Written by: Techub News Compilation
Recently, CZ (Changpeng Zhao), the founder of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance, rarely accepted a nearly two-hour in-depth interview on the PBD Podcast. A considerable amount of time has passed since he reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, resigned from his CEO position, and served four months in prison. In this dialogue, CZ shed the halo of "crypto billionaire" and, with an extremely candid attitude, reflected on Binance's entrepreneurial epic from zero to a trillion-dollar trading volume empire, shared his observations on the dramatic changes in the U.S. regulatory environment, revealed the deeper reasons for choosing to settle in the UAE, and discussed his vision for the future integration of AI and cryptocurrency. For practitioners hoping to understand the past decade's development trajectory and future trends in the crypto industry, this conversation provided a rare internal perspective.
Settling in the UAE: The Ultimate Choice for Safety, Business-Friendliness, and Crypto-Friendliness
The interview began with CZ's recent travels, having just flown from the UAE to the United States. When asked why he chose the UAE as his place of residence, CZ gave a very straightforward reason: safety, zero crime rate, and a business-friendly, supportive regulatory environment for crypto. He shared a vivid example: in the UAE, even if you leave a wallet containing thousands of dollars on the street and come back a week later, it is likely still in the same place, with all the cash intact. This extreme public safety translates into a sense of financial and business security.
More importantly, CZ pointed out that the UAE is one of the few jurisdictions in the world offering "global crypto licenses," which is crucial for borderless businesses like Binance. He compared the early hostility of the Biden administration toward the crypto industry, admitting that at the time, he "stayed as far away from the U.S. as possible." However, over the past year and a half, the U.S. regulatory stance has made a complete turnaround, becoming crypto-friendly, which he believes makes the U.S. once again a good place for entrepreneurship, though he has firmly established his personal life focus in the UAE.
Host Patrick Bet-David derived a profound economic observation: in today's world, the composition of wealth has reversed from 85%-93% being tangible assets (factories, land) in the 1970s to 92% being intangible assets (intellectual property, brands, cryptocurrencies, AI). This means high-net-worth individuals and businesses can easily move across borders. CZ fully agreed with this point and added that in the blockchain and crypto fields, the "borderless" nature of assets is particularly evident. "Your Bitcoin belongs to you no matter where you are, without the need for transfer." He believes that this forces countries to compete in tax and regulatory policies to attract talent and capital. Areas that impose high "wealth taxes" may end up with the opposite effect in the long run.
Entrepreneurial Epic: Selling Home to Go All in on Bitcoin and the Lightning Rise of Binance
CZ reflected on his growth experience: born in a rural area of China, he moved to Canada at the age of 12, studied computer science at McGill University in Montreal, and then entered the fintech field, having worked at Bloomberg in New York, among others. He described himself as just an "ordinary bookworm" during his teenage years, with no signs that he would create a giant company in the future.
The turning point in his life occurred in 2013. During a poker game, his friend Ron Cao mentioned Bitcoin to him. Subsequently, he also spoke with Bobby Lee, who was about to join BTC China. After delving deeply into it, CZ was profoundly shocked. "I realized this was a greater technology than the internet." At the age of 36, he was determined not to miss this wave. He made two bold decisions: sell his $900,000 apartment in Shanghai and invest everything in Bitcoin; at the same time, quit his job and devote himself completely to the crypto industry.
"My average purchase price was about $600," CZ revealed. Based on the current Bitcoin price, this investment is now worth over $100 million. He explained that making this decision was not a blind gamble but based on confidence in his own skills. "I knew that if Bitcoin went to zero, I could still find work on Wall Street or at a bank." This risk tolerance stemmed from his self-awareness of his value.
Before founding Binance, CZ worked at Blockchain.info and China's cryptocurrency exchange OKCoin, gaining valuable industry experience. In 2017, he led a team to launch Binance and raised $15 million through an initial coin offering (ICO). Surprisingly, investors at that time were generally pessimistic, believing that “the exchange sector was too crowded,” yet community users were highly enthusiastic.
The speed of Binance's rise is nothing short of miraculous. A month after its launch, its platform token BNB soared by 2900% within a week. CZ recalled that, in an early financial report, the company had earned "hundreds of Bitcoins" within a few months, at one point doubting the figure. "Our team was very small, costs were extremely low, and profits were substantial." In about a year, Binance achieved $1 billion in profit, becoming one of the fastest companies in history to reach this milestone.
He attributed part of the success to an extremely low fee strategy. "Our rates may be 20 times lower than some American competitors." CZ articulated his business philosophy: "You should charge the minimum from every transaction and profit by increasing the scale of transactions. If you provide 10 in value and only charge 2, and can sustain that, the business will grow rapidly." This strategy quickly won Binance a significant market share, peaking at 70% of global cryptocurrency trading volume.
Regulatory Storm, AI Future, and Personal Wealth Philosophy
The interview inevitably touched on Binance's conflicts and resolution with U.S. regulators. CZ calmly stated that, although he is no longer the CEO, he remains the single largest shareholder of the company and has the corresponding influence, but he no longer participates in daily operations. He emphasized that shareholder rights are intact.
The topic shifted to the more futuristic AI. CZ revealed that, according to what he heard, Binance is currently spending as much as $10 million a month on AI services (likely token fees), mainly for code development and customer support. He predicts that in the future, everyone will have thousands of AI agents working for them, handling various tasks from editing podcasts to booking travel. AI will greatly enhance social productivity, accelerating drug development, new material discovery, and space exploration. However, he also acknowledged that the risks of AI gaining self-awareness are real, and ensuring AI's safe development is a significant challenge.
Despite his fortune being estimated at several billion dollars by Forbes, CZ's personal life is exceptionally simple. He describes himself as a "basic model" person, not collecting artworks, luxury cars, or any luxury goods. His biggest "extravagance" is flying on a private jet for privacy and security. He lives in a regular house that is "suitable for a big family," and the most commonly driven vehicle in the garage is a Lexus van. He clearly states his plan to donate 99% of his wealth in his lifetime, as "a person simply cannot spend more than 1% of their money." He agrees with the host's view that wealth should not just be handed over to charity after one's death, as the mission of an organization may deviate from the donor’s original intention; he prefers to personally plan while alive to maximize the positive impact of his wealth.
Freedom, Geopolitics, and Unsolved Mysteries
At the end of the interview, CZ shared his values and network of relationships. He supports Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter (now X) and invested $500 million because he believes that the premise of "monetary freedom" is "freedom of speech," and X is an important "digital square" globally. His new book is titled "Freedom of Money," reflecting this idea.
He denied rumors linking him to the Chinese government or the Chinese Communist Party, stating that these accusations are "completely false." He has been away from China for over thirty years, and his business cannot operate there. He characterizes his thinking and business style as closer to the capitalist models of the United States and Canada.
When asked what unsolved mystery in the world he would like to uncover using resources, CZ's choice was surprising: he wants to know the real discussions and decision-making details behind the United States' departure from the Gold Standard in 1971. He believes this event is closely related to the cryptocurrency industry and thinks that leaving the Gold Standard at that time may have been necessary to stimulate economic development, but the resulting unchecked inflation and human greed have also brought long-term problems.
The entire interview presented a complex and real CZ: he is both a giant who has transformed the industry with foresight and execution and a "regular person" with a simple life and a clear understanding of wealth. His story is far from over, as he said; the future of the integration of crypto and AI, along with Binance's next target of serving 3 billion users, is still on the way.
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