CZ in a Hoodie, the Top Customer Service Representative
I recently finished reading "Binance Life" by my cousin. Having been in this industry for so long, and having heard countless epic business battles, I expected this to be a memoir filled with grand narratives. But upon closing the book, I found that what resonated most with me were the everyday fragments hidden beneath the billion-dollar halo.
Leaving aside the various labels imposed on them by the outside world, I'd like to share some thoughts on CZ and the top customer service representative, drawing on details from the book.
Outsiders often view CZ through the lens of a financial tycoon, but between the lines, it's hard to ignore his deep-seated tech background. People with a tech background often view the world through the linear logic of code; if the underlying logic works, they execute it. The book mentions that he first heard about Bitcoin at a poker game, and after reading the white paper, he decided to sell his house and enter the market—a level of execution characteristic of pure geeks.
He also seems somewhat oblivious to personal image. He went to shoot for the Forbes cover wearing just a company hoodie; in his early entrepreneurial days in Tokyo, he commuted daily on an old bicycle with a plastic basket. Even when faced with prolonged server system outages and constant speculation, his way of reassuring users wasn't through press releases, but by posting a photo of himself playing with a fidget spinner on social media, next to a business card with his personal phone number.
This unpretentious simplicity allowed him to focus on his work, but it also led to losses in the complex business environment due to his tendency to place too much trust. However, he doesn't seem to have changed his original intentions, maintaining a sunny, athletic lifestyle in his private life. Now, CZ's older cousin is dedicating his energy to Giggle Academy, providing free education and attempting to break down educational barriers with technology—a natural progression for a long-term technologist.
Compared to CZ's focus on building systems in the backend, his sister is more like someone always on the front lines, directly facing the real market.
She possesses a tenacious spirit that once she sets her mind on something, she commits wholeheartedly. When the platform launched, its stock price immediately fell below the IPO price. Amidst widespread pessimism, she resigned from her executive position at the soon-to-be-listed company and packed her bags to join the team in Shanghai. Having worked her way up from the bottom, she possessed a natural intuition for the pain points of ordinary users.
The book also mentions an early incident where a college student mistakenly transferred several hundred dollars of tuition fees to an unsupported address. At the time, the technical and human costs of recovering the funds far exceeded the cost of those few hundred dollars, but she still suggested that the team help the user recover the money. This empathy for the helplessness of ordinary people became a microcosm of the platform's early commitment to user protection.
Her outspokenness about the business is also evident in her daily life. She directly criticized CZ's early name, saying it sounded like a supermarket, and ultimately decided on the name Binance. Even today, you can still see her on social media following up on basic user support requests like a customer service representative, because she understands all too well that it's difficult to perceive the true market conditions without being on the front lines.
A company's success today isn't due to perfect individuals, but rather the complementary strengths of its members. A tech geek who remains simple and honest, and a pragmatist who understands the market and values users—these two contrasting personalities form the balance of this system.
The only preface in the entire book was written by Heyi Binance, penned on the first day of the Lunar New Year in 2026, still fresh from its initial publication. Her two concluding sentences are particularly poignant, perhaps the best commentary on their journey together:
"There is no one else out there.
The person others see is merely a reflection of themselves.
And he remains himself.
How fortunate I am to have walked alongside him." Closing the book, besides a renewed understanding of the two individuals, I also feel a genuine sense of hope. In this ever-changing industry, I hope they will continue to thrive and prosper, and I look forward to Binance continuing to play a leading role, pushing the boundaries of Crypto and truly reaching a wider audience. @cz_binance @heyibinance
#BNB #BinanceLife
