The face of the "mainstream" once appeared so clear it was almost stereotypical: founders from investment banks, impeccably dressed in suits, speaking in restrained tones; projects certified by incubators, with standardized financing paths and growth curves; before going public, the capital structure was already neatly arranged, with entries and exits, and market makers all laid out in a single table.
The "mainstream" has its own narrative style—stable, replicable, and trustworthy. It also has its own operational logic, selecting qualified candidates through a system, which then determines their value and potential.
This system of the "mainstream" has indeed begun to loosen in recent years. Many niche cultures have started to seep in, and the once-firm boundaries have become less certain.
You can see graffiti entering art galleries, punk taking the runway at fashion weeks, and hip-hop becoming a big winner at the Grammys. Bitcoin, once viewed as a "criminal tool," has transformed into a key topic in Federal Reserve research reports and a line item in BlackRock's asset allocation.
Niche culture is infiltrating the mainstream system, but not by becoming more "formal"; rather, it forces the mainstream world to acknowledge that its existence has a stronger grassroots foundation and cultural influence.
In this process, the original authorities have become less effective, and standards are no longer the only measure. Those things that were once marginalized are beginning to find their own voice. The capital market has also had to accept a new logic: being orthodox does not necessarily mean being more reliable, and not having organizational endorsement does not guarantee failure.
In recent years, the projects gaining popularity are increasingly not those that follow the conventional path, but rather a group of initially overlooked "atypicals": GameStop, which rose on the back of memes, and AMC, which rewrote its narrative through retail communities; Pinduoduo and Temu, which penetrate user communities with extreme product linkages.
The reason niche culture can break through is not that it is stronger than the mainstream, but because it is closer to "people." It is not planned from the top down but grows naturally from the bottom up. It often carries a raw aesthetic, and it can be seen, liked, and believed in.
The Advance of Bitcoin: The Belief of the Outsider
Bitcoin has always been an outsider in the "mainstream" system.
An outsider does not speak the mainstream language, has not undergone mainstream training, and does not follow mainstream rhythms. In real society, "outsiders" are often hard to hear. Their intentions are easily misunderstood, their methods seen as threats, and their challenges to the existing order labeled as "dangerous" or "savage."
Bitcoin is just that. It technically challenges central nodes, asset forms challenge sovereign currencies, and culturally challenges authoritative systems. It is not a financial asset created by financial elites but a victorious fruit of niche culture, the most aggressive collective belief of the internet age.
In its first decade, Bitcoin circulated within geek communities, cryptography forums, survivalists, and anarchists, like a parallel world currency system, completely disregarded by the mainstream.
Bitcoin first truly entered the public eye during the bull market of 2017. At that time, its explosive rise drew global attention and also regulatory anxiety. But that was just hype; it was not real recognition.
It wasn't until after the pandemic in 2020, when global monetary easing plunged traditional finance into a trust crisis, with rising U.S. stocks, depreciating dollars, and bank runs, that Bitcoin re-entered the mainstream spotlight. This time, it was no longer just a speculative asset.
That was the first time Bitcoin was widely regarded as a tool against inflation and became a way for ordinary people to attempt to protect their assets. During that period, it flowed from geek communities into a larger public market, gradually evolving into a symbol of retail against institutions, becoming the core symbol of "anti-authority narrative."
At that time, Bitcoin was like a flag—not a product, but an attitude.
Today, Bitcoin has entered its third phase: "accepted" by the mainstream, yet still an "outsider."
It appears in ETF products, is included in asset allocation reports, and is openly discussed by presidents, central banks, and hedge funds. But it has never truly changed itself; it has no regulatory dominance, no organizational endorsement, and no individual control.
The mainstream market has accepted its price, accepted its liquidity, becoming part of passive income, but it has not accepted its spirit, and it is no longer questioned what it truly represents. It has been accepted but does not belong, and it does not need to belong.
Thus, we say that Bitcoin is the most successful advance of niche culture in the capital market. Not because it gained permission, but because it never sought permission and has arrived at its current position.
DDC: Another Direction for Niche Culture to Break Through
Norma Chu does not fit the "entrepreneurial archetype" defined by the mainstream. She embodies too many marginalized labels: female, Asian, content-driven, non-technical background…
In 2012, Norma Chu returned to Hong Kong from the United States and found that there was not a single genuine Chinese cooking platform aimed at young people on the internet. Her first job was as a stock analyst at UBS, where she could have chosen to continue climbing the clear career ladder in the finance industry. But she did not; she turned to the kitchen, began writing recipes, taking photos, and editing videos—not to ride the wave of traffic dividends, but out of a simple motivation: "I love cooking."
Because of this, DayDayCook (DDC) did not follow the standard consumer goods route from the start. It was neither a business model that reverse-engineered brand positioning from the supply chain nor a capital-preferred traffic project, but rather a community trust built gradually through content, interaction, and time.
Initially, she just wanted to show more people how to cook, never imagining she would reach this point. But starting with food content, she slowly accumulated the brand's early form and established her product system during the e-commerce process. Later, she sold products to North America, established a foothold in the U.S. market, and ultimately led the company to go public.
Norma recalls that during the early days of her entrepreneurship: "Back then, it was very difficult to raise funds and hire people in Hong Kong; entering the mainland also posed a high learning curve." She does not consider herself the type who can draw a complete blueprint from the beginning, but she always had one bottom line: put "people" first, think clearly about users before considering channels; solidify content before discussing budget allocation; strategy should always serve the narrative, not the other way around.
This slow pace was not well-received in the early capital market. It was not fast enough, not sexy enough, and lacked obvious explosive points. But Norma proved over more than a decade that a community built on content and companionship can also become a sustainable brand.
She said, "At first, we didn't even calculate GMV; I was more concerned about whether this user stayed because they liked us."
It sounds a bit sentimental, but DDC has developed to this point precisely because of that sentiment. It does not attract consumers by telling stories but by accompanying users, turning content into a relationship that can be repurchased, shaping a content-consumption closed loop that can grow sustainably.
So when she bought Bitcoin for the first time in 2021, it was not surprising; it could even be said to be a natural progression. By then, she had been a seasoned entrepreneur deeply engaged in community content for ten years, facing Gen Z users, creating emotionally resonant content—these were precisely the foundational colors of Bitcoin's earliest narrative.
That year, Hong Kong was becoming a transit point for Bitcoin funds and talent. Her circle of friends began frequently mentioning ETFs, Coinbase, and the story of MicroStrategy. An early shareholder suggested she seriously study Bitcoin as a strategic reserve and introduced her to MicroStrategy's growth path. After reviewing the materials and reading Michael Saylor's book, she began to reassess the company's financial structure.
She said that the reason she truly began to think about this was not because of the hype but because of the structure. "If I didn't have a background in stock analysis or that personal investment experience in 2021, I might not have taken that advice seriously at all."
But she not only listened; she decided to act.
At the beginning of this year, Norma formally proposed a transformation strategy to the board—incorporating Bitcoin into the company's balance sheet, using DDC's operating cash flow to long-term reserve BTC. By May of this year, they completed the acquisition of the first batch of 100 Bitcoins and quickly finished a round of financing, making DDC the world's first Bitcoin strategic reserve company driven by a female founder.
She did not treat this as some sort of labeled "female entrepreneurial breakthrough." When asked, she casually remarked, "Sure it's cool, I'm the first. But more importantly, is this decision the most beneficial for shareholders?"
This is not a pretty platitude or a story packaging; it is a judgment method she has long established. The reason she made this transformation is not that the Bitcoin reserve play has become hot, but because she has spent ten years understanding users, building trust, and maintaining a narrative—these are precisely the starting points for Bitcoin's existence.
Her understanding of Bitcoin did not start from a technical white paper. Nor did it start from speculation, getting rich quickly, or anonymity. Her path of understanding began with "trust": why would someone be willing to believe in something that is invisible and intangible? This has actually been the issue she has been dealing with for the past decade—in content, in branding, in community.
DDC's users are not fleeting traffic visitors but those willing to stop and click on a cooking video. Norma does not create viral content but rather an emotional expression. She tells stories in the first person, using a sense of companionship to bridge distances, gradually establishing a trust relationship unique to DDC. "Many people think we are a content e-commerce platform, but we have always been managing emotional trust," she said.
This heightened sensitivity to "trust" has also become her starting point for understanding Bitcoin.
Before transitioning to a Bitcoin strategic reserve, Norma began to reassess the company's marketing approach. She said that in the past, advertising and discounts were aimed at driving traffic, but this method has become increasingly ineffective at retaining users. Later, she began to consider whether part of the budget could be used for user incentives in a Web3 manner. "Web3 is a new way that allows users to be rewarded in the process," she said.
She is facing Gen Z users, who are accustomed to scrolling through one-minute cooking videos on TikTok and leaving comments on Instagram about their recreated dishes. They believe in brands but care more about whether the person behind the brand is genuine. Their consumption decisions are not always rational but often stem from emotional identification or value expression.
"We are creating a Bitcoin reward system," Norma said, "where you can earn BTC rewards by purchasing products or participating in social media interactions."
But she emphasizes that this is not a simple replica of a membership system but a new structural attempt. She wants to transform Bitcoin from a trading symbol into a part of the user's long-term experience.
This is her understanding of Bitcoin—not just "digital gold," but also a certificate of time and trust. What Norma values has never been Bitcoin's price but its "Staying Power." This is the term she most likes to use to describe Bitcoin and the kind of company she hopes DDC will become.
She said, "Bitcoin has gone through so many suppressions and doubts, yet it still exists." She hopes DDC will be that kind of company—able to traverse cycles, survive turbulence, and even become stronger.
She Writes Bitcoin into the Company's Underlying Structure
Bitcoin strategic reserves are not just an asset allocation. For DDC, it is more like an attempt to fundamentally change the company's way of thinking.
Norma is well aware that the biggest challenge of a strategic reserve is not buying Bitcoin but continuously buying it; it is not about financing but turning financing into a positive flywheel. She has transplanted the sense of rhythm she learned from content over the past decade directly into the rhythm of Bitcoin allocation.
"I told the team that buying Bitcoin is not just an action, but a whole set of mechanisms." She did not just throw money at it; instead, she set up a complete execution plan: buying in batches through financing tools like ATMs, seeking long-term strategic investors, and starting to establish communication channels in the crypto community.
Unlike MicroStrategy, DDC does not have a large cash reserve. Norma's strategy is more restrained, gradually holding through real business cash flow, buying Bitcoin bit by bit.
"Essentially, we are still a food-selling company; we just choose to invest a portion of our profits into long-term value," she said.
This approach sounds conservative, but in the crypto market, it is a very rare path.
Norma understands that when the capital market observes a Bitcoin strategic reserve company, it looks at several core issues: first, can the company sustain itself in the long term; second, does it have the ability not to sell Bitcoin when a bear market arrives; third, does the management have a stable narrative vision and execution capability.
She provides the answer with DDC's three "atypical" advantages:
First, a different financing foundation. Norma has years of accumulation in both the Chinese and American capital markets, allowing her to continuously replenish through OTC, convertible bonds, and private agreements, without relying on the public market. "We are also in talks with some family offices that have held Bitcoin for many years."
Second, a different narrative advancement path. She chooses to collaborate with Bitcoin OGs in the community to establish the "Influence Collective," where each member represents a community and a narrative channel.
Third, a different asset structure. DDC does not have a financial black hole that burns cash, nor is it a shell company propped up by hype. Its food business still maintains a 30-40% annual growth. In other words, it is a BTC strategic reserve company with "fundamentals," capable of telling narratives in a bull market and competing on cash flow in a bear market.
This balance is the sense of rhythm she has honed over the past decade.
Norma says that without the patience of early content creation, without the resonant community built with Gen Z users, and without the organizational rhythm gained over time, DDC might not have been able to understand Bitcoin, let alone write it into the balance sheet.
The Outsider Takes Center Stage
Norma has never defined herself as a "Crypto person." However, those seemingly "non-mainstream" labels unexpectedly resonate with the spiritual core of Bitcoin as an asset.
She is not anxious about the Bitcoin narrative being dominated by Europe and the U.S., nor is she worried about the absence of Asian capital from the main stage.
Her confidence also comes from structural changes in the real world. She sees regulatory loosening, capital shifting, and the rewriting of funding structures, as well as Gen Z understanding value in entirely different ways. "Stablecoins have educated the market; only then has Crypto truly been understood," she said. Investors who couldn't comprehend BTC a month ago are now discussing premium structures and coin-based asset allocation.
Norma is not the type to loudly proclaim a "decentralization revolution," but she is participating in the global wealth reconstruction through a very pragmatic path. In this process, she has also completed a self-reconstruction of her identity.
Over the past decade, she has transformed from a content entrepreneur to a CEO of a public company and has become the world's first female founder to promote Bitcoin strategic reserves. She was once marginalized, but now, because of her "non-mainstream" status, she has become a starting point for a new narrative.
"Existence is difference, and difference is advantage," she said. She knows her way of expression is different from many managers, and her pace is slower, but this "slowness" appears more resilient in the rapidly changing cycles of capital. "I may not be smarter than others, but I am persistent."
This is her commonality with Bitcoin—they both come from the margins, are not favored, and have persisted for too long. One is a builder of brands and communities, while the other is a totem of the decentralized world. They originally did not belong to the main narrative of finance, but now, they intersect on the same balance sheet.
These two "outsiders" have now stepped into the dazzling center stage of the mainstream.
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