Recently, Binance has surpassed 200 million registered users and conducted an AMA to address some key concerns. Co-founder He Yi answered questions regarding recent incidents of wash trading and coin theft, the conflict surrounding listing high FDV projects, and the standards for delisting zombie coins. Additionally, He Yi humorously mentioned sending daily emails to CZ and the mundane aspects of his daily life such as working out, making phone calls, and putting kids to bed.
He Yi jokingly mentioned “bff coins” as Binance attempts to introduce more conventional business models, acknowledging that the process may face ridicule and failure. The discussion touched on various security measures, emphasizing the need for constant vigilance in safeguarding assets, whether through hardware or software wallets.
Regarding the issue of high FDV and low circulating supply projects, He Yi highlighted the challenges of transitioning the blockchain industry towards mainstream adoption. He emphasized the importance of projects with solid business models rather than mere concepts, cautioning against the trend of meme coins and overvalued investments.
Maintaining enthusiasm and energy, He Yi shared personal insights on self-improvement, emphasizing the importance of health, self-awareness, and leaving a meaningful impact on the world. He expressed his dedication to building a long-lasting company and nurturing talented individuals within Binance.
In selecting projects for Launchpool and MegaDrop, He Yi explained the focus on finding genuine users and quality projects, irrespective of the platform. Projects are carefully evaluated based on their long-term potential and commitment to development, ensuring benefits for both project teams and Binance users.
Regarding zombie coins, Binance conducts regular audits of listed tokens, considering factors like social media activity, liquidity, and regulatory compliance. Coins with high risks are monitored closely, with delisting decisions made after thorough analysis to minimize harm to project teams and token holders.
Overall, Binance aims to uphold strict standards for listing and delisting, prioritizing the health and long-term growth of the market. Through continuous evaluation and adjustment, Binance strives to support quality projects and foster a robust and sustainable ecosystem.Some “shell” projects on Binance can be purchased as they might be delisted at any time. We strongly oppose this shell-buying behavior and will shut down projects immediately upon detection.
How do we view the comparison in market value with Coinbase? Where is the growth potential for BNB?
He Yi: First and foremost, I believe that Coinbase is essentially a stock security, while BNB is a token, and they are not in the same lane. Coinbase’s stock cannot be used on the Binance platform like BNB. BNB not only has utility on Binance and a continuous burn mechanism but also has the backing of BNBChain.
BNB has wide usage on the Binance platform, being referred to as a “golden shovel” that can be used for a variety of fee discounts. Although the current momentum of the BNB Chain is not as strong as some large L2, L1 ecosystems, or TON’s user base, compared to developer-centric public chains such as Ethereum or Solana, BNBChain has more real Web3 users and builders.
I believe that a key direction for the future of BNBChain is to bring blockchain technology into the lives of ordinary people, helping more entrepreneurs and developers drive the entire blockchain industry into the next stage. From this perspective, Coinbase and Binance are taking completely different paths. Coinbase is an excellent trading platform that achieves profitability through its collaboration with Circle, but Binance is taking a different path in the blockchain competition.
During the launch of many projects, Binance empowers BNB through continuous welfare distribution and airdrops. Short-term price fluctuations do not represent much; we are more concerned with the team’s long-term efforts and goals. The co-building of BNB Chain and the entire community requires the joint efforts of users, the community, entrepreneurs, and developers.
Which tracks to focus on, and how do you view AI? How do you spend your day?
He Yi: Let me first address the question about AI. In fact, I also discussed the understanding of AI in the previous AMA. I believe that blockchain changes labor relations, distribution of benefits, while AI is a massive transformation of productivity. For example, many trading platforms and products operate in multilingual environments, and by effectively utilizing AI, significant translation costs can be saved while improving efficiency. This is a specific example of productivity enhancement. In the future, AI’s productivity enhancement will be more evident in various aspects, including design, marketing, etc., with lower costs and higher efficiency.
AI can be divided into several modules. The application side is the most common, such as OpenAI’s chatbots that can help in writing plans, designing, making videos, etc. Moving up, there are large model teams, which are not large in size but have very strong professional capabilities. Another step up is computing power, which is why NVIDIA’s stock performance is so strong. NVIDIA’s leading position in chips makes it difficult for other competitors to reach. Technological progress makes computing power enhancement more significant.
Energy and data are the two key industries supporting AI development. Global wars and political struggles often revolve around energy, and the future development of AI also depends on energy support. Data is another critical factor, with companies holding large amounts of user data having an advantage in AI development.
We at Binance are also looking for good AI solutions. For example, the Greenfield product launched by BNB Chain utilizes data through a privacy protection network to ensure user privacy. This is our attempt at combining blockchain and AI.
Regarding the choice of tracks, I believe that as a business person, it is essential to keep an eye on various emerging tracks. Regardless of the track, as long as it is beneficial to society and offers good products and services, it is a viable business.
My daily life is actually very simple. I work out three times a week, usually in the morning, and then spend the rest of the day in phone meetings. My goal is to cultivate a leadership-driven team and build strong leadership in the entire industry. Aside from meetings, I spend a lot of time researching organization and management, communicating with the HR head. I have recently added the task of writing emails to CZ, reporting work, sharing life bits, and more. My life is simple, revolving around work, exercise, family time, and reading, from morning to night. That’s how I spend my day.
What considerations does Binance have for stablecoins? How will they develop in the future?
He Yi: Our logic regarding stablecoins is straightforward. Although we cannot say we accept all, we hope it to be a continuous competition. In the past, BUSD was developed in partnership with third parties, and for us, whether it’s TUSD, FDUSD, or other stablecoins in the future, we welcome collaboration. The key lies in whether the partner’s qualifications and capabilities match and whether we can come to terms. We see great potential in the stablecoin track, but to operate it well, we need the right timing, conditions, and people, not just establishing a stablecoin account to accept funds.
After surpassing 2 billion users, where might the new user increment come from? First and foremost, it needs to be stated that registered users do not equate to active users, as some registered users may not engage in trading or depositing activities. To reach a larger scale in the market, more high-quality assets need to emerge. If there is internal turmoil in the industry, it is due to a lack of high-quality assets, which involves bridging the gap. Our task and contemplation are on how to bridge this gap, making blockchain as user-friendly as the internet or AI, enabling ordinary people to use it directly. Once the gap is bridged, increasing the user base tenfold or twentyfold is not an issue.
I firmly believe that as long as the crypto sphere can introduce grounded and high-quality assets, the market size can expand fivefold or even more. Each cycle brings new applications and companies, and companies that persevere and create value for the world will become industry leaders. Like the top companies post the dot-com bubble, such as Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Google, they continue to create value, becoming global top-notch companies. We also hope to see this continuous growth and development in the blockchain field.
After surpassing 2 billion users, what plans and strategies does Binance have to bring in more outsiders?
He Yi: After surpassing 2 billion users, what plans and strategies does Binance have to bring in more outsiders?
In fact, Binance has always been making such attempts. Whether it’s from a marketing perspective, through our academy, charity projects, or even in the listing of projects, we have made some attempts. We have also received some negative feedback. For example, everyone knows we previously signed The Weeknd, and later we signed Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo has 600 million followers on Instagram, and his daily likes often reach several million or even tens of millions. Through these celebrity effects, we hope to make more people aware of Binance and cryptocurrencies.
Furthermore, we hope that users, when registering on Binance, take the time to understand cryptocurrencies rather than blindly following investment trends. Even if investing in meme coins, understanding their essence and cycles is necessary to avoid impulsive actions. Our logic is that not all projects listed on Binance are of very high quality, sometimes due to user demand. We will first place some projects in the contract market, allowing users to choose long or short positions. If unsure about the long-term popularity of a project, we will initially place it in the contract market, where users can choose one-time or two-time leverage.
We have also made some mistakes. For example, the Hook project was ridiculed as the “girlfriend coin,” with many questioning whether the users of the project are fake or bought. Upon a thorough examination of their users, they are indeed not typical crypto users but those who earn rewards by registering and completing tasks, such as motorcycles, rice cookers, etc. These users are not typical crypto investors.
Recently, we have collaborated with some Web3 project parties for cross-game cooperation, attracting 1.3 million users, but only 56 of them became trading users because they primarily came for airdrops. In this process, some may question why we list these projects, but we hope to find applications and business models that can change ordinary people’s lives through these attempts.
Additionally, Binance Academy and charity projects are taking on more industry responsibility and influence. Although sometimes the input does not always yield results, it at least makes more people aware of Binance and cryptocurrencies. Signing Cristiano Ronaldo may not have brought in a large number of registered users and trading users, but it has at least made more people aware of Binance.
The crypto industry has a lot of negative information and biases, but we will continue to push the industry forward firmly, guiding more outsiders to join. Even in this process, enduring some ridicule and failures, as long as the goal is clear, we will continue to move forward.
In the aftermath of the regulatory settlement in the United States, how will Binance’s development in Europe or other regions be affected?
He Yi: After the regulatory settlement in the United States, Binance’s development in Europe or other regions will be somewhat impacted. As you may have seen, one of our executives ran into trouble in Nigeria. From a regulatory perspective, traditional finance has a history of over a hundred years, and the regulatory system has been gradually established. Therefore, when they see something new like Crypto, claiming to overturn traditional finance, they naturally view it as a monster. In such a scenario, as a leading company in the industry, we will face more pressure and challenges.
Many believe that DeFi can solve all problems, but in reality, the development of the internet also went through a similar stage. Although information freedom is essential, the internet is still under the observation and regulation of governments worldwide. The blockchain industry will also face similar challenges. If completely decentralized, various countries, especially the United States, will take strong measures to combat DeFi, and for the CeFi part, they will not be lenient either. This is why CZ is still in the United States.
If we aim for this industry to serve a billion users, driving the industry forward, we must come to terms with regulatory agencies, build consensus and trust, and find a way to survive. When the industry reaches a significant scale, it must demonstrate its positive impact, how it complements the existing financial system, improves efficiency, achieves peaceful coexistence. This is the direction we are thinking and moving towards.
In this process, we will encounter some challenges, such as not being able to provide contract trading in certain regions. Additionally, the size of the compliance team will become very large, with many decisions requiring the approval of the compliance and legal teams. However, as long as the organization is strong enough, and the strategy is right, these phased challenges will not affect the long-term goal. Overall, we still seek coexistence.
Coinbase also strongly supports embracing regulation. We may be the first exchange globally to actively embrace regulation, especially excelling in the United States. In fact, all competitors in the market such as Coinbase, OK, Huobi, Bybit, Bitget, Bitmex, etc., have gone through many cycles, with many areas worth learning from. This industry is still very early, requiring joint efforts to expand the pie.
