Keep Calm and Work Hard: The Story of Binance's CEO From A to CZ

In the 2019 bear market, he managed to keep Binance's position as one of the leading crypto exchanges by launching its first initial exchange offering in January, developing its native blockchain Binance Chain, running a decentralized trading platform, launching a United States trading desk, and keeping it competitive with Binance's futures trading platform - to cite just a few developments.

Keep everything simple and work hardUpon learning that he was selected for the top spot on the list and being asked about his favorite accomplishments in 2019, he was characteristically humble: "Other than just putting together a really good team and then leading them forward, I personally didn't really do that much. But the team did a lot of really hard work."

"I'm not materialistic because it's kind of hard to carry anything that's physical. I like to keep mobile. I like to be able to live in a different city every month if I want to. And with a shared economy, it's so much easier now. So we don't need a car - you have Uber everywhere. You have Airbnb, so I don't need to buy a house. I don't feel the need to own a lot of stuff, to have a really complicated life. Just keep everything simple."

Keep calm and go all-in on BitcoinIt was in 2013 that CZ began to learn about Bitcoin.

In the process, he transferred some XRP to CZ. When they were done, CZ wanted to transfer the coins back, but heard in response, "You can keep it and you can use it to teach the next guy." This sparked a wild crypto adventure.

He has a tip that helps him stay optimistic, a parable he once heard from someone: "If you walk to the bottom of a valley, what do you do? And the answer is pretty simple: You just keep walking as long as you keep walking. Then you eventually get out of the valley."

Keep being number one and go forwardThe first interview with CZ I took part in dates back to 2018.

He told us that Binance tries very hard not to be number one, "Because being number one creates other problems sometimes, especially with regulators." In 2020, I asked whether CZ still agrees with that, or if he'd finally given up on trying not to stand out too much.

Keep cool, we are living in a simulationBinance's current focus on developing the freedom of money is intended to give people funding power to do more research on biotech, space exploration and AI - all of which, according to CZ, will help our species advance significantly.

"Sometimes you say, 'Well, you know, it's just a simulation, it's just a game.' My role here is just to do the best I can. So I just keep putting one foot in front of the other and keep marching forward. So it makes life a lot easier, actually."