Time is money. I asked Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao a few questions. Lets dive right in.
• What concerns about the future that keeps you up at night?
Not much really. I sleep pretty tight these days. I think our security is top notch and is very secure. Crypto adoption will happen, sooner or later, it’s just a matter of time. Binance has got a great team, things are happening most of the time autonomously, in a decentralized fashion. My goal is pretty modest. I want to help others to the best I can. If my abilities allow me to do more then great, if my abilities only let me do a little bit, then I will do that little bit. Currently, I believe the most impactful thing I can do is help our race to adopt crypto.
• What one thing specifically would you wish you’d done differently?
Tricky question, if with hindsight, there are so many things I now know I could have done differently. But at the time, I often have limited information, so a lot of trial and errors have to be attempted, and constant course corrections have to be done afterward. If it has to be one thing, I wish I had: bought more bitcoins, and bought them earlier, haha.
• What is the greatest challenge you’ve faced with the company?
Oh, there are so many challenges we have faced, and overcome. Each one stared us in the face like a monumental one. From dealing with user growth, sudden regulation changes, and to scorching the earth looking for the best talent, we faced constant challenges. I think today, the biggest challenge we face is to cope with our growth. We need to maintain our mission and focus, the spread the freedom of money, while we grow in many business directions. But I think so far, we have done okay.
• How many employees or percentage that actually gets BNB as a salary?
We don’t use the word employee or company too much, we use instead, team and team members. Almost all team members take some comp in BNB. Many take 100% in BNB. They know what we do, and how we do it, literally, from inside out. And it is an easy decision for them to make.
• Congrats on the fiat exchanges. How many users combined right now do you have fiat to crypto?
We are getting anywhere from 5,000–10,000 users per day on fiat exchange registrations. It is much higher than we expected. And all users have to go through a lengthy KYC process to be active, so we have a big backlog on KYC.
• What have you learned this year that surprised you the most?
What surprised me the most is how loyal our users are. It’s clear now that if you act ethically and show you protect your users with consistent action, then people see it and trust you. They ignore all the other FUD and always stand beside you. So, it makes long-term business sense to be ethical.
• Where do you see yourself in ten years?
In ten years, I can see Binance running and growing without me. I also see myself holding a large number of Binance coin (BNB).
I may or may not even be a Chairman at Binance. Binance may also not be a company in the traditional sense by that time. It may be a decentralized organization of some kind. We are already a more decentralized organization than most other organizations on earth and are becoming increasingly more decentralized. With the launch of the Binance DEX, things will become more decentralized. I don’t know how exactly we will evolve, but we will see.
I will continue to find things I think that can make a positive impact to our human race, and try to make a positive contribution.
Thank you Changpeng Zhao for your time!
