Highlights
On December 1, 2023, Richard Teng, the new CEO of Binance, spent almost an hour answering numerous user questions on X Spaces.
Some of the most interesting questions addressed Richard's impressions of becoming the new CEO of Binance, the usefulness of cryptocurrencies, and CZ's legacy.
With different stakeholders, challenges, and solutions, the current landscape has changed tremendously in the six years since Binance was founded.
Binance has emerged from this turbulence stronger than ever. Our commitment to improving financial freedom has not wavered, and users remain at the heart of our mission.
Below is a summary of Richard Teng's responses to some of the questions he received during an AMA session at X Spaces on December 1, 2023. Please note that this transcript has been edited for clarity and accuracy.
About becoming CEO of Binance
How do you feel about the role of Binance's new CEO? What are your immediate priorities?
Richard: "Firstly, let me thank all of our users for the tremendous support they have given us. Users remain at the heart of everything we do, so it is very encouraging to see this. We are a user-centric organization and we will continue to focus on your needs.
Over the past two years, there has been a lot of concern about the US investigation. With its recent resolution, we are past that. Since we started in 2017, user protection has been crucial, but compliance controls were lacking.
Learning from our past actions, we have now become stronger as an organization and have a solid foundation on which to build. Now that the dust has cleared, many new partners are approaching us. The industry remains resilient and our user base continues to grow. Today, we have over 166 million users, and that number continues to grow quite strongly. Thanks to that critical trust and support, we continue to build for the future.”
Immediate priorities
"I have three immediate priorities. First, continue to be a user-centric organization, continuing to work with services and use cases to develop the commercial activity and the ecosystem. Second, the outlook is clear: we are going to see more regulations in the crypto industry. Regulatory clarity is good for the entire sector, and I am committed to promoting it. We need everyone to play by the same rules, and that will help achieve mass adoption.
The third commitment is to work with our partners to continue driving the adoption and implementation of cryptocurrencies. In the last two and a half years, very few institutions dedicated time to this. Now, everyone has an agenda for blockchain, Web3 or cryptocurrencies. Everyone is rushing to proceed with new products and services to meet the demand of users in this sector. We look forward to working with them to encourage adoption.
These are key positives for all of us, so I am optimistic about the future. I am working closely and tirelessly with the rest of my team, and the sector will continue to evolve, but it is extremely important that we hold on to our roots. Our primary mission is to enhance financial freedom and enable every individual to realize their financial freedom. The enthusiasm and vitality of the community is key to that.”
Cryptocurrencies in action
"I have traveled the world for my work and see how cryptocurrencies change the lives of so many different people in various places. In many parts of the world, especially in developing and frontier economies, financial inclusion is very low. This is reflected This is generally because financial services are expensive.
I see how cryptocurrencies change the lives of all these people in different communities, and they do it at a fraction of the cost. You can send remittances at a fraction of the cost of what traditional financial institutions charge. You can use paid services where there was no access to them before. All of these possibilities are drastically changing people's lives.
Unlike traditional finance, which operates from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. m. to 4:00 p.m. m. Five days a week, the crypto industry doesn't sleep. It works 24/7. It provides an infrastructure open to the world at a low cost, which is why it is so powerful. We will continue to strive to create new products, systems and use cases to increase financial freedom that improves billions of lives around the world.
We are relentless in the sense that we will continue to move forward, make investments and work closely with our partners and our community to understand their needs. I think this will transcend to all different industries in the future. Cryptocurrencies offer many solutions to the problems we face today."
About Binance fines
We noticed many community members asking about fines that have been in the news recently. Can Binance afford the fines?
Richard: "I can assure you, don't worry. We are in tremendous financial condition. The foundations of our company are very solid. We were profitable almost from day one and have remained profitable ever since. We remain, by a wide margin, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world in terms of volume. Our users trust us for our consistency over the last six years. We take care of users at all times.
The US agencies do not allege that there has been any misappropriation of user funds. User funds are backed at a 1:1 ratio, and users can choose to withdraw 100% of their funds at any time. You can be assured that we take our custodial responsibility very seriously.
Users have been extremely positive about all of this, and we are honored to see such a show of support. We have more users than ever registering with us; 166 million so far. Those fines are not a problem. We will continue moving forward. Our expenses are modest, and we have solid profits and income.
We are now focusing on the future, which remains extremely bright. Please continue to support us and join us in our experience. Fines of this magnitude are not unusual in the financial sector, numerous financial institutions have paid fines much larger than this. "The important thing is that we learn from our past actions, overcome them and come out of this episode stronger than before."
About new listings
Given recent events, will there be more security surrounding project listings on Binance?
Richard: "Let me emphasize that the problems we had in the United States regarding registration, regulatory compliance, sanctions, etc., are part of the past, historical problems. Over the last two years, we have invested heavily in our regulatory compliance program. We have recruited a management team drawn from regulatory agencies, traditional finance, etc., who are well versed in the regulatory process. We will continue to improve our compliance initiatives to build a sustainable future as a user-led organization, adhering to all global compliance standards. .
Listings are something we take very seriously. Our standards for listing assets are very high compared to many others because we are there for our users. There are a few main things we consider: use cases, community involvement, whether the project is built to collaborate with the future, etc. None of that will change. Our fundamental approach to listings is that we want to work with exciting projects that support the community through their use cases.
Many times, project owners become complacent and walk away, which is a challenge for users, communities and investors. If you don't continue to develop those projects, we all lose, so we require a strong commitment from the project owners and sponsors in terms of launching the project. Our listing team is constantly working with projects to ensure they continue to create engaging things, not only to protect the interests of users, but also to enrich the entire ecosystem.”
About CZ's legacy
Do you see yourself committing to and continuing the CZ experience, or will you try a different approach to realizing your Binance vision?
Richard: "I took on this role because of CZ and our leaders' trust in me to take the franchise, a very important franchise, into its next chapter. Our mantra remains the same: supporting financial freedom. We will continue to be an organization focused on the user because users are the main reason for what we do. Without their support, our platform means nothing.
That trust, conviction and support from users has translated into 166 million of them, and we continue to grow every day. I look forward to increasing that number even more and supporting the next billion. Hopefully, we will reach that number sooner than we think. If you look at the pace of cryptocurrency adoption, the next five years are going to be much faster than the previous five years. I am committed to that mission, that agenda and that vision, upon which our great company is built. I have a great core team by my side, so we have a very solid foundation.
Today, we operate from a different position than six years ago, when CZ founded the company. Back then, the scene was totally different. We now deal with different stakeholder groups. Six years ago, there were no regulatory entities involved, and large institutions were not embracing this space. Today, we have moved to a different situation. In many cases, regulators are starting to interact quite a bit, and institutions are investing in this space.
Today, the opportunities and challenges are very different from those of six years ago. In some areas we must adapt and build to ensure we are sustainable while remaining user-centric. "That's what I'm prioritizing to make sure the company remains strong and solid for the journey ahead: focusing on users while making the right investments in other areas to remain a leading company within the ecosystem." .
You can listen to the full recording of the AMA session here.
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