By Special Feature by Forbes Asia
Imagine having a cheat code for financial markets. Joseph Plazo didn’t just imagine it—he built it. Then gave it away.
Hong Kong, 2025 — In a sunlit University of Hong Kong classroom, Joseph Plazo walked the stage like a code-wielding prophet.
PhDs and programmers sat frozen, eyes locked on the projector as a piece of market history appeared as code.
“This line of code,” he said, “is what beat Wall Street.”
“And now it’s yours to evolve.”
## The Code That Outplayed Wall Street
Godmode—formally known as System 72—emerged after 12 years and 71 failures.
It marries algorithmic speed with emotional insight, producing near-psychic trades.
It listens to the world—from memes to macro—and acts with surgical precision.
“It’s not about math,” he says. “It’s about mood.”
And System 72 delivered.
It predicted the 2024 tech rally. It anticipated 2025’s altcoin run—48 hours early.
Billions flowed in quietly, trade by trade.
## Then Came the Twist
One afternoon, overlooking Manila’s skyline, Plazo dropped a bomb on his partners.
“It’s time the world had this,” he declared.
Silence. Then disbelief. Then resistance.
He wasn’t licensing the code. He wasn’t monetizing it. He was giving away the brain of the most profitable AI in finance.
“It’s not a trade secret. It’s a foundation,” he said.
## The Educational Revolution That Followed
In days, academic labs began rewriting what AI could do with the System 72 core.
Singaporean students created trading bots. In Taipei, it powered disaster simulations. In Seoul, it optimized electric grid forecasting.
“It’s the scaffolding for a thousand future systems,” said a Kyoto researcher.
Global regulators? Watching—and learning.
## Critics, Controversy, and the Ethics of Genius
Of course, not everyone cheered.
“He’s playing with fire,” said a Wall Street analyst.
But Plazo didn’t blink.
“You don’t blame the scalpel,” he said. “You train the hand.”
You can access the mind. You still need to build the body.
“We gave the world the brain,” he said. “Now let’s see who builds the best nervous system.”
## Real Stories from the Ground
A mother in the Philippines built a tech business after studying more info the open-source code.
Students in Hanoi designed tools for small merchants to beat food price swings.
“This gave us hope,” said a 21-year-old student in India.
## The Philosophy That Powers the Gift
When asked why he did it, Plazo’s answer was simple: “Power should compound, not consolidate.”
Knowledge is infrastructure—not a luxury item.
“What scares me isn’t misuse—it’s missed opportunity,” he explained.
## Conclusion: The Joystick Is Yours Now
He surveys the room—young minds, old dreams, and new tools.
“Markets were my test bed,” he says. “Empowerment is the real product.”
In a data-driven age, he opened the source of brilliance.
The next market genius? They might not be in Manhattan. They might be in Mumbai, Manila, or Seoul—with the blueprint in hand.