved from SaaS and FinTech to an enterprise digital asset service platform.

Times change, product forms change, but Shawn’s one judgment has never changed:

Creating long-term value is more important than chasing every trend.

Today, as the leader of the enterprise-grade digital asset infrastructure platform Cregis, Shawn stands at a delicate crossroads:

On one hand, institutional adoption of crypto, especially stablecoins, is growing; on the other hand, many professionals who have lost confidence in crypto are choosing to leave.

When safeguarding customer funds in the hundreds of billions, when the era of regulatory arbitrage has ended and compliance has become the entry ticket, and when the AI era demands deeper understanding of customer needs and higher operational efficiency, how does Cregis—the "Shield of Crypto" forged from Crypto and Aegis—return to the most fundamental value creation in the business world and continue to earn the trust of over 4,000 enterprises?

We had a thoughtful conversation with Shawn Yan about this series of issues.

DeepFlow Tech: Thank you for your time. Please begin with a brief self-introduction.

Shawn:

Hello, I'm Shawn, somewhat of a serial entrepreneur.

I graduated from university in 2012 and started my first business in 2013. Initially, I focused on SaaS services for WeChat merchants, later shifted to FinTech, and now specialize in enterprise digital asset infrastructure—I’ve been at this for over a decade.

When I first started my business, I heard this saying: "Entrepreneurship is a one-way path." Later, I realized this statement is indeed very true.

Once you truly dive into entrepreneurship, the things you engage with and the way you think about problems will change. You’re no longer just dealing with a product idea—you’re responsible for your team, your customers, and the long-term evolution of your industry. The entire process is interconnected; you must continuously learn, adapt, and make decisions, and it’s hard to stop.

Shenchao TechFlow: In 2013, your first startup involved SaaS tools related to WeChat public accounts—so was your first venture successful?

Shawn:

It can only be said that it wasn't a failure. The product was developed and attracted a group of customers, and the company turned a profit in the first year.

But we quickly realized that this sector was highly competitive, as the technical barriers were low and easily replicable, leading to a significant decline in profitability in the second year.

At the time, we determined that remaining in the service-oriented SaaS model would make it difficult to build long-term competitive advantages, so we began exploring a transition to financial SaaS.

But the transition was much harder than expected. It required sustained investment, and at the time, we were not adequately prepared in terms of strategy, team, or talent reserves. For me personally, it was also a significant setback in the early stages of entrepreneurship.

But looking back now, the frustration we felt back then was just a minor issue. As we gained more experience, we gradually realized that change is the only constant—the true skill entrepreneurs must master is not pursuing stability, but adapting to change and achieving spiral growth amid volatility.

Shenchao TechFlow: It feels like you analyze this industry more from a financial or technological development perspective, rather than through a "crypto trading mindset." Imagine two paths: one is making a quick fortune of 100 million through an ICO, and the other is building infrastructure over 10 years to earn 100 million. The temptation is incredibly hard to resist—why were you able to stick with the latter back then?

Shawn:

I don't trade cryptocurrencies much. I believe more in long-term thinking than short-term price fluctuations.

During the 2017 ICO boom, the entire industry was gripped by intense FOMO. Many people approached us for partnerships at the time, and with our existing technical expertise, we could have easily participated and potentially earned high returns in a short period.

But we ultimately chose another path.

Looking back, all the work we’ve done over the years has consistently revolved around one direction: from the earliest trading systems, enterprise wallets, and fund operations infrastructure, to today’s more comprehensive, enterprise-focused financial infrastructure that connects broader commercial scenarios—essentially addressing real foundational challenges that have emerged throughout the industry’s development.

Back then, the industry was still very small, making it difficult to scale technical services. To others, we may have seemed a bit naive, as we weren’t making money quickly.

But in fact, we had the profitability to sustain us through bull and bear markets; our business was not built on market sentiment or the cycle of a single asset, but rather on the real growth of industry demand.

To be honest, we’re not very willing or comfortable earning money that has no value:

On one hand, the company is in decent financial shape and doesn’t need to chase quick profits; on the other hand, if something lacks inherent value, we can’t convince ourselves to do it, let alone sustain it long-term.

DeepChain TechFlow: I've noticed an interesting phenomenon—many VCs now prefer to invest in people who are already wealthy, so those who aren't short on capital may place greater emphasis on long-term value.

Shawn:

Indeed, especially as we operate enterprise-grade wallets, the responsibility is immense.

You’re like guarding a mountain of gold—the greatest challenge isn’t technology, but resisting temptation and maintaining boundaries, never touching clients’ funds. This fundamentally tests a person’s moral character and long-term values.

When someone is under prolonged financial stress or is accustomed to pursuing returns through high-risk, high-leverage methods, they are more likely to make different choices when faced with temptation.

We previously encountered a client who, when selecting a wallet partner, pays close attention to the management team’s attitude toward risk and assets. In his view, a team that consistently focuses on short-term gains and high-risk opportunities may not be suited to take on the responsibility of long-term asset management.

For us, it has always been important to follow our inner convictions. Looking back now, embarking on the path of long-termism was both accidental and inevitable—finding alignment between our psychological comfort zone, technical comfort zone, and market comfort zone is the ideal state.

DeepCha TechFlow: You entered the crypto industry because of Bitcoin—what was the catalyst that made you learn about Bitcoin?

Shawn:

I first encountered Bitcoin during my time at university.

I studied computer science, and my teacher mentioned Bitcoin and mining in class. I’ve always been interested in new technologies and enjoy exploring how they work behind the scenes, so I researched extensively after class and even ran mining programs on my own computer—back then, some websites even gave away Bitcoin for free.

At that time, I thought it was quite a fun thing, but I mostly viewed Bitcoin as a new technology and didn’t realize its deeper financial value.

However, starting a business around Bitcoin in the early days was not easy. The entire ecosystem was very small, with underdeveloped infrastructure and limited use cases, leaving relatively little room for commercial exploration.

2017 was a crucial turning point. As blockchain infrastructure such as public chains and smart contracts continued to mature, the industry began shifting from a single-asset narrative to richer use cases, creating new entrepreneurial opportunities.

Later, as we shifted from SaaS to FinTech, we gradually became exposed to the growing needs of enterprise clients and financial institutions.

Compared to ordinary users, entrepreneurs tend to observe technological changes more from the perspective of business applications and infrastructure.

When our FinTech clients began requesting support for digital asset capabilities, we realized this was not just a new feature request, but a emerging direction for a new financial infrastructure. We began systematically deepening our understanding of crypto and have gradually arrived at where Cregis stands today.

DeepChain TechFlow: Looking at Bitcoin over the past two years, do you see it as a financial revolution?

Shawn:

Looking over the long term, humanity’s mediums of exchange have continuously evolved.

From the earliest shells and precious metals, through modern fiat currency systems, to today’s digital assets, the essence has always been to find a more efficient and socially appropriate method of value exchange.

As the global economy becomes increasingly interconnected, we naturally need a value transfer tool that can transcend geographical boundaries and different financial systems, enabling more efficient circulation.

So I believe that Bitcoin is not an accidental occurrence, but an inevitable outcome of the development of economic globalization; even if Bitcoin hadn’t emerged, something else with similar characteristics would have appeared. Of course, whether any specific form will become dominant in the future still requires long-term market validation.

Shenchao TechFlow: From a settlement perspective, among Bitcoin, on-chain gold, and stablecoins as three settlement tools, which one do you think will become more mainstream in the future?

Shawn:

I think these three actually represent different directions.

On-chain gold has been discussed for many years, but its circulation has remained limited. The reason is that gold is fundamentally a physical asset, and its trading and circulation logic still follows traditional systems. In the past, there have been many attempts to tokenize physical assets such as tea and collectibles, but many have not developed into real applications. The core issue is that they are not natively on-chain assets—simple digitization does not generate new liquidity.

Stablecoins are currently the type of asset that best aligns with on-chain native logic; aside from being pegged to the value of the US dollar, nearly all of their circulation occurs on-chain, without complex intermediary steps, resulting in a very smooth payment and settlement experience. This is why we now view stablecoins as having developed quite well.

As for Bitcoin, due to factors such as price volatility and transaction efficiency, it is currently difficult to serve as a daily payment tool. In comparison, it functions more like a value anchor, or rather, a global vehicle for value and a spiritual寄托.

Shenchao TechFlow: Let’s circle back to Cregis—if you had to summarize Cregis in one sentence, how would you introduce it?

Shawn:

Today, Cregis is positioned as a comprehensive digital asset service platform for enterprise clients.

Currently, it mainly consists of three parts:

• First is WAAS (Wallet as a Service), an enterprise-grade wallet service that enables businesses to quickly integrate and deploy cryptocurrency wallet functionality without building the underlying wallet infrastructure from scratch, ideal for exchanges, banks/financial service providers, OTC desks, and other companies needing to embed digital asset wallet features into their products.
• Second, Rails: a payment infrastructure service focused on orchestrating fund inflows, routing, settlement, and outflows to enable efficient fund lifecycle management, ideal for businesses requiring high-efficiency fund orchestration and compliant payment infrastructure, such as cross-border payments, stablecoin settlement, forex broker treasury management, and e-commerce/merchant payments.
• Third is custody: designed to meet institutional-grade asset custody and compliance needs by providing enhanced control, auditing, and regulatory support, suitable for regulated entities such as banks, asset management firms, exchanges, hedge funds, and sovereign wealth funds.

We believe that digital assets will become a very large asset class in the future. Bitcoin, Ethereum, stablecoins, and other future digital assets, including NFTs, are all part of this category.

As the scale of digital assets continues to grow, how businesses conduct transactions, manage, and store these assets will become an increasingly important issue. Therefore, we aim to provide a business-oriented digital asset financial OS that enables companies to use their assets more simply and securely.

Shenchao TechFlow: WAAS, Rails, and Custody can be understood as three distinct layers. Which direction do you believe has the greatest growth potential?

Shawn:

For us, WAAS remains core, as it is fundamentally the underlying capability and also a broader business scope, within which Custody and Rails could potentially be integrated.

As a foundational capability, the MPC security architecture is a core technological advantage of WAAS, enhancing self-custody by splitting private keys into multiple shards stored distributively—eliminating single points of failure and ensuring that Cregis itself cannot access the full private key.

Second, WAAS provides standardized APIs and multi-language SDKs, offering high developer integration ease. Its digital asset suite includes role-based access control, multi-signature approval workflows, intelligent risk management, real-time monitoring and alerts, and team collaboration features, meeting diverse needs across various scenarios.

Now, an increasing number of our clients come from traditional finance and have no prior understanding of crypto. From their perspective, what truly matters is not the underlying technical modules, but whether the solution can effectively address their business needs.

WAAS provides them with an excellent option: businesses can quickly achieve multi-chain asset operations while maintaining full control of their assets, without incurring any development costs or learning time.

This is what we aim to do: encapsulate the underlying complex capabilities so customers can accomplish their tasks in a simpler way.

Shenchao TechFlow: Positioned as a fund flow orchestration and payment infrastructure service, how will Rails achieve efficient fund lifecycle management? Why are payment-oriented institutions important partners for Cregis Rails?

Shawn:

Many people immediately think of payments when they hear Rails, but the problems Rails aims to solve are much broader than just payments.

Cregis Rails provides a set of cash flow orchestration capabilities that connect enterprise payment collection, fund management, wallet transfers, and subsequent settlement processes, automating the fund lifecycle, reducing manual intervention, and enabling more efficient operations.

Payments are a crucial application scenario and an extension of genuine customer needs:

Initially, we primarily provided wallet services to help enterprises manage digital assets. However, in actual operations, many customers still needed to integrate third-party payment gateways themselves to process payments, which led to fragmented fund flows, loss of control over funds, and numerous security risks.

As more customers express demand in this area, we’ve decided to deepen our focus on payments: businesses don’t need to concern themselves with the complex underlying processes. They only need to focus on whether payments have been received, if funds are secure, and whether their operations are running smoothly—simplifying the middle steps enables more traditional enterprises to truly enter the digital assets space. This is also one of the reasons why many payment institutions are key partners of Cregis Rails.

DeepChain TechFlow: Are there any specific cases that fully demonstrate how Rails helps clients complete this entire fund orchestration process?

Shawn:

Global e-commerce is a typical scenario.

For e-commerce businesses targeting global markets, what matters is not what assets users use to pay, but whether the payment process is smooth and what funds they ultimately receive.

But in the Crypto context, this is not straightforward. Users may pay with stablecoins on different chains, or even assets like BTC and ETH, while businesses must handle multi-chain wallet management, gas fees, fund aggregation, and settlement.

With Cregis Rails, merchants only need to customize the type of funds they ultimately wish to receive. After the user completes payment, the system automatically handles wallet selection, chain conversion, fund aggregation, and subsequent processing. Businesses do not need to manage complex infrastructure—they simply focus on how much funding they receive, the associated costs, and whether their business is operating smoothly.

Forex brokers face a similar scenario, involving multiple accounts, channels, and partners, where traditional methods often rely on manual coordination.

Through Cregis Rails, brokers can automatically automate fund routing, allocation, and settlement based on business rules, making fund flows more transparent and traceable while reducing operational costs.

At its core, Cregis Rails does not replace existing enterprise systems, but rather serves as the underlying infrastructure for payment scenarios, connecting fragmented fund flows and enabling digital assets to integrate more naturally into everyday business operations.

Shenchao TechFlow: Compared to other platforms, what do you believe are Cregis's core advantages?

Shawn:

I’m not really comfortable using the term “competitors” to describe other platforms in the industry. Different companies operate at varying stages of development, with distinct business models and regulatory environments, making it difficult for a single solution to suit all customers.

We are more focused on determining what infrastructure best suits the client’s business at their current stage of development.

In the current Asia-Pacific market, our greatest advantage is the self-custody model. Self-custody is naturally suited for payment infrastructure.

The primary need in payment scenarios is not long-term asset custody, but rather high-frequency, bulk fund collection and disbursement capabilities, lower costs, more flexible fund orchestration, and risk control systems that better align with business processes. Self-custody wallets are very favorable to them, and we currently have many payment customers who strongly agree with this point.

In addition, Cregis's core moat also includes:

First, strong product and R&D capabilities with continuous investment; second, nine years of industry experience and the trust of over 4,000 clients; third, operational service capabilities across multiple jurisdictions; fourth, compliance capabilities.

These four capabilities may have different priorities, but none can be missing—they together form the foundation of Cregis’s long-term growth.

DeepFlow Tech: You mentioned compliance capabilities. We understand that Cregis already holds relevant Hong Kong licenses, and the Dubai license is soon to be approved. What are your future plans regarding licenses? Do you view licenses as a moat, or merely a ticket to enter the market?

Shawn:

First, our core business is currently self-custodial WAAS services, positioning us as a technology service provider; according to current regulations, a financial license may not be required.

We have chosen an proactive stance because we believe customer needs will inevitably change in the future.

On one hand, future enterprises may not only need self-custody but also comprehensive services such as platform custody, and we aim to prepare in advance to give our customers more options.

On the other hand, licenses are also a crucial component of market trust; customers are more likely to build trust when they see regulatory compliance credentials.

The era of regulatory arbitrage will inevitably come to an end, and industry regulation will only become more robust in the future, so we need to plan ahead. In addition to Hong Kong and Dubai, we are also closely monitoring markets such as North America and Latin America, and will appropriately assess whether to apply for licenses based on business needs.

But I believe that a license itself is not a moat—it’s more like a ticket to enter, since no license currently grants global dominance or naturally earns the trust of clients worldwide.

DeepChain TechFlow: More and more crypto companies are now emphasizing compliance—what are your thoughts on this trend?

Shawn:

Early Web3 hype was widespread, and the problems were clear: is your business actually sustainable? Do you have consistent profitability?

Without commercial value, one wouldn’t even reach the stage of compliance. Those that truly endure generally have clear value propositions, such as infrastructure, enterprise services, security, or auditing—all of which have solid foundations of value.

Overall, compliance is a good thing—it protects businesses that truly create value, rather than allowing bad actors to drive out the good.

DeepChain TechFlow: We have recently noticed that many enterprises' transactions no longer settle for simply providing a blockchain address, but instead require complete payment receipts, invoices, and financial documentation.

Shawn:

This is essentially compliant payment processing.

Businesses can no longer simply use personal wallets to receive payments as they did in the past; they need a comprehensive process that complies with financial and auditing requirements, including official receiving addresses, invoice payment receipts, confirmation documents after payment completion, complete transaction records, and audit-ready logs—this is largely where the value of our service lies.

DeepChain TechFlow: Currently, Cregis has over 4,000 enterprise customers; which type of enterprise makes up the highest proportion? In your opinion, which industries or use cases will be the primary sources of demand in the future?

Shawn:

Currently, institutional clients still make up the highest proportion.

Initially, our clients were primarily exchanges, and later we gradually expanded to include financial institutions such as payment companies, banks, securities firms, and insurance companies, as well as trading enterprises in foreign exchange, gold, and other sectors.

The biggest change is that, three to five years ago, many institutions were still cautious about digital assets. Now, many institutional users have requested Crypto-related services, forcing institutions to adapt. Today, traditional financial institutions are no longer debating whether to enter Web3—they are already actively using digital assets, especially stablecoins.

Of course, I believe institutional adoption is still far from its upper limit, and thousands of traditional companies will become part of this in the future. Today, many consulting firms and traditional enterprises are already reaching out, asking: Our clients want to pay with cryptocurrency—what should we do?

Once this batch of companies truly begins to enter, the overall market size will experience new growth.

DeepChain TechFlow: Cregis defines itself as "digital asset infrastructure born from real-world businesses." Looking at the current landscape, which businesses do you think Cregis could undertake but hasn't yet? Which ones have the potential to drive future growth?

Shawn:

From the beginning, Cregis’s direction has not been planned in an office, but rather shaped by our observations of the industry’s long-term evolution and the recurring challenges faced by our clients’ real-world businesses.

Initially, we started with wallet infrastructure, as secure asset management is the foundation for enterprises entering the digital assets space. As the industry evolved, we observed that enterprises’ challenges expanded from “how to manage assets” to “how to manage cash flows,” leading us to further develop Cregis Rails.

As more institutions enter the market, compliance infrastructure and asset custody are becoming essential components within the same operational system, giving rise to Cregis Custody.

What Cregis has been doing is building a comprehensive solution tailored to clients' business needs.

Of course, this doesn't mean we simply follow customers in product development. We believe that concentrated, recurring demands within the same timeframe often reflect gaps in the industry. When an increasing number of companies encounter similar challenges across different markets and business scenarios, we see this as a sign of new infrastructure opportunities.

From this perspective, I believe Cregis's development path aligns with the gradual maturation of enterprise-grade digital asset infrastructure: first addressing asset security, then fund operations, and ultimately moving toward a more comprehensive enterprise financial infrastructure.

As for the next phase of growth, just as a business that deposits funds into a bank won’t stop there but will need additional financial services such as asset exchange, wealth management, and cross-border remittances, new demands will continuously emerge.

This is also the direction Cregis is continuously building toward, such as our recent launches of the Marketplace, Swap, compliant financial products in partnership with third parties, and several global remittance features—all of which will become key components of Cregis’s long-term growth.

DeepChain TechFlow: You’ve always emphasized starting from user needs—would the team develop a new feature or product based on a specific customer’s request?

Shawn:

No.

In the B2B space, truly understanding requirements means thinking from the customer’s business perspective. That’s why we maintain long-term, high-frequency communication with many clients.

But most of the time, the customer's initial idea is immature or inadequately expressed.

For example, if a customer tells you they want a "chicken," they may actually just be hungry. What we need to understand is why they want that "chicken"—the real issue to solve is "hunger," not simply making a "chicken."

This is why we don’t immediately develop a feature just because a single customer requests it—we evaluate the underlying common issue behind the request and whether it’s worth investing in long-term development.

Another obvious change is that the development of AI is improving the efficiency of our verification needs.

In the past, going from research and design to creating a demo could take a month or even several months. Now, in many cases, we can rapidly validate prototypes within just a few days. Many customers can’t clearly articulate what they truly want, but when you quickly show them an interactive demo, they can clearly answer yes or no.

In this context, I believe understanding needs has become an even rarer skill. While AI can increasingly assist with how to implement solutions, determining what problems truly need to be solved still requires human judgment.

Shenchao TechFlow: Many traditional enterprises are still hesitating over whether to embrace Web3, while many native Web3 professionals are leaving crypto for AI or other industries. If you could offer just one sentence to each group, what would it be?

Shawn:

For those still hesitant to embrace Web3, I believe that, most of the time, the core issue is bias against new things.

Many people ask: Why use Web3?

But I’d rather ask the opposite: why not?

These are two completely different mindsets.

When your cost assessment shows that it won’t require much effort and is likely to improve efficiency and reduce costs, why not give it a try?

Today, I believe crypto has grown not just because of the belief of a few, but due to the efficiency gains from technology and real-world demand.

As for those in the industry who are preparing to leave crypto, I think if you're going to leave, then leave.

But only on the condition that you’ve conducted a thorough evaluation: Do you have long-term confidence in this industry? What underlying logic do you believe in? Are you truly creating value with what you’re doing?

If your value creation isn't here, go somewhere better suited for you.

Every sector initially has a windfall advantage, allowing rapid growth through traffic, but ultimately everyone must return to creating real value.

Of course, some people specialize in capitalizing on trends, which is also a business model—neither right nor wrong in itself—but the challenge with this model is how you ensure you remain consistently at the forefront of the trend.

DeepChain TechFlow: What is Cregis's next area of focus?

Shawn:

In the coming years, our most important goal remains to continue strengthening Cregis.

Cregis is headquartered in Hong Kong and began in the Asia-Pacific market, where we validated our product and business model. Today, our operations have expanded into markets such as the Middle East, Europe, Latin America, Africa, and the United States, with offices in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Dubai, and São Paulo. We have gradually built localized teams and regional service capabilities, achieving solid results.

Taking the Middle East market as an example, after two years of development, Cregis has acquired over 200 long-term paying, stable customers in the region. Over the past year, we have also continued to expand our presence in key markets such as Latin America, Africa, Europe, and the United States. For us, globalization is not about simply replicating products, but about understanding local business needs in each market and building long-term service capabilities.

At the same time, there are many outstanding peers in this industry, and I believe this is a positive thing. Just as in the AI field, different companies’ explorations drive the continuous maturation of technology, products, and services—ultimately benefiting users and the entire industry ecosystem. I hope the digital asset infrastructure industry can also develop in such a healthy, positive way.

Shenchao TechFlow: Finally, returning to the meaning behind the company name Cregis: Crypto + Aegis = Cregis.

At this milestone of nearly a decade since the company’s founding, do you feel what this shield protects today has changed compared to the first day of entrepreneurship? What more would you hope it can protect in the future?

Shawn:

Over the years, we have added many products and capabilities and expanded into more use cases, but our original mission has always been to help clients manage their digital assets more securely and efficiently, earning their trust.

In this industry, customers entrusting their assets to you is itself a tremendous act of trust. We have always maintained a sense of reverence, striving to handle every task with care and never let down our customers' expectations.

Today, Cregis serves thousands of enterprise customers and the millions of users behind them. As we scale, we are not only safeguarding the asset security of individual clients, but also the foundational trust of the digital asset infrastructure ecosystem.

For infrastructure companies, if underlying capabilities fail, the impact is not limited to individual customers—it also undermines confidence in digital asset applications across the entire industry.

As for the establishment of this trust, I believe it离不开以下两点：

First, the product must genuinely solve the customer's problem — this is the foundation.

Second, there is time. Trust is not built through marketing, but through consistent, long-term practice and gradual accumulation. In our industry, enduring the test of time is itself the greatest barrier to entry.