Article author: Echo, MetaEra
In October 2024, HashKey platform currency HSK was officially launched for trading. As the core of the HashKey ecosystem, HSK adheres to the concept of "HSK for ALL" and is widely used in various core scenarios of the HashKey ecosystem. It continues to expand external community co-construction and gradually builds a comprehensive Web 3.0 value map.
This important moment is inseparable from a woman, Kay, CEO of HashKey Eco Labs. As one of the core promoters of the HSK project, Kay, with her deep financial background and unique understanding of the crypto market, led the team to successfully complete the listing of HSK and demonstrated the leadership of a female CEO in the operation of HashKey Chain. She always seems to have a kind of power that makes her energetic, determined, and tossing around.
The long-term working style, the professional convergence of complex backgrounds, and the promotion of personal life experiences have formed her current status. Her career is full of cross-border and innovation. From traditional finance to Web 3.0, Kay has always stood at the forefront of the times, exploring the integration of technology and business, and has successively produced fruits.
Learning begins in Hong Kong, career is built in Hong Kong
Kay started her career in the traditional financial sector. She completed her finance studies in Hong Kong and has accumulated considerable experience in the financial industry. In 2019, Kay came across Ethereum by chance and began to study it as an investment target. With a deeper understanding of blockchain technology, she gradually realized the potential of this technology to redefine human production relations and change the times.
"Blockchain is not just a technology, it is a rethinking of the entire social structure," Kay said in the interview. It was this deep understanding of the industry that prompted her to join Bybit in 2021, responsible for the research institute and strategic investment work of spot. In 2024, Kay joined HashKey, responsible for the listing and management of the ecological token HSK, and led the operation of HashKey Eco Labs.
“HashKey Eco Labs is a virtual organization with two core components: HSK Foundation and HashKey Chain,” she elaborated. “Token and Chain form the foundation of our entire HashKey Eco Labs.”
When I was young, I continued to expand and climb. Now, at different stages, those unexpected scenes have quietly unfolded. When talking about the opportunity to join HashKey, Kay said frankly, "There were two dimensions of consideration at the time. First, from the perspective of my personal career development, I have been doing listing for a long time, and I have enough accumulation in industry understanding, project evaluation and various tracks, but I have always wanted to have the opportunity to truly practice my understanding of this industry, whether it is investment or direct project; second, HashKey itself is the most promising institution under the compliance background under the industry consensus, and compliance is the biggest trend of this era and the source of Web3 growth in the next cycle. Being able to explore and build a project under the big framework of compliance is enough to attract me."
She continued, “HashKey has a rich business line and provides support in terms of connections, experience and brand resources, which was an important reason for me to join. At that time, HSK’s coin issuance was still in the preparation stage. After joining, I was able to build the narrative and sort out the process from the beginning, including communication with regulators and partners in various links, and finally successfully listed the coin in October.” Kay’s years of experience flowed like flowing water in her words. She seemed like a big tree in autumn, gradually returning its strength to its roots.
When asked about daily life, "most of my life is occupied by work," Kay smiled awkwardly, "I mainly do management functions, including strategic planning, internal and external coordination, and industry influence expansion. Our team is distributed all over the world, and many meetings are held remotely. We promote matters through efficient project management capabilities and coordinate internal and external resources of the group. I also have some external communication work to win more supporters and partners for HashKey Chain. In my limited private time, I will go to play ball and exercise." In addition to his busy work, this CEO also maintains the habit of a researcher every day. No matter how busy he is, he will take time to look at the latest projects, track trends and industry dynamics. In order to maintain sensitivity to the market, he will not reduce his enthusiasm for trading.
"I will spend more time in Hong Kong this year," Kay talked to us ambitiously about her plans for this year during a break from training at a golf course in Singapore. She hopes to break the barriers between Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 through the public chain project HashKey Chain. "We will start from Hong Kong and tell the world about our mission and vision. I will use my identity and voice to tell what we are doing, why we are doing it, and how we are doing it. While promoting the brand to the world, we will also continue to polish public chain products internally, optimize operations, and ensure that every step is more stable and excellent."
"We are doing a business with a grand vision." Kay smiled happily, her ambition was burning and she was determined to move forward.
From a female perspective: female employees, female users, female entrepreneurs
There are several hundred employees in HashKey Group, with a high degree of flatness and an efficient organizational structure. There are not only female heads of operations or support departments, but also many business line heads.
In this interview with Her Power, we also talked about gender stereotypes. Kay believes that the biggest stereotype is the stereotype itself. Women are often labeled as emotionally delicate and good at communication, but these characteristics are not limitations, but can be transformed into advantages at work.
“All traits have two sides,” Kay explains. “Women are emotionally sensitive, which can help them better understand the needs of the team, but it can also make them emotionally influenced when making decisions. The key is to use these traits as advantages rather than being limited by them.”
"There are quite a lot of female leaders I often work with," Kay continued. "We don't set limits on positions based on gender. We look more at ability and experience. Women's advantages in communication, expression, and overall management are indeed obvious, which is why we have a higher proportion of women in operations, branding, and marketing positions."
Gender should not be an obstacle to career development. True equality lies in providing equal opportunities for everyone, rather than pre-setting conditions because of gender. HashKey is culturally willing to give female colleagues more equal job opportunities, without setting limits based on gender; internally, it regularly organizes sharing sessions between female leaders and colleagues to share their personal management perspectives with each other. In addition, HashKey also pays attention to the growth of female developers. Although the voices of female developers in the market are relatively small, they are equally excellent. To this end, HashKey plans to hold special hackathons or workshops from the perspective of the public chain ecosystem to create more opportunities for female developers to showcase and express themselves.
Expanding on this, when the topic turned to female entrepreneurs, Kay pointed out that female entrepreneurs often excel in project delivery and community communication, which is particularly important in the current market environment.
“The Web 3.0 industry is shifting from a technology-oriented and narrative-oriented approach to one that focuses more on actual delivery and community trust,” Kay said. “Female entrepreneurs are increasingly advantageous in this regard. They are not only able to clearly articulate the vision of the project, but also able to implement the project in a structured way.”
Suggestion: Come in directly and give full play to your subjective initiative
For women who have not yet entered the Web 3.0 industry, Kay's advice is straightforward: "Just get in." She believes that the Web 3.0 industry provides more diverse and flexible opportunities, which is very suitable for women who are capable but face realistic pressures. The decentralized and distributed cooperation model of Web 3.0 provides more opportunities for women. Whether you want to do media promotion, marketing, or technical development, you can find a suitable position in this field.
For women who have already entered the Web 3.0 industry, Kay encouraged them to maintain their passion and desire to explore the industry, and to take initiative and actively seize opportunities. She emphasized that the Web 3.0 industry is full of uncertainty, but also full of opportunities. Women have unique advantages in this industry, and as long as they maintain their passion and faith, they will surely succeed in this field.
About Kay Lu
Kay Lu graduated from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He is currently the CEO of HashKey Eco Labs and co-founder of JN1 Capital. He has worked at PwC and Huawei CloudBU. In 2021, he joined Bybit and was responsible for the spot research institute and strategic investment. In 2024, he joined HashKey Eco Labs and led the management of the platform currency HSK and the operation of HashKey Chain.
