MTI外刊阅读精选迅雷转向区块链.docx
MTI外刊阅读精选迅雷转向区块链Entrepreneurship: How Xunleis Lei Chen pivoted to blockchainXunlei has had a wild year. Once a video-sharing network, the company pivoted to blockchain after introducing a virtual token the Link Token in October.迅雷(Xunlei)经历了狂野的一年。该公司曾经是一个视频分享网络,但它在去年 10月推出虚拟代币链克(Link Token),从此转向区块链。Its Nasdaq-listed stock increased sixfold, only to fall 40 per cent less than a month later after Link Token came under scrutiny from Chinas finance regulator.其在纳斯达克(Nasdaq)上市的股票上涨了 6倍,但在不到一个月时间里下跌 40%,原因是链克受到中国金融监管机构的关注。But the man behind Xunleis splashy entrance into the cryptocurrency scene says he eschews Chinas rough-and-tumble tech culture.但是,领导迅雷高调进入加密货币领域背后的男子说,他回避中国科技行业的混战文化。“As a manager of a company, you need to have a very steadfast personality,” Lei Chen, Xunleis chief executive, comments drily as he reflects on the events of the past year.迅雷首席执行官陈磊在回顾过去一年的事件时一本正经地评论道:“作为公司的管理者,你需要有非常坚定的个性。”Mr Lei, 44, has a distinctly restrained presence. He speaks in measured tones and with the intense focus of a programmer. Unlike many crypto entrepreneurs, he wears suits and ties to work.44岁的陈磊流露出明显的内敛性格。他说话语调温和,带有程序员的专注力。与许多加密货币领域的企业家不同,他穿西装打领带上班。Xunleis rapid transformation from video company to crypto pariah reflects the unpredictable nature of Chinas tech scene. Mr Lei is known as the single-minded enforcer behind Xunleis blockchain makeover, but he still sees his role as the voice of moderation.迅雷迅速从视频公司转型为加密货币领域的新手,反映出中国科技界不可预知的特性。陈磊被称为一心推动迅雷转型区块链的执行者,但他仍将自己视为温和观点的声音。New tech, he says, can be dangerous. “The bad guys always figure out a way to use it first,” he says.他说,新科技可能是危险的,“坏人总是先找到方法使用它。”Nor does he see an end in sight to the battle against abuse. “This challenge of combating speculation will always be a problem. As soon as you take preventive measures, the other side will come up with new ideas to overcome them.”他也不认为防范新技术被滥用的战斗胜利在望。“这种打击投机的挑战始终是个问题。一旦你采取防范措施,对方就会搞出新的点子来克服它们。”Xunlei was established as a file-sharing platform in 2003. Less than seven years later, it became one of the worlds most popular torrenting tools, before switching to video streaming to monetise the content being uploaded sometimes illegally on to its site.迅雷成立于 2003年,最初是一个文件共享平台。不到 7年后,它成为世界上最流行的下载工具之一,后来转向视频流,以便利用上传至其网站的内容谋利(有时是非法的)。Mr Lei became Xunleis chief executive in November 2014, only months after the company listed on the Nasdaq. A former software engineer in the US for Google and Microsoft, he was fascinated by the applications of blockchain attracting attention in the US and Europe. He immediately commissioned Deloitte to help the company examine the viability of a new business model based on the technology.陈磊于 2014年 11月成为迅雷的首席执行官,当时迅雷刚刚在纳斯达克上市几个月。此前他在美国为谷歌(Google)和微软(Microsoft)担任软件工程师,对在美欧吸引关注的区块链应用着迷。他立即委托德勤(Deloitte)帮助该公司研究基于区块链技术的新业务模式的可行性。By 2015, Xunlei was selling servers that allowed users to pool and rent out idle bandwidth capacity to others. The move reflected Mr Leis beliefs ingrained from his stint as chief executive of Tencents cloud computing division that global internet demand could be satisfied through networked servers, rather than corporate hosts.到 2015年,迅雷销售允许用户将闲置带宽集中租给其他用户的服务器。此举反映了陈磊的信念,即全球互联网需求可通过联网的服务器(而非企业主机)满足,这一信念源于他担任腾讯(Tencent)云计算部门首席执行官的经历。“The bandwidth used by companies will always be vastly exceeded by that of individual users,” he says.他说:“公司使用的带宽总是会远远超过个人用户的带宽。”To incentivise users to rent out their unused space, Xunlei allocated virtual tokens to reward those who did. The tokens could in turn be traded with other Xunlei users in exchange for other Xunlei services.为了激励用户出租他们未使用的空间,迅雷分配虚拟代币作为奖励。代币可以用来与其他迅雷用户交易,以换取其他迅雷服务。In October 2017, they began offering the questionably named Wanke Coin, a blockchain-backed token. (Wanke Coin was then renamed Link Token.) Such was the frenzy over bitcoin at that time that Xunleis stock surged 250 per cent within two weeks on the back of the launch.2017年 10月,他们开始提供称为“玩客币”(Wanke Coin)的虚拟货币,这是一种区块链支持的代币(玩客币后来更名为链克币)。当时人们对比特币非常狂热,推动迅雷股价在代币发行后两周内飙升了 250%。The shift from video streaming was timely. Starting last year, Chinese regulators ramped up policing of “inappropriate” online content, targeting viral video platforms on prominent sites such as Sina Weibo and Jinri Toutiao.从视频流转向区块链非常及时。从去年开始,中国监管机构加大了对“不当”在线内容的监管力度,将矛头对准了新浪微博(Sina Weibo)和今日头条(Jinri Toutiao)等知名网站上的视频平台。At the same time, Wanke Coin quickly became one of the most-traded virtual tokens in China. By November, the intense speculation had drawn the ire of regulators who had banned bitcoin trading the month before.与此同时,玩客币迅速成为中国交易量最大的虚拟代币之一。到去年 11月,这场狂热投机让中国监管机构感到愤怒,后者刚刚在前一个月禁止了国内的比特币交易。Xunlei quickly banned trading of Wanke Coin on other platforms and introduced anti-money laundering measures, but it is still facing a class-action lawsuit filed by investors, who allege the company issued false information that affected the stock price. Xunlei has denied Wanke Coin was ever a bitcoin-like cryptocurrency or portrayed as such. The company is contesting the claim.迅雷很快禁止在其他平台上交易玩客币,并推出反洗钱措施,但该公司仍面临投资者提起的集体诉讼,后者指控迅雷发布了影响股价的虚假信息。迅雷否认玩客币是一种类似比特币的加密货币,或者被描绘成加密货币。该公司正在抗辩。As Mr Lei, buffeted by both praise and criticism, watched Xunleis stock rise then fall, he says he reminded himself to stick to his plan: “Leadership requires putting oneself through the mill time after time.”既受到赞扬、又受到批评的陈磊表示,看着迅雷股价大起大落,他提醒自己要坚持自己的计划:“领导者需要一次又一次地磨练自身。”He says Xunleis critics fixated on the companys market cap as a way to measure his success. “Stock price does not have much value to a company. A company only needs a high stock price during two or three times, such as when they are raising capital,” he argues. “Any innovation business will be controversial early on, because many people will not recognise its value.”他表示,迅雷的批评者们纠结于公司的市值,视其为衡量他的成功的指标。 他认为,“股票价格对企业没有多大价值。一家企业只会有两、三次(比如需要筹集资本金的时候)需要高股价。任何创新业务在早期都会有争议,因为很多人不会意识到它的价值。”These days, Mr Lei is working on OneThing Cloud, a multifunctional internet server which can “mine” or validate transactions for Xunleis virtual token. His utopian enthusiasm for disrupting existing internet architecture remains unabated.最近陈磊正在开发 OneThing Cloud,这是一种多功能互联网服务器,可为迅雷的虚拟代币“挖矿”或验证交易。他对颠覆现有互联网架构的乌托邦式热情依然没有减弱。“The future I see is that every individual becomes more and more powerful,” says Mr Lei. “The computing resources will be controlled by a plurality, not a small group of companies. Because computing power is concentrated in the hands of many users, users will become more and more respected and it will be difficult for them to be recklessly used by a big company.”“我看到的未来是个人变得越来越强大,”陈磊说。“计算资源将由众多而不是一小群公司控制。由于计算能力集中在许多用户的手中,用户将越来越受到尊重,而且难以被大公司肆意利用。”Those dreams could run up against another hurdle technology restrictions between the US and China as trade tensions worsen. Mr Lei says he is reconsidering entering the US market. Long term, however, his vision has always been global.随着贸易紧张加剧,这些梦想可能还会遇到另一个障碍美中之间的技术限制。陈磊说,他正在重新考虑进入美国市场。然而,长期来看,他的愿景始终是全球性的。“Blockchain will let the user connections become increasingly diverse and free, and the demarcations between countries will in practice not be that important,” predicts Mr Lei. “High tech is reliant on ideas, new business models, the flow of information with users connected through the internet, and tariffs cannot block the ability of people worldwide to go online. The force of technology cannot be avoided.”