After graduating from Kyoto University's Graduate School of Engineering, Keisuke Ogasawara worked on marketing and system operation maintenance at SoftBank Mobile. He Joined Liquid in July 2016.
Why did you join Liquid?
I first learned about cryptocurrency in 2015. At the time, the industry included all kinds of people, including geeky engineers, libertarians with eccentric ideas, conservative finance types from banks and securities companies and many others.
This chaos attracted me and I decided to dive into that unprecedented and ever-changing world.
Japan has many crypto exchanges. What are the strengths of Liquid?
I believe our strengths lie in a balance of both offensive and defensive elements. We have a global service platform, a corporate culture, and a strong awareness of both security and compliance, which is crucial for any financial service.
Many Japanese companies focus on growing their services domestically before launching globally. However, from the start, we have focused on constructing services and internal systems that meet global standards. This, I think, gives us an advantage in agility and scale.
Do you find working at Liquid meaningful?
Although we are one of the few unicorn companies in Japan, Liquid is still a venture business. There are many difficulties. However, precisely for this reason, you get to have experiences and face challenges that are rare at other companies.
What are your hobbies?
Music is my hobby. At our Christmas event, I performed with other Liquid employees.
If you could have lunch with someone, who would you have it with?
Normally, I only get to use our company chat software to communicate with Liquid employees overseas, who are located in places like Ho Chi Minh, Manila, and Singapore. I would like to have lunch with them and speak about various things.
Do you have any advice for those looking to enter the cryptocurrency industry?
If you are someone who wants to walk a different path from others or believe that a plethora of contradictions also means a plethora of opportunities, then the cryptocurrency industry might be right for you.
