{"id":"taiyang-zhang","hidden":false,"ipfs":"QmShRRo3mfiZPX5DLb1rurL23PAyE3aScJPqdvd4RSGccM","language":"en","transactionHash":"0x402461941761a35550a3f49d22e751652414a8a9821463523065e79f970bd02a","created":"2023-11-16T20:01:07.000Z","updated":"2026-07-23T10:15:40.718Z","title":"Taiyang Zhang","summary":"Taiyang Zhang is an Australian serial entrepreneur who co-founded the Ren Protocol and is associated with Alameda Research and KeeperDAO.","content":"**Taiyang Zhang** is a serial entrepreneur known for his work in cryptocurrency infrastructure and computational biotechnology. He co-founded [Ren Protocol](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ren-protocol) and served as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) before moving to an advisory role, and he was a Venture Partner at [Alameda Research](https://iq.wiki/wiki/alameda-research) and a founding member of [KeeperDAO](https://iq.wiki/wiki/keeperdao).[\\[5\\]](#cite-id-gq546i5wjv)​[\\[1\\]](#cite-id-am3e97xs8bv)​ He also co-founded Virgil Capital, a quantitative cryptocurrency hedge fund that traded digital assets across global markets.[\\[3\\]](#cite-id-nimuku5lirs)​[\\[14\\]](#cite-id-5snuz1n4nb)​\n\nBeyond crypto, Zhang co-founded Automera, a Singapore-based biotechnology startup developing Autophagy-Targeting Chimera (AUTAC) small molecules, which raised a $16 million early funding round, and QDX, a computational drug discovery company that uses quantum mechanics-based methods to model molecular interactions.[\\[7\\]](#cite-id-dbvr8f31dmi)​[\\[6\\]](#cite-id-nzkis241l6)​[\\[2\\]](#cite-id-igjtgmr31x)​[\\[14\\]](#cite-id-5snuz1n4nb)​\n\n[YOUTUBE@VID](XyByVQk5a90)\n\n## Early Life & Education\n\nTaiyang Zhang was born in Canberra, Australia. He studied Computer Science at the Australian National University for less than one year.[\\[2\\]](#cite-id-igjtgmr31x)​\n\n> “I used to program when I was around 14 or so, and at the time,\n\n## Career\n\nIn 2014, Taiyang Zhang founded Neucode, a software development agency alongside [Loong Wang](https://iq.wiki/wiki/loong-wang) and Jaz Gulati.[\\[3\\]](#cite-id-nimuku5lirs)​ He later co-founded Virgil Capital, a cryptocurrency hedge fund that used quantitative, data-driven strategies to trade digital assets across global markets.[\\[3\\]](#cite-id-nimuku5lirs)​[\\[14\\]](#cite-id-5snuz1n4nb)​\n\n### Ren Protocol\n\nOriginally called Republic Protocol and headquartered in Singapore, [Ren](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ren-protocol) was founded in July 2017 by Taiyang Zhang and [Loong Wang](https://iq.wiki/wiki/loong-wang). Zhang served as the company's CEO, [Loong Wang](https://iq.wiki/wiki/loong-wang) as its Chief Technology Officer, and Jaz Gulati as its Lead Developer.[\\[8\\]](#cite-id-1u96rq7h1ea)​\n\nRen was launched in January 2018, with Zhang citing its primary use case as a \"decentralized dark pool for [cryptocurrency](https://iq.wiki/wiki/cryptocurrency) trading.\"[\\[4\\]](#cite-id-16bqybxqueg)​\n\nRen's main function is to act as a custodian for digital assets while they are moved between different [blockchains](https://iq.wiki/wiki/blockchain). This involves securing the assets and generating corresponding tokens on the destination [blockchain](https://iq.wiki/wiki/blockchain).[\\[8\\]](#cite-id-1u96rq7h1ea)​\n\nIn January 2019, Ren participated in the release of the [whitepaper](https://iq.wiki/wiki/white-paper) introducing [Wrapped Bitcoin](https://iq.wiki/wiki/wrapped-bitcoin-wbtc). The paper introduced the notion of \"wrapped\" tokens, utilizing [Ethereum's](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ethereum) [ERC-20](https://iq.wiki/wiki/erc-20) token standard.[\\[9\\]](#cite-id-mpixgonxcbj)​\n\n> \"Dark pools were created out of a need and that need is when someone has a large volume order and wants to trade it in the best possible way. It also aids transparency. A decentralized dark pool is very important because the rule set on where everybody is trading is very transparent and there are no bribes in the system\" - Taiyang Zhang explains in an interview\n\n[YOUTUBE@VID](SlIRY1j7jto)\n\nIn February 2021, the Ren development team joined [Alameda Research](https://iq.wiki/wiki/alameda-research).[\\[12\\]](#cite-id-ol7rka1jli) Taiyang Zhang and his co-founder Loong Wang, moved to advisory roles to guide the next phase of Ren Protocol.[\\[13\\]](#cite-id-qn1ev6ixbf7)​\n\n### KeeperDAO\n\nIn 2019, Taiyang Zhang and Tiantian Kullander co-founded and jointly managed [KeeperDAO](https://iq.wiki/wiki/keeperdao). It was a collaborative effort between Kullander's Amber Group, a crypto trading and market-making firm, and Zhang's Talo Systems, a [blockchain](https://iq.wiki/wiki/blockchain) research firm.[\\[1\\]](#cite-id-am3e97xs8bv)​\n\n### Automera\n\nIn 2022, Zhang co-founded Automera, a Singapore-based biotechnology startup focusing on the development of Autophagy-Targeting Chimera small molecules (AUTACs), which are designed to harness the cell’s autophagy machinery to remove selected proteins.[\\[2\\]](#cite-id-igjtgmr31x)​[\\[14\\]](#cite-id-5snuz1n4nb)​ Automera raised $16 million in an early funding round co-led by ClavystBio, a Temasek-backed life-science venture builder, and Lightstone Ventures, positioning the company as an early-stage, venture-backed biotech firm as of 2025.[\\[7\\]](#cite-id-dbvr8f31dmi)​\n\n### QDX\n\nIn 2023, Zhang co-founded QDX, which describes itself as a computational drug discovery company that uses quantum mechanics-based simulations of molecular interactions to support small-molecule drug design.[\\[6\\]](#cite-id-nzkis241l6)​[\\[2\\]](#cite-id-igjtgmr31x)​ Public profiles list QDX as a Singapore-based, privately held startup focused on applying quantum chemistry methods to identify potential drug candidates for biologically challenging targets as of June 2025.[\\[6\\]](#cite-id-nzkis241l6)​[\\[14\\]](#cite-id-5snuz1n4nb)​\n","recentActivity":"{\"items\":[{\"id\":\"ee441cb0-a583-47dc-96bb-62d37de65079\",\"title\":\"Taiyang Zhang\",\"description\":\"Taiyang Zhang is an Australian serial entrepreneur who co-founded the Ren Protocol and is associated with Alameda Research and KeeperDAO.\",\"timestamp\":\"2026-07-23T10:15:24.409Z\",\"category\":\"People in crypto\",\"status\":{\"icon\":\"RiGlobalLine\",\"label\":\"Wiki Updated\",\"iconClassName\":\"text-green-500\"},\"user\":{\"name\":\"0xa99437c1445649AA316f7CC43dFf3E6e210a5F23\",\"address\":\"0x212Cb3F4aE6611054637f9f78F18fB628AD258bb\"},\"button\":{\"label\":\"View 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