Mingguo Bai is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the cryptocurrency exchange CoinW. He was appointed to the position in September 2021 to lead the platform's global expansion and build a framework for regulatory compliance. Bai has an extensive background in both traditional finance, including investment banking and asset management with a focus on Middle Eastern markets, and the digital asset industry, where he was an early investor and practitioner. ^{[1] [2]}​

Before joining CoinW, he was recognized for founding World Credit Savings (WCS) and securing the first-ever license for a digital asset exchange in the Middle East from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of the United Arab Emirates. ^[2]​

Career

Background in Finance and Blockchain

Prior to his leadership role at CoinW, Mingguo Bai established a career in investment banking and asset management, with significant experience in Asian and Middle Eastern markets. His expertise includes commodity trading, contracts for differences (CFDs), and derivatives. During this period, he held several high-profile advisory and consulting roles. ^[2]​

His advisory positions included:

• Partner to Sheikh Zayed, a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family, and an adviser to his office.
• Chief Financial Adviser of the UAE monarch company.
• Special Adviser to the Saudi national defense technology corporation.
• Executive Director of Alvor Switzerland.
• Bond Issuance Consultant for the public company Brooge and the aviation industry of Kazakhstan.
• Consultant for real estate firm UPP.
• Participant in a debt issuance project for the Israeli energy company Delekdrilling.

These roles provided him with deep connections and expertise in the financial landscape of the Middle East. ^[2]​

Bai is described as a "senior practitioner in the blockchain industry and an early investor," having previously held management and product development positions at undisclosed "world's Top 500 Internet companies and world-renowned exchanges." ^[1]​

His formal entry into the digital asset space was marked by a focus on regulatory frameworks. In 2017, Bai founded World Credit Savings (WCS) in the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and served as its CEO. Under his leadership, WCS obtained the first-ever license for a digital asset exchange in the Middle East, issued by the UAE's Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA). During this time, he also held roles as an independent director of WCS Japan and executive director of World Credit Solution. He further leveraged this experience by providing compliance construction and advisory services for numerous trading platforms, including ATFX, CAPEX, and Finior Capital, and served as a non-executive director for some of these firms. ^[2]​

CEO of CoinW

Mingguo Bai was officially appointed CEO of CoinW in September 2021, succeeding former CEO Sebastian, who remained with the company to manage other business lines. The appointment was positioned as a strategic decision to leverage Bai's experience in regulation to accelerate the exchange's global compliance operations and ensure its sustainable development. ^[2]​

Bai made his first public appearance in the role on September 26, 2021, at the "New Power in Encrypted World — CoinW Brand Upgrading and Product Launching Conference" held in Beijing, with the official announcement following on September 29, 2021. ^{[1] [2]}​

Vision and Strategy

Upon taking the helm, Bai articulated a three-pronged strategy for CoinW's growth, centered on globalization, compliance, and ecosystem development. ^[3]​

• Globalization: Bai initiated a "Global Partner Program" to accelerate CoinW's international expansion. The strategy involved establishing localized service centers in key markets, including Russia, India, Vietnam, Malaysia, and various regions in Africa, to provide services tailored to local user bases. ^{[1] [3]}
• Compliance: A core tenet of his leadership is the belief that regulatory compliance is essential for the long-term stability of cryptocurrency exchanges. Under his direction, CoinW actively pursued and obtained several financial licenses to support its global operations. These licenses include the MSB license in the U.S., the MAS license in Singapore, a Malaysian financial license, the SVGFSA license from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and the Abu Dhabi FSRA license. ^{[1] [3]}
• Ecosystem Development: Bai announced initiatives to foster innovation within the broader crypto industry. This included strengthening the CoinW Research Institute to identify and analyze high-quality projects for its users. To support this goal, he announced the launch of a $100 million fund dedicated to investing in promising projects, with a particular focus on high-growth sectors like Decentralized Finance (DeFi) and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). ^[3]

Early Tenure Achievements

In a public letter dated December 30, 2021, Bai reflected on the company's progress during his initial period as CEO. He highlighted several key achievements for the year 2021, including reaching over 7 million users worldwide and an annual cumulative trading turnover of US$730 billion. During this time, CoinW also launched several new products and features, such as CoinW Earn, a Mission Center, community points (COINS), a "Free Listing" policy for new tokens, and an upgraded USDT perpetual contract. He also noted the early success of CoinW Research, which had published 62 in-depth project reports within four months of its unveiling. ^[1]​

Public Statements and Philosophy

Mingguo Bai's leadership philosophy for CoinW is built on what he described as foundational principles of security, product excellence, and user-centricity. He has referred to security as "the lifeline of the exchange" and committed to increasing investment in security technology and audits. He also emphasized a focus on "users as the priority" and the continuous optimization of the platform's products and interface to improve the user experience. ^[3]​

His public statements have consistently reinforced his strategic focus, particularly on regulation and user trust.

On the importance of regulation:

"Compliance is the only way for the long-term development of the exchange, and it is also the cornerstone to protect the security of users’ assets. A compliant and stable development model is the bottom line that must be held for the long-term stable development of the platform." ^{[1] [3]}

On project selection and research:

"In the future, CoinW... will focus on selecting high-quality projects through the CoinW research system, and provide more high-quality blockchain projects for our users." ^[1]

On his commitment to the user base in late 2021:

"You have our promise that we will keep on the course of creating safe and stable services with leading-edge technology, optimizing products with innovative thinking, improving user experience with our enthusiasm and professionalism, and bringing users more diversified choices of financial products and asset allocation." ^[1]