Strong momentum across the ecosystem. Good to see more builders and communities stepping in early.
This is how meaningful ecosystems are built.
#IndonesiaBlockchainWeek#Web3#Indonesia
Wave 4 is HERE! 🌊🔥
The ecosystem is growing stronger than ever. Please join us in welcoming the newest partners joining the Indonesia Blockchain Week revolution! 🚀
We’re bringing together the best minds to shape the future of Web3. 🇮🇩⛓️
Check the link below! 👇
🔗 https://t.co/fnsbpidpK7
#IDBW2026 #Indonesiablockchainweek
@jerallaire Great to meet you in Jakarta last weekend. The energy across Indonesia’s ecosystem is strong and only accelerating.
Would be exciting to continue this conversation with more builders and institutions across the ecosystem.
The wait is almost over. Indonesia Blockchain Week Summit 2026 is officially in the works⚡️
TURNING INFRASTRUCTURE INTO IMPACT🔥
We’re moving beyond the foundation to showcase real-world results. 🚀
Coming soon, Keep your eyes peeled
#IDBW2026#Indonesiablockchainweek
IDBW x @consensus_hk 2026: Your Exclusive Bridge to the Global Web3 Stage! 🌐🤝
We’re thrilled to join Consensus HK as an Official Community Partner! 🚀
📍 Hong Kong
📅 Feb 10–12, 2026
🎁 CLAIM YOUR 20% DISCOUNT BELOW 👇
#IDBW2026#ConsensusHK
Strategic acquisitions don’t happen overnight. They’re earned through years of positioning, discipline, and doing the hard things early.
Builders in emerging markets should study this carefully. [end]
This hits home.
The Tokocrypto journey was never about chasing fast growth. From the very beginning, it was about choosing regulation, patience, and the long game at a time when those choices felt unpopular and, honestly, expensive.
Strategic Acquisition in Crypto: Building What Others Must Buy
Seeing the news about Meta acquiring Manus for a multi-billion-dollar valuation sparked reflections from my own founder journey.
I co-founded @Tokocrypto in 2017 with @pangxuekai . It was my first startup. In 2022, Tokocrypto was acquired by Binance. In 2023, I then co-founded @PruvFinance as my second startup, positioned to be the leading compliant RWA tokenization platform in Asia.
That experience reinforced an important lesson:
A successful startup is not only defined by a glamorous IPO. Exit via strategic acquisition is a very real and practical path for founders.
In the first half of 2025 alone, there were 918 startup acquisitions globally, with acquisition value growing 155% compared to 2024. The opportunity for acquisition is real.
But acquisitions don’t happen by luck. They happen when strategic value aligns with the right acquirer, at the right price, at the right time.
I want to share a few takeaways on how to build a company that others must buy, and how founders can protect the value of what they’ve built through an acquisition.
Find and Build Your Unique Moat
At @Tokocrypto , from day one in 2017, we had a clear thesis: build Indonesia’s leading fully regulated crypto exchange.
At the time, most global exchanges were operating in local markets without licenses. We believed regulation was inevitable, not optional.
So we chose the harder path:
- full KYC
- transaction monitoring
- deep, long-term regulatory engagement
We also made a deliberate market choice. As Singaporeans, we chose Indonesia.
The rationale was straightforward:
- lower global competition
- a population of 280M+
- massive digital economy potential
- crypto regulation still in its early stages
The Cost of Being Early
The early years were brutal. For nearly two years, we faced:
- almost no users
- negligible trading volume
- difficulty raising capital
- constant pressure to abandon compliance
Competitors grew faster by taking short cuts in compliance as it is not a legal requirement yet. Many advised us to pivot or quit.
We didn’t. We saw gradual progress in regulatory engagement and chose to stand firm, even as our runway shrank and success felt distant.
When Strategy Meets Timing
Then in 2019, everything changed. Indonesia regulators issued the first crypto exchange license to @Tokocrypto . With that, we have the window as the only licensed exchange in SEA largest market. Tokocrypto became Indonesia’s first licensed crypto exchange.
The impact was immediate, coupled with the correct market:
- our user base grew 100x to 3 million KYC users
- daily trading volume reached $100M USD
- we found Indonesia Blockchain Week (@IDBWOfficial) with @adytiaraflein
- we finally became the largest exchange in Indonesia within 6 months
- credit also to our early supports & partners for the success @KevinSusanto@WallexGlobal@QCPgroup@Signum_Capital
At the same time, global exchanges were increasingly pressured by local regulators for illegal local marketing and operations.
The strategic synergy became clear.
Tokocrypto, as:
- the only compliant exchange
- the largest by trading volume
- deeply embedded in the local market
naturally became a top acquisition candidate.
That alignment ultimately led to the 2022 acquisition by Binance.
Final Reflections
Looking back, the strategy sounds logical — but it was extremely difficult to execute.
It required:
- years of boring execution
- strong conviction
- the discipline to ignore constant noise
My Takeaways for New Founders
Over time, I’ve realized that IPOs and public listings are becoming increasingly difficult.
For many protocols, strategic acquisition can be a more realistic way to reach a bigger stage and unlock the next phase of growth with focus still on the company. Without the publicity for an IPO, which is more distracting than benefit due to distraction of share prices.
I’ve also learned a few things along the way:
- Not every new initiative is worth chasing: Focus building foundations matters more than short term distraction.
- Fundraising numbers don’t define success — execution does: we grew @Tokocrypto from beginning till acquisition stage with just single digit million USD raised across 5 years.
- It helps to think about your exit earlier than you think you should.
- Once you choose a direction, consistency, fine tuning and patience matter more than constant pivoting.
- In the long run, most success come from execution, not ideas.
Looking back, the acquisition wasn’t a single event — it was the result of years of positioning.
By building with a clear strategic role in mind, the company naturally became something others needed, not just something we wanted to sell.
We believed that if Indonesia was going to become a serious Web3 market, it needed a neutral platform where builders, regulators, institutions, and founders could grow together.
DeFi can’t survive on speculation alone.
It needs real yield from real-world assets.
That’s what we’re building at @PruvFinance:
Bringing Real-World Assets On-Chain, Permissionlessly.
We’re making this possible together with our partners: @0xPolygon, @avax, @pharos_network, @MantaNetwork, @StellarOrg, SBI Digital Market, @SamuelSekuritas, Simpan Asset Management, Kubix, Pinetree SG, and AsianTrust Capital.
https://t.co/kfvb0njPzt
🚀✨ GIVEAWAY TIME! ✨🚀
Indonesia Blockchain Week (#IDBW2025) is teaming up with @MalaysiaBCW (#MYBW2025) to celebrate cross‑border innovation!
We’re giving away 5 General Passes (worth USD 88 each) so YOU can join MYBW happening TOMORROW and the next day!
1/5📷I’m thrilled to share that @SeaSeedNetwork has just won 1st place at the @NUSingapore Blockchain Pitch Night 2024 sponsored by global giant @FTI_Global! Competing against 29 incredible teams, we showcased our vision to bridge TradFi <> DeFi. This recognition means so much!📷
SeaSeed Network is thrilled to announce a groundbreaking partnership with Tether, a leading stablecoin provider. This strategic collaboration unlocks a future of secure and efficient transactions for our valued users. https://t.co/qoJB6HgDDI