The large screen in the conference room was tuned to CNBC. On the balcony of the New York Stock Exchange, a Korean face was ringing the opening bell. Kim Beom-seok (Bom Kim), Founder of Coupang.
Ticker: CPNG. Opening Price: $63.50. Market Cap: $100 Billion.
"Unbelievable," Hong Ye-eun whispered, watching the ticker. "A Korean company worth 100 trillion won. It's bigger than Hyundai Motor. It's bigger than POSCO."
Min-jun sat calmly, sipping tea. "It's the power of the platform," he said. "And the power of the Fed's money printer. In a zero-interest world, growth is infinite."
"Our stake in Hermes..." Ye-eun calculated rapidly. "Hermes is the exclusive logistics partner for Coupang's Seoul 'Dawn Delivery'. If Coupang is worth 100 Trillion, Hermes must be worth..."
"4 Trillion," Min-jun said. "Conservative estimate."
He looked at the screen. He remembered the day he walked into Coupang's office with a box of diapers. He remembered the freezing warehouse in Gwangju-si. That bet—seeded with 30 million won from a Put Option trade—was now worth billions.
"Prepare the IPO for Hermes," Min-jun ordered. "KOSDAQ listing. Target date: Late 2021. We sell into the hype."
"You want to sell Hermes? It's your baby."
"It's not a baby. It's an asset. And right now, logistics is trading at a 50x multiple. That won't last forever. When interest rates rise, these valuations will crash 70%."
"Interest rates rising?" Ye-eun scoffed. "The Fed said rates will stay near zero until 2023."
"The Fed lies," Min-jun said. "Inflation is coming. I can smell it."
April 14, 2021. Mapo Apartment. The Coinbase IPO.
The crypto market was in a state of delirium. Bitcoin: $64,800. Ethereum: $2,400. Dogecoin: $0.15 (Up 2000% YTD).
Min-jun sat in his command center. Tonight was the listing of Coinbase (COIN) on the Nasdaq. It was the "Legitimization Event" crypto bros had waited ten years for. Everyone said it was the start of the Super Cycle. Bitcoin to $100k.
Min-jun logged into his Ledger Live. "Grandpa," he called out.
Byung-ho walked in. He was wearing a 'Doge' t-shirt his granddaughter had bought him as a joke. "Are we going to the moon?" Byung-ho asked.
"We are at the moon, Grandpa. Now we need to get off before the rocket explodes."
Min-jun initiated the transfer. Binance Exchange. Order Type: TWAP (Time Weighted Average Price) Sell. Duration: 24 Hours.
He was selling 3,000 BTC. Value: $195 Million USD (~220 Billion KRW).
He was also selling 100,000 ETH. Value: $240 Million USD (~270 Billion KRW).
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
And his BNB... he sold 50% of his ICO stack. Value: $150 Million USD (~170 Billion KRW).
Total Liquidation Event: ~660 Billion KRW.
"Min-jun-ah," Byung-ho watched the numbers. His eyes were watering. "That's... that's half a trillion won. Just like that?"
"Just like that," Min-jun said, his finger hovering over the final confirmation. "The 'Coinbase Top'. It's the classic 'Buy the Rumor, Sell the News'. Tomorrow, the market will realize that Coinbase listing doesn't change the fact that Bitcoin is useless for buying coffee."
Click.
The sell orders flooded the market. Min-jun didn't crash the price. The liquidity was so high that the market absorbed his 600 billion won sell wall without blinking. That was how bubbly it was.
"It's done," Min-jun exhaled. He was now holding nearly 1 Trillion Won in liquid assets (Crypto Cash + Equities + Real Estate). He was a Billionaire in US Dollar terms.
"What do we do with the money?" Byung-ho asked, trembling.
"We pay taxes," Min-jun smiled grimly. "And then, we buy the rest of Daegwang."
May 1, 2021. Grand Daegwang Hotel. The "Future Vision" Hall.
Jin Hyuk-jae stood on stage. He looked thinner, sharper. Desperation had honed him. Behind him was a screen displaying a pixelated, cartoonish version of the hotel.
[DAEGWANG UNIVERSE: The Luxury Metaverse]
"The physical world is limited," Hyuk-jae declared to a room full of skeptical investors and eager tech bloggers. "But the digital world is infinite. Today, Daegwang Hotels announces our entry into the Metaverse."
He pointed to the screen.
"We are minting 10,000 NFTs. 'The Golden Key'. Holders of this NFT will get a lifetime membership to our Metaverse Hotel, where they can host virtual parties, buy digital art, and meet celebrities."
"Mint Price: 1 Ethereum."
Min-jun stood in the back of the room, wearing a mask. He watched Hyuk-jae selling jpegs of keys for $3,000.
"He's pivoting to grift," Min-jun muttered.
Beside him, Kim Si-woo (who was now working as a junior engineer at Samsung) whispered. "It sounds cool though. NFTs are the future, right? My cousin bought a bored monkey for 5 million won."
"It's a receipt for a link to a jpeg, Si-woo," Min-jun said. "Hyuk-jae is desperate for liquidity. He can't pay the rent on the physical hotel, so he's selling a fake one."
"Are you going to stop him?"
"No. I'm going to let him raise the money."
"Why?"
"Because if he raises money from the public for a project that doesn't exist... it's fraud. Again."
Min-jun looked at Hyuk-jae's manic energy on stage. The heir was promising "Virtual Real Estate" yielding 100% APY. He was copying Do Kwon. He was copying the scammers.
"The higher the monkey climbs," Min-jun quoted the proverb, "the more you see its ass."
May 20, 2021. Mirue Partners.
"The crypto market crashed," Ye-eun walked in, holding a tablet. Bitcoin: $30,000 (-50%). Elon Musk had tweeted that Tesla would stop accepting Bitcoin due to environmental concerns. China announced a ban on mining.
"We got out at $64,000," Ye-eun looked at Min-jun with reverence. "You timed the absolute top again."
"Luck," Min-jun lied. "And greed. I know the smell of greed."
"Hyuk-jae's NFT sale... it sold out. He raised 30 Billion Won in Ethereum."
"And now that Ethereum just crashed 50%... his 30 billion is worth 15 billion."
Min-jun laughed. "He held. He didn't convert to cash. He thought ETH was going to $10,000. Now he has a balance sheet hole again."
Min-jun opened a file. Daegwang Construction. The stock price was steadily climbing. 22,000 KRW. The Hannam-dong project had broken ground. The pre-sales were 100% sold out. Seo-yoon was doing a good job.
"It's time to consolidate," Min-jun said.
"Consolidate what?"
"Nemesis Capital currently owns 30% of Daegwang Construction. I want 51%."
"That will cost 300 Billion Won. Even you..."
"I have the cash now," Min-jun patted his laptop bag, where his Ledger used to be. "I have the Trillion."
He looked at Ye-eun.
"Start buying the floating shares. Slowly. Don't spike the price. We are going to take the company private. We are going to delist it."
"Delist Daegwang Construction? Why?"
"Because," Min-jun looked at the skyline of Seoul. "I don't want to answer to shareholders anymore. I want to answer only to myself."
[TRANSACTION LOG]
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Action: MASSIVE LIQUIDATION (Crypto).
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Sell: 3,000 BTC / 100,000 ETH / 1.3M BNB.
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Timing: Coinbase IPO Day (Market Top).
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Proceeds: ~660 Billion KRW.
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Tax Provision: ~150 Billion KRW set aside.
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Net Liquid Cash: ~800 Billion KRW.