From music to consulting and blockchain projects

Xiao-Xiao is the President of Jupiter, the leading DeFi super app on Solana, and former digital assets lead at KKR, one of the world's top private equity firms. 

In this episode, he reveals why he left Wall Street to go all-in on crypto - and how Jupiter is building zero-fee global payments that could disrupt a $5 trillion market. 

THE SHIFT NEWSLETTER

💡Go beyond the mic - subscribe to The Shift, my new weekly newsletter where I share the uncut stories, raw takes, and behind-the-scenes notes from When Shift Happens: https://www.kevinfollonier.com/crypto-web3-newsletter

___________

PARTNERS

🚀 Jupiter is the most used Decentralized Exchange in Crypto and the largest DEX by volume on Solana: https://jup.ag/

💳 KAST lets you manage and spend stablecoins or crypto with a Visa Card or Apple Pay. Live in 100+ countries: https://go.kast.xyz/VqVO/SHIFT

🔓 Trezor offers the safest cold-storage wallets for crypto and true financial independence.

 Buy with 10% off (promo code in video): https://trezor.io/?transaction_id=102...

🌱 Bitwise Asset Management manages $15B+ across 30+ crypto investment products — ETFs, index funds, alpha, staking, and more. https://bitwiseinvestments.com/

🔒Sumsub is the leading full-cycle verification platform for the crypto industry, chosen by 8 out of 10 of the world’s largest exchanges. From instant KYC and KYB to automated crypto transaction monitoring, they help VASPs, exchanges, and DeFi platforms prevent fraud, stay compliant, and scale globally. https://sumsub.com/

💧 Sui is a next-gen Layer 1 making digital asset ownership fast, private, and secure.

 https://sui.io/

♾️ Coinsilium provides vital funding and expert advice to Web3 and AI-powered early-stage technology companies. 

https://www.coinsilium.com

___________

Follow Xiao-Xiao 

• Twitter: https://x.com/xxjzhu

• Twitter: https://x.com/jupiterexchange

• Website: https://jup.ag/

FOLLOW WHEN SHIFT HAPPENS

Twitter (X): https://x.com/KevinWSHPod  

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/kevinfollonier_ 

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kevinfollonier_

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinfollonier/

Website: https://kevinfollonier.com/

DISCLAIMER

The info contained herein is for informational purposes only. Nothing herein shall be construed to be financial, legal, or tax advice. The content of this video is solely the opinions of the speakers who are not a licensed financial advisor or registered investment advisor. Trading cryptocurrencies poses considerable risk of loss. The speakers do not guarantee any particular outcome.

0:00 Introduction

1:26 Please Subscribe

1:52 Xiao’s Personal Thoughts On Dubai

3:11 Kevin Working For Luxury Brands

3:47 Working, Chaos, & A Delicate Balance Within Jupiter

5:16 How Xiao’s Previous Job At KKR Compares To Jupiter

6:01 Coming From TradFi Means Less Structure More Output

7:35 What Is Jupiter Global

8:29 Siloed Point Solution vs The Network Effect & Aggregation 

10:09 Who Is Xiao Xiao

11:26 Partnerships: @JupiterExchange @KASTxyz

12:06 Tell Us More About The Musical Part Of Your Life

13:49 Xiao’s Realization About What He Wanted To Pursue

16:22 What Was This BCG Project About?

18:00 Xiao’s Big Crypto Aha Moment

22:10 What Happens At A Big Firm Like KKR In Terms Of Market Cycles

27:00 Did You Feel FOMO In Regards To FDX Around 2022

31:01 How Advanced Is This Institutional Adoption Within Crypto Now vs Future

37:14 Partnerships: @ethena, @sumsub

38:16 The Fantasy/FOMO Of Going All In On Crypto With Your Job

48:25 What Xiao’s Trying To Prove Within This Jupiter Chapter 

51:13 Are You The Reason KKR & ParaFi Invested In Jupiter?

52:48 Why Concretely Did ParaFi Invest $35 Million Into Jup Token

57:31 Partnerships: @Trezor @BitwiseInvest @SuiNetwork

58:28 What Does Onchain Finance Look Like In 5 years

1:07:25 One Thing That Makes You Proud To Be Apart Of Jupiter

1:10:42 Kevin’s One Thing He’s Proud Of With Jupiter

1:14:24 What Shift Is Happening That Most People Don’t See

1:18:18 Closing Thoughts