Edited by Wu Blockchain Blockchain
During the AMA on February 12, CZ shared his views on several hot topics in the crypto industry, including Memecoin, bear market predictions, US crypto policies, the potential of combining AI and blockchain, and support for the African market.
Risks related to Memecoin
Question: Binance recently started supporting on-chain Memecoin, and I bought a lot of Memecoin. You mentioned that Memecoin created based on your tweets will generally lose money. How should ordinary people handle these Memecoins?
CZ: Because many people create Memecoins based on my tweets, if you buy all of them, you're almost guaranteed to lose money. I'm not an expert in Memecoin trading; in fact, if you're a Memecoin trader, you must have your own strategy. Memecoins that survive long-term usually have strong cultural support, such as Dogecoin and Floki, which have strong community support. New Memecoins are riskier, so I suggest not touching them if you're unsure, unless you know what you're doing.
Views on the bear market and predictions of market turning points
Question: Regarding this bear market, how long do you think it will take for the market to turn around? After all, compared to 2022, this market doesn't seem to be a full-blown bear market; stablecoins and prediction markets still seem to be thriving.
CZ: I think the situation is very complicated this time. No one can accurately predict the market's direction. I don't have a crystal ball to see the future either. The market is influenced by many factors, such as national policies, taxes, the launch of stablecoins by certain companies, and other people making predictions about the market, etc. No one can predict the actions of every participant.
Historically, these types of markets typically have a cycle of about four years, but it's hard to say whether this time will follow that pattern. The US currently has very strong support for cryptocurrencies, and the government continues to pass related legislation, which is very positive for the market. If the US supports cryptocurrencies, other countries will likely follow suit. Currently, stablecoins and RWA are progressing rapidly, but recently there has been a lot of negative voices and FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) in the community, which negatively impacts the market.
No one can definitively predict the specific impact of these factors. Therefore, I advise everyone to carefully assess their own risks. Overall, there are both positive and negative forces in the market, but I believe the industry outlook is optimistic in the long term. As for what will happen this year, tomorrow, next week, or next month, it's difficult to predict, and I cannot predict it either.
Opinions on the Clarity Act
Question: Regarding the Clarity Act, how do you think it will affect the crypto industry?
CZ: To be honest, I don't know much about the Clarity Act, just some AI interpretations. So I don't think you should get advice from me. But overall, I think any legislation that provides clear guidelines is good. From the debates we've seen so far, the bill is quite complex and controversial. I'm not sure which side will win. There may be some compromises or shortcomings in the bill, but it's only a draft after all. So hopefully, it will pass and be iterated upon, which would be good for the crypto industry.
So overall, I think it's very positive, that's my gut feeling, but I'm not a legal expert, especially not in the US. You'd better consult other experts.
How to build long-term applications in the current market environment
Question: Given the current negative market sentiment, what aspects do you think ecosystems and projects like BNB Chain should focus on in order to drive industry development, build confidence, and achieve sustainable long-term growth?
CZ: This is a simple question. For those building the industry, you should ignore market fluctuations. Whether the market goes up or down, it will grow in the long run. Bitcoin will do very well in the long run, and major cryptocurrencies will perform well. I believe most mainstream blockchains will have good prospects right now.
As a builder, you shouldn't worry too much about short-term price fluctuations. You should focus on building applications that people will actually use. Users don't use applications based on your token price, but rather on the specific functionality your product offers, whether it's a wallet, trading platform, stablecoin for USD payments, tokenized assets, or other application tokens. As long as you build what people need, they will use these products in the long run.
I believe that as a builder, you don't need to worry too much about short-term market fluctuations. However, if you have issued tokens, you should maintain consistency in product updates, ensure token holders are fully informed about your activities and product roadmap, make it clear what you are doing so they can better assess the risks and opportunities of holding the tokens, and maintain frequent communication with the community. This is my advice. So far, the projects I've worked with have followed this advice, and most have done it well.
Motivation for continuing in the crypto field
Question: CZ, people often call you the richest person in the crypto industry. I think people are adding up your finances, funds, and your hypothetical assets, but we know that's not accurate. You've achieved a lot of success, done a great job, and I'm very grateful to you for making a lot of money in the crypto space. So why do you continue doing this? Why are you still here, doing all this?
CZ: First of all, I completely agree with what you said. Indeed, many people confuse Binance users' assets with Binance's own or my personal assets. Firstly, I am currently relatively financially well-off, but I am not focused on making money. Furthermore, I've experienced a lot in life, and I think most people would understand that after these experiences, you realize what is truly important to you and what isn't. For me, health is very important, family is very important, meaningful connections and experiences are also important, and contributing positively to my country and society is also important to me; it gives me great satisfaction. I don't do these things for any particular purpose, but because doing things that have a positive impact on the world makes me feel good. I believe we are born with this tendency; any animal instinctively tends to help its own kind because those that don't are often eliminated by evolution. So I think we are naturally inclined to help our fellow human beings and hope that we can make the world a better place than when we came into it.
We want to make a positive contribution. So when we do that, we feel a strong inner reward that makes me happy. That's why I do it. And, especially after what I've been through, I now value the simple joys in life even more. I'm also fortunate to have enough resources to do meaningful things; I have enough talent, a team, funding, and time to do them. While I'm not particularly young, I'm not too old either. So I'm capable of doing these things. Few people my age have the luxury of doing what they want to do. And Binance has been running well for two and a half years and can continue without me. This frees me to do other things, like the Giggle Academy, working with world leaders to advance the crypto industry. All of these things are difficult to do full-time as a CEO. So I feel very fortunate to be in this position, in good health, and I feel I should do something meaningful. Skiing is great, but I can't do it forever, right? I can do it for a few days, a few seasons, a few months, but I can't do it for 30 days straight—that's too tiring. So I still need to do something meaningful, and that's what drives me forward. Thank you everyone, and thank you for this opportunity.
Discussion of Ray Dalio's principles and corporate management experience
Question: CZ, you've mentioned Ray Dalio's principles several times in your speeches. I'd like to ask, in this highly volatile and challenging environment where the financial industry is developing very rapidly, which principles do you find most difficult to follow in real life? Have you ever compromised on certain principles in order to protect your company?
CZ: I'm not sure which specific principle you're referring to, but I wrote a blog post listing all the principles, about 30 to 40 in total. Let me start by answering a simple, but interesting, question. I think the hardest principle to follow is actually "saving time." Many people know that time is important, more valuable than money. You only have a limited amount of time in a day, right? That can't be scaled up. You can delegate tasks, you can hire a team, but you still only have 24 hours.
There are also meetings where many things take time, making it difficult to refuse because it seems impolite. Some senior employees might say, "Can I have a meeting with my friend to discuss this and that?" You then wonder, should I accept this meeting? What do they want to discuss? Being impolite to save time is the hardest thing to do. I'm very proactive in refusing now, but even I sometimes worry about offending people. Unfortunately, many people are very shy and polite if they ask to borrow $1,000, but when they say, "Can I talk to you for five minutes?"—which actually takes up half an hour to an hour of your time—they don't mind at all and don't see it as a problem. Most people won't directly tell you, "I just need five minutes to discuss some specific things," and then you can say, "No, I don't want to have this meeting" or "This meeting won't take place." Most people aren't efficient, and making the people around you efficient is very difficult, actually very difficult. People will think you're impolite, and I'll avoid using profanity here. But I think this is the hardest thing I do of all my principles, and also the most useful. If you can do this, you'll truly optimize your time, and the people around you will become incredibly efficient, making you even more efficient yourself. I believe this is actually a crucial factor for success.
Other principles, such as protecting users and user assets—we will protect user assets no matter what—are very strong, so they are actually relatively easy to implement throughout my career, especially now that we are building Binance. We are very cautious and protective of anything involving user assets. So while these are difficult, their strength makes them relatively easy to achieve. Regarding time management, many people want to maintain politeness but don't adequately protect their own time.
My thoughts on the Aster blockchain and its future development.
Question: Could you share some information about Aster and its competitors, as well as the future direction of the Aster blockchain? You previously mentioned that privacy is very important in blockchain, and blockchain speed is also crucial. What are your thoughts on this?
CZ: First of all, I'm just an advisor to Aster. They have their own team operating within them, and Leonard and his team are very proactive and excellent. Comparatively, they're a slightly later entrant and still have a lot to catch up on. But I believe their team is very strong, which is why I'm willing to offer them advice. I think the product landscape in this field is vast and far from complete; we're just getting started. This field will exist for the next 10, 20, or even 50 years, and it's uncertain who the ultimate winners will be—maybe today's players, maybe not. But clearly, today's strong players have a great opportunity. So I fully support them and will do everything I can to help them.
I find the emerging new blockchains very interesting. A perfect blockchain faces many challenges; technically, it's not as simple as people imagine. At the same time, it's interesting to see different participants moving in different directions. Some teams emphasize complete transparency, with all information visible, while others advocate for protecting transaction privacy.
I find this very interesting and it's great to see different participants pursuing different paths. It's unclear which path will ultimately be widely adopted, or whether multiple platforms will succeed simultaneously. But I think it's all very fascinating. So I'm standing by as their supporter, doing my best to cheer them on. I have high hopes for them.
Suggestions for the Chinese Crypto Community and its International Development
Question: I'd like to ask you how the Chinese crypto community can present a responsible, innovative, and welcoming image to the world, especially how to better expand globally. International tokens like Shitcoin and Dogecoin are already competing globally. As a veteran in building the BNB ecosystem, could you offer some advice?
CZ: This is a rather broad question. First of all, I can't represent the entire Chinese-speaking community, nor can I represent such a large group. Although I speak Chinese, my Chinese isn't particularly standard. From my personal perspective, I support the development of both the Chinese and English-speaking communities, and I hope both communities can become stronger and better. I will continue to support and promote Chinese content in the language environments I can use. In fact, I've already promoted Chinese content in many English-speaking communities, and of course, I could probably do more. Many foreign friends have mentioned that I speak too much Chinese, but I don't think their complaints are my fault. I will promote content in both languages simultaneously.
As a Chinese person, I feel that we sometimes compete too fiercely internally. Many recent cases of fake news, in my opinion, are likely the work of competitors or friendly businesses. Therefore, I believe the Chinese-language community is not yet united enough. If we truly want to improve, we should unite more and enhance the international influence of the entire Chinese-language community.
However, currently, there isn't enough unity among everyone, making it quite difficult to achieve this goal. I think our goal should be to unite the Chinese community, Chinese platforms, Chinese projects, and Chinese tokens, rather than undermining or attacking each other. Undermining is fine, but pointless attacks are completely unnecessary. So, that's my opinion.
Predicting the focus of crypto capital and markets in 2026
Question: In the next two or three years, perhaps 2026 or 2027, where do you think the real focus of capital and builders in the crypto industry will be? What signals should the ecosystem pay attention to early on?
CZ: This is a difficult question to answer; it falls into the category of prediction. My predictions might be wrong, but I do believe that a lot of attention is currently focused on Real-World Assets (RWAs). From my experience talking to people, every country I've encountered wants to tokenize its assets. Because for countries, if they tokenize their assets, they can immediately access funds, and goods can only be delivered when people want to exchange them for tokens. Tokens create the economic foundation for that asset class and allow for the construction of infrastructure for it.
For example, when talking about gold, many countries haven't even mined their own. Other countries talk about precious minerals, even salt, or water. Many countries have abundant mountain water resources. Kyrgyzstan, for instance, has vast water resources, and if they could tokenize these resources, the value of water could potentially exceed that of oil. Today, the price of a liter of drinking water is often higher than that of oil. Tokenizing water could generate substantial revenue.
I believe the tokenization of real-world assets will become a very big trend. And prediction markets could become incredibly popular next year or this year, especially around the World Cup. Prediction markets will also heat up during other major events like elections. I think these trends are relatively obvious, but I could be wrong. Sometimes unexpected things will suddenly emerge and become very popular. So, the trends over the next few years could be very interesting.
Compliance issues related to DEX
Question: I'd like to ask your views on the compliance issues that DEXs may face in the next three to five years? If so, when or at what point do you think this issue might arise?
CZ: That's a difficult question. First of all, I'm not a compliance expert, and compliance isn't a simple matter. Each country has different compliance requirements, so it's hard to predict how things will develop. Take the US as an example; a year ago, many people probably couldn't have predicted that the US would now have such a positive attitude towards the crypto industry. This field changes very quickly, so it's hard to say how it will develop in the future.
There are different types of DEXs, including fully decentralized DEXs and some that are more centralized with fewer nodes. Therefore, different types of DEXs involve different issues.
I think the compliance issues for DEXs will vary, and it's hard to predict how they will develop in the future. I also can't foresee the specific practices of each country. But overall, there's increasing discussion about the crypto space, and more and more countries and regulatory agencies are starting to pay attention to this topic, which I think is a positive trend. As for when DEXs will face compliance issues and how they will specifically develop, I really don't have a precise answer. Many countries haven't even figured out how to regulate CEXs yet; they're still discussing it. Therefore, I think the compliance issues for DEXs will likely emerge in the next phase, and it may be a long-term process.
US support for the crypto market and the role of stablecoins
Question: Regarding the US's focus on the crypto market, do you think stablecoins are gradually overshadowing Bitcoin under the US government's leadership? What do you think is the current focus of the US's attention on the crypto market?
CZ: I don't know much about the US, and it's a large country with many different players and voices. However, from what I understand, the Clarity Act, passed last year, provides significant clarity on the regulation of stablecoins, and it's been about six to seven months since then. This is a very positive sign for the US and will also help the development of crypto in other countries around the world. I've seen a lot of discussion about the Clarity Act, and I hope it passes. The US government's support for crypto will drive the industry's development, help the country's financial system, and allow the US to maintain its leading position in the global financial system. The US is already a global leader in finance, including traditional financial institutions like Wall Street. Adopting this new technology earlier than other countries will further solidify its leading advantage.
Overall, the US's current support for the crypto industry is very beneficial to the global crypto sector. However, it's important for other countries to catch up as soon as possible by adopting favorable regulatory policies to attract talent, industry participants, and drive industry development. Therefore, I believe that overall, the US's current support for the crypto market is positive and beneficial to the rest of the world.
As for whether stablecoins have replaced Bitcoin in terms of attention, I'm not sure how to answer that question strictly, but the current US policy on crypto certainly has a significant impact globally.
The potential and future applications of combining AI and blockchain
Question: AI is developing very rapidly, and you must have felt this change recently, especially in terms of large-scale applications. I've also studied BNB Chain's roadmap and understand that by 2025, BNB Chain plans to launch "AI First" and promote AI integration and tool provision. What are your views on the practical application prospects of AI combined with the tourism industry? Or, in other words, what types of AI applications do you think will truly be implemented, widely adopted, survive, and gain popularity?
CZ: I think AI is developing very rapidly, and blockchain is also developing rapidly. How can these two industries combine now? Currently, everyone is still in a long-term exploratory stage, and there may not yet be a fully integrated super application. But I believe that as AI capabilities improve, whether it's AI payments or AI applications in data training, they will all be combined with digital currencies.
Personally, I believe that payment is likely to be the earliest area of application. Although it is still in its early stages and many people are experimenting, there is no clear trend yet. However, looking at the long term, in the next 2, 3, or even 5 or 10 years, I think there will be tens of thousands of AI agents with payment needs. The payment methods they use will almost certainly be digital currencies, especially many of which will be high-frequency payments such as small-amount payments and cross-border payments. These payments will most likely be based on blockchain technology.
Balancing Freedom of Speech and Corporate Responsibility
Question: Although you have not been the official CEO since 2023, your voice still carries significant influence. How do you balance free speech with your responsibility to the Binance ecosystem?
CZ: I don't think there's any balance to speak of, nor is there any need for balance. I don't manage Binance; I'm a believer in freedom of speech and will continue to hold that position.
I live most of the time in a country with free speech and am very active on social media. I think I will continue to do so, and I don't feel it will affect anything else. Whether others think my words carry weight or not will not change the way I speak. I simply be myself, whether others like it or not. Sometimes I hear people suggest that there's a lot of negative information about me right now, and I might want to be quieter. I say, no, I don't want to do that; that would actually work. I won't let others change my behavior; I will be myself.
Therefore, I don't think there's a conflict in your question. I express my opinions, do what I believe is best, and interact with the community in a way that I feel is appropriate and helpful. That's what I do. So, I try not to change anything.
Competition and integration between CEX and DEX
Question: Will there be more competition between CEX and DEX in the future, or will they merge? Which will different users choose, CEX or DEX?
CZ: The question is about CEX and DEX, which users will choose which one, and how they will develop. I think they will coexist for a long time; at least for now, they serve two very different user groups.
CEXs operate through your account, while DEXs trade directly from your wallet. However, securely managing your wallet is currently a specialized skill, and most people cannot protect their wallets effectively on their own. If you want to trade actively on a DEX, you need a secure computer. You can't just download files from the internet or open pictures sent to you by friends. You need to take many precautions to ensure your computer doesn't get infected with viruses. If your wallet is stored on your computer, you're at great risk if your computer gets infected. This is completely different from CEX users, who use email addresses and passwords and have customer support.
Currently, cryptocurrency adoption remains low. Globally, only about 8% to 10% of users have experience with cryptocurrencies, and possibly even less. Looking at the wealth of these individuals, only a tiny fraction—less than 10%—contains cryptocurrency in their online wealth, meaning global cryptocurrency adoption is less than 1%. For most users, especially non-technical users, when they want to use cryptocurrency, they typically choose centralized exchanges (CEXs) first. So they use CEXs, and may switch to decentralized exchanges (DEXs) as they become more familiar with them. However, in today's crypto world, early adopters are mostly tech enthusiasts, what we call "geeks." These people are more likely to switch to DEXs. For most ordinary users, switching to DEXs is actually quite difficult. But at the same time, tools will improve over time. I hope these tools will develop to the point where non-technical users can easily hold cryptocurrency. At that point, more people may use DEXs.
However, current DEX products are relatively simple; you need different platforms for trading, lending, saving, and payments. The ideal future is for your wallet, such as Trust Wallet, to integrate all of these services, providing a unified experience. This is the direction we and the larger ecosystem are striving towards.
Therefore, from a technological perspective, CEXs and DEXs are not directly competitive. Even if there were competition, there are thousands upon thousands of CEXs and DEXs, making the market huge enough to accommodate many players. Okay, that's a rather long answer to this question.
Support and development opportunities for the African crypto market
Question: Regarding the role of emerging markets, particularly Africa, how do you see its contribution to driving crypto adoption? With a growing number of talented founders and builders emerging across the continent, how does Binance plan to support and incorporate African innovators through incubation programs like YZ Labs and other ecosystem partnerships?
CZ: If you look at all the crypto platforms, including exchanges, wallets, and any commercial platform, Binance has the largest presence and the most effort invested in Africa. I think we, Binance, BNB Chain, and the entire ecosystem, including myself, have invested a lot in Africa. I have been to more than 12 African countries. We have a lot of work going on in Africa.
From the early days, and even today, my philosophy remains the same: we want to bring as many people as possible into the crypto world. Frankly, Africa's overall GDP per capita is lower than most other continents. Therefore, the returns and income from doing business in Africa are relatively low.
I believe this is one reason why many platforms don't focus on Africa. But I firmly believe that if we can empower the entire African population, their economic strength will grow, and the business returns will follow in a few years. Moreover, Africa presents a rather unique opportunity. Banking penetration is extremely low, I think less than 11%, which means that with the widespread adoption of smartphones, Africans can directly access the crypto space without relying on banks. This is exactly what we're seeing right now. From my personal perspective, this is a golden opportunity for any crypto business or platform.
Furthermore, YZi Labs has invested heavily in Africa from the very beginning. We once had a director directly responsible for investments who had lived in Africa for a long time; his name was Yelai. He's no longer with the team to pursue his own startup, but he was part of the team for many years and was particularly focused on the African market. Therefore, we've done a lot and hope to do even more. From the perspective of BNB Chain and YZi Labs, we are very willing to do more in Africa and hope more people will help us.
Regarding the coming crypto winter
Question: Do you think a crypto winter is coming? Like the "crypto winter" that everyone talks about?
CZ: Markets are cyclical and fluctuate, and everyone has a different definition of a "crypto winter." Looking at some indicators, if you look at Bitcoin's price, it has fallen quite a bit from its all-time high. It's actually better now than it was a year and a half ago. So how do you define a "crypto winter"? I'm not entirely sure, but market volatility is high. Even traditional markets, like gold and silver, experience a lot of volatility.
However, in the long run, the crypto industry will thrive. While not every cryptocurrency will succeed, and many will fail, excellent projects will perform exceptionally well. That's my view. I have a long-term perspective on the industry and am not overly concerned about short-term fluctuations.
For investors or traders present, managing risk is crucial. You need to understand that this is an extremely volatile industry, and whatever investment you make, you need to ensure you can withstand that volatility.
