A Letter from Our CEO: Celebrating Our 4 Year Journey Together
Binance CEO CZ shares a letter to users from around the world on Binance’s 4th anniversary as he reflects on the shared journey so far as well as the next steps for the company.
Dear Binancians,
Today marks a special day for Binance as we celebrate our 4th anniversary. But more importantly, today is the day I’d like to give a big “thank you” to all of our community for choosing to share your crypto journey with us. It’s been an amazing adventure so far, and the truth is, the Binance we know and love wouldn’t be here without you. That’s why I’m honored and humbled to be writing to you today.
Though we’ve only been around a few years, Binance has quickly grown to become the world’s leading blockchain ecosystem from just a crypto exchange. At the same time, the crypto and blockchain industry has evolved in new and exciting ways, transforming everything from how people engage with art to how people access healthcare, and this pace of innovation has only accelerated over the past year.
I’d like to take this opportunity to share some important updates with our users, including our progress and growth so far, our ongoing commitment to serving the Binance community, and our vision for the future.
On Growing Together: The Story So Far
In 2017, we launched Binance.com, a cryptocurrency exchange that brought together users from around the world. Since then, the Binance brand has evolved from a simple crypto exchange into a vibrant crypto and blockchain ecosystem designed to meet the needs of our community. In many ways, Binance’s rapid growth from an exchange to an ecosystem can be attributed to this commitment to our users, who continue to guide us at every step by sharing valuable opinions and feedback that we take to heart.
Over the past four years, we’re proud to have developed an interconnected blockchain ecosystem that includes key infrastructure pillars such as Trust Wallet, CoinMarketCap, the NFT marketplace, and so much more. We have also invested in promising projects and organizations, most notably the community-driven Binance Smart Chain, which now has the world’s largest transaction volume in the DeFi space.
Much of the Binance ecosystem is powered by BNB, a utility token with a wide range of use cases that include discounts on trading and transaction fees on Binance.com, access to exclusive token sales, unique staking opportunities, and more. The Binance Smart Chain community also uses BNB to settle transaction fees on the network, while other use cases beyond the Binance ecosystem include payment, travel, entertainment, and more.
Here are just a few highlights for Binance from the last year:
NFT Marketplaces. Binance NFT has proved popular with NFT collectors and enthusiasts, with many NFT drops selling out within seconds and becoming the world’s largest NFT platform by traffic since the platform launched last month. At the same time, Featured by Binance, an NFT marketplace on Binance Smart Chain and a go-to destination for users looking for a decentralized, non-custodial NFT platform, has empowered more than 2,000 talent creators to mint NFTs—many for the first time.
BUSD Growth. BUSD adoption is at an all-time high, with the total market cap reaching a staggering $10B as of earlier this month, up from $1B in January 2021. Today, BUSD is a top 3 regulated stablecoin that follows strict compliance standards, including being green-listed by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS).
Binance P2P. Each week, millions of users buy, sell, and trade crypto on our peer-to-peer crypto exchange, with weekly volume growing 10X since 2020. Today, Binance P2P supports more than 350 payment methods, giving users more choice and access when it comes to crypto.
Binance Earn. We launched Binance Earn to help users grow their existing crypto assets, and since January 2021 alone, the total value locked (TVL) on Binance Earn has grown 5X to $20B.
Binance Marketplace. Binance Marketplace allows users to shop for their favorite products and services with crypto. Binance Pay, a feature that lets users pay and get paid with crypto, recorded more than 1.8M users within the first five months of launch, and they collectively conducted $13.5M in transactions. Meanwhile, Binance Card, a visa debit card from Binance, recorded more than $388M in transactions.
Binance Institutional. Binance continues to attract VIP traders, trading firms, hedge funds, market makers, brokers, and other market participants. The number of institutional users increased 1.4X over the past year, while our Broker Program has experienced a 21.4X increase in trading volume and 46X growth in active users during the same period.
Binance Charity. In total, Binance Charity has distributed more than $15M in donations from 2,300+ donors to 70+ partners across 20+ projects as part of ongoing efforts to use blockchain technology and crypto to help those who need it most. This year, Binance Charity officially reached the 1M end-beneficiaries mark, thanks to generous donors and partners from around the world.
Always User-First: Our Commitment To You
Since the beginning, we have prided ourselves on being a “user-first” organization. Everything we do is with the intention of creating a better experience for our users. It’s our not-so-secret secret to our success. And we owe it to you for voicing your needs, showing us the path forward, and trusting us to deliver the experience you deserve.
From onboarding more customer support agents to rolling out the biggest update yet to our Online Chat system, we have worked to improve the way we serve you in a year where the crypto industry experienced tremendous growth.
I’d like to take a moment here to thank all the Binance Angels and team members at Binance. All of you have made significant contributions to our growth over the past four years, and your dedication and hard work have shaped Binance into the user-focused company that it is today.
Our top focus has remained consistent since the very beginning: to provide users with the best customer support experience on the industry’s most secure crypto platform. We try to care for our users in many ways, but here are some of the most important measures we take to ensure you have the best crypto experience possible:
Protecting Your Funds. We make every effort to protect our users’ funds, including helping Binance users and Binance Smart Chain community members track and recover missing funds. In addition, we have a Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) to ensure user funds are protected in the case of a security breach.
Fighting Bad Actors. We also work actively and collaboratively with law enforcement agencies to combat financial crimes, apprehend bad actors, and solve cybercrimes. By doing so, we can help clean up the crypto industry and discourage bad behavior, benefiting crypto users across the industry.
Securing Our Platform. We frequently post rewards for bug bounty programs to improve the security of the Binance ecosystem.
Encouraging Responsible Trading. Binance is the first major cryptocurrency exchange to initiate a Responsible Trading Program that features product initiatives such as strict risk control measures and cooling-off periods, in addition to educational initiatives such as product quizzes and tutorial videos, comprehensive support articles, FAQs, and more.
To users who have been with us from the very beginning, I want to thank you for your support and trust. To new users who have joined us in recent months, I know I speak on behalf of the entire team when I say, “Welcome to the Binance community.” This year, the global Binance community has grown by leaps and bounds. Personally, these are some of the milestones I’m most proud to share:
180+ Countries & Regions. Binance users come from nearly every corner of the globe.
30+ Languages Supported. To better serve our users, Binance.com now supports more than 30 languages, while our free education platform, Binance Academy, supports 21 languages. We’ve also worked hard this year to increase our Customer Support languages to 12, with more to come.
10M+ Community Members! The Binance community has officially reached the 8-digit milestone community members from around the world joining our social media and Telegram communities.
Global Angel Network. From building user communities and giving product feedback to creating content that educates and informs users, Binance Angels make up the heart of our community. Today, there are more than 300 Binance Angels who help lead 50+ local communities.
Looking Ahead: “Freedom of Money” For All
We are proud to be at the forefront of this financial revolution and appreciate that many of you share our vision to increase the “freedom of money.”
Clear regulations are critical for continued growth. In order to make crypto safe and sustainable for all, the Binance team is working to 1) Grow our international compliance team, 2) Expand our already robust compliance partnerships and 3) Localize our operations and business to comply with local regulations.
To that end, we are committed to continuing our work with regulators and policymakers to shape policies that protect our users, encourage innovation and move our society forward. But for today, I’d like to take a moment to step back and say “thank you” once again for joining us on this shared journey. Together, we can increase the freedom of money for people around the world in safe and compliant ways.
CZ,
Binance CEO and Founder
Updated on March 28, 2023.