In a recent panel discussion at the World Family Office Forum Asia, Amanda He, Chief Investment Officer of crypto asset management firm ChainUp Investment, asserted that the recent milestones in Bitcoin’s price are a reflection of digital assets entering their institutional phase. Amanda, with a background rooted in both traditional finance and Web3 innovation, stated that this new era is fundamentally different from past cycles, driven by institutional adoption that is “accelerating, penetrating more markets, more product types, and deeper layers of the financial system.”
Amanda’s core message for professional allocators was clear: “be early late, not sorry late.”
Investment Strategies to Generate “Real Alpha”
Amanda explained that given the market’s current stage, the best approach for family offices is not passive holding or early-stage venture capital. She argued that the market is “still inefficient, information is fragmented, and behavioral biases are strong,” creating an environment where “skilled discretionary or quantamental managers can still generate real alpha.”
To illustrate her point, Amanda outlined several strategies tailored to different investor profiles coming from real case of family office clients:
- For aggressive clients like Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO) with tech background or crypto knowledge: She recommends long-only or discretionary strategies that rotate across sectors.
- For Bitcoin believers such as most crypto native investors: Amanda’s team also provides BTC-based yield strategies, such as structured fixed-term products with capital protection or volatility/options strategies.
- For conservative investors for those Multi-Family Office or with little knowledge in crypto: The ideal entry point is delta-neutral arbitrage, which provides stable, low-volatility yield with some upside in a bull market.
DeFi and DeAI as the Future of On-Chain Finance
“Investment is always about being forward-looking,” said Amanda, who identified DeFi (Decentralized Finance) and DeAI (Decentralized Artificial Intelligence) or DePin (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure) as the most compelling sectors. While she views Layer-1s and Layer-2s as the foundational backbone, she is more bullish on the Decentralized Application sectors that can truly reshape the financial industry.
“DeFi is the most investable theme. We’re entering the ‘tokenize-everything’ era, first in gold, then T-bills and T-bonds, and now stocks. So what’s coming next after all those assets issuance on-chain completed? Those assets should generate yields on-chain. Hence DeFi is coming into the center of the stage.” she said. She summarized her view with a clear distinction: “DeFi for execution, DeAI for imagination.”
The Definitive Case for Bitcoin over Gold
In her most direct statement, Amanda addressed the long-term valuation of Bitcoin, setting a bold benchmark against gold.
“If Bitcoin ultimately matches gold’s role, one BTC should equal about 10 kilograms of gold, which is roughly USD 1.27 million at today’s prices,” she projected. When asked to choose between the two for a five-year allocation, her answer was simple and unequivocal: “100% Bitcoin for allocation, while not missing out timing alpha return in gold.”
“Gold was the store of value of the past—Bitcoin is the store of value of the future,” she concluded.
