Scaling new heights while celebrating the 10th anniversary — Interview with LBank’s Eric He

Cryptocurrency exchange LBank recently announced a partnership to take on the role as the regional sponsor of the Argentine National Team, alongside launching the $100M Bonus Pro campaign, strengthening its brand across both emerging and mature crypto markets.

Founded in 2015, LBank has evolved from being a rapid listings platform to a global gateway, serving over 15 million users with high-yield assets and derivatives.

In an interview with Cointelegraph, Eric He, community angel officer and risk control adviser of LBank, shares strategic insights on cultural partnerships, growth strategies and what’s ahead as LBank celebrates its 10th anniversary.

Cointelegraph: Why partner with the Argentine national football team, and what are the driving factors behind this collaboration?

Eric He: Football remains one of the most global and accessible cultural forces, reaching audiences far beyond the current footprint of crypto. By partnering with the Argentine National Team, we’re aligning crypto’s disruptive potential with the spirit of world champions. Their relentless drive mirrors our own as LBank enters its next phase of growth.

This goes beyond brand exposure; it marks a deliberate step toward embedding crypto into mainstream culture. More than just a sponsorship, this collaboration represents a broader cultural shift — where relevance is earned through cultural alignment, not just visibility.

CT: Can you share insights on your sponsorship of the Argentine national team and the bonus campaign? What do these mean for LBank, and how are they performing?

EH: They represent alignment, not just marketing.

We’ve just announced our role as the regional sponsor for the Argentine National Team, a strategic move that combines crypto innovation with global sports culture, reaching millions of fans and embedding our brand in everyday conversations.

Alongside that, LBank rolled out the $100M Bonus Pro with $100 welcome bonus and a 100% deposit bonus, which reinforces that user-centricity isn’t just a buzzword — it’s embedded in everything we build, and it’s about fostering loyalty and growth in a competitive market.

As LBank gears up for our 10th anniversary celebrations next month, these initiatives underscore our commitment to scaling responsibly while delivering real value — turning users into advocates and driving sustainable expansion.

CT: What’s behind LBank’s ability to maintain its competitive edge?

EH:  The shift reflects our ability to adapt without losing core principles. Back in the early days, LBank prioritized speed and reliability to capture the fast-paced altcoin boom. Today, our dominance in hidden gems stems from a relentless focus on user demand and market trends.

Most exchanges are bloated, blindly chasing trends, but LBank is a different breed — wired to outpace and outsmart the market. Our team lives and breathes crypto’s chaos, curating assets with hardcore analysis and real community pulse.

For example, our LBank EDGE zone was launched in response to rising demand for high-potential tokens and delivered a playground for winners. It’s not just about listing coins; it’s about hand-picking rockets. We blend innovation with ironclad security, turning data into alpha for our users.

CT: The crypto exchange landscape is highly competitive, with decentralized exchange (DEX) derivatives increasingly eating into CEX market share. LBank once ranked Top 5 in futures volume — how are you planning to differentiate going forward?

EH: DEXs aren’t a threat — they fuel industry progress. Clear waters breed no fish; new players drive growth and innovation for all. LBank thrives in this dynamic, leveraging derivatives. A hybrid CEX model delivers seamless user experience, unmatched security and superior liquidity.

LBank believes in building a derivatives ecosystem that’s robust, not reckless. The $100 million Futures Risk Protection Fund anchors this, providing traders a safety net against volatile markets — something DEXs cannot match. High-liquidity pools, AI-driven analytics and tailored leverage for retail and high-frequency traders ensure precision and confidence.

CT: With LBank already launching features like LBank EDGE, what are your development plans in this area, and what considerations are guiding your approach?

EH: LBank doesn’t chase mass listings; LBank curates token narratives that inspire adoption.

LBank EDGE, which created a hidden gem zone where early-stage tokens are pre-screened, protected with a 100% coverage plan and amplified with a $5 million support fund. We’re not just connecting to onchain, we’re rewriting how token discovery should work. Quality beats speed. A hundred noisy launches help no one. One well-supported launch can shift an entire trend.

LBank is doubling down on this vision with a groundbreaking product launching soon, revolutionizing asset issuance for the next wave of crypto innovation — stay tuned!

CT: With the current macro environment being accommodative, institutional money flooding in, Bitcoin hitting new highs, and a surge in crypto-related stocks, how does this bull run differ from previous crypto cycles in your view?

EH: This one’s not retail-driven — it’s capital-driven. The exchange-traded fund (ETF) effect is real: Bitcoin Spot ETFs have unleashed macro capital flows, with more than $10 billion in net ETF inflows last quarter, shifting crypto from degen narratives to institutional trust at scale. Traditional finance isn’t just seeking exposure — it’s reinventing itself through crypto. This brings stability and legitimacy, but also risks such as regulatory scrutiny and manipulation.

For LBank, it’s an opportunity to bridge traditional and crypto, upgrade our systems and empower investors while staying vigilant to ensure we thrive in this hybrid landscape, where long-term holders — not just traders — define the narrative.

CT: Looking ahead, what’s your forecast for crypto markets — and what role do you see retail playing amid growing institutional dominance?

EH: Retail is still the soul of crypto. Institutions bring volume, but retail brings momentum. Retail has always been the real force behind crypto. From skepticism to adoption, it was everyday users — not institutions — who validated the value of this industry. They shaped communities, fueled narratives and discovered trends long before capital followed.

Institutions may scale markets, but retail built them. What we’re seeing now is not a shift in power, but an amplification of what the crowd started.

At LBank, the journey to 15 million users was driven by that trust. LBank has grown not because of flashy deals, but because we stayed retail-first — launching zones like LBank EDGE, tokenized stocks through xStocks and Ondo Finance and protection programs that actually work. As crypto enters its institutional phase, we’re building the bridge: products that meet regulatory standards, without losing the spirit of grassroots innovation.

In this evolving landscape, LBank remains committed to building not just for scale, but for substance — rooted in community, guided by data and driven by vision.

CT: LBank is about to celebrate its 10th anniversary — a rare milestone in the crypto space. How would you reflect on this decade-long journey, and what’s next as you step into the next era?

EH: Ten years in crypto is equivalent to a lifetime, it’s not just a milestone — it’s proof that purpose and persistence still matter in a space known for volatility and reinvention.

From early listings to curating hidden gems, from sponsoring global crypto events to partnering with the Argentine national team, LBank has pulled on a string that connects community, culture and capital. That string now leads LBank to a new chapter.

LBank is preparing to launch transformative products and refreshed services that inject new energy into crypto’s penetration power — pushing past hype cycles and resisting the industry’s long-term entropy. As we step into our next era, we’re not just building features — we’re setting direction and leading the signal, not the noise.

Just as LBank spent a decade building through noise, now we’re tuned to lead the signal.

Find out more about LBank

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