Binance CEO: Crypto Is the 'Only Stable Thing' Amid Financial Turmoil

Binance CEO: Crypto Is the 'Only Stable Thing' Amid Financial Turmoil

In the last few weeks, the price of cryptocurrencies has been violently turbulent, negative sentiments have come from right and left, starting from the boss's tweets to the tightening of regulations by the Chinese government.

But Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao said it was impossible for one entity to shut down bitcoin and the underlying blockchain technology, and said state governments and regulators should embrace blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies.

“I don't think anyone can shut (bitcoin) down right now, given that this technology, this concept, is already in the heads of 500 million people,” CZ said in an interview at CoinDesk's Consensus 2021 virtual conference event. "You can't erase that (from the crowd's heads)."

The current war on bitcoin and other crypto assets is akin to refusing to accept the internet business model that e-commerce giant Amazon did when it first started business in the early 1990s, according to CZ.

Cryptocurrencies exist not to kill traditional financial systems or government-backed fiat currencies, but to provide more “money freedom”.

Cryptocurrencies "are just a new tool that can increase the freedom (of) money around the world," Zhao told CoinDesk advisor Nolan Bauerle. "I don't see them competing with regulators... and there are ways we can work together."

CZ's claim comes after Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume, faced increased regulatory scrutiny. Bitcoin and other crypto assets are facing regulatory hurdles after their popularity soared this year.

Not only regulators in China and the US; Government entities around the world have raised questions about the business operations of Binance, a company that claims to have no headquarters in any particular country or region.

CZ said the company does not intend to go against any government or country, adding to the doubt that Binance's operations are based on clear regulations.

"We are not against the government," CZ said. "There are times when the regulators or regulations issued are not very clear. This is still being developed in various parts of the world so there is still a gray zone. But [we] have to keep experimenting and working together to get (clear rules)."

Binance's 'Way of the Ninja'

CZ doesn't seem to have a clear strategy for its company, even though Binance is heavily involved in almost every crypto innovation trend, be it decentralized finance (DeFi) or non-fungible tokens (NFT).

"I'm not smart enough to predict what will happen, which will be popular, which users will vote for," said CZ. "The way Binance works is just experiment as much as possible.

CZ said he has been trying to make fewer “top-down” decisions, especially around what he describes as “big projects” like Binance Smart Chain (BSC), a public blockchain technology that is touted as a competitive rival to the Ethereum blockchain.

CZ added that BSC was not his idea and he did not know who it came from.

His clarification appears to be a response to the increasing number of recent hacks or exploits on DeFi protocols built on top of BSC networks, including some of the largest monetary exploits in DeFi history.

With the BSC name directly linked to Binance, many have criticized CZ and held him and Binance responsible for the exploit.

It was previously reported that the decentralized financial platform BurgerSwap lost more than US$ 7.2 million (Rp 104 billion, exchange rate 14,500) of BNB, ETH, BURGER, other tokens due to cyberattacks. Another attack occurred on Pancake Bunny which caused its value to drop by 95% with estimated assets lost reaching US$ 200 million (Rp 2.9 trillion).

“Binance Smart Chain is an independent blockchain, [and] we have no control over it,” said CZ.

However, CZ says that he and his company benefit from BSC's success because Binance coin (BNB) is the native cryptocurrency that supports BSC. Both CZ and Binance remain large holders of BNB.

source: https://www.cnbcindonesia.com/market/20210528170305-17-249127/ceo-binance-sesumbar-tidak-ada-yang-bisa-mematikan-bitcoin-cs