Volodymyr Nosov, CEO of Europe’s largest crypto exchange WhiteBIT, sat down with Dmytro Gordon, one of Ukraine’s most prominent journalists. The interview touched on Bitcoin, crypto, WhiteBIT, cars, keys to success, and business vision.
About Volodymyr Nosov
Volodymyr Nosov, born in Kharkiv, is a businessman and philanthropist. He founded WhiteBIT, which has grown into one of Europe’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, serving 35 million clients globally. WhiteBIT is part of a thriving ecosystem of companies employing over 1,200 people. Nosov considers the exchange just one of many projects within his holding company. Beyond his business ventures, Nosov supports Ukraine’s Armed Forces, his hometown of Kharkiv, and sponsors football clubs, including the Ukrainian national team. He also represents Ukraine as an Honorary Consul in the Balearic Islands.
Dmytro Gordon’s interviews are known for their bold and thought-provoking questions. Get the key moments and highlights before you watch the full interview.
Interview with Volodymyr Nosov. Source: Dmytro Gordon’s YouTube channel
Is Education Necessary for Success?
For Volodymyr, the answer is a definite "no." What truly matters in life is believing in yourself and building strong connections with others.
You can be an excellent specialist, highly skilled, or a talented artist. But if you don’t know how to communicate, you might end up sidelined.
The First Million Dollars
Volodymyr made his first million in 2013, at the age of 24, through his flooring business. Interestingly, he never physically saw that money because he reinvested it all back into the company. This approach allowed him and his team to establish one of the best warehouses in Ukraine at the time, capable of delivering products anywhere in the country within a day.
What Volodymyr values even more than the money is the importance of his mindset. His flexibility and problem-solving ability were crucial in navigating 2014—a year when the war began, and many branches of his business network were lost.
Why Are Some People Rich While Others Are Poor?
Statistics show that 98% of the world’s wealth is held by just 2% of the population. According to Volodymyr Nosov, the problem for the remaining 98% isn’t merely that they have to share the leftover 2% of capital.
The issue is that they spend a long time not believing, then a long time doubting, and as the saying goes, ‘slow to saddle but fast to ride.’ But no—they don’t ride at all.
Volodymyr Nosov’s Cars
His first car was a humble Daewoo Sens, purchased on credit after having served as a taxi. He made the down payment using money he had initially planned to spend on a laptop.
Later, as his financial situation improved, he managed to purchase his first luxury vehicle.
Later, as his financial situation improved, he managed to purchase his first luxury vehicle.
Today, Volodymyr collects vehicles with both collectible and investment value, viewing them as not only a passion but also a form of investment diversification.
Entering the Crypto Craze
In 2016, Nosov first came across Bitcoin mining. The discussion included terms like mining farms, hashrate, Bitcoin, and other unfamiliar concepts. While he didn’t understand much at the time, his natural curiosity drove him to go home and dive into each term to fully comprehend its meaning.
The first cryptocurrency he bought was XRP. He purchased his first Bitcoin when the price was under $1,000 per coin. However, his most significant investment came later, after Bitcoin’s historic crash from $20,000—he acquired approximately 100 BTC at $3,100 each.
What Is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is a solution to the challenges of the modern financial system.
Traditional currencies are centralized, poorly backed, and have unlimited issuance. Gold once served as a hedge against fiat currency inflation, but its value is based on the belief that its supply is limited—yet gold itself is not backed by anything.
Bitcoin, however, represents decentralized money. Its governance is distributed across millions of participants, all bound by an algorithm that also limits Bitcoin’s issuance.
Bitcoin has a 15-year history of global system auditing, with a market cap approaching $2 trillion.
Bitcoin is digital money, awarded to participants in a decentralized protocol.
The beauty of Bitcoin is that every user acts as their own bank. No government in the world can cancel or reverse a Bitcoin transaction.
Can You Physically Hold Bitcoin?
Today, there are numerous services that allow you to convert Bitcoin into fiat currency. Additionally, there are many platforms that enable you to use your cryptocurrency directly to purchase goods or services through internal conversion systems.
Is Bitcoin a Pyramid Scheme?
Unlike pyramid schemes, Bitcoin is decentralized and doesn’t promise fixed returns or percentages.
Bitcoin, at its core, is a complex production system. The network rewards participants who contribute to its creation (mining). This involves large-scale industrial facilities equipped with advanced technology performing complex computational tasks.
Volodymyr also highlights that major financial powerhouses are now investing in BTC. For example, BlackRock and even Donald Trump, who is seriously considering establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve for the United States. Referring to Bitcoin as a “pyramid scheme” when such giants are involved seems entirely unfounded.
How Much Will Bitcoin Be Worth?
My target price for Bitcoin is $3 million.
However, it’s not enough to just buy Bitcoin—you must hold onto it. Volodymyr points out that he doesn’t know anyone who bought Bitcoin at $3,000 and held it all the way to $20,000.
Warren Buffett’s Secret
Volodymyr cites Warren Buffett’s investment philosophy: buy an asset and hold it for 10 years. When asked why others struggle to follow such a straightforward strategy, Buffett famously replies, “Because nobody wants to get rich slowly.”
Is It Too Late to Buy Bitcoin?
Not at all.
If we’re aiming for a $3 million Bitcoin, why would it be too late to buy at $100,000?
Remember, there will only ever be 21 million BTC, of which 5 million are permanently lost. The last BTC won’t be mined for over 100 years. It’s an exceptionally scarce asset.
About WhiteBIT
It’s important to understand that we’re not just an exchange. Our company is focused on blockchain development, and the exchange is just one of our products. We also offer acquiring services, card issuance, a decentralized exchange, a neobank, and a platform for trading esports skins. It’s a full-fledged ecosystem.
How Much Is WhiteBIT Worth?
WhiteBIT isn’t a publicly traded company, so it’s hard to determine an exact valuation. However, based on objective and comparable metrics with the only public company in our sector (Coinbase), our estimated value could be around $10–12 billion.
What Is Happiness?
Happiness is having the freedom to be free whenever you choose
