Page 22 - Masala Lite Issue 170 February 2025

22 IN FOCUS

DYNAMO

Mana Khanijou, Chief Commercial Officer
at Merkle Capital, grabs the proverbial
bull by the horns in finance.

MAHMOOD HOSSAIN

he Chief Commercial Officer at Merkle Capital, Mana Khanijou, isn’t bashful
about making his true intentions known when it comes to his field of expertise.

The man is driven by money. But not in the absurd, high-debauchery and trauma-
induced, à la Wolf of Wall Street fashion. His passion lies in the thrill of unpredictability
and the future of the digital asset space, constantly engaging with new people and
helping them enhance their wealth while simultaneously levelling up his own value
within the industry.
With a Bachelor of Commerce under his belt from Sydney University, Mana began his
career as a Junior Tax Consultant at EY and, soon after, obtained an MBA from Mahidol
University. He had always been attracted to the numbers game – majoring in accounting
and finance. He dove into the more challenging aspects of his profession, diverting from

the saturated field of traditional accounting and finance to leaning toward the exciting

nature of digital assets. I had the pleasure of sitting down with this gentleman as he The volatility
revealed a few intriguing facts about the financial landscape he currently navigates. VIEW VIDEO

What is your primary focus as the Chief Commercial Officer? of this field might

The Cryptomind Group is an umbrella company with many subsidiaries. The main one, be seen as a huge
licensed under the Cryptomind Group, is called Merkle Capital. I look at institutional
clients, high net worth clients, and partnership deals, alongside managing business risk, but that's the
concerns with the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission). We were the first to be

licensed for Digital Asset Fund Management in Thailand, something relatively new. We exciting part.
were given the license about four years ago, and we’ve been progressing quite well. The
AUM (Assets Under Management) has grown with us and has been very consistent. So,
my role is to look at the overall progress in terms of the growth of monthly capital.
What are the factors that continue to fuel the passion behind what you do, and
where does the excitement come from? Ultimately, they are here to make money, take risks, bear with the process, and go

First of all, you need to really like numbers. You need to be able to take some risks on with the market to meet their end goal, which is achieving diversification in their
because being in the digital asset space means this is an alternative investment class. portfolio in the crypto space. Overall, the reactions have been quite good with Thai-
This means that under the SEC in Thailand, the risk level is number eight, the riskiest Indians. They’re quite happy with the returns, and they are very, very happy with the
on a scale of 1-8. In order to manage funds of high-net-worth individuals, it’s wise to services. We have a team of relationship managers, investment consultants, and 24/7
be very composed. Taking radical or emotional decisions is not an option, and you customer support to guide them through each step, from beginning to end.
have to be able to pitch and talk to an extent where clients thoroughly understand What are the most common services people from the Thai Indian community seek?
the risks and rewards.
To be frank, I applaud the Thai-Indian community because they are really good at what
What keeps me fuelled is the progress in this space has been quite high in terms of they do, which is successfully running their businesses. They are good at making money,
adoption. The growth of Bitcoin ETFs in the United States, which opened a few decades but money management after making so much cash may not be as good as how they
ago, has surpassed that of gold in less than a year. Accompanying the growth rate run their businesses. So, they may not know exactly what the best and most efficient

is the adoption, and the framework that’s being set for a few of the projects in the way to manage the cash flow. Look at the mainstream; some people are into property,

crypto space is meant for success and not for failure. It’s only a matter of time before which has low risk and high capital intensity. That’s fine, but when there’s another

it becomes even more mainstream. That really makes it easier for me to do my job financial instrument in the market, such as digital assets, it opens up another door for

because people are more open to investments. them. Diversifying into a new space in a smaller portfolio, between one to five percent,

is a good start. And this is not just coming from me, this is from the CFA Institute as
And the excitement? I love meeting new people and making new connections. I actually

don’t know who’s going to knock on my door next, who’s going to ask me for financial well, which is a global association of investment professionals.

advice, or who is going to put crypto in part of their portfolio. The volatility of this field If you could offer advice to the community on digital assets, what would it be?

might be seen as a huge risk, but that’s the exciting part. The adrenaline rush comes The first thing to do is to open up your heart to understand the products in this space.

from this every day, and if you can capture the right timing, I believe there is big potential Look at your risk appetite and risk management and how much risk you can take, and
to make more monetary gains as well.
the most important thing is to look at the portfolio allocation. Do not be overly invested
What is the current state of digital assets, globally compared to Thailand? and do not under-invest, either. Set up your mind to understand the digital assets truly,
and then look at the risk management and the portfolio application.
The numbers are actually quite positive. Thailand is consistently Top 20 in the crypto
global ranking – currently ranked 16th. In 2023, Thailand was ranked 10th. And if you The mindset is: don’t come in with the mindset of losing. If you come in with the mindset

look at the decentralised finance space, it’s very clear that Thai people have the nature of of losing or not making a loss, it’s starting from a negative starting point. So, I’d say
being risk takers; they’re quite open to new spaces such as crypto. However, Thailand’s focusing on winning and focusing on selling after making a substantial profit is better.

legal framework might be a bit of a challenge compared to Singapore, Hong Kong, and Many investors, once they break even, are out. But the thing is, you’re not in this to
the USA, which are more adaptive. bear the risk of breaking even. Why would you be if you were going to be in this space?
How has the Thai-Indian or Indian community seeking financial services approached You should do better than break-even; that makes more sense.

crypto, and how has that experience been with Indian clients? Moreover, don’t listen to non-licensed individuals or freelancers giving advice because
I’d say Indian clients being part of Merkel’s portfolio falls below five percent of my total sometimes, you don’t know how much research they have actually done. It can become,

client base. But out of that five percent, those who do invest with Merkel Capital, have as we have seen recently, a legitimate scam. A lot of influence comes from those areas.

a slightly different approach compared to the mainstream investors. I’ve observed that When you see some big names backing a project, it’s good, but we need to make sure
Indian clients look at their portfolios a couple of times a day [chuckles]. Sometimes, that the White Paper (an authoritative report or guide), the plan, the venture capital
there are extreme reactions when the market goes up or down. backing it, and the community are big enough to carry the project through.
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