- May 22, 2020
- 5 min read

BLOCK DOWN STORIES | JD Salbego, CEO of BitTok Exchange

JD Salbego, Speaker, Advisor, Global Blockchain & Digital Securities Leader. He is an internationally-recognized subject matter expert regularly invited to host presentations and speak at leading conferences and events worldwide like World Economic Forum, BlockShow, Delta Summit, etc., alongside industry leaders such as Tim Draper, Brock Pierce, Roger Ver, Chang “CZ” Pengzhao, Charles Hoskinson, and Don Tapscott.

Introduction about yourself and your company?

J.D. Salbego, currently serving as CEO of BitTok a Singapore Exchange is a highly-respected global leader in blockchain, digital assets/securities, and decentralized finance with a history of working with industry-leading startups, crypto funds, institutions, and governments to drive blockchain innovation, STOs/IEOs, investment banking (both crypto & digital securities), international and Asia expansion, digital asset fund strategy, and go-to-market frameworks. He’s spearheaded projects and worked with some of the biggest global blockchain and digital asset leaders who have cumulatively raised, manage, and generated over $2Bn, spanning across the U.S.A, Asia, and Europe. J.D. hosts his own blog on his official site www.jdsalbego.com, is a featured contributor on Cointelegraph.com, and his work has been featured in Forbes, Business Insider, Yahoo, etc., including being linked to boosting Japan’s economy with blockchain in 2018.

BitTok Exchange is a global cryptocurrency exchange headquartered in Singapore, and with offices in Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, and New York City. Recently approved by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to operate while under license review — BitTok Exchange is committed to providing safe and professional cryptocurrency services. Its core functions are storage, transaction, and appreciation. BitTok is an essential cryptocurrency "smart housekeeper" for individual and institutional investors

How are you and your business in this time of crisis?

We're doing good right now actually. obviously, it's a horrible situation that's going on and all the sadness brought to families from virus-related deaths and job losses. the economies and the traditional markets are taking a beating not seen since the Great Depression in the early 1900s. Gratefully the crypto industry is used to working decentralized an actually volumes have increased during the quarantine because you can trade from anywhere and many people are just sitting at home either out of work or working from home and are trading even more than before.

What do you think will happen after all quarantine period will be lifted?

that's hard to really say as you know hindsight is 2020 vision. What I believe and many other financial economists in the news is, is that this financial crisis is going to go on a lot longer than after the coronavirus is under control. I've been writing about this nonstop in my posts on LinkedIn and on my official blog. There is a huge financial crisis brewing underneath the surface way before the coronavirus. The coronavirus just brought our economies to its knees a tiny bit quicker and showed the true horrors of what our central banks, governments, including Wall Street and the entire banking system have been doing since the last 2008 crash.

What are the things you’re doing this lock-down period?

Well I'm spending a lot of time isolated in my home office glued to my phone and laptop —working around the clock. I usually work 24/7 365 days a year, but I also usually have some more excitement and activities like going out and hanging with family and friends at dinners, night clubs, traveling, and helping out in my community too. Unfortunately, I don't have any of that right now, so the most I have is working out at home, which I really don't like. I prefer the gym because as you know I’m a people person.

What I’ve done though business-wise with our company is, I've implemented a system for our employees to deal with this isolation from working from home all the time. I've created weekly video chat meetings, and I also encourage all employees to check in on a daily basis with video chat to me or other team members, not just messaging. We're obviously communicating around the clock consistently through telegram and in other messaging channels and email. But I encourage them to reach out on video chat just to say hi and check-in, as that is a much different experience than just communicating and engaging about your daily work responsibilities. We all need to stay close in this time of quarantine and locked down.

What are some lessons you’ve learned during this pandemic?

I've learned the sad truth about life that I’ve seen so many times over and over since I was born. That is, that life is very fragile, and things should not be taken for granted. We also see how much technology revolves around our daily lives and also the huge benefits of technology to help better our lives and find solutions. Also, this is the first time the human race is living during a complete global lockdown. This has never happened in the history of mankind, so I think it's a little early right now to say all lessons I've actually learned because there are so many happening every day LOL

What are the things you’re grateful for?

Well I'm a very spiritual person and have been practicing spirituality since late teens. So obviously I have always been grateful for family and close friends as that is the number one priority in my life and always has been. I'm really grateful for my life and the opportunities that have been given to me, and I'm grateful that I still have a business that was not affected by the coronavirus, and I'm the CEO of a successful exchange. Many millions of people around the world are jobless right now—completely out of work with no income and it's truly horrible. My heart goes out to all of them.

Can you give some advice to other people and businesses out there during this pandemic?

Yes, just know that things will always get better. I just turned 38 years old today. it's my birthday as I do this interview with you and over the years one of the biggest things I've learned is that no matter how bad things get, they always will get better — but before they get worse again LOL. And that's just the natural physics and the flow of life that we all deal with day today. Nothing is constant in this world other than your response to your current situation in your current surroundings and your current thoughts and feelings. that's the only thing that can be constant if you choose.

On productivity and entrepreneurial advice, many incredible companies like Uber, Slack, and AirB&B were created during a financial crisis. Right now is the perfect opportunity and we're seeing actually a lot of new ideas come out and better solutions to enabling even more enhanced virtual experiences, communication, and business processes. Start looking around the world and online with what's happening right now during this quarantine and global pandemic. If you look hard enough you will see some great opportunities to create businesses out of.

Do you agree that Blockchain can help sustain the economy?

Of course! Haha I write articles and social media posts about this every single day and I speak around the world on a regular basis so I think it's fair to say that I believe that blockchain can sustain the economy.

Where can we follow you and your business?

The best way to stay in touch with me is at:

Official J.D. Salbego Twitter:

https://twitter.com/JDSalbego

Official J.D. Salbego LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jdsalbego/

Official J.D. Salbego Site & Blog: https://www.jdsalbego.com/

You can follow our crypto exchange at:

Official BitTok Official Website: https://bittok.io/

Official BitTok Twitter:

https://twitter.com/bittokofficial

Official BitTok Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Bittokofficial

Official BitTok LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/37538032