The recent surge in the value of OKB, the native token of the OKEx exchange, has brought renewed attention to a longstanding legal dispute involving private equity figure Yang Yongxing. As OKB broke through the $6 mark, achieving a 90.15% price increase over the past 30 days, the unresolved case between Yang and the exchange resurfaced in public discourse.
This has led many to rediscover the once-renowned短线 (short-line) trading prodigy, who had largely vanished from the public eye for a decade. It appears he quietly entered the cryptocurrency arena, maintaining the low-profile and enigmatic style characteristic of traditional private equity circles.
Who is Yang Yongxing?
When his dispute with OKEx emerged, many were left asking this very question. For those familiar with China's私募 (private fund) scene, Yang's name recalls a period of remarkable performance over a decade ago.
Born in the 1980s to an ordinary working-class family in Zhengzhou, Yang was introduced to stock trading by his father in the 1990s. By his初中 (junior high school) years, he was a regular at the securities营业部 (business department), eventually using a small family account as his entry point into the markets.
His breakthrough came during the 2006-2007 market recovery. Topping the朝阳永续 China Private Fund风云榜 (Wind Ranking), Yang, then an investment manager at Silicon Valley Fund, achieved a legendary 1497% return. He was just 25 years old.
In early 2009, he moved into阳光私募 (sunshine private funds), launching his first trust product, "策略大师" (Strategy Master). After a one-year contract period, it was liquidated after achieving a 193% net value growth rate. Later that year, he founded Shenzhen Yongsheng Huiyuan Investment, managing his final fund in the sunshine私募 sector.
In January 2011, rumors swirled that Yang was under investigation for涉嫌违规操作 (suspected违规操作) due to his exceptionally strong 2009 performance. It was alleged that his former company, Zhengtong Tianxia, had dissolved. Yang explicitly denied these allegations, but subsequently retreated from the public spotlight for nearly ten years.
Quietly Entering the Crypto World
His re-emergence in 2019, as part of the OKEx dispute, revealed that the former私募大佬 (private equity big shot) had entered the digital currency space. Yang stated that he began investing in cryptocurrencies in late 2017, focusing on exchange tokens like OKB, HT, and BNB, as well as mainstream assets like BTC.
Public records show direct investments in a blockchain media outlet and a mining machine manufacturer. However, a deeper look reveals a more significant vehicle for his crypto activities: a Singapore-based blockchain investment firm called Geek Blockchain Capital (GBC), which appears to act as his proxy in the sector.
Unlike many flashy crypto funds, GBC has maintained the discretion of traditional finance. It is rarely seen at public events or on social media. A industry source recalled only one conference in August 2018 where a "GBC Capital CEO," identified only as "Jason," appeared—the sole sighting of a GBC核心成员 (core member) at an industry event.
Singapore corporate filings show GBC was registered in June 2018 with two managers. Its business account was active until January 5 of this year.
The key link connecting Yang to GBC is its CEO, Wang Lingsheng. On LinkedIn, Wang lists his role as Founder & CEO of GBC Capital, a Singapore-based firm focused on blockchain technology investments and digital asset量化交易 (quantitative trading). Crucially, his profile also states he has been a senior investment manager at Shenzhen Xiangrikui Investment Co., Ltd. (Shenzhen向日葵) since March 2016.
Corporate records from Tianyancha reveal that the legal representative and actual controller of Shenzhen向日葵 is none other than Yang Yongxing. Furthermore, Wang holds shares in two other firms—Zhoushan Xiangrikui Zhaoyang Equity Investment and Zhangzhou Merchants Bureau Economic Development Zone Xiangrikui Venture Capital—whose controlling shareholder and largest stakeholder is also Yang Yongxing.
This clearly establishes Yang as Wang's boss, raising the strong possibility that Yang stands behind GBC. A source close to GBC confirmed that while Wang is the manager, there is indeed a "big boss" behind the firm. When asked if it was Yang, the source remained evasive. The source also noted that GBC's activities extend beyond investment to include配资 (financing) and做市 (market making) for crypto projects.
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Investments: Selectivity Over Growth
Despite its low profile, GBC's investments in the blockchain space can be traced. It was a professional partner of OKEx and invested in the blockchain project UseChain and the exchange DragonEx.
Its investment strategy appears less focused on project growth and more on shrewd, calculated deals within exchanges.
In June 2018, GBC invested in UseChain, a once-hot public chain project. The founder, Cao Huining, a finance professor at长江商学院 (CKGSB), was more famous than the project itself. A year and a half later, in November 2019, rumors emerged that the UseChain team had disbanded. Its token, USE, traded around $0.0006, down over 88% from its private placement price and down 51.39% for the year. Early investors reported significant losses, with one claiming an investment of over 100,000 RMB had dwindled to a fraction of its value. The token had跌破私募价 (fallen below its private placement price) upon hitting the market, with its peak price only reaching $0.0024.
GBC's investment in DragonEx (龙网) tells a different story. In August 2018, GBC became one of four institutions to become a global超级节点 (super node) for the exchange. This granted it privileges like token listing recommendations and rewards, contingent on locking up 30,000 DT (the exchange's platform token), then priced around 3.6 USDT.
In April 2019, DragonEx suffered a hack resulting in the theft of $6 million in digital assets. The platform subsequently announced a special DT investment fund, financed by GBC. The deal involved GBC injecting 3.7 million USDT into the exchange. In return, DragonEx agreed to allot 3.7 million DT to GBC over one year at a price of 1 DT = 1 USDT. At the time, DT's market price was around 1.8 USDT, meaning GBC acquired the tokens at a roughly 40% discount.
Three months later, DT's price rose to $5.4 before settling around $2. This means GBC saw its investment in DT at least double. DragonEx stated the DT would be permanently frozen in GBC's account and managed by a third-party team, with assets接受公众监督 (accepting public supervision). However, the address of this account was never made public, and the official DT生态基金会 (Eco-Foundation) page showed holdings of just over 1.25 million DT.
Additionally, Yang Yongxing has mentioned being a shareholder in mining manufacturer Ebang International. However, Ebang's IPO application to the HKEX in June last year lapsed without progress, and the company was also reported to be involved in the Yin Dou Wang non-bank absorption case.
A Return to the Spotlight and a Public Dispute
After a decade of silence, Yang Yongxing began appearing frequently in the media last year, a dramatic shift attributed to his legal battle with OKEx that became public in October 2019.
The dispute first surfaced in an August 19 article by blockchain media outlet壹块硬币 (One Coin), which reported that a trader named "Mr. Wang" had his OKEx account nullified, with $100 million in数字货币 (digital currency) going missing. Interestingly, Yang Yongxing is connected to this media outlet. The operating company behind壹块硬币, Shenzhen 3:00 Information Technology Co., Ltd., lists Shenzhen Yongsheng Huiyuan Investment—controlled by Yang—as a 16.97% shareholder.
After two months of media speculation, "Mr. Wang" was revealed to be Yang Yongxing. He claimed his OKEx account, along with those of over 20 associates who followed him into crypto, had been frozen and deleted, allegedly wiping out nearly 800 million RMB in assets, including 28 million OKB. He provided what was described as a "thick stack of evidence" to reporters, though proof of his personal OKEx account was not publicly disclosed.
Yang subsequently filed a lawsuit against the relevant companies and OKCoin founder Star Xu. A public relations battle ensued, with Yang using media channels and Xu responding on social media.
Xu claimed on Weibo that he had assisted Yang in purchasing a 1% stake in OKCoin from an old shareholder, generating a 100% return for him. Xu alleged that Yang, unsatisfied with this return, attempted to勒索超额收益 (extort超额收益) and, after being refused, began fabricating facts to attack him and OKCoin. OKEx CEO Jay Hao also publicly stated that the exchange's system had no record of an account of that magnitude.
The truth remains unclear, with both parties sticking to their stories. The legal case continues with no public resolution, leaving the outcome to be seen.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Yang Yongxing?
Yang Yongxing is a former star fund manager in China's private equity industry, famous for achieving extraordinarily high returns in the stock market during the late 2000s. He largely disappeared from public view before re-emerging in 2019 due to a legal dispute with the cryptocurrency exchange OKEx over alleged lost funds.
What is GBC Capital's connection to Yang?
Geek Blockchain Capital (GBC) is a Singapore-based investment firm whose CEO, Wang Lingsheng, is a senior investment manager at a company controlled by Yang Yongxing. Evidence strongly suggests that GBC acts as a proxy for Yang's investments and activities within the cryptocurrency and blockchain sector.
What was the nature of the OKEx dispute?
Yang Yongxing claimed that his account on the OKEx exchange, containing a significant amount of digital assets, was frozen and subsequently deleted. OKEx and its founder disputed his claims, stating they had no record of such a large account and alleging that Yang was attempting to extort greater returns on a separate equity investment.
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What investments has Yang/Yang-linked entities made in crypto?
Publicly, the activities are connected to GBC Capital, which invested in the UseChain project and the DragonEx exchange. Yang has also personally mentioned an investment in mining manufacturer Ebang International.
What happened with the UseChain investment?
GBC invested in UseChain in 2018. The project failed to gain traction, its team was rumored to have disbanded, and its token price collapsed, falling significantly below its original private sale price and causing substantial losses for early investors.
How did the DragonEx investment perform?
In contrast, GBC's involvement with DragonEx proved financially successful. Following a hack on the exchange, GBC provided capital in a deal that allowed it to acquire the exchange's platform token (DT) at a significant discount to the market price. The value of these tokens later increased, netting a considerable profit.