Exclusive interview with CZ: Optimistic about AI and Desci, 99% of memes will eventually fail

TechFlow 編譯編輯

Guest: Changpeng Zhao, Founder of Binance

Moderator: Farokh

Podcast source: FAROKH RADIO

Original title: CZ talks Life inside Prison, Trump Presidency, and state of Crypto!

Air date: May 6, 2025

重點總結

In this exclusive interview, Farokh sat down with Binance founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao, also known as “CZ.” They discussed CZ’s experience in prison and how he learned from it, his thoughts on a possible second Trump presidency, and his overall thoughts and feelings about the current 加密貨幣貨幣行業。

Summary of highlights

• The highest price of Bitcoin in this cycle may be between $500,000 and $1 million. At the end of the year, the total market value of the cryptocurrency market is about $5 trillion.

• Judging from the current trend, the government will buy Bitcoin more and more. I hope ordinary investors can buy Bitcoin before the government.

• I realized I was never going to be a Memecoin trader. I wasnt a cryptocurrency trader. I was more of a platform builder, building tools for people to use, rather than trading myself.

• Artificial intelligence (AI) is a very important field, and I am particularly interested in the scientific field. In addition, there are some application areas that are closer to reality, such as RWA (real world assets), and ETF is also a very interesting direction.

• An obvious problem in the industry right now is the overheating of Memecoins. Too much money is pouring into these Memecoins in the market. In the short term, 99.999% of Memecoins will eventually fail.

• I think the traditional media industry needs to change, otherwise they will be eliminated by the times. Some reports are often not investigating real issues, but with clear personal agendas, specifically targeting certain people. This practice is not only unprofitable, but also damages the reputation of the company.

• I realized that health is the most important thing, followed by family, then work and other things. In prison, you find that you don’t really miss good food, although you miss a comfortable bed occasionally, but what I miss most is my family.

• In the past, I was not sensitive to issues like geopolitics, but now I realize that these political agendas may directly affect individuals and may even get you into trouble. So, I am more careful now.

• In the future, decentralized exchanges will be bigger than centralized exchanges. We hope to invest heavily in these areas.

• 交換s exist not only for speculators, although they provide liquidity, but more importantly to create a healthy ecological environment for long-term builders.

• I work at least six days a week, sometimes six and a half days. Even on the weekends, I have meetings scheduled. Even when I’m not working, my mind is always thinking about work-related things.

Farokh: Hi everyone, Im Farokh and welcome to Rock Radio. Todays guest is the legendary CZ, founder of Binance. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me. Do you like life here? I know you have a close relationship with the royal family here. What is it like living in the desert?

CZ: I live here, so I love it. I could have chosen to live almost anywhere in the world, but I chose here because I think this country is amazing. Dubai is very busy, but now its a bit crowded, and its developing very fast. Abu Dhabi is quieter and more low-key, but at the same time very powerful. I think this is one of the best countries in the world in terms of leadership.

Farokh: We have a lot to talk about today, such as your views on the cryptocurrency industry, Trumps presidency, Abu Dhabis government policies, etc. I wanted to talk about crypto legislation, but I think that part is too boring, so Ill skip it today. We may talk about your prison experience, the comparison between centralized and decentralized exchanges, and even 模因幣. If time permits, we can also talk about Binance. Of course, there is also a prediction game session at the end. Your predictions this year are very accurate, so lets see what will happen next today.

Will Not Be a Memecoin Trader

Farokh: What have you gained from participating in BNB Memecoin?

CZ:

I think this is actually quite interesting. I was in the US last year doing other things and missed the whole Memecoin craze. When I came back to the space, everyone was talking about Memecoins, but in reality, a lot of the projects had no real utility.

The process was actually quite interesting, but not easy. At first I thought I just needed to design a picture and post it, but later I found that there were many rules and etiquette in the community. For example, many people asked me the name of my pet and asked me to post a photo. I never expected that a photo would trigger so much PvP.

At first I thought it was just an interesting experiment, so I decided to release a preview and then officially release it 24 hours later to create some hype. Unexpectedly, thousands of Broccoli popped up when it was released, and there was even debate among the community.

During this process, I felt that the culture and community atmosphere of Memecoin was very strong. At the same time, I also learned that being a major trader is not easy. They are in group chats every day, always paying attention to which new coins will become popular. After all this, I realized that I will never be a Memecoin trader. In fact, I am not a cryptocurrency trader myself. I prefer to be a platform builder, building tools for people to use, rather than participating in transactions myself. But no matter what, we always pay attention to the needs of the community, and if the community is interested in Memecoin, we will do our best to support it.

At that time, I also thought, Okay, lets study BNB Chain and its ecosystem. I started to participate more in this field because people wanted me to spend more time on it. After all, my participation can really bring more attention to it. I also hope to provide some help to the BNBChain ecosystem. Although I cant directly participate in the affairs of decentralized exchanges (DEX), I have no restrictions in terms of the decentralized BNB ecosystem. So I will invest my time where I can participate and promote the development of the ecosystem as much as possible.

Optimistic about AI and Desci

Farokh: What is the most interesting part of the industry for you?

CZ:

In fact, behind the seemingly lively discussions in the industry, there are many things happening quietly that deserve attention.

First of all, artificial intelligence (AI) is a very important field. The combination of AI and blockchain has great potential. Blockchain can directly utilize the capabilities of AI, and AI can also achieve more functions on blockchain.

Secondly, I am particularly interested in the field of science. I believe that in the long run, the impact of science will be very profound. Financing scientific research has always been a difficult problem because it usually takes a long time to bear fruit. For investors who pursue short-term returns, this is obviously not attractive enough. But I believe that scientific research, especially in the field of biotechnology, will become very important in the future.

Through cryptocurrency and smart contracts, we can raise funds for scientific projects and release funds in stages according to research progress or time nodes. This model can also incentivize the participation of millions of small research laboratories around the world. Combined with the power of big data and artificial intelligence, I believe we will have significant breakthroughs in drug development and understanding of human biology. These advances are not only possible, but are actually being achieved step by step.

In addition, there are some more realistic application areas, such as RWA (real world assets). Some large traditional companies are exploring this area, such as BlackRock, which is trying to trade assets through blockchain technology.

In addition, ETF is a very interesting direction. It brings funds from traditional financial institutions into the cryptocurrency market. In the United States, institutional investors account for most of the capital inflows, while the situation is slightly different in other regions. We can already see the impact of this trend, such as the recent rise in Bitcoin prices, which is closely related to the promotion of Bitcoin-based ETFs. So, I think there are still many things worth looking forward to in the industry.

Is the institutionalization of cryptocurrency a threat to its ethos?

Farokh: Are you worried that cryptocurrencies have become so big that they are starting to get into politics? There are even ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) now. The institutionalization of Bitcoin is obviously a positive factor in terms of price action, right? Our asset is going up. Altcoins are not doing as well, but at least Bitcoin is going up. Do you think this institutionalization is a threat to the decentralized spirit advocated in the Bitcoin white paper?

CZ:

There will be some impact. Everything has two sides, nothing is completely good or completely bad, so we need to find a balance.

As early Bitcoin supporters and believers in decentralization, we hope that the government will intervene as late as possible, especially in the matter of buying Bitcoin. Many people hope that ordinary investors and ordinary users can own some Bitcoin before the government buys it on a large scale. Different people have different views on this point. Of course, from another perspective, the governments purchase of Bitcoin will have a positive effect on the price and strengthen peoples confidence in Bitcoin. So this matter has both advantages and disadvantages.

In general, in a decentralized world, we cannot control the behavior of others, nor can we influence the decisions of the government. The change in attitude in the United States is a good example. 100 days ago, the US government was relatively cold towards cryptocurrencies, but now they seem to realize that buying Bitcoin is the right choice. This shift is good news for the entire industry, but I still hope that ordinary investors can buy before the government.

Farokh: So they still have time, right?

CZ:

Yes, we have been discussing cryptocurrencies and trying to promote them, and they have plenty of time to buy in. If someone doesnt want to buy, thats their choice.

Farokh: I heard that you are still advising some government departments in Pakistan, and Birla Bansaki is also your friend. In addition, the sovereign wealth fund of Abu Dhabi has recently invested in Binance. Judging from the current trend, the governments purchase of Bitcoin will only increase. This has triggered a domino effect in the United States. I think this is an important turning point and may even affect the decision-making of other countries.

99.99% of Memecoins will eventually fail

Farokh: In past cycles, you have had a keen insight into some of the corruption in the industry, and your intuition about the industry has always been accurate. So this time, what problems or potential hidden dangers do you think exist in the industry? What should we pay special attention to?

CZ:

An obvious problem in the industry right now is the overheating of Memecoins. Too much money is pouring into these Memecoins in the market. In the short term, 99.999% of Memecoins will eventually fail. According to statistics, there are currently about 13 million tokens tracked on Coin市場Cap, and you can imagine that most of them will not have a future. This is a high-risk area. Fortunately, most meme coin investors are already aware of this, because the failure cases are too common, and they have accepted this fact. But at the same time, this phenomenon has also reduced peoples attention to projects that are truly practical.

It has been very difficult to develop a compliant crypto project over the past four years, especially during the previous administration. The SEC has often sued project parties, claiming that their tokens are securities and so on. Fortunately, some of these lawsuits have been withdrawn recently. So I believe that more developers will rejoin the industry in the future. Although the industry was once forced to develop in a less healthy way, I am now more optimistic about the future because it is moving in the right direction.

Farokh: The SEC is 去中心化金融nitely stressful, like, they could send you to jail. As founders in the industry, we always have concerns about tokenization. Even assets like NFT were once labeled as securities in cases like Google Labs, projects like CyberKong, and finally those charges were dropped. Now, I feel more confident to take risks as a founder than before because I feel able to take more risks. After all, we need to maintain a spirit of exploration and adventure in this industry, especially in cutting-edge fields like artificial intelligence.

CZ:

Indeed, many outstanding American entrepreneurs have chosen to leave the United States, which is bad for the U.S. economy and the U.S. leadership in cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence. However, I did not expect that an election would bring about such a big policy shift, which also illustrates the power of democracy from another perspective.

Traditional media needs to change

Farokh: Recently, the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg published some articles criticizing the crypto industry, which sparked widespread discussion. What do you think of these reports?

On the way, I saw that you tweeted about the Wall Street Journal and quoted Elon Musks tweets to discuss the problem of fake news. Trump also often talks about similar topics. Although these reports may not be completely false, they do have a clear negative tendency. This is one of the reasons why I founded Rug Radio. Later we merged with Decrypt Media because I always thought that Decrypt was one of the media with the highest quality news in the crypto field. Our goal is to show the potential of crypto technology and emerging technologies as positively as possible. Of course, this does not mean that we ignore negative news, but we don’t need to report only negative content. Like the Wall Street Journal and other mainstream media, they always seem to report us in a negative angle as much as possible. Recently, they even made personal attacks on you, such as claiming that you betrayed other founders of the crypto industry in prison in order to reduce your sentence. What do you think about this?

CZ:

Its true that traditional media usually picks a target person and focuses their fire on them. They might choose Elon Musk, Trump, or me and others. They will publish a lot of negative articles around these targets.

Fortunately, this approach is no longer so effective. Traditional governments claim to support free speech, but in fact they indirectly influence the content of news reports by supporting certain news organizations through funding. This strategy may have worked in the past, but it is now counterproductive.

For example, the failure of certain political parties in elections shows that peoples trust in traditional media is waning. Now social media gives each of us a voice. Through videos, conferences, etc., we can interact directly with the public and show our true selves instead of letting certain articles define us. Although these negative reports are still annoying, at least we have our own platform to express our true opinions. For example, I probably have more social media followers than most politicians, and Elon has more followers than anyone else. With the rise of social media, authentic voices have become more and more important, so we are less worried about this, but it is still unpleasant.

Farokh: It’s a real headache because these reports affect how we are viewed. People in our industry know what’s going on, but people outside the industry are more likely to share articles from Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal than from professional crypto media like Decrypt.

CZ:

I once talked to a senior executive at Bloomberg, who mentioned that they were even considering eliminating their investigative news division because these reports were often not investigating real issues, but were targeted at certain people with clear personal agendas. This practice was not only unprofitable, but also damaged the companys reputation. Bloomberg is essentially a technology company, not a media company. They mainly make money by selling terminal equipment, and the media business is a burden to them.

I also heard that more than 30% of Bloombergs news content is now generated by AI, but these are mainly breaking news, such as market changes, and do not involve investigative reports. These breaking news receive more attention because they are more objective and data-driven. In contrast, reports with strong subjective tendencies are damaging the companys image. Therefore, I think the media industry needs to change, otherwise they will be eliminated by the times.

Farokh: We are also trying to change. For example, we develop prediction markets through resources such as Crypmedia and Rug Radio to capture market sentiment in real time. Just like Polymarkets performance during the Trump election, there is often a clear difference between media coverage and the publics actual investment behavior.

Hard Times and Changes in Prison

Farokh: Did your experience in prison have a profound impact on the way you live and work?

CZ:

Of course. This experience always makes you rethink your priorities in life. First, I realized that health is the most important thing, followed by family, then work and other things.

In prison, you realize that you don’t really miss good food, although you miss a comfortable bed occasionally, but what I miss most is my family. You don’t miss money, and you don’t miss your job particularly, although resigning as CEO of Binance is indeed a bit sad for me.

I am a builder, so I cant stop. Fortunately, although I am not young, I am not too old, so I still have the energy to do something. Now I focus on helping funds, providing advice to other entrepreneurs, and communicating and learning from them. At the same time, I am also building an educational platform. Although it is still busy, I believe that no matter where you are, you can make a positive impact in different ways.

Also, this experience has made me more cautious. In the past, I was not sensitive to issues such as geopolitics, but now I realize that these political agendas may directly affect individuals and may even put you in trouble. So, I am more careful now.

It took me a while to adjust to life after being released from prison. For the first few months, I was rarely active on social media and didn’t attend any events. It took a while to adjust, but I slowly got back to normal.

Farokh: Did you make friends there?

CZ:

I do keep in touch with a few friends. You can meet good people everywhere. Of course, there are some people who are over-punished, who may have made some mistakes but the punishment is too harsh. I still keep in touch with some friends who are in prison. They are in a difficult situation, there are almost no lawyers to help them, especially outside lawyers are very expensive. They also have difficulty getting information because there is no Internet in prison, and communication can only be through a very backward system, and you cant even send pictures or links.

Farokh: So could you know the price of Bitcoin in prison?

CZ:

Not at all. However, some people would ask me through messages how I was doing and about Bitcoin and Binance Coin (BNB). There are a few TVs in the prison, but most of them show sitcoms and sports. I dont watch sports or TV. However, there are a few prisoners who are interested in cryptocurrencies, so they have set up a financial channel. I saw some news in the prison, such as the assassination of the president and the 34 criminal charges facing Trump.

One of the charges was that he took confidential documents into the bathroom, which I thought was really ridiculous. If my employee did that, I would probably give him a bonus because it shows hes working hard. Looking back on these things, although it was very stressful at the time, it does seem funny now.

Just five days before I went to jail, Elizabeth Warren declared a war on cryptocurrencies in an open letter. If I hadnt been so stressed out at the time, I might have found these things funny. But looking back now, its really a bit ridiculous.

Farokh: Can you share some of the difficult moments you experienced in prison, such as the living environment in prison, what it was like to share a cell with a murderer, and the psychological changes when facing fear?

CZ:

Prison life was really hard. Although I can laugh about it now, it was not like that at the time. It was not an experience you can joke about, and it was definitely not fun. I would not wish it on anyone. Although I have always considered myself to be a very stress-tolerant and calm person, it was still very difficult to be in that environment. I experienced body searches, being locked in a cell, and for the first time sharing a cell with a double murderer.

In prison, the staff dont really care who you are, to them, youre just another prisoner. I didnt get any special treatment. I was told that I might be monitored in prison, which was probably the only difference. But the other prisoners and guards didnt know who I was, they were just doing their job.

My roommate was a man sentenced to 30 years for double murder. He was transferred to a low-security prison after serving 12 years for good behavior, which was the lowest level he could go to. Prisoners in prison are usually divided by race. I shared a cell with a Native American and we got along well. But even so, the moment I first entered the prison, I was still very scared. After entering the prison, I first had to go through a series of inspections, including taking photos, answering questions, and body searches. Then, I was taken to the prison area. When I first walked into the prison area, I saw a three-story building with two rows of cells facing each other, and there were 240 prisoners in it. Everyone was shouting loudly, and many of them were covered with tattoos and looked very fierce. At that moment, I thought to myself, this place is not fun.

The guard told me that my cell was on the fifth floor. I went to open the door, but found it was locked. Later, a strong man came over and told me that the door needed to be opened by the guard. Everyone was staring at me, a new prisoner, and it was very stressful.

The interesting thing is that although these prisoners look fierce, they are actually very polite and friendly. I have never had any conflicts with prisoners or guards in prison. However, the most difficult thing is the psychological pressure. I was always worried that they might find a random reason to keep me for a few more months, or even add some crimes. This happened to many prisoners. Its like the Hotel California, you can check in, but you can never leave.

If someone had told me “you only need to stay for four months”, I would have thought “ok, no problem, I can make it”. But in prison, the uncertainty of many things made me feel very anxious. Even though I was later sent to Halfway House, in the last month, I was arrested by immigration because my visa had expired. Although we had applied for a visa extension, it was rejected, and I was forced to stay in the United States.

After a few days in the detention center, my lawyers were able to get my detention order revoked, but they did not allow me to return to the halfway house. These experiences are described in detail in the book.

About SBF (Sam Bankman-Fried)

Farokh: Regarding SBF (Sam Bankman-Fried), how do you feel about him now? He is still serving his sentence. Do you have any more understanding or sympathy for him after your own prison experience?

CZ:

I dont want to comment on whether its fair or not. I dont want anyone to go through prison life, its definitely not an easy experience. But I also think that any behavior involving fraud, lying and deception must be stopped. This kind of behavior should not exist. However, the sentences in the United States are indeed long, but there are also mechanisms for commutation, such as 10 days of commutation for every 30 days of good behavior, so most people actually serve about two-thirds of the sentence. Despite this, I still sympathize with all those who are in prison, because that experience is really hard to endure.

In prison, I see many people sentenced to 10 years whose lives are almost completely set. They no longer consider self-reform. Although most people know what they did wrong, many have lost the opportunity to change because of excessive punishment. They just live their lives step by step. Without real correctional measures, the meaning of imprisonment is weakened.

And this excessive punishment will waste a lot of taxpayers money. I dont know what the most effective correction is, but if you really want people to change, you should let them learn from their mistakes and start over. So I dont want to make a clear opinion on the length of the sentence or whether it is fair.

As long as we continue to push the industry forward, that’s all that matters. But it is undeniable that the SBF incident has had a very negative impact on the entire crypto industry, casting a shadow over our entire field.

Trump and $TRUMP

Farokh: You mentioned Donald Trump a few times. Obviously, youve witnessed his rise in prison. Does that make you feel more optimistic about your sentence? You mentioned concerns about a long sentence.

CZ:

Yes. He was charged with 34 counts, and the judge and jury found him guilty, which was incredible to me. Then he announced his candidacy for president, and I thought, maybe that’s a good thing. Then he started publicly supporting cryptocurrency, and it was clear that he meant it, not just lip service.

So I think this is a positive sign for the crypto industry and gives some hope to people who may have been unfairly accused. Watching the news from prison, I felt that our industry was lucky because the president of the United States at the time was very supportive of cryptocurrencies and he was a very smart man.

Farokh: I know that many founders in the crypto industry will lobby for support, such as through donations to gain access. I remember getting a pass to the White House at a digital summit to report on the crypto industry. I also saw a lot of founders of centralized exchanges appearing there at the time. So I wonder if you have similar access?

CZ:

No. As a foreign company and foreign citizen, we cannot donate to any political campaigns. This is stipulated by law, and I am very careful about this and will never get involved in anything related to elections.

I am still a major shareholder of Binance. So neither the company nor I personally will participate in any election-related activities. I am very careful to avoid touching these sensitive areas. As for my release from prison, we have not carried out any new activities in the United States. Binance US is still operating normally, but there is no other action. There have been some news reports that I tried to exchange Binance US equity for a pardon, which is completely false. I have never discussed Binance US equity with anyone, and its equity structure has not changed. So, these reports are pure fiction.

Farokh: Is there any progress regarding your application for presidential pardon?

CZ:

We hope to convey the truth through some appropriate news reports, such as contacting professionals like Ryan to ensure the accuracy of the information. If I can get amnesty, I believe it will be a positive signal for the entire industry. However, now we can only wait and see.

Farokh: Arthur has been successful in getting amnesty. I certainly hope that you will be successful in your application. I think it is entirely possible, and I know that you are eligible to apply.

CZ:

Yes, I believe the team will support me, which makes me very grateful. After all, everyone is working hard for the development of the industry.

Farokh: Are you clear about the legal procedures for the application?

CZ:

Yes, I have already appointed a lawyer to handle this matter. Actually, we decided to formally submit the application after Bloomberg published the relevant report. At that time, I thought that since the report had already come out, we might as well go with the flow. Arthurs amnesty application was also approved very quickly. So we submitted the application about two weeks ago, and now we can only wait for the result.

Farokh: How do you evaluate President Trumps current performance in office? Do you think it is possible for the trade war between the United States and China to end?

CZ:

I think President Trump has done a great job and he understands business operations very well. Although many people are concerned about policies such as tariffs, I think this is more of a negotiation strategy than a traditional geopolitical game. In business negotiations, usually a high price is offered first, and then concessions are made gradually through negotiation, and finally a balance point that both parties can accept is found. Although this approach has a great short-term impact on the industry and the economy, it is also refreshing in some ways. President Trump is very good at making deals, and I believe he will eventually make a deal.

Farokh: Do you think the trade war between the United States and China will end sooner?

CZ:

I think it is possible. The Chinese negotiators are very smart and they know their goals and strategies. However, I think China may not agree with President Trumps negotiating style. Asian culture usually attaches great importance to face, and if too tough demands are made publicly, it may cause resentment.

This really reflects cultural differences. In the United States, especially under President Trump, who often broadcasts meetings live via social media, this kind of transparency is not common among other political leaders. This style is very special.

However, I believe both sides have excellent advisory teams who have a deep understanding of each others cultural differences. So I am still very confident about the prospects of the negotiations. At least now both sides have sat down to talk, instead of completely cutting off contact like before. Before, it was more of a contest of soft power, and now both sides have started to communicate directly, which makes me optimistic about the future.

Farokh: What do you think about TRUMP Coin?

CZ:

I dont know much about it because Ive heard very inconsistent accounts. Some say its closely related to Trump, while others say its not related at all. I havent researched it in depth myself.

Farokh: But it does have some connection to Trump, right? For example, they are planning a dinner on May 22nd for the top 20 holders.

CZ:

There is indeed some connection, but I am not a top 25 holder of TRUMP Coin.

Farokh: Was it because of the media coverage that made you choose to stay away from it?

CZ:

I try to avoid being associated with these things. The media attention and possible negative coverage makes me feel that it is not wise to get involved. So I decided not to buy TRUMP Coin and do not want to associate myself with it in any way.

Farokh: Do you think the UAE leadership is taking a page from Trumps playbook? How would you rate their forward-looking approach?

CZ:

The leadership of the UAE is very forward-looking. They are not only smart, but also visionary, strategic, and flexible in dealing with problems. As early as the beginning of the rise of blockchain technology, they realized that oil resources are not sustainable and must expand into other economic fields. In the process of diversified development, their investment in blockchain and artificial intelligence is particularly prominent. These are key technologies for the future, and the leadership of the UAE has a deep understanding of this.

In addition, the relationship between the UAE and the United States is also very harmonious. Although I don’t know the specific details, I heard that they have carried out a lot of cooperation in areas such as artificial intelligence and blockchain. This international cooperation further demonstrates the openness and forward-looking nature of the UAE.

I think leadership is very important, and a good leader can make a country develop well. I think no matter what system is used, democracy, monarchy, etc., a lot of people may be bound by the system, but what really matters is the leader. In any system, even in a democratic system, there will be bad leaders. Where there is valuable design and strong leaders, business can flourish. They will work hard to find policies without taxes, reasonable regulatory frameworks, etc. I think we see this here and we see it in the United States.

Comparing DEX and CEX

Farokh: Do you think the competitive landscape between centralized exchanges (CEX) and decentralized exchanges (DEX) has changed?

CZ:

There are indeed changes. Many people see CEX and DEX as opposite poles, but I think this view is not accurate. Both are tools for users to access the blockchain. Without the blockchain, CEX cannot exist. They are just different ways to help users enter the decentralized world. For ordinary users, logging in with an email and password is obviously much easier than managing complex private keys.

CEX and DEX are actually different paths to the same goal. As a solution provider in the industry, our mission is to provide users with a variety of choices, rather than relying on just one model. CEX is not the end point, but a bridge to help users access the blockchain.

We have investments in CEX, DEX, perpetual contracts, blockchain development and other fields. I think the DEX and perpetual contract markets have great potential, but they are still in the early stages and there is still a lot to explore and improve.

However, the current fully transparent trading model may not be suitable for all situations. For example, you can see that a large investor has placed a short order of $300 million, but in fact, real institutional investors do not want their transactions to be made public. Therefore, the trading methods of large institutions are often different from those of ordinary users.

Yes, it is. Traditionally, decentralized trading pools are usually much larger than what we call order books. So I think there is a lot of room for growth here, but I do think the future is decentralized. I have said many times that in the future, decentralized exchanges are going to be bigger than centralized exchanges, and we want to invest heavily in these areas.

Farokh: Have you started investing yet?

CZ:

We have invested in several DEX and perpetual contract projects. However, I don’t directly manage these projects now, and we usually just hold a small stake.

Farokh: Recently, many people thought that if a coin is listed on a centralized exchange, it is a peak signal for it. Now it seems that since it is listed on a centralized exchange, it will lose the popularity of decentralized exchanges. I feel that this view has changed.

CZ:

There are indeed some changes, but this is mainly the view of short-term speculators. They see CEX listing as the last chance, but for real builders, listing is just a starting point, not the end.

Exchanges exist not only for speculators, although they provide liquidity, but more importantly to create a healthy ecological environment for long-term builders.

Crypto exchange executives group chat incident

Farokh: Do you still communicate with other exchange executives? The New York Times reported that you and SBF had some disputes in an executive group chat, and we later learned about what happened. Can you share some details about that group chat? Do you still communicate frequently now?

CZ:

I chat with them occasionally, but not often. First, we are all very busy; second, there is a certain competition between exchanges. There are about 10 exchange founders in that group chat, and it does exist. In fact, this group chat was created when Luna collapsed. At that time, they planned to launch Luna 2, and one of them was from FTX, who had worked at Bitfinex and OKX before and was very familiar with the situation in the industry.

The original intention of the group chat was to coordinate the naming of Luna and Luna 2. If each exchange uses its own naming method, it may confuse users. For example, one exchange is called Luna 2, and another exchange is called Luna, but they are actually the same token. This situation will confuse users. Therefore, we created this group chat to unify the naming, and the name of the group chat is Exchange Coordination.

This group chat was created by one person, who invited some people to join. Later, I was asked a lot of questions by regulators and the Department of Justice because of this group chat. They suspected that we were manipulating the market, but in fact we were just temporary collaboration among peers. In some special cases, such as when an exchange was hacked, we would coordinate in the group to track the flow of funds and see if we could freeze the relevant addresses. At this time, exchanges would cooperate with each other.

However, this group chat is mainly used by the founders. We do not track blockchain transactions ourselves, that is the job of other teams. Later, during the FTX crash, there were rumors that they were trying to depeg USDT. Paolo (founder of Tether) sent a message in the group asking for this behavior to stop, and I also expressed my support and promised to help protect the industry from further attacks. Although this message attracted a lot of attention, there was no problem in reality.

I just met Paolo for the first time recently, and we only communicated online before. He is a great guy. People in our industry know each other. For example, there was a time when bad funds flowed through Binance and we needed to freeze USDT. I contacted Paolo and he responded quickly and arranged for the team to handle it. Where cooperation is needed, we always work well together.

And there is no direct competition between Tether and us. We usually meet at industry conferences, and this was the first time I met Paolo and some other people face to face. Although we have been working together in this industry for 11 years, most of the previous interactions were online.

Are you considering returning?

Farokh: This reminds me of my experience with my friends. We worked in the cryptocurrency field for a year and a half, but we never met each other until later. I admire Paolos work at Tether, and they have achieved a lot in the United States recently. So, if there is an opportunity for you to return to Binance, will you lead the company again?

CZ:

I think it is unlikely. I think that experience is in the past. It is a blessing to be forced to retire. If I retire on my own initiative, some people may think Is he too tired to work?

Farokh: I heard you are a workaholic?

CZ:

Indeed. I work at least six days a week, sometimes six and a half days. Even on the weekends, I have meetings scheduled. Even when Im not working, my mind is always thinking about work-related things. Thats kind of how my mind works. Of course, I also try some extracurricular activities, such as learning kitesurfing recently – although I can jump, my landing technique is not very good. But by most peoples standards, I am indeed a workaholic. So, I dont think I will return to Binance as CEO. The company has run very well without my direct involvement in the past year and a half. I am still a shareholder in the company, so I will benefit from it. And Binance has a very strong team, and our goal is to continue to cultivate and grow this team, but I have no intention of returning to the helm of Binance.

Farokh: That sounds interesting. Would you consider starting or joining other crypto projects? If so, what would you choose?

CZ:

I prefer to play the role of a mentor, coach, or supporter, like a coach on the sidelines cheering on new entrepreneurs. I dont plan to lead a new project. Although I am still working hard, my work pace is much easier than when I led Binance. I dont feel the need to prove anything to take on that kind of high-intensity responsibility and pressure again. As an entrepreneur, I have achieved enough results and I am satisfied with my current status.

Quick Questions and Answers:

Farokh: Finally, lets play a little game, five quick questions and answers. I mentioned before that we created a prediction market platform called Myriad Markets, which is very interesting and full of gamification. Next, I will ask you a few questions, and you only need to give a number or prediction.

What do you think the total market capitalization of the cryptocurrency market will be by the end of the year?

CZ:

About $5 trillion.

Farokh: What will be the highest price of Bitcoin in this cycle?

CZ:

Id guess somewhere between $500,000 and $1 million.

Farokh: Do you think Trump will surpass Doge in this cycle?

CZ:

It’s hard to say, it depends on many factors.

Farokh: Will Fartcoin go up to $10? Right now it is priced at $1.20.

CZ:

Then I think thats unlikely.

Farokh: Last question, would you get another dog?

CZ:

Not any time soon. It takes a lot of effort to own a dog.

This article is sourced from the internet: Exclusive interview with CZ: Optimistic about AI and Desci, 99% of memes will eventually fail

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