In addition to thanking customers for their six years of support, CZ also explained the ups and downs Binance has experienced since its launch in 2017.
As Binance celebrates its 6th anniversary, CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) looks back on the company’s journey since its inception and expresses his deep gratitude to the users who keep the company profitable. In a heartfelt note shared with Coinspeaker, CZ details the exchange’s journey full of problems and successes.
CZ said it started with “humble beginnings” on Binance, launching two weeks after the exchange raised $15 million in digital assets. At that time, Binance started with 5 tokens and supported only 2 languages. Zhao added that the exchange rented a customer support team from another organization and did not have a marketing team.
Binance is currently the world’s largest exchange by trading volume, a position it has held since 2017. Six years after his launch, Binance now has thousands of employees and supports his 600+ digital assets in 40+ languages.
CZ Reflects on Binance Challenges as Exchange Celebrates Sixth Year
In his memo, Zhao detailed the challenges faced by the exchange. He said the first big challenge was China’s decision. Ban Cryptocurrency exchanges and ICOs were banned in September 2017, causing ICO projects to return funds to investors and the token to crash. Zhao ultimately had to pay $6 million, or 40% of the exchange’s treasury, out of Binance’s funds. Thankfully, the move worked and many users flocked to Binance. By December of the same year, Binance had become the world’s largest exchange by trading volume.
CZ also noted dealing with an “evolving regulatory landscape.” Regulatory issues have always been an issue in the cryptocurrency industry, but especially since telling CZ in 2019 that “Tier 1 regulators in Asia” have not regulated cryptocurrencies, the CEO said regulators have never been able to. I’m sure you’re paying more attention.
“Globally, we have proven that compliance and innovation can coexist. It is evidence of extensive efforts in the field of regulation,” he wrote.
Zhao spoke out in support of the regulation and assured the Binance community that the exchange is keen to work with policymakers.
As part of the memo, CZ explained Binance’s level of exposure during last year’s crypto winter. He asserted that while the market was more volatile last year than winter 2018, Binance had “minimal exposure.” However, the CEO confirmed that Binance invested $3 million in Terra in 2018 and did not sell or move LUNA tokens. Investments surged to $1.6 billion in 2021, but plummeted to $0 last year.
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As Binance celebrates its 6th anniversary, Changpeng Zhao seems to be thinking hard about the future of cryptocurrencies. Zhao cites companies such as Fidelity, Citadel and BlackRock to highlight the increasing adoption of cryptocurrencies by institutional investors. He also predicts decentralized finance (DeFi) will accelerate as DeFi products make it easier to own cryptocurrencies and developers create more products. Zhao also predicts that DeFi will surpass CeFi within about six years.
Finally, the CEO ended the note by thanking Binance customers for their support and candid feedback.
“I am eternally grateful to have been able to join you on this journey with you. You are the heart and soul of Binance for many years to come,” Zhao concluded.
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Tolu is a cryptocurrency and blockchain enthusiast based in Lagos. He likes to explain the cryptocurrency story down to the basics so that anyone, anywhere can understand it without a lot of background knowledge. When not digging into cryptocurrencies, Tolu enjoys music, loves to sing, and is an avid movie buff.
