After receiving a pardon from U.S. President Trump and experiencing a dramatic turn in his personal fate, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) recently accepted an in-depth group interview for the first time. He not only shared his grand prediction for the future of the cryptocurrency industry, estimating it could reach a scale of $40 trillion, but also candidly revealed his tumultuous journey and unique life philosophy. This interview paints a complex picture of the intertwining evolution of the industry, company strategy, and personal beliefs.
1. Future Blueprint of the Industry: From Payment Breakthrough to a Trillion-Dollar Market
CZ believes that for cryptocurrency to truly enter the daily lives of the public, breakthroughs in the payment sector are key. He recalled that the original design of the Bitcoin white paper was as a "peer-to-peer electronic cash payment system," but to this day, speculative financial products dominate on-chain, and truly usable payment solutions have yet to become widespread.
● Core Challenges and Pathways: Price volatility is the main obstacle, and stablecoins are the theoretical solution. CZ sees the realistic path as integrating with traditional payment networks like Visa and Mastercard, such as the "Binance Card" model—where users spend crypto assets and merchants receive fiat currency. He admitted that such businesses have previously been hindered by regulatory policies but hopes they will become popular again in the coming years.
● Prerequisites for Mainstream Adoption: CZ emphasized that mainstream adoption will be a slow process. A clear regulatory framework is the primary prerequisite, and currently, there are very few countries with forward-looking regulations. He also pointed out that deep integration of the crypto industry with the existing financial system, rather than separation, is the best way to achieve large-scale adoption.
● Stunning Market Prediction: Based on the prerequisites for application implementation, CZ made a bold prediction about the industry scale. He noted that the current total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies is only about $3-4 trillion, while in the future, it will reach at least $30-40 trillion. He believes that only when large-scale applications like payments are truly implemented and more financial scenarios migrate on-chain can the industry be considered to have "just begun."
2. The Trial-and-Error Journey of Personal and Company: From Decentralized Ideals to Regulatory Realities
Reflecting on Binance's entrepreneurial journey, CZ described it as a process filled with repeated trials and adjustments. This "trial-and-error" is not only evident in business strategies but also profoundly reflects the collision between ideals and realities in the crypto industry.
● Deviation Between Vision and Reality: When founding Binance, CZ aimed to enter the global top ten within three years, but it became the number one globally just five months later, far exceeding expectations. However, in terms of the company's organizational structure, they experienced repeated realizations: initially planning to establish a physical headquarters, then shifting to a completely decentralized model (no headquarters), and ultimately adjusting again due to regulatory requirements, confirming the reality that centralized exchanges need to "have licenses, be regulated, and have a clear headquarters."
● Portrait of a New Generation of Entrepreneurs: Looking ahead, CZ believes that the founders who will stand out will be product-driven. They focus on building products that can be used daily, prioritizing users over market speculation. Additionally, due to the industry's extreme volatility and the cyclical changes in the regulatory environment, only those entrepreneurs who are unafraid of fluctuations and can persist in the long term will ultimately survive.
● Views on the DAT Model: Regarding the Digital Asset Trust (DAT) model led by MicroStrategy, where publicly traded companies hold digital assets, CZ believes its underlying logic is valid and provides an effective structure for traditional companies to gain exposure to crypto assets. This model will continue, but he cautioned that the lower the management fees and the simpler the structure of the DAT model, the better. If it involves actively investing in a basket of assets, it has turned into another type of highly management-dependent professional business.
3. Strategic Shift: The U.S. as an "Emerging Market" and Philanthropic Investment
Receiving a pardon from Trump marked a watershed moment in CZ's life and directly changed Binance's strategic stance in the U.S. At the same time, his personal career focus has also shifted significantly.
● U.S.: From Withdrawal to Re-entering as an "Emerging Market": CZ candidly stated that during the Biden administration, Binance's relationship with the U.S. was tense, and its business significantly contracted. For example, its market share plummeted from 35% in 2023 to single digits. After the pardon, the situation "reopened," and he views the U.S. as an "emerging market" that needs to be re-explored. He expressed a strong desire to help the U.S. become the "global cryptocurrency center," planning to bring quality crypto businesses back to the U.S. and assist local institutional investors in accessing the BNB ecosystem. However, he clarified that there is currently no business collaboration with the Trump family.
● Full Commitment to Educational Philanthropy: Giggle Academy: CZ is currently dedicating a significant amount of energy to the completely non-profit free educational platform "Giggle Academy." The project has approximately 88,000 child users, with thousands added each week, offering around 300 courses and thousands of storybooks translated by AI. The initial operating funds for the project came from CZ personally, and later the community donated about $11 million through a related meme coin.
● Calmness in Leadership Changes: When discussing stepping down as CEO of Binance, CZ revealed that he wrote a farewell letter in tears at 4 a.m. the night he announced the decision. However, he now believes that life moves forward, and the company is operating well under the new leadership (such as He Yi), and frequent, healthy leadership rotations are beneficial for the company's long-term development.
4. Life Philosophy Insights: Finding Joy and Peace Amid Uncertainty
After experiencing extreme ups and downs, including hefty fines, imprisonment, and a presidential pardon, CZ has developed a unique life philosophy, which he candidly shared during the interview.
● Embracing Uncertainty: When asked, "If you could make five wishes to God before you die, what would they be?" CZ's answer was unexpected. He believes five wishes are too many; one is enough. He admitted that he does not have many extravagant desires because the excitement of life comes precisely from its unpredictability. He used a game analogy: "If you know you will win from the start, it won't be fun. A game that requires struggle, caution, and effort to win is interesting."
● The Only Wish: The only wish he ultimately shared was: "I hope everyone has health, and I hope God doesn't put me in too many unfortunate situations." In his view, health is the most important but also not entirely controllable, and he feels very lucky and satisfied at present.
● Psychological Shield Against Attacks: As someone who has long been in the public eye, CZ maintains his mental health in a simple yet firm manner. He categorizes online attacks into two types: one is the mainstream media's anti-crypto narrative driven by fear of new technologies; the other is investors who complain about the platform after losing money in trades. He sympathizes with the latter but believes everyone must take responsibility for their investments. His core belief that allows him to sleep soundly every night is: "I know that no one has been defrauded because of my actions, and users have not lost their assets because of us; I know I am helping many people."
5. The Global Significance of Crypto and New Chapters in Personal Career
CZ's vision is not limited to the industry and himself; he also elaborated on the special value of cryptocurrencies for developing countries and outlined his plans in investment and philanthropy.
● Empowering Developing Countries: CZ believes that there are more opportunities for crypto in developing countries, as it can address real pain points:
○ Improving Financial Efficiency: He cited an example of someone who used to spend three days walking to town to pay bills, but with cryptocurrency, it now takes only three minutes.
○ Countering Inflation: In many countries with unstable fiat currencies, Bitcoin and stablecoins can serve as effective hedging tools.
○ Seizing Demographic Dividends: Countries with a high proportion of young people (like Pakistan, with an average age of 25) are more receptive to new technologies, leading to naturally high demand for crypto.
● Wealth Perspective and Philanthropic Direction: CZ views money as a tool rather than something to hoard. Currently, the social issue he is most concerned about is education, and he mainly invests in Giggle Academy. He is also exploring other areas, such as projects to restore soil microorganisms, which combine environmental benefits with sustainable business models. His ideal philanthropy is to be entirely completed through blockchain, achieving complete transparency and traceability of fund flows.
● Daily Habits and Path to Success: CZ shared two daily habits he considers crucial:
○ Daily Learning: Schools do not teach essential social skills like entrepreneurship, emotional intelligence, and financial literacy, so one must self-learn to maintain an open mindset and seize new opportunities.
○ Balancing Effort and Health: Entrepreneurship is physically demanding, requiring the ability to work intensively while maintaining health.
At the end of the interview, CZ painted a picture of his ultimate future vision: a world where people no longer talk about "blockchain" or "Web3," just as they do not mention the "TCP/IP" protocol today. The underlying technology is completely hidden behind the scenes, and people naturally use products for payments or transactions. This blueprint reflects not only his judgment on the industry's endgame but also seems to metaphorically express his hope that his personal legendary story will ultimately settle behind products and services.
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