Binance co-founder He Yi recently gave an exclusive interview to KOL Link, discussing her responsibilities as co-CEO and her original intention to remain the chief customer service representative. She also shared her unique insights on BNB Chain and the competition among public chains. The following is the full interview transcript compiled by Dongqu.
About the CEO title and responsibilities
Link: First of all, congratulations to the First Lady on assuming the role of co-CEO. What are your thoughts on the market's dissatisfaction that led you to personally intervene? Or is it that you want to proactively take on more responsibility?
He Yi: It's necessary. I feel that if the company needs me to be CEO, then I will be CEO; if the company doesn't need me to be CEO, I can have any title.
He Yi: Because I am the biggest beneficiary myself. In this scenario, it's simply a matter of "who is suitable and who needs it," and that's when you just fill that vacancy.
He Yi: I think you shouldn't take titles too seriously. When you become someone who takes on more social responsibility, you can't take yourself too seriously; but when you're nothing yet, you definitely have to take yourself seriously.
He Yi: So, from this perspective, it's purely because I have a very strong sense of purpose. I want to build Binance into a company with a long-term foundation, and I want to achieve overall organizational effectiveness, rather than the kind of single-point breakthroughs of the past. Short-term success is a strength, but when you reach a certain scale, it's the barrel effect.
Regarding the Chief Customer Service Officer and On-the-Spot Visit
Link: Then I think you might prefer the title "Chief Customer Service Officer"?
He Yi: I personally prefer the title of Chief Customer Service Officer. The title "CEO" sounds quite official. But if this title is meaningful for building everyone's confidence in the community, for Binance's growth, or for Binance's long-term development, then it is my duty to take on these risks and responsibilities.
Link: So you've been on the front lines, getting close to the community and responding to users for eight years. Is this He Yi's personal style, or is it something Binance genuinely needs to do?
He Yi: I think it was He Yi's personal style that transformed into Binance's culture, and then that's what was ultimately needed.
He Yi: Because I've always believed... actually, Steve Jobs shared this philosophy. Back then, when some people questioned Apple's technology, saying things like, "This isn't good enough," or "You don't have the most cutting-edge technology," I think Jobs' answer in that Q&A was: Technology serves the product, and the product serves people.
He Yi: I think Binance operates on the same underlying logic: everything we do ultimately serves our users. But if you're not on the same level as your users—I mean, on an equal footing, communicating with each other with mutual respect—how can you know what your users want?
Link: So do you think this so-called "customer service spirit" is the kind of culture that allows Binance to maintain its agility and resilience?
He Yi: I hope to preserve that part as part of Binance's long-term culture. And I think this kind of thing is valuable and meaningful in any industry. It's just a matter of how far you can go, and whether you're just saying "the customer is king" or if you genuinely care about your users—that users are attentive and can feel it.
Link: Do you think that being a senior executive who is always surfing the front lines might also be a potential problem to some extent?
He Yi: I think so. Because sometimes it's because of what you're paying attention to, and then people might say, "Are you nervous? Are you worried about making a mistake?" That is to say, you might overemphasize what you're focusing on.
He Yi: I think that essentially, I still hope to use an effective and flexible organizational structure to solve the problems of "Where is Customer Service Xiao He?" and "Where are Binance's employees?" Instead, I want everyone to become Customer Service Xiao He and everyone to become the user center.
Succession and Organizational Culture
Link: You just mentioned that your appointment as CEO was a necessity for Binance. If one day Binance needs you to stop being on the front lines and no longer serve as the chief customer service representative, do you think the culture will collapse? Or do you think the culture can't function without you?
He Yi: No, not at all. I think many of our employees, whether it's Ying Ge, Sisi, or YY, are still on the front lines. And I think sometimes their reactions are even a little faster than mine.
He Yi: To be very frank, at the beginning I was mainly in charge of users and growth, then I moved on to customer service. As I gradually became responsible for more and more departments, I didn't have as much time on the front lines anymore. I might check on things before going to bed each day. But in this process, I feel that the team members have already taken on this responsibility.
He Yi: Moreover, I think that because we have a relatively flexible organizational structure, there will still be some misses, some things that we don't see or miss. But overall, I think they are all very dedicated and responsible.
Therefore, when you want to give your employees enough power and empower them, you must accept that there will be mistakes in the process, and you must also accept the degree of tolerance for the error rate.
On self-motivation and personality
Link: I just heard you say that you've been quite sleep-deprived lately. You also mentioned during the Mandarin meet-and-greet this morning that you might only get about 7 hours of sleep on weekends. Is this long working hours driven by self-motivation, or are you just a career-oriented person?
He Yi: I think it's mostly about self-motivation. I think Binance has already done quite well, if you're looking at it from a profit perspective, it's pretty much done, right? If you're talking about fame, I don't think I'm that obsessed with becoming famous.
He Yi: So I think in the end it's all about "since we're already here." Right? We Sichuan people often say, "Since we're already here, we might as well make the trip worthwhile." Even if you're just a tiny firefly, you can still try to shine like a star. Fireflies can compete with the sun and moon for light; at least they've shone.
Binance's development stages
Link: I just happened to see an interview with you while I was waiting outside. It was with Sister Jia (Yi Jia), many years ago.
He Yi: Yes, it was 7 years ago.
Link: Her description was that you were already at a high level, and your response was, "This is just the first step in a long journey." Yes, that was a similar assessment seven years ago. Given the size of the market today, do you think Binance has reached...?
He Yi: Step 2.
Link: Ah, is it step 2?
He Yi: Yes, step 2. Or step 2.5. (laughs)
He Yi: Because I think the first step definitely refers to Binance becoming the world's largest trading platform. Then I think the second step is how to build a highly efficient, self-sustaining team in this process. That is, they can drive themselves and become a dynamic, self-driven, and innovative company. I think that's the second step. I think we've already seen some initial steps, so I call it step 2.5.
On Controversy and Emotional Management
Link: I have a personal question. Throughout this year, Binance, and you personally, have experienced various controversies and events. Is there a point about this that's not widely known, or a decision you made that we're unaware of?
He Yi: Actually, I think both my own style and Binance's style are quite transparent. I think it's like saying, "There's nothing that can't be said to others." So, based on this, will Binance make mistakes? Yes, it will. But, for example, regarding the issue of de-pegging, we'll admit it, right? We'll compensate you in full. But for things that didn't happen, I feel that we can't take the blame for things that didn't happen.
He Yi: So throughout this process, I've always hoped to communicate with the public with maximum transparency, both internally and externally. Because, like when you came, I didn't know what questions you would ask, right? I didn't prepare any so-called standard answers. I think it's best to just say what's on your mind; there's nothing that can't be said.
Link: I understand. Because when I look at your occasional tweets where you express emotions, I find that you might not be saying that I made a mistake and I'm afraid of what others will say, but rather that there is some criticism or malicious speculation, which is why you vent your emotions, right?
He Yi: Actually, I don't think I vent my emotions much. But often when I do respond, it's really... there's a logic to this world: when someone pins a blame on you, if you don't respond, it's considered an admission; if you do respond, it's considered a defense. But sometimes it's just human nature—when you're being slandered, you still feel the urge to explain. But I think I don't get emotional easily, or rather, I try my best not to get emotional. What are emotions? I've given them up.
Link: It's because everyone has seen you post a lot of memes and jokes this year. You've created a lot of memes.
He Yi: Haha, I'm learning how to surf the 5G wave.
He Yi: You know what? As an OG, you have to be active on the front line and you absolutely can't let yourself become "Old Deng". That's really scary.
Link: I understand, I'm starting to feel like I'm getting a bit of a slammer now.
He Yi: I'm trying to join the 5G surfing competition.
Regarding the competition between BSC (BNB Chain) and public blockchains
Link: Sister, I'd like to ask a few questions that the community is concerned about. BSC went from being met with skepticism and controversy at the beginning of the year to now achieving widespread success. Was this the outcome you planned?
He Yi: It wasn't planned, but everything is for the best.
He Yi: Actually, I often say, does the world need so many public blockchains? Does it need so many railway tracks? Does it need so many empty highways? Probably not. Ultimately, I think public blockchains might be like the cloud—it's infrastructure. Right? You need the cloud to build a website, you need the cloud to make an app. But probably only a few top players will survive and thrive, like Amazon Web Services, Alibaba Cloud, and maybe Microsoft with some cloud businesses.
He Yi: This is my personal opinion, not official advice. Often when you start a business, it's easy to say, "I raised some money, and the price was pretty good, right?" That's the selling point; everyone's financially free. At that point, people easily lose motivation. You haven't even found your typical business model, but you're already financially free. I think this is a difficult puzzle that many highly valued, high-market-cap public chains easily encounter. It's one of the Blockchain Trilemma: a real business model, high market capitalization, and the founder being financially free but still wanting to work harder.
Factors contributing to the success of BNB Chain
Link: What's the other point?
He Yi: Why can BNB succeed? I think it's partly because we're a bit "stubborn." If we fail to build a public blockchain the first time, we try again; if we fail the second time, we try a third. Binance isn't directly involved in building a public blockchain, but we're willing to invest in it, to support and encourage them.
He Yi: I think miracles happen with great effort. It's all about having the right direction and putting in enough investment; it's just a matter of time.
Link: I understand. So... does "winning people over with money" mean this?
He Yi: Hahaha.
About Binance Web3 Wallet and Alpha
Link: Binance Wallet also went from being a functional product a year ago to becoming a mainstream product this year through Alpha. What are your personal feelings about this?
He Yi: Eggs and toilet paper don't produce gray hair. Hahaha.
He Yi: You know, supermarkets hand out toilet paper and eggs at the entrance.
Link: I understand, that's the promotional method.
He Yi: Although people in every era have their own "egg-making techniques," perhaps what people in our era are learning is Binance Alpha.
Link: I totally understand. During this TOP 100 voting, we were campaigning on Binance Square, and I was giving away eggs in the community. Giving away eggs is more impactful than giving out red envelopes.
He Yi: Wow, awesome, awesome, big brother!
Link: Yes.
On the Lower-Tier Market and Values
Link: Then I'll ask one last question. After Alpha went viral, it did solve some of the life problems of users in lower-tier markets. What were your initial thoughts when you first saw it?
He Yi: Actually, regardless of whether the user is a new user or an old user, we certainly hope to help more people.
He Yi: I've always had this logic: if you were God, and you had a lot of resources, would you allocate those resources to those who could help more people? Or would you give them to those who are only interested in making money, having fun, expanding their bonding power, and committing all sorts of evil?
He Yi: If I were God, I would definitely give more opportunities and resources to those who are willing to help others.
Link: Understood.
He Yi: So I think Binance's success so far is largely due to good luck. And behind that good luck, I think, is doing good deeds. Just do good deeds and don't worry about the future.
Link: I also believe in this.
He Yi: You can't simply call this cause and effect, or anything like that. I think there are inherent laws governing this world. If you put yourself in God's shoes, many decisions become easier.
Link: Okay, that's all for today, since you seem tired. Thank you.
He Yi: Thank you, Link.
