Behind Cobo's Fourth Anniversary Limited Edition NFT: A Tribute to Builders
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Behind Cobo's Fourth Anniversary Limited Edition NFT: A Tribute to Builders
This NFT is intended as a tribute to Builders—those who make every small attempt and revolutionary innovation in the crypto world.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insights
By: 0xtree
If you're active on Twitter, you might have heard that Cobo recently released a limited-edition collectible NFT titled "Cobo 4th Anniversary NFT" to mark its fourth anniversary. This NFT was created to thank fellow contributors who have helped shape the crypto world, with only 1,000 copies available.
The NFT is dedicated to builders—those individuals behind every small experiment and revolutionary innovation in the crypto space. As key contributors to the cryptocurrency ecosystem, they will receive uniquely numbered NFT artworks.
Currently being distributed, this NFT not only honors industry builders but also aims to pass energy during this transitional phase of development. Cobo co-founder Shen Yu (aka Shenyu) mentioned on Twitter that he hopes it can inspire young artists to use their creativity to document history!
Some friends may already have received the NFT, yet might still know little about the story behind it—such as its creative process or conceptual foundation. Therefore, TechFlow spoke with the lead artist, initiator Shen Yu, and his friend Professor Cao Yin.
On the worldview of NFTs and reflections on the industry, they shared some insightful perspectives.
1. The Worldview Behind the Limited-Edition NFT
The NFT issued by Cobo is a video featuring a new world composed of two core elements: water and numbers. According to Shen Yu, water symbolizes infinite possibilities, while digits represent the flesh and bones of the Cryptoverse. His message is simple: whether in the past, present, or future, crypto remains full of endless potential.
Indeed, water is profoundly important and magical.
In early civilizations, people began exploring the fundamental components of all things, and water played a central role. For instance, in ancient China’s Five Elements philosophy, water represents all liquids—fluid, adaptable, and life-nourishing.
This reminds us of Bruce Lee's understanding of martial arts. In a rare 1971 interview, Lee explained his “Be Water” philosophy: Empty your mind. Be formless, shapeless—like water. Put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. Pour it into a teapot, it becomes the teapot.
Interestingly, when we asked Shen Yu how one stays committed as a builder or continues doing cool things, his answer echoed similar wisdom. He said Cobo itself isn’t particularly cool—it's just that they’ve learned to maintain an empty cup mindset, ready to be filled at any moment with fresh water—a ladle drawn from an ocean of infinite possibility. By flowing naturally with change, they stay ahead of the curve, appearing cool to outsiders.
The difference? Shen Yu’s water is made of digital data (or bytes). Larry, the lead artist behind Cobo’s limited-edition NFT, told TechFlow that every visual element in the video—including the flowing water—is literally constructed from numbers.
Together, these two elements form the lifeblood powering the Cryptoverse.
It brings to mind Nicholas Negroponte’s book *Being Digital*, a seminal work published by the *Wired* columnist. Divided into three parts, the first describes the age of bits—the dawn of the digital era and its transformative impact on human lifestyles. The second examines how digital technology reshapes social interactions, making relationships increasingly “bitified.” The third, most crucial section explores what it means to live in a digital world—digital existence itself.
Clearly, the evolution of crypto serves as a vital bridge toward digital existence. Though we haven’t yet reached the point of debating existential philosophies, given current trends, crypto will undoubtedly remain imaginative and boundless as humanity moves further into digital living.
Much like the vibrant underwater world depicted in the NFT—teeming with immense energy and limitless potential—this unique charm of the crypto world continues to attract countless creators building rich on-chain ecosystems.
Among them are Cobo and Shen Yu.
According to its official profile, Cobo is a trusted digital asset custody and wealth management platform, and the largest institutional custodian and asset manager in the Asia-Pacific region. Co-founded in November 2017 by Shen Yu (Mao Shixing), founder of F2Pool, and Jiang Changhao, former senior scientist at Facebook, Cobo is a tech-driven innovator focused on creating an all-in-one secure storage and management solution for digital assets. To meet growing demand for cryptocurrency custody, especially among institutional investors seeking safekeeping and value appreciation, Cobo has evolved into a comprehensive financial services platform and infrastructure provider in the digital asset space.
Cobo integrates a digital asset financial services platform equipped with custody and asset management applications, leveraging advanced infrastructure technology to empower both institutional and retail clients, offering a range of financial services including crypto storage and yield generation.
These products collectively shape Cobo’s ecosystem. As illustrated in the NFT video, following the视角 of the discus fish (a nod to Shen Yu), we dive into the ocean of the Cryptoverse and see Cobo’s ecological island rising above the surface—an island built from the depths of infinite possibility, now clearly visible thanks to continuous building efforts.
For newcomers interested in the crypto world, this island offers a gateway to explore broader realms such as DeFi, GameFi, the Metaverse, DAOs, NFTs, and other trending sectors. For long-time participants, it provides a panoramic view of Cobo’s business landscape and captures pivotal moments in industry evolution—special dates like 519 and 924 included.
2. What Are the Minds Behind the NFT Thinking?
Beyond its message, Cobo’s limited-edition NFT is visually striking, subtly echoing the mythical Atlantis—a distant yet advanced civilization.
And indeed, this was precisely the inspiration drawn by lead artist Larry.
1) About Larry: An encrypted artist since 2019, this identity marks a fresh and unique path for him, despite his background in oil painting.
Larry notes that oil painting originated in the West, where most renowned masters come from. Modern Chinese oil painting lacks globally recognized figures. Jokingly, he adds that oil painting doesn’t need to be a university major due to almost non-existent job prospects. Undeniably, it's a narrow path—one where becoming a great artist likely requires persistence beyond one’s lifetime.
Yet, with Beeple’s record-breaking NFT sale dominating mainstream headlines and identity-signifying avatar NFTs like Bored Ape and CryptoPunks rapidly gaining global internet fame, NFTs—especially native crypto NFTs—have brought a ray of light to artists.
Still, even with this light, Western aesthetics dominate mainstream taste. Asian crypto artists remain in a tough spot. Larry says being a crypto artist today is challenging—you need eye-catching creativity, plus significant effort to build and manage your own IP. Many peers around him have given up, but seeing the vitality of the on-chain ecosystem, he intends to persist.
On the struggles faced by crypto artists, recommender Professor Cao Yin speaks with authority.
2) About Professor Cao Yin: He started collecting in 2019, arguably China’s earliest collector of crypto art, best known as Managing Director of the Digital Renaissance Foundation.
Beyond collecting, Cao has established a proprietary crypto art investment matrix and portfolio spanning major platforms such as SuperRare, Mintbase, Unifty, Topbidder, and Pianity. He explains that crypto art predates the emergence of NFTs; it wasn't until CryptoKitties launched using the ERC-721 standard that the native crypto art wave truly began.
Cao maintains close communication with artists, and years of engagement have cultivated his deep aesthetic sense and understanding of crypto art. In his view, the current challenges facing Chinese-language crypto art can be summarized as follows:
1. Policy restrictions: Those in the know understand.
2. Language and cultural barriers: English serves as the de facto working language across regions—from Europe and Southeast Asia to Africa. Asian artists often struggle to express their creative concepts accurately within communities, making it harder to resonate emotionally.
3. Limited perspective: Partly due to language barriers, but also because local artists grew up within China’s walled internet environment, lacking international exposure. Many remain immersed in domestic trends like guofeng (“national style”), whose cultural references are lost on foreign audiences, preventing creation of works with broad collective appeal.
4. Narrative limitations: Related to individual capability and multifaceted factors—not just crypto art, but a common flaw in contemporary art overall.
Nevertheless, these obstacles aren't insurmountable. Artists must strive, but they also need support from visionaries. That’s exactly what Professor Cao is doing—introducing cyberpunk and sci-fi-focused artist Larry to Shen Yu, for example.
Cao has long hoped Shen Yu would launch an NFT or initiate a builder-centric DAO to unite developers in building the crypto world. Releasing an NFT at this juncture carries real significance—exactly as Shen Yu put it: casting a brick to draw out a jade (i.e., inspiring greater contributions).
3) About Veteran Pioneer Shen Yu
Beyond discussing the artwork, Shen Yu also shared thoughts on the development trajectory of NFTs as a class of non-fungible assets. His keywords? Build, build, keep building—and then relax.
For readers unfamiliar with his background, here’s a brief timeline of Shen Yu’s journey:
2011 – Entered the digital currency space, investing in Bitcoin and GPU mining;
2012 – Participated in early Chinese Bitcoin communities like btcman and LTCBBS forums, helping set up and operate them; wrote extensive mining tutorials, guiding many early miners into Bitcoin and Litecoin mining;
2013 – Dropped out of graduate school, co-founded F2Pool with Wang Chun, China’s earliest Bitcoin/Litecoin mining pool, which later grew into the world’s largest multipool;
2013–2014 – Involved in the development and operation of Yibite, a cryptocurrency portal; led R&D, production, and operations for Silverfish Litecoin ASIC miners, successfully mass-producing TMSC 55nm-based units;
Late 2016 – Joined development of Dayu multi-GPU computing servers, achieving mass production in early 2017; later that year, co-founded Cobo with Jiang Changhao, aiming to build critical blockchain infrastructure;
Roughly a decade in the field, Shen Yu carries vivid memories of ancient days—the turbulent mining scene, exchange wars—all prompting awe at how far the industry has come amid chaos.
On mining and exchanges, Shen Yu believes they’re now mature, with diminishing returns. But Web3 and the Metaverse, built upon NFTs as foundational assets, are still in early stages—with vast room for growth. Entrepreneurs and creators alike still have opportunities.
He and Cobo are actively exploring this frontier. However, given issues like illiquidity, participants should adopt a mindset of engagement over profit—best approach being active exploration, contribution, and encouragement of innovation.
At this point, “Build” leaves a lasting impression. With that, we conclude our coverage of Cobo’s limited-edition NFT release.
Regarding Shen Yu’s emphasis on maintaining openness and an empty-cup mindset to keep pace in the fast-changing crypto industry—we writers should perhaps empty our cups too, shedding outdated expression patterns, building not just the industry but also reshaping readers’ mindsets.
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