E187: Binance Founder: Nobody Realizes How Big The Next 10 Years Of Crypto Will Be

CZ expects crypto to change faster and become much larger over the next decade, driven by freer information flows, blockchain’s ability to move money across a network, and efficiency gains from AI. He estimates that 5–15% of people own some crypto, yet crypto represents less than 1% of net worth by value. He sees the future fintech market as much larger than today’s and argues that expanding the industry matters more than growing any single platform.

He expects decentralization to gain importance and says Binance will invest heavily in decentralized projects, even though most crypto users still choose centralized exchanges. He welcomes decentralized exchanges and competition, noting that Hyperliquid’s lack of a KYC requirement gives it an advantage over Binance. Being first, he cautions, does not ensure lasting leadership; he points to Google, Facebook, Binance, and Uniswap as examples of companies or projects whose market positions changed over time. As with internet and AI businesses, many crypto projects will fail, while a few could become enormously successful.

CZ says early access can benefit retail investors, but outcomes depend on responsible founders, users learning to assess fundamentals, and better disclosure frameworks. Overhyped projects can make money at users’ expense in the short term, he says, while durable projects must be built sustainably. His current work includes engaging governments on regulation, supporting founders, and investing; he no longer works on Binance’s centralized exchange. He says 70–80% of his investments remain in Web3, and his near-term priority is helping countries make crypto rules that encourage innovation while protecting consumers.

Binance began as a proposal in May 2017, after CZ’s team had spent two years building BJ Tech. The business had about 15–20 employees, and 80–90% of its clients were non-crypto exchanges, including businesses trading stamps and jade. The team agreed to start a crypto-to-crypto exchange and chose “finance” from two possible domain names. CZ credits early execution to hard work, humility, low ego, coordination, and trust in leadership. He says a team that follows a leader nearly blindly can execute effectively if the leader is right, but that same dynamic can lead to disaster and make honest feedback harder to obtain. He defines hard work by results and product quality, not hours alone.

CZ rejects Sam Bankman-Fried’s claim that his November 2022 tweet caused FTX’s collapse. CZ says he disclosed Binance’s remaining FTT holdings and planned to sell over several months to limit market impact, but did not anticipate the volatility. He says he does not know exactly why FTX failed; his understanding was that customer funds were used to buy other assets, leaving customers unable to withdraw during a market downturn. Binance itself faced a $40 million hack in May 2019. CZ says it paused withdrawals and systems to assess the incident, then resumed trading after a few hours to avoid prices diverging from other exchanges, while withdrawals remained paused for a week. Binance chose the cautious approach because potential security losses outweighed customer inconvenience, including missed futures liquidations. CZ argues exchanges should have a “big red button” that anyone on the platform can use to halt operations during a security incident.

On the October 10, 2025 market crash, which the interviewer described as the largest liquidation event in crypto history, CZ attributed the initial drop to President Trump’s tariff announcement. He said Binance’s subsequent technical issue involving a small Ethena-related stablecoin was not the cause and stressed that the asset was neither USDT nor USDC. Binance voluntarily paid about $800 million to compensate affected platform users, he said, despite having no obligation to do so; the exchange continued to receive net deposits and its market share did not fall. CZ also said stablecoin acceptance on X could make adding Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB, or other crypto “literally one click away,” though he would not advise Elon Musk on X Money. Separately, he described Giga Academy, which provides free education worldwide, as his biggest opportunity for long-term positive impact. He expects individualized, AI-delivered curricula to help students develop their strengths, while noting that app-based learning may need group activities and offline events to support social interaction.