Interview with KK, Head of Ecosystem at UXLINK: Not a Prisoner, Just a Player; Staying in Web3 Simply Because I Enjoy It

Source: Web3 Marketing Study Group

Recording date for this episode: February 9, 2026

In this episode of "President's Salon," I've invited Kongkou (KK), the head of the UXLINK ecosystem.

He's not a techie, nor does he have a traditional finance background. With an economics degree, his experience spans from Swedish manufacturing supply chains to DJI and Hasselblad, and then to Web3 community growth. He's participated in events that grew to millions of users, experienced the peak of projects reaching billions in market capitalization, and also weathered the darkest moments of project hacks and cryptocurrency price crashes. This in itself demonstrates a kind of 'unfettered' composure—amidst various narratives of sudden wealth and collapse, he wasn't 'formatted' by the industry, but instead lived as a free-spirited player.

Adaptability is more important than resume: From Nordic church school to DJI and Hasselblad

The name "Kong Kou" originated from an accident where QQ nicknames were displayed as garbled characters during the early days of flip phones. Later, it was simply simplified to KK.

In 2009, Kongkou moved to Sweden due to his family's work. In order to integrate into school and local life as soon as possible, he took the initiative to attend a church school, thus becoming the only immigrant student in his grade.

His career path has been quite diverse: during his undergraduate and master's studies, he was involved in the supply chain and factory construction for a Swedish e-bike brand; later, he joined Hasselblad after DJI's acquisition, but experienced a period of stressful work involving "counting screws, packing, and inventory." When he returned to China to look for a job in 2021, he received offers from major companies such as Lenovo, but ultimately did not choose to join them because he gradually realized that what he really wanted to do was something related to the internet.

This ability to quickly adapt to unfamiliar environments and learn on his own, from not knowing to knowing, became the underlying quality that enabled him to later enter Web3.

The starting point of Web3: Lose money first, then understand the risks.

In 2021, Kongkou officially entered the Web3 industry. At the time, he joined a company whose boss had a grand "metaverse dream," which forced him to quickly learn about blockchain and grow rapidly through practice.

From product operations to the strategy team, he experienced GameFi's "death spiral," participated in early transactions of Solana, and mingled in the Alpha community of NFTs. He made his first fortune in NFTs and also lost money; later, when he partnered with friends on projects and investments, he also fell into the trap of being "scammed."

He advised everyone, "It's best to try it yourself. Losing real money on the blockchain is more useful than listening to ten presentations."

It was precisely because Kongkou was active in various communities and groups that he got to know the founding team of his current project, UXLINK.

The essence of growth is "mechanism," not "creativity."

After joining UXLINK, Kongkou caught the project's explosive growth phase. From connecting with investors, KOLs, and community groups to collaborating with exchanges and other projects, as the ecosystem leader, he maximized his long-accumulated network and resources. He spearheaded the two large-scale joint airdrop events that brought UXLINK its greatest exposure and growth in the early days.

However, Kongkou also admitted that timing is always more important than method. Joint airdrops are not uncommon; the real key is the mechanism. UXLINK's referral mechanism is based on the Telegram invitation system—the inviter only receives the reward after the invitee completes all the tasks. This transforms "recruiting" into "supervising completion," resulting in a much higher quality referral rate than ordinary task platforms.

At that time, Twitter had not yet been renamed X, nor had it been acquired by Elon Musk, making it relatively more "friendly" to this type of growth activity.

"The first event was the most effective, but the second one was noticeably less successful because Elon Musk changed Twitter's API."

For him, the team never sets KPIs, and growth is not a self-imposed limitation to meet KPIs, but a large-scale social experiment. He is not a prisoner of metrics, but enjoys the thrill of solving problems within the system.

A safety lesson worth millions: Safety is not a technical issue, it's a matter of discipline.

Kongkou's darkest moment at UXLINK dates back to the shocking theft incident in Q3 of last year.

On the eve of KBW's opening, he and his team were making final preparations for the exhibition and events. In the early hours of the morning, the hackers launched their attack. Almost no one on the team slept that night; they worked through the night contacting exchanges, coordinating with security companies (such as SlowMist and Exvul), and continuously updating the community and media on the progress of the incident.

However, the reason for this theft was unbelievably low-level.

The hacker first broke into the computer of a co-founder, then implanted a Trojan horse through phishing links and fake meeting links, gradually gaining multi-signature permissions, and finally completed the attack, which led to a sell-off and a sharp drop in prices.

This is a safety lesson that cost millions of dollars. But for a true player, the ability to "lose gracefully" is the foundation for entering the game, while the true discipline lies in "how to gracefully restart the game."

During our conversation, Kongkou repeatedly reminded everyone to prioritize safety, including but not limited to:

• Perform physical isolation

• Never store mnemonic phrases in the cloud or Google Docs.

• Specialized equipment must be used for fund operations.

• Cold wallets are the bottom line.

• Safety is not a technical issue, but a disciplinary one.

However, the project is still progressing. The team is also simultaneously developing a new AI product, XerpaAI, which is nearing public beta testing.

Long-termism: Be an Optimist Who Embraces AI

In the highly mobile Web3 industry, Kongkou's reason for choosing to stay is actually quite simple: the team atmosphere is good, and he enjoys working there.

He didn't have a strong obsession with wealth; his goal was simply to "live a healthy and happy life."

He is also trying to gradually "AI-ize" his life.

At work: The team doesn't have full-time designers; all posters are created using AI tools like Nano Banana. In their personal lives: When buying health supplements for their father, planning overseas trips, or researching drug brands, they consult AI first.

Outside of his high-pressure work, he balances his life with rock climbing, squash, and playing ball.

"When your mindset is wrong, life will be even harder."

He also advised newcomers to Web3 to take the extra step, proactively expand their network, and engage in more communication and learning.

Bonus Feature: Craft Beer Buying Guide

On Kongkou's Xiaohongshu page, there is another very attractive tag - craft beer enthusiast.

Since 2021, he has tried various craft beers in different countries and regions around the world and has accumulated a lot of experience.

Although he kept emphasizing that the most important thing about drinking beer is finding the type you like, at my "strong request," he still provided a practical guide.

For beginners: Lager (water beer) to enjoy as you like, Japanese lagers ( Sapporo , Kirin , Asahi ) are consistently good.

For more advanced options: If you like Guinness, you can try Stout or Porter; you can also try Grand Milager, or even some interesting varieties with sake yeast.

IPA: The fresher the better; draft containers are generally better than canned containers.

Shanghai Pub Recommendation: 233 Pub – With an extremely large number of beer taps, it is described by the owner as "one of the best value craft beer pubs in China".

In conclusion

My conversation with Kongkou revealed a very special sense of relaxation, a kind of carefree mindset that "allows everything to happen".

When discussing his areas of expertise, he didn't rush to offer opinions or suggestions, but rather encouraged everyone to forge their own path, with others' "experiences" serving only as a reference. Many people enter this circle, only to have their youthful spirit worn down by coin prices, KPIs, and endless anxiety, but Kongkou is different; he seems to always possess the power to turn the impossible into reality.

This kind of tenacity to "not be killed by the industry" is what truly makes a top player.

As he said, he stayed here for no other reason than "I enjoy doing it".

The one who lives the longest is the one who truly wins.