Autor | Wu Shuo Colin
O conteúdo deste artigo reflete as opiniões dos entrevistados e não representa as opiniões de Wu Shuo
Nesta entrevista, Wu disse que Colin se comunicou com o fundador da Binance, Changpeng Zhao CZ, sobre vários aspectos. CZ relembrou sua infância feliz em uma escola chinesa antes dos 12 anos. Depois de imigrar para o Canadá aos 12 anos, a situação econômica de sua família mudou e sua mãe passou de professora a operária de uma fábrica de roupas, o que afetou até sua saúde. Mais tarde, ele abandonou a escola mais cedo porque recebeu uma oferta de emprego.
Devido ao rápido sucesso da Binance, CZ saiu da obscuridade para se tornar o homem mais rico do mundo em apenas alguns anos. Mas depois foi indiciado pelos Estados Unidos e acabou na prisão durante quatro meses. CZ diz todos os anos que seu maior desejo é um abdômen tanquinho. Ele também brincou que a coisa mais próxima de um pacote de seis foi quando ele foi libertado da prisão porque a comida lá era muito ruim.
In the discussion, CZ talked about the reasons for Binance's early rapid success, believing it was mainly due to personal experience accumulation and timing luck. At that time, other exchanges were trading mainstream coins, while Binance quickly launched a large number of ERC20 token transactions. Additionally, they discussed whether FTX could be saved and the challenges CEX faces in listing new coins; whether centralized exchanges must comply; and the cryptocurrency policy trends in Hong Kong and the U.S.
CZ shared his experience of writing the most important article of his life (Principles); discussed the dilemmas currently faced by Vitalik, and joked about Sun Yuchen; he analyzed why memecoins suddenly surged on Solana; introduced his future work and advice to entrepreneurs. Finally, CZ sent New Year wishes to the Chinese community, believing that this year will be a very good year and hoping everyone can steadily achieve good results.
Listen to the full podcast:
Little Universe:
https://www.xiaoyuzhoufm.com/episodes/6795f930d74435e4a3dc2cfa
YouTube:
https://youtu.be/vfl73WULagc
Childhood in China before the age of 12; family situation after immigrating to Canada
Colin: Welcome CZ to our interview. The first question is, you left China at the age of 12; do you still have memories of your childhood in China before the age of 12?
CZ: Yes, of course. I feel I had a pretty happy childhood, and the memories are beautiful. At that time, both my parents were teachers, and I lived in the school campus, like in elementary school, middle school, and the campus of the University of Science and Technology of China, always living in a school environment, which left me with a great impression. As a child, I lived carefree; my family wasn't wealthy, but children don't feel the lack of money much, so I always lived quite well.
Colin: I saw in your later interviews that you mentioned after moving to Canada, your parents' salaries were close to the local minimum wage. Did that make life in Canada relatively tight? Did your parents continue to be teachers there or take on other jobs? Did you need to work to earn money?
CZ: When we first arrived in Canada, we were considered a middle or upper-middle-class family in China, both parents had salaries, and my dad saved money while studying abroad to send back to China. The living conditions were not bad after the exchange rate conversion. After moving to Canada, the quality of life didn't decline, but we were at the bottom of the social income ladder. However, food, clothing, and housing were still okay. My mom couldn't continue being a teacher because her English wasn't good, so she could only work in a garment factory, sewing clothes every day from morning till night. This job wasn't good for her health, but it was the only job she could find.
In Canada, my dad is a teaching assistant. The salary is not high, but fortunately, the university provides housing subsidies for teaching assistants. We live in a small house, which is bigger than where I lived in China, so I consider it an improvement. We are not particularly poor in Canada, but our income is close to the minimum level.
Colin: What subject does your father teach?
CZ: He teaches geophysics, which has high mathematical requirements and many complex formulas that require frequent calculations. My father is very good at math, which may also be why I excel in the sciences.
Reason for dropping out of college: to delay graduation due to a good internship job
Colin: Like you and Vitalik both immigrated to Canada, and both dropped out of university. Did you drop out to start a business, or were there other reasons?
CZ: By the time I dropped out, I was already a senior, which is different from dropping out in my first or second year. At that time, I was interning in Tokyo, and when the internship was over, my boss offered me a job with excellent salary and benefits. I compared it and realized it would be hard to get such a high salary after graduation. My boss had a project halfway through and hoped I would delay my graduation for a year to continue working. Initially, I was told to delay for a few months, just one semester, and I would still receive my normal salary. This offer was very generous, so I kept delaying it, and in the end, I didn't return to school for two years.
Colin: So it wasn't decided at that time to drop out to start a business; mainly, the salary of this job was too good.
CZ: Yes, I'm not like some people who are very decisive about starting a business. I delayed my studies because of this good offer and didn't return to school. Later, I found that not having a degree made it a bit troublesome to apply for visas, so I obtained a degree through distance education at a college. So I now have a degree, but I did not graduate from my original university.
Discussing the reasons for Binance's early rapid development
Colin: I understand you have started several projects, with reports saying there are 5 to 10. You founded Binance in 2017. The early days of Binance must have been very challenging, and you likely didn't foresee its massive growth. Looking back now, what do you think were the most important reasons behind Binance's explosive growth in such a short time?
CZ: Many people think Binance became famous overnight, but they may not have counted my more than 20 years of accumulation in the industry. I have been in the tech and exchange industries for over 20 years and had been navigating the digital currency field for four to five years before starting Binance, building networks and teams. When starting Binance, I assembled a strong team, both technical and product teams, which were quite effective. At the same time, the community provided a lot of support, and people were not unfamiliar with me. Additionally, luck played a part; the timing was very favorable.
In 2017, exchanges like Coinbase, OKCoin, and Huobi mainly focused on Bitcoin trading and rarely listed Ethereum ERC-20 tokens. Our BNB itself was an ERC-20 token, so we supported this type of token from the beginning and later listed many ERC-20 tokens. From a product perspective, we clearly had advantages. However, I think the most important thing is that our philosophy is different from that of previous exchanges. We are not just focused on making money, but prioritizing user protection, which was very evident during the '94 cleanup' incident.
At that time, it was stipulated that for projects that had conducted ICOs in China, if they lost money, they had to return the money to investors. However, many projects incurred heavy losses and could not repay the money. We had about four projects on our platform that were in a state of loss, and the project parties had no money to compensate users' losses. After consideration, we decided to cover user losses, and it was calculated that this would require $6 million. You have to know that two months ago, we had just raised $15 million, and the company was still losing money. $6 million was equivalent to 40% of the company's assets. Even so, we still took this money to compensate user losses, and these were not projects we issued ourselves. In terms of customer service, in 2017, requests from customer service at other exchanges might take two to three months, but we promised to handle them within a day, and now it's even been reduced to five minutes. These reasons have allowed Binance to develop rapidly, and of course, luck has also played a part.
The security pressures and system performance issues faced by Binance in its early days
Colin: At that time, I was working at Bitmain, and I felt that the pressure on Binance in its first year must have been very high, especially regarding security. The team was small, and the industry's security infrastructure was not well established, so there must have been significant pressure in dealing with hacker attacks and other security issues.
CZ: Indeed, for any exchange, the security pressure from hacker attacks has always been significant. Security is key to the operation of exchanges; without security guarantees, business cannot be conducted. There’s a small anecdote that many people might not remember. For the first four months after Binance went live, from July to mid-October, all withdrawals from Binance were manually reviewed. Each withdrawal had to be processed manually, with a few being handled every few hours.
When the staff took a break at night, no one handled it. The reason for manual review was that we were particularly worried that any loopholes would lead to a complete loss of funds due to automated withdrawals. By October, Binance had already entered the top ten exchanges globally, but withdrawals were still being processed manually. However, the bigger challenge at that time was actually system pressure. Binance was growing too fast, with users constantly pouring in, and the system was always lagging. Although we promoted that the matching engine was fast, the surrounding registration system, KYC system, deposit system, withdrawal system, and others were all experiencing delays, so more effort was focused on optimizing system performance at that time.
Analyzing the FTX incident, can it be saved now?
Colin: The FTX incident is a significant event in the crypto space; looking back, this seems absurd in the history of the crypto world, and Binance was also involved. Looking at it now, is there still a possibility for FTX to be saved? It seems that its assets can cover user compensation, although the act of misappropriating user assets is reprehensible, and the responsible parties will certainly face jail time, but the remaining assets seem capable of fulfilling the compensation.
CZ: My understanding is that according to the price of cryptocurrencies in USD at that time, FTX's existing assets could be covered when converted to dollars. However, if all the various digital currencies that users held at that time, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, were to be returned to users as they were, the appreciation of those coins since then means that FTX's assets cannot cover them. In other words, if FTX had not encountered problems, the assets users held might now be worth three to four times what they currently own. According to the current calculation method, by converting to dollars using the price at that time and comparing it with the current value of FTX's assets in dollars, it would be covered. However, if users had held onto those coins until now, their market value should be four to five times what it is now. I'm not quite sure if my understanding is completely accurate.
Colin: It seems that the gap is still too large to fill.
CZ: FTX did not fully cover all user assets; it was just calculated based on the lower coin price at that time. If digital currencies were returned to users, early users would have received five times the amount they were entitled to. It's like the 2014 Mentougou incident, where several hundred million was owed, which was a huge sum back then. Currently, the price of coins has risen. Although FTX's assets can cover the price of Bitcoin at that time, from the user's perspective, if they had held onto those coins until now, the money they receive would be five times more, so users still lost about 70-80%. Looking back, by November 2022 when FTX began to collapse, it was already beyond salvation. If the problems had been detected earlier, there might have been a chance, but at that time, there was no way to notice in advance.
Active on-chain economy; the dilemma of centralized exchanges?
Colin: There is also a recent hot topic I want to hear your opinion on. Binance succeeded largely because it launched many high-growth new coins early on, such as BNB and Tron, and later Binance's launchpad and launchpool were also very successful. However, in the past year, the on-chain economy has been very active, and many people can get the lowest price on-chain, while going public on exchanges has become a signal of price topping, which strongly contrasts with the early days. I feel that neither Binance nor other exchanges really know how to respond to this situation. What do you think?
CZ: I think there are at least two reasons for this. On one hand, as platforms grow larger, they can only list relatively stable coins. If Binance lists a new coin with a market cap of only 10 million, or even just a few hundred thousand or a few million dollars, its price fluctuations will be too great. So from the perspective of large exchanges, to avoid excessive price volatility, they can only choose coins with larger market caps, which is a natural limitation for large exchanges. However, large exchanges can still create innovative zones or support these small coins in Web3 wallets—there are still ways to address this. Personally, I feel that Binance has not done particularly well in this regard. In the past year or two, due to some issues in the U.S. and my personal matters, my focus has been scattered. I spent most of the past year handling personal matters in the U.S.
On the other hand, MEME coins have been very popular in the past year. Major exchanges have basically not seized this opportunity; instead, it is easier to participate on-chain, especially on the Solana chain. There are some rumors about this, but I'm not sure of their authenticity. Solana was closely tied to FTX before, and after FTX collapsed, many people on Solana lost a lot of money and lost support from the exchange, so they chose to pump and dump. Doing this on the Binance chain is not very appropriate, as it poses both moral and legal issues. In addition, over the past few years, the U.S. SEC, like Gary Gensler, has basically classified various coins as securities. The only coins that can be clearly defined as not securities are those that have no practical use, which are MEME coins. Therefore, MEME coins are not easily subject to lawsuits. MEME coins have no other practical utility or promises, which makes them suitable for pump and dump schemes and they are decentralized, so they are very popular on Solana. It's like how we got lucky in 2017 and rode a good wave; the past year or two has been the time for MEME coins. I find this quite interesting and I don't judge whether it's good or bad. Since the industry is developing in this direction, as a Binance shareholder, industry KOL, or OG, as long as it is beneficial to the development of the industry, I will support it, so I also encourage everyone to support MEME coins.
Do centralized exchanges have to move towards compliance?
Colin: Some data shows that last year, the inflow of funds into Binance exceeded the combined total of all other exchanges. This indicates that although Binance has faced continuous challenges this year, its development remains stable. However, centralized exchanges currently face compliance challenges, and compliant exchanges find it difficult to make profits. Offshore exchanges are facing increasing regulatory risks. Exchange owners traveling to Japan or Europe may have issues, just like the Telegram owner, who was arrested the moment he landed in France. What do you think about the current predicament of exchanges? Do you think they all must move toward compliance?
CZ: I believe so. Once a platform reaches a certain scale, it must comply. From the perspective of regulatory authorities, small platforms may not be able to manage or may not be monitored temporarily, but large platforms will definitely be the focus of regulation. Just like Binance, it has been regulated for a long time, so it must go the compliant route. Binance has many restrictions, such as the KYC requirements for Web3 wallets associated with the exchange. Although users control their assets in the Web3 wallet (using MPC technology), some exchanges that are slightly smaller than Binance do not require KYC for their Web3 wallets. This is something Binance cannot do. These second-tier exchanges are also not small, but they often do not conduct KYC, so Binance faces more restrictions. Large exchanges, in general, face many restrictions, but compliance is a necessary path. Moreover, the enforcement of compliance is not uniform; not all platforms are treated equally.
Colin: It's indeed different. Now it might be like Sun Yuchen making crazy donations to Trump, but there might not be such opportunities during a Democratic administration.
CZ: Yes. However, I believe that regulations will eventually improve, especially since the U.S. has recently become very supportive of digital currency. I think the U.S. will introduce a series of very positive regulatory provisions for the digital currency industry. The regulatory provisions proposed by the new SEC are very clear and much more proactive than before. As a result, the overall regulatory environment will improve, and the regulatory framework will become more complete. Platforms that have obtained licenses and meet regulatory requirements will have more opportunities to grow.
As you just said, although MEME coins are very popular now, in terms of capital inflow, the inflow into the Binance platform last year exceeded the total of all other exchanges combined. This means that many retail investors, especially those who are first-time users of digital currency, would choose exchanges that appear to be the most stable and regulated, which have been operating after multiple reviews. Therefore, many new users tend to choose these more stable platforms. MEME coins are indeed very popular, but most people who play MEME coins are OGs. Although newcomers are joining, early adopters still account for a large proportion. After many people play MEME coins, when they invest in digital currency again, they will still choose to buy Bitcoin, and when buying Bitcoin, they may still choose large exchanges. Therefore, different fields will have different development speeds, regulatory pressures, and models; I think this is fine. An industry should have a variety of different platforms.
Hong Kong has not done enough and will be more relaxed in the future under U.S. pressure.
Colin: What do you think of Hong Kong's regulatory policies now? You just mentioned the U.S.; in the next two to four years, it will be a significant boon for the overall digital currency. Currently, the entire Chinese region may view Hong Kong as a breakthrough point in the cryptocurrency field, and the latest report from the People's Bank of China also encourages Hong Kong to actively explore cryptocurrency policies.
CZ: I think China's strategy of using Hong Kong as a pilot area is very wise. Over the past four years, the U.S. has held a very uncooperative and even suppressive attitude towards digital currencies. In contrast, Hong Kong is more friendly to digital currencies, but currently, Hong Kong may be a bit behind in this regard. The existing regulatory provisions in Hong Kong are quite restrictive. Take Japan as an example: seven years ago, Japan had many regulatory restrictions on new coin listings and futures, with unclear regulations. However, about three or four years ago, Japan basically completely relaxed restrictions on new coin listings. Hong Kong has not yet reached that level of relaxation. However, after communicating with some senior officials in Hong Kong's regulatory department recently, I feel that Hong Kong is beginning to show a trend of relaxing regulations. Now the U.S. has made some progress in digital currency regulation, and Hong Kong certainly cannot fall behind. I believe that Hong Kong will soon make significant positive adjustments.
The most important article of my life (Principles)
Original text:
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/gUU-tp4U9X43qIkX9niCgQ?token=386014621&lang=zh_CN
Colin: Next, I want to talk about the article you wrote earlier (Principles). This article has been widely circulated, and many people feel that it summarizes your years of entrepreneurial experience. It contains many interesting points, such as your hope to collaborate with those who actively seek you out, and your thoughts on work efficiency, like using text instead of calling when possible, and not holding meetings if a call can suffice. Now, looking back at this article, what key points do you most want to convey to the outside world? After all these years, do you have any new ideas to add? I heard you are writing a book; is it an extension of this article?
CZ: Yes, it took me about two to three years to write that article.
Colin: It's been a long time writing.
CZ: Yes, I didn't expect to write for such a long time at the beginning. I added content little by little as I wrote. I was inspired to write my own piece after finishing Ray Dalio's book (Principles). However, I couldn't write anything at first. Later, I met Ray and asked him how he wrote (Principles). He told me to reflect on the decisions made each day and the reasons behind them. If some decisions had principled factors, I should write down those principles. After hearing this, I started to write a little each day. I would review which meetings I attended, what decisions I made, and the reasons for those decisions. If the reasons had universal significance, I would document them. This continued for two to three years before I completed this article, which, although not long, is about 10 pages.
Colin: This is a very important article in your life.
CZ: That's right; it has indeed taken a lot of time. Ray's guidance has given me some ideas, and I slowly started to write down my thoughts, trying to write some things that differ from others' thinking. For example, it's common knowledge that companies should save money, so I won't write about that. I've been observing myself to see which ideas differ from others. For instance, while others think that if they can meet in person, they won't make a phone call, and if they can call, they won't send a message, my viewpoint is exactly the opposite.
This article took a lot of my energy, and the team helped me polish it a bit, but the main content was indeed written by myself. In addition, I am currently writing a book about my personal experiences. I originally hoped to finish and publish it in the first quarter to the second quarter of this year. I didn't have much to do in the U.S. before, and I couldn't meet too many people, so I spent a lot of time writing. But now I've encountered a bottleneck. Although I am no longer working, I am still very busy, and I don't know why.
The future focus is on participating in investments and communicating with early-stage entrepreneurs.
Colin: There were previous reports saying you might participate more in Binance Labs' investment work. Are you mainly busy with investment-related matters now?
CZ: Yes, we are preparing to change the name of Binance Labs; it may be released this week (it has already been released, Yzi Labs). I am indeed doing some investments, but I don't look at many projects in terms of investment. I prefer to communicate with early-stage entrepreneurs because I am also an entrepreneur and am very willing to support other entrepreneurs, so I pay more attention to early investment projects. Recently, I have been frequently communicating with founders from various industries. They are also very respectful; many people come to me for meetings and chats, and I try to give as much advice as I can.
By communicating with these founders, I learned a lot. For the past seven or eight years, I have focused on Binance's centralized exchange business, and now I am exposed to many new fields, such as AI, bioscience, and many new developments in the blockchain field. People might think I know the blockchain inside out, but when you're busy operating a centralized exchange, you don't have the time to delve into many new things; I only know a little. Now I have the opportunity to spend more time learning from these founders and understanding the new things they are doing, which I find very interesting.
Views on the dilemmas faced by Ethereum
Colin: Here's an interesting question. Do you usually browse Twitter? Recently, Vitalik has faced intense criticism, and yesterday Sun Yuchen even offered him advice. What do you think about the current dilemmas facing Ethereum? Do you have any suggestions?
CZ: I think this is more of a PR crisis, a PR issue. Ethereum itself is still very strong. Looking at market capitalization, apart from Bitcoin, it is larger than all other coins. Although Solana has risen rapidly, it is still behind Ethereum in market capitalization. To be honest, Sun Yuchen has always liked to ride on hot topics, and he does well in PR. However, Sun Yuchen giving advice to Vitalik is akin to a small exchange advising a large one; there is still a gap in business levels. Of course, Sun Yuchen is very smart and has his strengths; every founder has their unique qualities.
Vitalik is a technical genius; this cannot be ignored or denied. He invented things like ERC-20, NFTs, and Soul-bound Tokens, all of which were born from Ethereum. He has made significant contributions to the entire industry. Although the value of Ethereum has not increased much in the short term, its overall market value remains considerable.
From my perspective, I support every entrepreneur in the industry; both Vitalik and Sun Yuchen have their challenges. For those speculating on coins, it is hard to ensure they only profit without losses. Prices can't continuously rise; the industry will have fluctuations. I suggest everyone maintain a long-term investment mindset and not become emotional due to price fluctuations. Since Ethereum's inception, its overall appreciation has exceeded that of Bitcoin, which is no small feat. Vitalik recently posted a few tweets that might not have hit the right tone.
Colin: I feel a bit anxious.
CZ: Moreover, his way of speaking may not be well-received; he comes from a technical background, is relatively direct, and is young, so he speaks quite straightforwardly. For instance, if he says that certain aspects are controlled or designated by him, it has caused more backlash. However, as industry practitioners, we should be more tolerant towards him and not put too much pressure on him over small matters; entrepreneurship is really not easy.
Responding to the difficulties faced by entrepreneurs in the crypto space
Colin: Additionally, the industry needs diversity; not everyone should only focus on Solana or issue MEME coins. Not everyone should be like Sun Yuchen; the industry should have different development directions. You just mentioned that you mainly communicate with and support entrepreneurs, but it seems that entrepreneurship in the crypto space faces some difficulties. Recently, a saying has become popular: good products don't need tokens, and good tokens don't need products. Regardless, it seems that entrepreneurship in the crypto space faces a challenge; apart from financial services, other sectors seem difficult to profit from, and the entrepreneurial path is quite narrow. Do you feel this way? What advice or thoughts do you have for these entrepreneurs?
CZ: This is the first time I've heard this phrase. But my perspective is completely different; I believe there are many opportunities in the crypto space now. There are a lot of projects that can do a good job on their own and have outstanding token performance. On the contrary, I believe that if there are only tokens without actual projects supporting them, it will be difficult to understand how their value can be maintained over the long term. Even if issuing MEME coins, there needs to be value support behind them; they cannot rely solely on speculation. Therefore, I believe there is much to do in the industry. The trading volume of decentralized exchanges is increasing, and more and more people are using them, but every blockchain will experience lag during high trading volumes. Even Solana, which claims to be fast, has recently experienced lag. Moreover, the usability of wallets has a lot of room for improvement.
There are still many industries that have not been served by blockchain, such as the research field, where many scientists need financing for their studies. Although there may be many failures, once successful, the returns can be very substantial. This model is feasible; it just hasn't been fully realized yet. Now some political figures are also starting to issue MEME coins, but how to provide value support for these MEME coins after issuing them needs to be explored.
From my perspective, I've always been an entrepreneur, and I see countless opportunities, often feeling overwhelmed. Good entrepreneurs are always the most scarce resource. People speculating on coins might complain about why the coins they bought can't skyrocket immediately. However, if you look at it over a longer timeframe, when Bitcoin was at $60,000 a few months ago, everyone was happy, thinking it had reached a new high. Now that it has dropped to $100,000, people are still complaining. I think people shouldn't expect prices to rise every day but should view it from a long-term perspective.
Discussing views on Bitcoin price trends
Colin: How high do you think Bitcoin can rise in this cycle?
CZ: Many people ask me this question, but I really can't say. However, I feel that Bitcoin's current surge has not yet peaked. Trump has just taken office, and a series of new compliance measures from the U.S. have not yet been introduced. I believe there will be a lot of positive developments ahead. I have always been very optimistic about the entire industry. Even during the most severe bear market, I maintained an optimistic attitude, and the same is true during the bull market. So I remain quite optimistic, but my views may not be completely accurate.
The shift in the U.S. attitude towards digital currency policies
Colin: I remember in your last interview in Dubai, Trump had not yet taken office. At that time, you said you didn't want to have any relations with the U.S. Has your attitude changed a bit? You have talked a lot today and seem very confident. But if you get closer to Trump or the U.S., what if the Democrats regain power in two or four years and the policies flip again? How will you respond to this situation?
CZ: Yes, the last interview should have been before the U.S. election, around late October to early November. At that time, the U.S. election hadn't started, so the situation in the U.S. was unclear, and it was uncertain who would be elected. Even if elected, it was unclear how optimistic Trump would be about digital currency.
But in the past few months, significant changes have indeed occurred. Not only was Trump elected, but he also introduced relevant policies that were previously unforeseen. Now the series of officials appointed by the new U.S. administration, especially those in core government positions, are very supportive of digital currency. It is evident from this changeover that the impact of digital currency is substantial. Many young people hold digital currency, and if they are unfriendly to digital currency, it will directly affect their wealth, which in turn will influence their voting; this is instinctive. Therefore, it is clear that digital currency can no longer be ignored. Personally, I feel that the previous viewpoint that suppressing digital currency could gain more support is mistaken, as evidenced by the recent election results. Therefore, I believe that in the next four years, digital currency will have even greater development, and the possibility of returning to the previous suppressive attitude in four years is very small.
Just like the internet back in the day, everyone had doubts about its merits at first, but after a certain level of development, its recognition could not be ignored. Therefore, the risks four years later are relatively small. Second, currently, the talent reserve of the Republican Party in the United States is very strong, such as the Vice President, who has a high reputation. So we will see what happens in four years. However, the current positive attitude of the United States towards digital currency is very good for the entire industry. All countries are actively promoting blockchain regulatory provisions, and the provisions are becoming increasingly friendly, which is very encouraging. Binance currently does not serve American users, but there is an independent company called Binance US, which, although it has Binance in its name, is completely independent. Previously, due to some issues, its scale has shrunk significantly, but it is still in operation. We hope it can develop healthily in the United States and continue to grow with the favorable conditions there.
I believe that Binance's products in the U.S. are very competitive; it has reached 40-50% of Coinbase's global trading volume twice, but both times it dropped due to other third-party objective reasons. Therefore, as long as the regulatory provisions are fair, it is very competitive, and I'm not particularly worried about that.
Sharing daily life.
Colin: I have some friends who want to ask you a few questions. First, how do you spend your day? Second, your new year’s wish was to get six or eight-pack abs, how is the progress now? Third, what is your favorite city?
CZ: Alright. Regarding daily life arrangements, I am now much more relaxed than before. I usually arrange around seven or eight meetings each day and make a few phone calls. However, I can also exercise every day; I go to the gym and currently enjoy two types of exercise.
Both of these exercises relate to boards; one is skiing, and the other is kite surfing. When it's windy, I play for an hour or two each day, and the rest of the time is used for meetings and such. My life now resembles that of a retired investor, which is much better than when I was the CEO of Binance. Speaking of six-pack abs, when I just got out of prison, I could faintly see six-pack abs, and I even took a photo.
Colin: Is it because the food is relatively bland?
CZ: The food there is really hard to eat, so I eat less. When I just got out, I could vaguely see six-pack abs. One day, I might have the courage to post that photo I casually took in the bathroom, not a fancy photo. After getting out of prison, it's really hard to maintain six-pack abs because I was eating poorly before, and when I suddenly have good food, it's hard to resist. Getting six-pack abs requires dietary control, but my self-control over diet is not very strong right now, so I lost them again. That was probably the closest I ever got to having six-pack abs. What was the third question? Oh, my favorite city.
I like many cities; each city has its unique characteristics. I now feel very comfortable living in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the UAE. The business environment and digital currency environment here are good, and the country's management and security are also very good. Of course, there are downsides; it's a desert, and it can indeed be very hot in summer, but the winter is very pleasant, and right now it's quite comfortable. I also really like cities like Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Europe has many great cities, but currently, Europe is developing slowly in terms of digital currency, so I go there less often. I haven't traveled much to South America or the U.S. because they are far away. I mostly operate in the Middle East and Asia. Thailand, while having heavy traffic, I still quite like in other aspects.
Colin: You can only travel by motorcycle.
CZ: Yes, but when I generally go to a place, I usually stay in a hotel, and I don't spend much time on the road, just meeting a lot of people at the hotel.
Sending New Year wishes to Chinese entrepreneurs and investors
Colin: Finally, thank CZ for taking the time, and I hope there will be another opportunity to continue the conversation with you. Since the Chinese New Year is approaching, could you say something to Chinese entrepreneurs and investors?
CZ: Sure, thank you very much, Colin, for this opportunity. I believe we can definitely communicate more often in the future. Previously, in many Asian communities, I usually let He Yi be responsible for the Asian market while I focused on the English market. This was our division of labor. So my communication with the Chinese community may not have been enough. Now that I have 'retired', I will take care of both sides in my personal capacity.
Here, my advice to everyone is to view this industry, technology, and industry development with the right mindset and patience. Whether you are an investor or an entrepreneur, the entire industry is in an upward trend. Although there may not be significant progress every day, from a monthly or annual perspective, the situation is very positive. Everyone should not be anxious; whether it's entrepreneurship, issuing coins, or investing, they should steadily and solidly do their own thing. I believe this year will be a very good year. Here, I wish all friends and supporters in the Chinese community a Happy New Year. Additionally, in the future, I will spend more time engaging with the Chinese community, and we can have more exchanges.
Colin: Okay, thank you, CZ.